Having a 2002 doge ram base model with the 4.7 L engine and faithfully maintaining this truck since new, i am

very much disappointed in the engine letting me down just days ago. Took the truck to my mechanic because it just suddenly started running on 7 cylinders at start-up soon to find out that my #2 cylinder has no compression. My mechanic said that after removing the valve cove the valve on #2 cal. intake is not moving stuck. He spoke to a machine shop where they redo engine heads and they replied that a common problem with this engine is that the valve seats move and get loose. at this point i and debating to renew the heads and change the timing chain or get a remanufactured engine. low side for repair is 2700.00 high side 3800.00. hate to junk it just replaced radiator,belts, hoses, heater core, evaporator, a/c compressor, upper and lower ball joints,tie rods, muffler and tailpipe all in the past 3 years. Most recently 3 weeks ago brand new set of tires and front brakes. If there ever is a class action lawsuit I would be happy to participate being the original owner and only driver of this truck I would have expected it to last a little longer.

At 92,000 miles I was driving home from work and all of a sudden my check gauges light came on along with the dinging. As I was pulling off to the shoulder of the freeway it completely died. Had no warning that anything was going with the motor at all. No overheating, no ticking noises, nothing at all.

After pulling over I opened the hood and noticed that the upper radiator hose blew a hole but did not know because no water or steam came out from under the hood until I came to a stop. Thought it just overheated so I figured I would replace the hose and fill the radiator and be ok. Would not start so had to have it towed.

Asked around to see if anyone might know what had happened and everyone (only talked to people with mechanical experience) either didn't know or they said blown head gasket. So I replaced the head gaskets. It started but was running very rough and blowing smoke. Pulled the oil pan off and saw that one of the rods was twisted and broken. Replaced with a remanufactured motor and at about 184,000 miles it jumped out of time and bent 4 valves.

I'm now at 205,000 miles and threw a rod again. I love my truck but am tired of working on it. I'm done with Dodge because of the arrogance their employees expressed when I went to the dealer about my experiences with this truck. They wouldn't give me the time of day to even try to help me understand and topped it off with a sh*t eating grin. I wanted to f*ck someone up bad and would have if I thought I could do it without landing in jail. I will never ever buy anything from Chrysler again and there are lots of family, friends and co workers that have seen me through all this that have also sworn off anything that has anything to do with Chrysler.

My boyfriend has had his Dodge Ram for three years and its almost paid off. Coming home from Virginia it kept overheating. Pulled off at an exit and checked the water and oil, couldnt find anything wrong. We would let the truck cool down and start back on the road, about 20 minutes later it would overheat again. Truck got to knocking and running rough. It took us forever to get back to N.C. Put truck in the shop and was told the #2 coil was bad, we replaced the coil and the shop called back to say that coil #4 was bad, we had them replace that coil also, this kept on until just about all the coils were replaced. The next day we received a call that the truck motor was blown. We have gone through the same problems just like everybody else, I think it's time Dodge owns up to their mistakes and fix the problems. Just like you all we are out 1000.00 and our truck is just a lawn ornment.

WE DROVE THIS TRUCK OFF THE LOT BRAND NEW. WE HAVE REPLACED THE MOTOR ONCE AND ARE LOOKING AT THE REPLACEMENT AGAIN THIS WEEK. DUE TO THE FACT IF IT STARTS HAS A LOUD KNOCKING NOISE. ALONG WITH WHITE SMOKE. THE RADIO SPEAKERS DO NOTHING BUT MAKE A VIBRATION NOISE. THE DASH GAUGES AND THE DOOR SWITCHES HAVE BOTH BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND NEEDING AGAIN. THE REAR VIEW MIRROR COMES OFF. THE HANDLE USED TO HELP YOU IN AND OUT OF THE TRUCK HAS COME LOOSE FROM THE TRUCK. THE AIR CONDITIONER ONLY WORKS WHEN YOU HAVE DRIVEN 6 MILES OR SO . BLOWS OUT HOT AIR WHEN AT THE STOP LIGHT. EACH TIME YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE CHECK GAUGES AND DINGING SOUND COMES ONE. TODAY MY HUSBAND WAS UNDER THE HOOD AND IT CAME DOWN ON HIS HAND. WE UP TILL THIS POINT HAVE BEEN TRUE DODGE FAMILY, WITH STILL OWNING A 1975 POWE WAGON AND A 1994 DODGE SPIRIT. HAVE OWNED A DODGE COLT AND ARIES. THIS TRUCK HAS 118.000 ON IT NOW. WE ARE BOTH IN OUR 50. IT IS HAS BEEN OFF ROAD 9 TIMES IN IT'S LIFE. VERY SORRY THIS HAPPENED. NOW WE ARE WITHOUT A TRUCK TO DRIVE ..

I was driving down highway 281 and the truck fell on it's face and died. I had the truck towed to my local dealer thinking the engine had just drop a rocker arm. The tech pulled the valve cover and didn't see anything. He then pulled the oil pan and found where the paint inside the paint had delaminate and was sucked into the pickup tube. There it plugged the screen. There was just enough oil to open the oil pressure switch but it starved the engine of oil. I have records showing all of my oil changes and all the work that I've done to the truck. I have always used M1 and never put any additives in the engine. Of course, Dodge says I did something to cause this problem. I can't believe anyone would think putting any kind of coating inside the oil pan is a good idea. So I am having to pay about $8000-dollars for a new engine because of someone's dumb idea. I cannot post just how upset I am about this problem.

I bought the 1500 new in 2002. changed the oil and maintained it according to the manual. Oil was always changed according to 3K - 3.5K schedule. In 2004 I was working a lot on the road in a company vehicle, so my truck sat in the garage from July until September when my wife was taken to Charleston, WV for emergency cardiac surgery. She passed away in February of 2005. I only tell you this to explain why I didn't have the time to go further with Chrysler. I needed to get to Charleston and my car was in the shop, so I took my personal truck. When I pulled it out of the garage I heard a lifter pecking. i figured it just needed to pump up. When I got to Charleston - 100+ miles away, it really began hammering. I called my dealer in Weston, WV who told me to take it to the local Chrysler dealer in South Charleston. The service manager's first question was, "Did you buy this here?" I told him no, I bought it in Weston. he told me I'd have to leave it and come back tomorrow. When I went back the next day, he said the Chrysler Rep. had just happened to be there and said i hadn't changed the oil and they weren't going to honor the warranty. Then he told me that for $5K 'up front' they would replace the engine and i could pay the labor when I picked it up. I started arguing that I wanted my warranty work done and he to me to sue him. I would cost me a lot more in the long run. I called my dealer and was told to bring it there and they would 'take care of it'. I had it towed there and after my wife died, went to see when they were going to fix it and was told they weren't. That the Charleston shop had put the rejection 'on the computer' and they weren't going to buy an engine. I had it towed home, pulled the engine, replaced the crank and 1 push rod (not lifter), and had to take it to a local dealer to get it times (3 timing chains). The guy in Charleston said the failure was due to oil sludge blocking the lift tube. Had I known about this chronic problem then, I'd have seen a lawyer.

Apparently, it is common knowledge now that Dodge manufactured a faulty engine in the '02 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7 L engine. It started in FEB '10 with Cylinder 4 misfire code. Went to the dealership and was told it was sparkplugs (had them replaced). Went 30 days and Cylinder 4 misfire code again. Went back to same dealership and told it was either bad Coil Pack or Fuel Injector (Moved coil pack from cylinder 6 to cylinder 4 and vice versa). Went 1 day and guess what? "CYLINDER 4 MISFIRE AGAIN"!!!! That means it wasn't coil pack. So...bought a new fuel injector and swapped it out. Went 2 days this time before cylinder 4 misfire happend again. However, this continuous driving w/ wrong diagnosis(s) by dealership led to the Valves dropping (faulty heads) and spun off Rocker Arm. Temperature Indicator spiked and sucked all my coolant out. Next thing I know was my engine was full of water and was told by same dealership that is was unfixable and that I needed a new engine. Being as generous as they were, they quoted me a new engine for 8K or a remanufactured one for 5K. Found CME engines online and you can get a remanufactured one for $2,300. Towed my "deadlined" Ram back to the house and had a small auto shop take a look at it. They said I did not need a new engine, only new heads. Got remanufactured heads for $585 (just like new). Talked to the Cylinder Heads guy (Saul) and said he sees it all the time in '02 Dodge Rams. The new heads are pressed, so the valves do not drop between 70K & 100K miles (which was a Dodge design flaw). Labor was 1K (1,585.00 total) and the truck is running like a champ ever since. Hope this helped somebody...by the way, has anyone found a class action suit on this yet?

I have a 2002 Dodge Ram 4.7, 4X4, Auto. I have a stalling problem, like many. This occurs mostly when slowing down to stop or turn a corner. It does start easily. Local shops have found no error codes except for a leaning out condition periodically. This is an extremely dangerous situation. I have read many complaints of this condition with no definite answer. I understand that Dodge will not help. The local shops offered to hang parts until the condition goes away. I probably can't afford to do that. Does anyone have a fix? Thank You

Mert409

Wow!!! After all my problems started and I found this site I realized I was F&%(ED!!!!! Dam trucks only got little more than 103k on it all of a sudden a"popping" noise from the motor. Well, this whole thing happened while I was in the dealars parking lot. So, in to get the mechanic and service writer, and of course, it wont do it once they're sanding there. So, I take it home, everything seems ok, and the next day, same "popping" noise with a slight loss of power. I was at work at this point and its snowing outside. Do you know how long it takes to get a wrecker when its snowing? So i slowly limped it to the dealership. Engine light comes on, trucks running like a diesel, shaking, and it sounds like a dune buggy! 1 hr labor later, dealer said no6 cylinder was skipping and the rocker arm had popped off. So, they put it back on, and sent me on my way. Well, then I saw this page or others like it with what seems like 100's of people complaining about the same motor and Chrysler isn't doing a thing??? WHY???? So, 2 days later, same thing, popping noise, back to the dealer, now its the no8 cylinder and rocker arm. The dealer claims they have no experience with this problem and I told them of what I read here and they said it wasn't worth worrying about what you read and basically to let them do their thing. Well, off I go, another 2 hrs of labor. 2 days later same thing, except sounded worse!!! Limped it to the dealer, the whole time the oil pressure was good, just had a loss of power and I know the damn rocker arms are off again. Friggin thing seems like it's running on 50% power. Dealer fixes it again!! I tell them to just get it to hold for a few days so I can trade it in!!!! They tall me I'm all set, No charge, come and get it..... my plan at this point is to drive it straight to one of these places who will give you cash on the spot for your vehicle. Otherwise I know I'm screwed, how do you sell or trade with a vehicle you cant keep running? So I go get it from the dealer, turn the key and the engine makes a loud pop!!! The engine light comes on, and back inside I go to get the service writer. He tells me he's at a loss for what to do besides pull the head and re-work the valves which is costly. How costly, 2,000 in labor and 1,000 in parts. based on what I've read with all you others that have don't this it may not solve the problem!!! WTF!!!!! Are you kidding me??? So, I have 3 options, give the truck away because it basically has no motor, rework the valves and a cost of 3 grand and take a chance that it may not work. OR, get a refurbished motor from Jasper, and find someone to install it. Well Jasper engines come with a 3 yr 100,000 mile warranty all parts and labor. Bad news is the dealer wants 6 grand to do this. THANKS CHRYSLER!!!!!!! YOU'VE OUT DONE YOURSELF ON THE 4.7 MOTOR!!!!!! You want my advice if your vehicle has a 4.7 dodge motor in it? Go get a Chevy!!!!

Here is another one, going to the shore with the family oil pressure drops, engine seizes, cools down starts up 3 miles down the road rapping (sounds like rod bearing) seizes again!! Bought this truck used with 81000 miles, when the state sent the title to me, the previous owners name was on it, called him up and asked about any problems he may have had. He said that when he bought it(he is the second owner) the engine had sludge in it, he had it cleaned out and it ran fine!! I do have a 3rd party warranty on it, 6 months 6000 miles, It started but had it towed to the shop were I bought it, and yes it is rapping!! I only put 2,711 miles on it so they cant cry maintenance, haven't heard nothing from the shop yet, will keep posting as info comes to me!!!

I own a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT > used to deliver parts for dodge as a contract courier when i bought it from dodge it had 1000 miles on it and was a good vehicle until I hit 96000 miles then the radiator started leaking and i paid 279dollars for it and 180 to have it installed.a week later the radiator blew the ends off and I took it to a shop had the water pump changed for 375 dollars and another radiator at $279 that lasted another week and the motor overheated and blew the radiator and the engine so having 156000 miles on it i decided to replace it another $5400 and it did the exact same thing at about 201,000 miles

thats my story and dodge hasent helped me one bit I lost my business and income and still have a truck that doesnt run with cracked heads from overheating problems that they knew about and try to pass it on to the customer as bad maintanance well I think they should help the little man and stand behind ,their product that takes 27000 to buy and five years of your life and still wont run right if i replace everything under the hood two times and had the same thing happen .what ever happened to the customer is always right and buy american?

As it seems you have all had the same issue as I am about to describe, here goes anyway. My Mother-in-Law actually owned the truck when it decided to take a dump on the highway leaving her stranded. The oil had sludged and caused to overheat thus killing the oil pump and rendering it one big lawn ornament.When I received the truck I figured I would try to fix the problem by replacing the oil pump and then flushing the heads and block so far it has seemed to work but I also have to change the oil every 1800 or so miles and also use a much thinner oil to stop the sludge process. This problem for her however didn't occur until around 170,000 miles, so she may have gotten the life out of the truck. I also put in a high capacity oil pump that can do a much better job at building pressure to help slow the possibility of getting sludge, so if you do start to hear any more noises out of your engine try this solution, it has worked for me going on 22,000 miles so far and still running like a champ. I do think however that there should be a group of people get together to show DODGE "the error of their ways" and put their sorry asses in the poor house! I can say, that if I could afford a new vehicle in these trying times that it would be a Chevorlet or GMC, they do not have near the problems or the weiners sitting behind desks cowering because they make CRAP VEHICLES.