When you bought it... you didn't look under the hood?

 

I'm glad now that I decided to get the R/T model, knowing I'd get the 5.9! I was after the larger engine as well. The 5.2/5.9 engines are visually distinctive from the 4.7.

 

When you bought it... you didn't look under the hood?

Yea i did but I honestly did not know what to look for. I am fairly a noob at all this engine stuff. It doesnt say anywhere on the engine it a 4.7 or 5.9, the way i figured it out was by looking at the diagram for the Belt set up. They have one for the 4.7 and one for the 3.7, 5.9 and some other one. My setup matches the 4.7 setup.

 

Let me ask a really silly question, how hard would it be to swap the engine out? With say a 5.9 and maybe even a Hemi 528? Also back to my previous question, is there anything I can do to make this engine faster, is it even worth upgrading? I think it would be cool to get a Hemi in there......

PS: After doing some research I would have to do alot of fabricating to get a Hemi in there. I see alot of boards mention a Magnum 408, what is it? If I read correctly it has 450 HP, that sounds like what I want!

 

The 4.7 is a very efficient engine already and you can't add too much without spending a lot of money.

There is only a 10HP difference from a stock 4.7 and a stock 5.9. But the 5.9 is really inefficient so it's easier to gain power with it.

450-500hp? Whew thats alot of power for a Durango.

 

lol, yea I know, I guess thats my road rage side talking when it comes to the power. I have this thing about people knowing thier faster and cutting me off.... So I want to simply be able pull to the other lane and end up half way down the street at the push of the pedal...... Plus I have always been a fast driver. The 4.7 does go a very fast speed, Ive barreled down the high way going 95, but I guess I want to go faster. I have a 944 and it super fun going down the highway at about 110.......

 

The 4.7 can get you to at least 110. But why? Espesially on a highway with other cars. Yes the Durango is stable at those speeds, you just don't have enough time to react to something that you didn't plan on. It really doesn't make sence to me, but to each their own. The Durango is top heavy and could easily tip over if you needed to swerve at that high of a speed. Just be careful if you are going to drive like that.

 

Hijack:

First off, you don't know me nor I you. I say that because I do not want this message to come off as disrespectful.

That being said, what you bought was an SUV. They are made for going off road, towing, hauling stuff and bodies, and when needed going fairly fast in a straight line.

Don't sell the 4.7 motor short. As stated, the HP/TQ difference between the 5.9 and 4.7 are such that you would only really know it if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, or tow alot.

The 4.7 motor has been around since 2000 (in the Durango anyway), and has proven itself to be a very reliable motor if normal maintainence is done.

Seems to me that if your your driving style is really as aggressive as you say, you need a sedan or coupe. I don't know what you are used to driving, but a sports car the Durango is not.

Now, if money is unlimited, you can do what ever your heart desires to the D. But the kind of changes you are talking will run thousands, not hundreds of dollars. And that is even if you do alot of the work yourself. Then again, were this the case consider buying a second vehicle, ie sedan/coupe to do your spirited driving.

Re the motor issue. I would get out the paperwork from when you bought the D, and look to see if it is documented anywhere as to what motor they claim it has. I'm no lawyer, but if you have it in writing that your vehicle has the bigger motor, I bet you could go back and get either some money back, or maybe even a refund.

A chat with a good attorney should let you know if they have committed fraud. Were that the case, I would think they would bend over backwards to keep you from suing
While the older 5.2/5.9 motors are easier to modify for more power, they are 30+ year old technology that still use plug wires, a cap, and rotor.

The 4.7 has no wires, no distributor, and OHC (over head cam) technology.

The kind of power you are seeking is actually in your local DC showroom. It is called the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. 425 factory Hp w/all wheel drive.

Don

 

Hijack:

Almost forgot. 8th character of your VIN should be Z for the 5.9, and N for the 4.7.

Don

 

Hijack:

Almost forgot. 8th character of your VIN should be Z for the 5.9, and N for the 4.7.

Don

Yes it is an N....... So let me ask you this, so if it comes up as a gold 4.7, does that mean the SUV was repainted?

 

Hijack:

First off, you don't know me nor I you. I say that because I do not want this message to come off as disrespectful.

That being said, what you bought was an SUV. They are made for going off road, towing, hauling stuff and bodies, and when needed going fairly fast in a straight line.

Don't sell the 4.7 motor short. As stated, the HP/TQ difference between the 5.9 and 4.7 are such that you would only really know it if you drive with your foot to the floor all the time, or tow alot.

The 4.7 motor has been around since 2000 (in the Durango anyway), and has proven itself to be a very reliable motor if normal maintainence is done.

Seems to me that if your your driving style is really as aggressive as you say, you need a sedan or coupe. I don't know what you are used to driving, but a sports car the Durango is not.

Now, if money is unlimited, you can do what ever your heart desires to the D. But the kind of changes you are talking will run thousands, not hundreds of dollars. And that is even if you do alot of the work yourself. Then again, were this the case consider buying a second vehicle, ie sedan/coupe to do your spirited driving.

Re the motor issue. I would get out the paperwork from when you bought the D, and look to see if it is documented anywhere as to what motor they claim it has. I'm no lawyer, but if you have it in writing that your vehicle has the bigger motor, I bet you could go back and get either some money back, or maybe even a refund.

A chat with a good attorney should let you know if they have committed fraud. Were that the case, I would think they would bend over backwards to keep you from suing
While the older 5.2/5.9 motors are easier to modify for more power, they are 30+ year old technology that still use plug wires, a cap, and rotor.

The 4.7 has no wires, no distributor, and OHC (over head cam) technology.

The kind of power you are seeking is actually in your local DC showroom. It is called the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. 425 factory Hp w/all wheel drive.

Don

No, nothing you said is disrespectful, evryone just likes thier own thing. I find it interesting to have a very fast SUV, its something that has started to gain popularity and I guess Im one of those type that has fallen on that band wagon. I bought the Durango specifically because of its engine, but also because of its muscle type look. No SUV that has come out has sparked my interest in looks at all.....Well Ive decided to keep the engine for now, Id rather finish the body upgrades and my CarPC system first. I mean so far Ive squashed (not literally) lots of people trying to pass me or out do me (I guess its not necessarily the speed but the driving too). Trust me, I will be going over every inch of all my papers from the dealership.

PS: If I do decide to go to a 5.9 is it plug and play 100% or will there be other swapping and modding that needs to be done?

 

Now up in Canada the only way to get the 5.9 in the G1 Durango is to go with the R/T package. It was not an option on any base model.

 

1. Don't do a 5.9 swap; it's not worth it. You'd be taking one step forward and two steps back IMO.

2. Don't be so ashamed of the 4.7 you have, it's a great motor and has a great transmission behind it.

3. If you're looking to do a motor swap, do a 5.7L Hemi. I'm very happy with mine.

 

nothing wrong with the 4.7...ask airram

 

Hijack:

Not sure what you mean by your D coming up as a gold 4.7. Look at the door sticker and see what paint code is listed. That should tell you whether or not it has been repainted.

Available colors for the Durango in 03 were:

-Flame Red R4/PR4
-Graphite Metallic DR/ZDR
-Atlantic Blue Pearl Coat BJ/ZBJ
-Dark Garnet Red Pearl Coat (My favorite somehow) :0) RV/XRV
-Bright White W7/GW7
-Black PAK-W
-Light Almond Pearl KJ/ZKJ
-Timberline Green Pearl Coat GW/AGW
-Bright Silver Metallic S2/WS2
-Patriot Blue Pearl Coat B7/WB7 or BT/WBT

I could see someone mistaking the silver from the Light Almond from afar, or in low light conditions.

Don

 

Well im going to stick with a 4.7, I do not want to comprimise a perfectly good truck. I was wondering if you guys could enlighten me and tell me what upgrades can I do to gain noticable HP..... Is there a turbo charger option for this engine and is it worth it? I see on Ebay cold air intakes that have 2 sides to them and sit in the middle of the engine, does this get any increase in HP?

 

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163358

 

well as far as i read..i would have to ask this first off. When you signed the papers for the truck and such..did u make sure everything was correct on there? I mean...if they said it was something different then what they sold you and its on the paper incorrectly..i would say thats a dealer fault and you SHOULDNT pay for something you dont want in that case. Im sure they would settle for something in a total refund or what MAYBE. I could be totally wrong. But i see something like that as false advertisement sorta thing. But if their info was correct and u misread..sorry

 

yea if the papers say 5.9l on it then you have a case, if not then youre out of luck

 

Yea, i'll check on it, but now I'm kind of over it. Right now I'm focusing on ways to get more speed out of this one...... Some friends tell me to look into superchips.... anyone had expierence with those. I was also looking at a Paxton Turbo Kit, does anyone have input on that? There are so many things on KRCPerformance that caught my eye.... The 2 being the Paxton Turbo kit and the Fully Ported heads.... What does porting your heads do?

PS: Sorry for the noob questions!

 

I'm a performance driver as well. Consider yourself lucky, especially if you have the tow package. The tow package came with better gear ratios, and 4.7's w/the tow package beats all other D's off the line and accel in my experience. Buried many new mustangs from the light and few unmodifieds can out pass once you figure out your RPM's and Shifting. Problem with the 4.7 is the coil over spark plugs. Can't do too much else to them from the ignition end. Plenty of bad a$$ 4.7's on this site. 5.2 and 5.9's are the tow trucks. They have lots of low end torque but sputter out after 2K RPM. (JUST ILLISTRATING A POINT DON"T GET MAD GUYS) If you keep the 4.7 over 2800 RPM through all gears it is a race car, if you go below that it is like trying to drive through molasses.

 

Hijack: I have the 4.7 in my 01, with the 3.92 gears, and it gets off the line pretty dam good, much quicker than my buddy's with the 5.9 and 3.55 gears. I added a cold air open element filter kit and a flowmaster 40 series muffler, and I notice a tad more accelleration. Then I added the 33" tires, but it still gets off the line pretty good.
my opinion:
air filter kit
flowmaster or another other higher flowing muffler
superships or hypertech

and you should be pretty happy with the 4.7

 

Thanx for the advice..... Ill do that.... Nice truck by the way, although Im not a fan of big tires, I guess thats the Euro Racer in me. What about this one that I saw on ebay? Dual Filter Intake Also is there a diffrence between the 98-02 4.7s and the 03 4.7? If you look at the description, it only goes from 97-02. I notice on alot of stuff they have the years seperate. Also with this type of setup, is this were hood scoops come in handy?

PS: I found this muffler on Ebay... Dual Exhaust Muffler, I notice that it says I have to relocate the spare tire...... Is there a work around so I do not have to relocate it? Maybe a smaller tire?

 

Two choices I would not make.

- The intake is in the worst place possible. Part of the theory in getting an intake is to get ambient air from outside the engine area. Cooler air can make more HP. That intale is up high in the engine compartment and will get nothing but the hottest air. Look at the AFE intake I believe it is. It places via a long tube, the filter all the way up front. Yes an open hood will help with one of those while the truck is moving but i still wouls not get it.

- There is no need to relocate the spare. Many people have had local shops bend the exhaust around the stock spare and hitch. Some shops will state right off the bat that it can't be done. Just do a search. There are plenty of pictures.

 

Check out my cardomain for a few pics. Exhaust can go around the spare, the Superchips is a great mod for the 4.7, really can feel the difference with it. I'd definitely get some cams, my KRC 206 cams and HO intake manifold were a great improvement. The AFE intake in my opinion is the best one out there for the 4.7. With just the bolt ons I have run a best at the track 15.97, nothing amazing but not bad for a 5k lb truck. I plan on getting back to the track in November to see how the cams and intake helps out.