Just took my 2003 Ram 1500, 4.7 into the local dealership as it developed a miss in the engine. Also, when I tried to rev the engine it would start cutting out at 3000 rpm. This happened over night with no warning at all. WELL #5 cyl had a serious drop in compression. I've been told that both valves in #5 must be replaced. This vehicle has 37,000 miles on it. Has anyone else has a problem with the valves in a 4.7L? I've kept the Ram on a diet of Mobile 1 synthetic oil and only BP/Amoco fuel. I bought my first vehicle 49 years ago and have never had a valve problem before. I'm concerned that there is a design failure here and in another 37,000 miles, or less, the issue will occur again. Any thoughts?????

 

I have a 2002 DR 1500. At about 60,000 miles my engine was running very roughly. Like it was missing on 1 cylinder. A rocker arm came off the camshaft - they fixed it. Then about 2 weeks later, it happened again. This time they tole me it was the oil filter that was installed - it did not have a check valve, or the check valve failed (ya right). So they put on a new oil filter, fixed the rocker arm (different cylinder). About a month later, it was doing the same thing. This time they told me that the engine was all carboned up, due to my driving habits and the fuel I have been using (ya right). Now I had to get the engine de-carboned and fuel injectors cleaned which cost about $600. Less than 2 weeks it was running rough again. This time they had to replace the heads. Cause was due to carboning of the engine, which was caused by driving habits and the fuel. I take this as a bunch of crap, because I don't drive like an 80 year old. In my opinion, they have still not fixed the carboning problem.
The dealer recommends getting the engine de-carboned every 30,000 miles.
Luckily most of my stuff was covered under extended warranty, but it still cost me $200 for deductible, and $600 for cleaning, not to tell you how frustrated I am with the dealer and how they handled this whole situation.

 

Thanks for the input. The dealer called yesterday stating that in addition to repacing the #5 valves, the engine needed to be de-carboned and the fuel injectors need cleaning. Yes, $600.00. From what I've found on the internet, this 4.7L is a DIRTY engine. It builds carbon and sludge and the dealers will refuse to warranty the work arguing poor maintenance due to sludge buildup. This may be my last Chrysler product.

 

I know an owner of a Auto Repair shop who is very trustworthy (a rarity). His shop would have done the same decarboning for less than $200.00. So my plan is to get the decarboning done every 30,000 miles. I am also not very happy that this is the case. I have owned vehicles for over 30 years and this is the first one that I have ever had a carboning problem with.

 

MY 2002 4.7L has about 80,000 miles. When I took the heads off to swap them for the FAST MAN ported heads there was NO carbon build up and it looked super clean. I have used Moble 1 synthetic oil since the the first oil change at 500 miles.

SPEED SAFE, AIR RAM

 

I thought when you drive like an 80 year old, thats when you get the carbonizing problem!!

 

maybe you just have a faulty valve tarin

 

My prior vehicle was a 2000 Dakota Sport CC 4x4 with the 4.7L V8. Bought new and I put 111,000 on it before I traded it in for the Ram.

I never had a single problem with the 4.7L V8, and I did the oil changes every 3000 miles with the standard Mopar 5W30 (non-synthetic). Engine felt every bit as smooth and responsive as the day I bought it.

I've found that carboning and "dirty engine syndrome" usually go hand-in-hand with owners who do a lot of 5-minute driving trips where the engine never reaches standard operating temperature, and extended oil change schedules. Not that this is an excuse for the issues you are dealing with, just my opinion and observation.

If the rocker arm is continually getting dislodged (?), is the engine being properly lubed internally? I would be very frustrated if I had this issue.

 

by using Chevron gas you can minimize any carbon buildup. I had my 360 apart last year (heads off) and there was very minimal carbon buildup on the pistons & valves. I only run 2 different gases in my truck, union 76 and chevron... both premium.

a couple of things you can do to "de-carbonize" your motor is to use the sea-foam in the tank. BG-44k works well too. if you do the in tank method, I recommend you do it in a higher concentration then what they recommend on the can... meaning 1 small bottle to 8~10 gal of gas... then run that tank down pretty low to be most effective.

 

THANKS for all the input on my valve problem. I have always used BP/Amoco gas and changed the oil every 5000 miles with Mobil 1 synthetic, but I do drive short distances of 15 minutes or so. I will start to use Sea-foam on a regular basis and will also switch to Chevron and try that. HOWEVER, GET THIS. I just got a call from the dealer doing the repair (under warranty) and was told that all the parts had not come in to do the repair. That's OK, I understand, BUT they also said that they were replacing the "timing chain". Why would a timing chain also need replacing when the issue is the replacment of the #5 valves??????? Any ideas????? I've got a bad feeling about this.