4.7 engine swap?

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SonofaHatchet

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Has anyone tried swapping in a newer 4.7? I was driving home today thinking about it, I think it would be pretty cool. So let the commets flow8-) Thanks
 
I would think it would be the same amount of work as putting in a 5.7 or 6.1. Check on aftermarket parts such as headers, pan etc. as these be not be as readily available for a conversion. Isn't a 4.7 only about 200hp?
 
Depends on the year it was built, the newer ones have 305 supposly but yea the earlier ones made would have 235. I think they would be nice for alittle umpf and good gas milage
 
I wouldn't touch a 4.7. I have seen more issues (early versions 2000-2003) with more rod/ crank issues than you can shake a stick at. That being said, trying to find a used one is fairly expensive too.
 
4fortyDemon said:
I wouldn't touch a 4.7. I have seen more issues (early versions 2000-2003) with more rod/ crank issues than you can shake a stick at. That being said, trying to find a used one is fairly expensive too.
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This!!
The demand is really high because they are troublesome which means they are quite expensive. Get a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum, or better yet a 5.7 Hemi.
 
have a 4.7 in my 2000 jeep grand cherokee limited....love it,runs great at 106,000 miles on the clock.

much smoother acelleration than that of a 360 I have got as good at 26 MPG on the highway and 21 city....on average is more like 16 city and 21 highway.

but like others have said.....finding aftermarket swap parts would be few and far between and you would have better luck swapping a new hemi or a magnum 360 or something that parts are more available for.
 
DusterDude72 said:
have a 4.7 in my 2000 jeep grand cherokee limited....love it,runs great at 106,000 miles on the clock.

much smoother acelleration than that of a 360 I have got as good at 26 MPG on the highway and 21 city....on average is more like 16 city and 21 highway.

but like others have said.....finding aftermarket swap parts would be few and far between and you would have better luck swapping a new hemi or a magnum 360 or something that parts are more available for.
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I agree, I know alot of people don't like the 4.7, I have over 200,000 on my 01 quad cab dakota, I get 21-23 mpg on highway,and has lot's of torque. The only downfall to these motors is, maintenance, you have to change your oil every 3000 miles no exception's! I also run mobile 1 truck/suv oil in mine. My buddy builds motors for a living, and say's when they blow, there usually junk, but the one's that have problems are normally due to oil related problems, not changing it regularly, and not using quality oil.
 
Ive heard if you change the PCV valve....I think thats it, its on the crank case, You change it every 60,000 miles it helps relave the oil sludging problems. But I dont know. I love mine in my 02 1500
 
They are prone to sludge because the factory runs the cylinder head temp higher for emissions. You see when they design an engine they need to make it for at least 10 years to recoup the cost of development. So they run the cylinder head temp up so it will be able to meet emissions at least 10 years down the road.

Having said that if you change the oil religously at 3K miles and/or use synthetic oil you'll be fine but otherwise there isn't much incentive to swap this engine into anything it didn't already come in. No aftermarket support, small cubic inches, you'll have to convert to the fuel injection, it's just a mess and not worth the hassle. Swap a Hemi in though and that is well worth it. Plenty of aftermarket support, you can run a carb or injection and there are plenty of aftermarket electronics available for retrofit.
 
Guitar Jones said:
They are prone to sludge because the factory runs the cylinder head temp higher for emissions. You see when they design an engine they need to make it for at least 10 years to recoup the cost of development. So they run the cylinder head temp up so it will be able to meet emissions at least 10 years down the road.

Having said that if you change the oil religously at 3K miles and/or use synthetic oil you'll be fine but otherwise there isn't much incentive to swap this engine into anything it didn't already come in. No aftermarket support, small cubic inches, you'll have to convert to the fuel injection, it's just a mess and not worth the hassle. Swap a Hemi in though and that is well worth it. Plenty of aftermarket support, you can run a carb or injection and there are plenty of aftermarket electronics available for retrofit.
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AMEN- What he said!
problem being is -you don't know how the last owner treated the engine. Maybe he did religiously change the oil or maybe not. Roll the dice but it's expensive. I hope we didn't squash your hopes- just trying to give you good solid advice! Good luck on what you decide:)
 
I personally thing it's a great idea. I have the 4.7 in my 05 dakota and absolutely love this motor. Great power, decent economy, and a very smooth running engine. I took it out to the track with a buddy of mine in his 98 ram sst with the 5.9 magnum. My truck, quad cab 2wd, his regular cab short box 2wd. I repeatedly whooped him on every single pass. My truck would consistantly run 16.0, his 16.7. That says alot for a much smaller displacement motor. I think these 4.7 engines get a bad rap due to those that do not maintain them as they should be. As long as you change the oil at 3k like your supposed to, you are good to go. Now the aftermarket support is slim to none, dont even think about trying to find a swap "kit". Not gonna happen. Anything is possible with a welder and plasma cutter tho. I would love to do this swap into an a body.
 
Wouldn't changing the thermostat to a 180 help with the baking of oil in the heads? Or would that throw "out of whack" all the temp controlled electronics..
 
we just sold a 4.7 truck with 265k miles on it but as far as teh swap 5.7 is more available and for mileage think transmission not engine a good overdrive trans will do the mileage work much better
 
Rice Nuker said:
Wouldn't changing the thermostat to a 180 help with the baking of oil in the heads? Or would that throw "out of whack" all the temp controlled electronics..
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If you put a colder stat in the computer will tend to run it richer, it thinks it's cold so although performance may be up just a tad fuel mileage will be down. Cylinder head temp is not just dependent on coolant temp. Think combustion chamber temperature. So not much help there.
 
Guitar Jones said:
If you put a colder stat in the computer will tend to run it richer, it thinks it's cold so although performance may be up just a tad fuel mileage will be down. Cylinder head temp is not just dependent on coolant temp. Think combustion chamber temperature. So not much help there.
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Roger that. :)
 
The only downside of the 4.7, besides the fact that it's not a hemi ;) is that there is very little aftermarket support for it. As far as I know there is absolutely no support engine swaps either, although a quick google search turned up a number of 4.7 swaps into Jeeps. You'd have to figure out the mounts, pan, and electronics all on your own. Not impossible, not even all that difficult but certainly not what would be considered a "bolt-in."

If you do decide to do it you'd be one of the few and largely on your own. Which could be a good thing. It would be something that would turn a few heads, and with the new motors turning out 305 Net HP, it would be pretty quick.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
don't want to steel the tread, but how hard would be to change the 4.7 in a 2002 Ram to a hemi 5.7. has anybody done this? i heard the water pump also are know to schread blades over 60000
 
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