I am looking at a couple ram 1500 pickups both 4x4 bare bones 4 door pickups. They are both equipped with the 4.7 and auto trannys. Other than being a bit underpowered for a full size pickup the only other fault I can find about the 4.7 liter is that it seems to have a radiator/overheating problem that can ruin the head gasket and other parts of the engine.

My question is how common of a problem is this? Are there certain things to check when looking at pickups like this to help mitigate this problem?

 

I have owned 2 of them and I have never had a problem.

 

It's not that the 4.7 is any more prone to overheating than any other engine, it's that when you do overheat, the aluminum heads don't handle it well. An overheat that's not severe enough to do damage on a cast head engine will warp aluminum heads...

 

Its alot more common than you'd think. The first one I bought was a 2005 regular cab 1500 with the 4.7 which i sold to one of my cousins at 40,000 miles and then i bought a 2007 quad cab with the same motor. The 4.7 liter. Then I bought my wife a 2007 jeep commander with the 4.7 and then the problems started. The one I sold my cousin just had the motor replaced last week after it ran hot and he didn't realize it till it was too late. 60,000miles. My quad cab is now running hot at low speeds and I have had it at the dealership 6 times still not fixed. So far the jeep is doing ok but 1 out of three? come on. These 4.7 are disposable engines and I will personally NEVER own another one. And good luck getting a independent mechanic to work on it...every one i went to turned me away and the dodge techs here dont know anything. Run as fast as you can in the other direction from the 4.7!

 

and by the way...the 2005 i sold my cousin only heated up to about 230 or so. they cant take even minor overheating

 

I have a 2001 4.7L with 140k miles. It's never overheated and it doesn't even have the clutch/fan on it, only the electric fan.

 

It's not just the 4.7, it's basically every aluminum head engine developed during Dahmler (Mercedes) ownership. The 3.7, 4.7 & Hemi all have many reports of valve seat/aluminum head failures. I'm reading a ton of posts on the newer Pentastar V6 having the same issue.
For some reason - the pushrod engines fare better than the OHC ones, but they still have the issue.

This is what happens when you lose a valve seat:





Now mind you, this engine NEVER got over 220*!!!!!

 

I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 4.7 Liter engine currently in the shop. Water pump went out and both head gaskets blew. There are several problems with this engine. The first in that the impeller in the water pump is plastic. The second is that the temperature sensor is on the bottom of the engine. The third is that the thermostat is on the bottom on the engine. If your water pump goes out, It will almost certainly blow your head gaskets because of the location of the temperature sensor. I talked to the guy at the shop mine is at and mine is the 42nd 4.7 liter dodge ram that has come through his shop with the same issue. It's a really dumb design flaw.

 

I had 175,000 miles on my 04' Dakota that had the 4.7 in it when I sold it, and the only thing I ever replaced on it was the water pump ( besides the usual stuff, tires, brakes etc. ). Took about 45 minutes to do. It was a great truck with no issues. I personally would be looking at Hemi's anyway, your not going to get better mileage and certainly not anywhere in the ball park of the same power.

 

It's really not that specific to this 4.7. If you look up the modern GM 5.3 Vortec, you'll find lot of complaints about the water pump going out and taking a head or two with it. Aluminum heads just don't have any tolerance to an over-heat situation. Couple that with people that think they can run an engine hot a little while, or just not knowing what the temp light means, and aluminum heads will bite the dust.