I been saving for a while to buy a new truck I been looking at a 2005 4.7 ik thay have water pump and head problems and you have to change the oil every 3000 miles because of the oil sludge problem but is three anything else I should look for when buy a 4.7 ram any help or pointers are appreciated.... I would get the 5.7 but I heard thay have cam problems and I don't want to chance it so I would like to play it safe as possible

 

My '02 has turned out to be a pretty good truck. I did have to drop the oil pan and clean it and the oil pickup. Other than that, I did recently replace the water pump and radiator (the radiator wasn't bad at first but when my step slipped and I fell into the engine compartment and hit a screwdriver......) and did a lot of work that the previous owner let build up. I'm selling it because I bought a new car but if it was an extended or 4 door cab, I'd have planned on keeping it.

 

I would chance a 5.7 over a 4.7 every time.

 

The 4.7 is a great engine and needs only basic care. Got 308K on mine and running like new.

I run full synthetic 0W-20 and change the oil every 7.5K. The motor will only sludge if you run cheap conventional and take short trips which don't allow water condensation to burn off.

Water pump replaced about a year ago. Grab your fan blades and rock back and forth. Should be zero play. If there is, you will be replacing the pump soon as that signifies bearing wear. Easy job however.

 

Thanks for the quick diagnostic tip

 

Lots of people have issues with the 4.7, its hard to find a good used one - and when you do they're pretty expensive. I wouldn't get one used, generally you won't know how it was maintained. I'd save for a bit longer and get a 5.7. The lifter issue that ends up ruining the cam didn't start until much later, 2003 through 2005 is pretty safe.

 

Yeah but a lot dont. Some of the highest mileage trucks on this forum are the 4.7. They are expensive if u have to replace one, but they dont seem to make much diff in initial price. Basic care...check oil and coolant, keep them full and run synthetic. That's all it needs. I drive mine daily. Gave my Honda to my kid and this truck is just as reliable

 

Ok so you want a 4.7 V8. I've owned one (sold it), and my dad still has his. The engines can be bullet proof if taken care of. In general, the truck needs to be below 100,000 miles when buying used, once you go over that and it hasn't been taken care of you'll get a ton of issues. Make sure the truck doesn't backfire, or respond poorly to throttle. Check for wobbling from the wheels while driving. Check all fluids (obviously). Look for rust (CHECK EVERYWHERE) since once it starts it won't stop. I'm probably forgetting some things but those are some of the things that I have learned over the years.

 

You can kill an engine in 50 miles if conditions are right. There are plenty of 200K cars in better shape than 100K, simply due to maintenance or the lack thereof. As with any vehicle, it's how it's maintained. If you pull the hood and see a dirty dipstick handle, then you pull it and it's all coked up or low as heck, that is your first clue that the vehicle may have led a hard life. I bought mine with over 200K and it HAD led a hard life.

Met the seller in a Walmart parking lot. The oil was very low and dirty as heck. I showed him the dipstick and told him I wouldn't test drive it till he got some oil. He ran into walmart and came back out with three bottles of Mobil 1 full syn, lol. I then had the owner step back into the vehicle and gas it to high hell while in park. No smoke out of the tailpipe and get this, it had been nearly 18,000 miles since his last oil change. This wasn't his word... he had the receipts. The fact that it still had oil in was what sold me, but the look on my face told the seller I wasn't going to buy it.

I then drove the front wheels up on a curb and got under it.... no real leaks. Test drive was good although the rotors were so warped, I could feel undulations through the brake pedal at 5 mph. Handed him back the keys and told him I would decide later. Later I low-balled him due to all I had seen and he accepted. Price was so low I knew I could resell it for more, but I ended up keeping it.

Truck runs great today. Not saying I didn't fix things but overall, it's been very reliable. I once scoped the cylinders and saw they still all had the the hatch marks. First oil change, the oil flowed like warm molasses and the plugs were gapped wide enough to pass a quarter through ...and it ran without a hitch. lol

Cheapest vehicle to maintain that I've ever owned.

 

I've not had any issues with sludge in my 4.7L. Got 123k on it now. Run synthetic 10w-30 nearly all the time; else 10w-20. Change at every 7.5-8k.