Learn me Chrysler 4.7 V8's...

Found a reference on Wikipedia about them.  I was unfamiliar with them and can't remember having seen any discussions amongst The Hive about them.  

Do they have any redeeming qualities?

They absolutely hate being overheated.  Other than that, they're a decent enough, nothing special engine.  The later years make significantly more power.  But in 02 - 04, some Jeep Grand Cherokees had an HO version.  Made less power than the 08+ version, but significantly more than the standard early 4.7.  And the HO versions have fully forged internals, so a good candidate for boost. 

Junk. They supplied myself with many hours of "enjoyment" in the dealership.

I had a short block in a ram from fully assembled down to 1.5hrs. I think right at 3-4hrs in assembly. Grand Cherokee and Durango's were a bit longer but same bs involved.

Not a bad engine, low on power in my opinion  but do they hold up rather well unless you over heat them. I know of a few that have gone well into the 300k range with regular maintenance.

YMMV

stroker said:

Found a reference on Wikipedia about them.  I was unfamiliar with them and can't remember having seen any discussions amongst The Hive about them.  

 

Do they have any redeeming qualities?

No.

Donebrokeit said:

Not a bad engine, low on power in my opinion  but do they hold up rather well unless you over heat them. I know of a few that have gone well into the 300k range with regular maintenance.

 

YMMV

Never had them drop valves or throw timing chains or corrode out the timing cover behind the water pump (either externally, or into the oil) or develop bottom end knock or?

Or the water pumps that go loose every 20-30k?

Heck, even replacing a crank sensor is a nightmare.   It's about 2" deep in an unpainted iron bore.  Good luck!

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I've always known the valve issues to be overheating related.  Engine gets hot, pressed in valve seats get a hair loose.  Eventually one comes out of place causing carnage. 

In reply to rslifkin :

Yep... And they'll overheat when low on coolant due to a leaking water pump or timing cover.

I've had two. They have ok power, but terrible mileage for the power they make. I guess I've been lucky in that I've had 50k miles pain free from old engines. 

Given the choice, I'd choose something else. There are better options, be it LS or Hemi.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to rslifkin :

Yep... And they'll overheat when low on coolant due to a leaking water pump or timing cover.

Makes sense.  In my mind, water pumps, timing cover leaks and PITA to change crank sensors are just part of Mopar V8 ownership.  It took a long time to get the 360/5.9 in my Jeep to hold coolant for more than a few months without something leaking (even if just a hose clamp).  And that crank sensor is so hard to get to that I once debated just pulling the passenger side cylinder head for better access...

When I asked I was told to run away screaming from them.

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

When I asked I was told to run away screaming from them.

Bad advice as usual.

Back away slowly, maintaining it in your field of vision but NOT making eye contact.  No noises, no sudden motions.

(  )

I have towed with them, and they work alright.  It was enough power to make the trans slip when trying to accelerate uphill, and it was more than enough power to exceed the chassis' ability to handle a load.  In that respect, it wasn't the limiting factor of the whole equation.

I wouldn't seek one out on purpose and I certainly wouldn't swap it into anything, but it works, within certain parameters.

Rather have a 5.2.  Or even a 3.9 V6.

When the timing chains needs replacing, the whole engine goes with it.

There's a reason good ones are hard to find in a junkyard.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Lol, that's good advice!

I more or less just kinda bagged the wives "girl truck" idea and got her an SUV

I always heard any Chrysler engine that ended with a .7 should be avoided. 

The guy that told me that worked at a Jeep dealership. 

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

The 4.7 is basically a V8 sibling to the 3.7 V6, so.... yeah.

It's kind of like, Chrysler made a version of the 4.6 Ford.  It is okay at turning gasoline into motive power but it isn't particularly special in any regard, so it is mainly known for its issues.  It has the side benefit (?) of being one of eleven different engine options in the pickups, so it isn't even all that common, unlike Ford's "4.6 all the things!".

Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) said:

I always heard any Chrysler engine that ended with a .7 should be avoided. 

The guy that told me that worked at a Jeep dealership. 

2.7, 3.7, 4.7, 6.7... 

The hemi isn't anywhere near as bad as the others...

The hemi seems to get its bad rap from the cop cars that idled for long periods. The splash oiled rocker tips don't get splash oiled at idle.

I currently own one. It has 350k miles. I would drive it across the country if I needed to tomorrow. It is slow, but has enough power to pull a suburban on an open flat bed trailer through the hills. It gets bad fuel economy.

With the towing package and some lower gears it would help quite a bit of expect. Also a newer one has quite a bit more power. Mine is an 03.

It has the stock engine and transmission. The trans received it's first fluid service at about 300k miles. The truck has been in my family since it was new and I have handled pretty much all the maintenance since it came out of warranty.

It's had 2 water pumps. 1 radiator. 1 fan clutch. 2 condenser fans, but the rest of the system is OE. The AC has never needed to be charged except when I evacuate it for the fan replacement. It's needed all the ball joints and 1 tie rod. The first wheel bearing died just recently. VC gaskets twice. A couple sets of plugs. 2 Thermostats. Original oil pan and timing cover gaskets not leaking. No sensors have been replaced besides 02s which I did preventatively. Rear end was replaced because it started making noise at like 150k and I ignored it until about 320k miles. Recirc door fell off onto blower. I pulled the blower out and threw the door in the trash. Heater core was restricted so I filled it with CLR and flushed it and now it works fine. Has the OEM headlight bulbs in it. Stock fuel pump.

Dash looks like hell. I can't keep a tail light in it for more than 6 months without burning out, which has been a problem since it was new and multiple dodge dealers couldn't fix it.

This thing was hooked to a trailer for most of it's early life til about 200k miles. Nowadays it occasionally drives me to work and mainly gets used for truck stuff.

It is far and away the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I am currently looking to replace it because dodge support sucks. Alot of pieces are becoming NLA, where you can still get literally anything for my pops old GMT400 suburban. I just want a truck I can keep forever for truck stuff, and always get parts for and a GM fits the bill much better than a dodge.

My pops has a similar vintage 5.7 Hemi truck and has had similar experiences but his has just shy of 500k miles.

I wouldng recommend one, not cause I think they're bad, I actually quite like them, but I would rather have a GM for anything I plan on keeping.