Low down on Jeep 4.7's

1-tonmudder

Doin my part to stir the pot.
Joined
Apr 17, 2005
Location
Greeneville TN
Lookin for a GC for my son and have found several w the 4.7 and most say the engine is bad,and used replacements w 150K are $1200 or more.So whats the low down,are they good engines or trouble waitin to happen??? Ive found a nice 04 for $1500 but it needs a motor.
 
Not a Jeep specific 4.7 but my 05 Dodge had one. Bought it at 89k and traded it at 150k with not a single issue i recall. The WJs with the 4.7HO is a little hotrod!
 
Oil changes are imperative on them. The most common issue is valve guide/seat issues. A symptom will be a rocker arm that has come off the cam. This happens when the valve has started to stick and spring pressure can't hold the rocker up against the cam.
There are newly designed heads that alleviate this design flaw.
 
I would hold out for one with a 4.0. That's what I did. It certainly won't be a hot rod, but it's a solid reliable motor.
 
don't touch a 4.7 with a 10 foot pole i had a 2000 grand cherokee with 4.7 i kept it less then 2 months they have no get up and go power and they are junk motors 4.0 L has more power then 4.7v8
 
I have never heard anything good from owners of 4.7s. The HOs are quick but not worth the issues say most.
 
Friend I hunt with has a 4.7 in his GC. Pretty much needs an engine in his right now. 165k. His wife's 4.0 WJ and his 4.0 XJ trail rig both have lived hard lives and are still going strong.
 
I blew one up @130k miles..@tw89yj had to come rescue me. Low milage replacemant engine had piston slap the first really cold morning I fired it up.
 
My mom had an 04 Grand cherokee with the 4.7 (non-HO) and it was a hoot to drive and very reliable for her. She put 147k miles on it with zero motor issues. In fact, the only things ever done to that jeep was a set of carrier bearings in the rearend, oil changes, a few sets of tires, 1 set of shocks, and a new battery.

For those who say they don't make power, have you actually put your foot all the way to the floor? With the full time 4wd, it would snap your neck off the line, and while it wasn't "sports car" fast, it made plenty of power to haul a WJ quite quickly to 60mph, and no problem doing well over 100. Hers made so much power that it drove into the back of a truck about a month ago and got totaled :(.
 
Here I was thinking that this was a thread about building a 4.0 stroker :rolleyes: (Which you should totally do, btw!)
 
I would never have anything but a 4.0...but that's just me.:)
 
not only is the engine junk, but so is the tranny. cant handle the power. 42re i believe.

and with the v8 cherokee's you have issues with the dual climate control going south.

The power of th 4.7 is great, but when i bought my GC i stuck with the 4.0

one point to make, its not the same 4.0 as in the XJs. 99+ saw a re do of the 4.0 in Tjs and WJs. nothing drastic, but i think the accessory routing was different and the motor mounts changed.
 
Back
Top