first off, ive owned chevs, and gmc pickupsall my life. i bought my first dodge pickup a couple of months ago. ive never had to pull anything (boat, camper, trailer ect.) so i bought a '02 qc 1500 with the 4.7L. with 98000 miles on the clock, hoping to get better fuel milage. my problem is when i drive it on the interstate at 80mph it does fine with the cruise set, if its not windy. If there is any wind my truck shifts in and out of overdrive like crazy!! it really gets annoying. i want to know if this is common with this motor being underpowered? what can i do, maybee change gears in the rearend? if so how big of a job is it?thanks for any info.

 

That's strange. I have the 4.7 and it doesn't do that at all with me. I love my 4.7!!!!!
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It may not be the motor... it may be the trans.

I have owned:
2003 Dodge Durango 4.7 SLT (green)
2004 Dodge Durango 4.7 SLT (blue)
2005 Dodge Durango 4.7 SLT (black)
2006 Dodge Durango 4.7 Adventurer (red)

the shop I worked for had a 4.7 Ram... the trans went bad after a few years of towing loads way over the weight limit for the truck.

I have taken all those trucks past 80mph, and it has been the smoothest ride ever... the 4.7 is a strong motor, and I would probably say that the guy you bought it from probably abused it.

 

Naw, you just need less truck! The 4.7 is right about perfect for a reg. cab, I think.

You should check out this month's TOTM winner, BGBLURAM. He's running a nice setup with a quad cab and big wheels and he's got a 4.7. You should ask him what made the most improvements for his truck.

 

I had the same problem. What size tires do you have? What is your gearing? I had 35 in tires and only 3.55 gears. No wonder I was always shifting in and out of overdrive. Now with 4.56 gears I can fly.

 

even my hemi is a handle full when its really really windy on the highways! not that i cant push through anything but i can tell when im hitting a head on wind or soemthing. feels like i have a parachute being dragged behind me sometimes.

 

My hemi has no problem with hills and wind. It's just the gas gauge dropping like a rock that bugs me.

 

i had a 02 quadcab 4x4 with 5.9 v8 360 and with 3.55 gears it would shift all the time until i changed to 3.92 gears that did the trick.

 

...4.56's are the way to go if you want to get this brick to move well...havem in mine and have not regretted it...

 

Yep had the same problem with my 35" tires and 3.55's.. Changed to 4.56's and now hills and wind are no problem. Mileage is actually better too! However, I do not drive 80mph.. Usually 70-72 max.