So I bought a 02 4.7 with only 85k on it on the 30th of June at one of the big dealers around here. When I bought it they had just got it in on trade so it had not gone through there inspections yet and had a check engine light on. They said they would fix that before I take the truck. Well they do everything to the truck and end up fixing a a/c fan module, a egr valve, replaced the front brakes and did a full tune up because it had a misfire fault. I get the truck and the next day the CEL came back on, so I went to take the truck back in and it started to overheat, and they tell me they would fix that as well. It ended up that it had a bad head gasket and also a cracked head, and they said they found signs of the previous owner that traded it in used some stop leak to trade it in. After about a week of going back and forth with them they are going to fix all of it along with they pulled the other head and had it checked out and are replacing that head gasket too along with the t-stat. Lets just say I think they are going to be losing money on this deal.

All the work is being done at the dealers dodge dealership and should be done by the end of next week.

After reading everything about the 4.7 overheat issue I'm pretty sure I know why it had the issue was because the previous owner towed something big with it. The truck has a brake controller in it.

 

Damn. Im glad that they are takin care of you though. Once you get your truck back put some pics up.

And welcome to DF!

 

That sucks, but its awesome. Pretty much new motor for you. lol.

And plus one on the pictures. Any other specs on your new truck?

 

Yeah, there are several threads on 4.7s over heating and it sounds like the previous owner knew it and wanted to dump the truck. At least the dealership is taking care of it but hopefully you will not have the same issues down the road.

 

I would seriously consider putting a new radiator in as well.
Good Luck with the truck!

 

I have an 04 Ram with the 4.7. Bought it in 05 with 10K miles on it. Recently, at 55K miles, I pulled an empty and very light Uhaul trailer and my temp gage climbed to 3/4. When I got to Uhaul and let the truck idle, it took a while for the temp to drop to half. But since then, it will climb to a tick above half at idle and will drop when running on the interstate, to a tick or two below half, sometime more. Formerly, it was literally glued to a couple ticks below half, no matter what I did or towed. Now, it seems truck is running warmer. At idle it varies right around half and sometimes a little higher, you can see it slowly rise as you sit at idle. Not normal for this truck. The other two trucks we own are 03 Rams with 4.7's an 130K miles and those have temp gates that show rock solid temperature, a couple ticks below half. Took it to dealer and a couple shops. Everything in cooling system has now been replaced and truck still shows a slight climb on the temp gage when idling, only to fall when on the highway or when I race the engine. I am not loosing coolant. I have no water in my oil. Dealer says it is normal and I am OK if it stays out of red (what a lame answer) but independent shop says truck is running around 215F at idle, which seems warm to me. Any ideas guys? I feel this cooling system is marginal or something else. Is this a head gasket going? How do I confirm this? I feel all of the mechanics who have worked on this truck are incompetent and lack troubleshooting skills, typical. By the way, what does it cost to replace both head gaskets? Or is it cheaper to consider dropping a rebuilt engine in it? Stumped and disappointed by all of this.

 

Ya I definitely plan on doing a radiator in it soon, and also a electric fan setup. Thinking of doing a tranny cooler as well.

Here is a picture of the truck.

 

Flex-a-Lite makes some really solid radiator/e-fan combos...

 

You can do compression checks on the cylinders to try to check for bad gaskets as well as leak down tests. Asking how it much is costs to replace depends on a few things. Material and parts itself is not that much but will you do the work or pay someone else? Because if you do it then it will not cost that much at all aside from the parts and tools. But paying someone else can vary greatly depending on who you talk to. Replacing head gaskets is certainly cheaper to do than replacing an engine but again, it depends on who is going to do the work

 

very nice lol i had some problems dealer fix for free also

sick truck wish mine was black