Good day everyone! I was paging through engine swap/exchange pages looking for an answer to what is probably an easy answer... Can a 3rd generation engine be exchanged for a newer 2004-present model 4.7L? Because the new engines are electronic throttle will this be an issue? My 03' 4.7 just experienced the "knocking, rough idle, starting to stall about to be dead too much sludge Dodge won’t take responsibility you need a new engine, hey its normal" engine failure... I love the truck and it is in GREAT shape... minus the da... darn dashboard. Any help would be great, considering I have limited mechanical ability.

ALSO! I want to change the intake to the airram... along with TB (i know hidden cost of a tuner or pro tune), will this require the eventual injector upgrade (or is that only required if attempting to super/turbo)? ... essentially I'm trying to chase extra power (like most thread followers/contributors)

Thank you in advance for your assistance in reducing my ignorance!!!

 

Too much sludge is curable without having to replace the engine IF this is the only issue. As far as Dodge not taking responsibility, I dunno how you would expect Dodge to take responsibility on an engine that's basically ten model years old. If memory serves, they did take responsibility by shipping all '03 Rams with a seven year - 70,000 mile power train warranty, so I would say any issues now is on you. Especially sludge which although the 4.7 has a tendency to be more susceptible to than average, is 100% preventable with proper care and maintenance.

I will however admit that the 2nd Gen through extreme early 3rd Gen dash issues should have been owned up to by Chrysler, no matter what the age as just with the factory LSD they are a known issue and EVERYONE will experience a problem at some point. Issue shouldn't have been "let go" for almost a decade ('94-'03) before addressing it by Chrysler, although every once in a while somebody posts on here where their dealer fixed/replaced one at no or nominal cost.

As far as an engine swap, since it's obvious from your post that you're not going to attempt this yourself, yes, swapping a newer 4.7 in for your '03 is do-able. Would require a bit more than just an engine, but a qualified shop would have no problem dropping in a new engine and getting the electronics (PCM) to function properly. Although the job would be a bit easier and less costly to use a pre '08 4.7, since the engine underwent some pretty drastic changes for the '08 3rd Gen and all subsequent 4th Gens...