I currently own a 2007, 5.7 Hemi, 4WD with 99,000 miles on it. Very clean truck inside and out. I am thinking of trading it for a 2008, 4.7 V8, 4WD with 31,000 miles and is also a Big Horn package and looks brand new inside and out. My current truck is not a Big Horn. The question I have, will I regret going from a Hemi to a 4.7 or will I even notice a difference at all? Will this be a huge mistake? What do you guys think?

 

What do you use your truck for? If it has the old 4.7L then you will be very disappointed coming from a Hemi, but I have heard that the new 4.7L is a pretty good engine, puts out something like 310 HP. FWIW the old 4.7L put out 245 HP. 100 HP less than the Hemi. Do a little homework on the 08, I believe 08 is when the new 4.7L was introduced.

 

You are correct bgbluram the new 4.7 came out in 08. It has close to the Hemi's numbers but it probably won't be the same feeling. You'll lose MDS too if you were a fan of it. But yea if youre just a cruiser and slight offroader the new 4.7 should do you fine I believe.

 

Well the '08 4.7 did add a bit of HP over the previous version, but it's still not a Hemi. IMO even with the added oomph, the 4.7 is still a little out of it's element in both a QC AND 4WD truck. One or the other fine, but not both. Don't expect any additional MPGs, matter of fact I'd expect about 1-2 MPG lower with the 4.7 in the relatively heavy QC 4x4 configuration.

There's a lot to be said for dropping almost 70,000 miles in wear & tear and just on that basis alone, it's hard to dismiss trading.
The Big Horn vs. non-Big Horn is small potatoes, at least to me. You can always add nicer, more plush and better looking interior mods cheap enough.

Hemi engines after the '03 & extremely early '04s are pretty much problem free (I'm talking strictly engine now, not front end, not LSDs, etc.), so if you've taken pretty good care of your '07, I wouldn't consider 99,000 miles a big deal. There are guys out there with 200,000 + miles on Hemi engines (of course I personally know a Grand Cherokee owner with 230,000 miles on his 4.7 too).

The 4.7s are pretty reliable BUT have been prone to oil sludge issues and if you ever let it over-heat, you can forget it - it just doesn't rebound well from over-heating. Head cracks are common. Of course, both issues can be avoided in most cases with some diligent care.

Do a search, there are literally hundreds of threads started by guys with the 4.7 ('08 included) who want to know how to swap to a Hemi engine. Try to find one where a Hemi owner wants to know how to drop in a 4.7.

I guess the final issue I'd have is cost. Is the '07 paid for? What kinda $ difference is there to step from an '07 Hemi to an '08 4.7? Would you be better off banking the difference and adding a little to it on a monthly basis and trading the '07 in on a late 4th Gen Hemi QC 4x4 in a few years when the '07 is up around 120-130,000 miles?

Just some food for thought...