[0rion]

A buddy of mine overheated his truck. It's an 03-04 Ram with the 4.7 in it. Pretty sure he warped the heads on it. Are all 4.7 heads interchangeable? Also, anything special about doing heads on a 4.7? I'm more familiar with GM stuff...especially LS1's. The bolts on the LS1 are torque to yield bolts....are the head bolts on the 4.7's TTY? Any other tips or advice you guys can give me would be appreciated. He took the truck to a local mechanic out there and they told him he needed a whole new engine....not sure why they told him that. He said the truck still ran...just ran badly. I'd like to check it over before having him get some heads for it but he's about 5 hours away.

 

[caulk04]

I don't recall any changes in the heads on 99-07 4.7's. There are the H.O. engines though, they have different heads...better flow. HO cast in the front of them...not very common to find.

Do make sure if he swaps heads, the tone wheel (passenger side cam) matches the original one. If it doesn't swap his on.

As for TTY, I'm pretty sure the factory bolts are TTY. Wouldn't be a bad idea to replace them anyway as far as I'm concerned.

 

[0rion]

thanks for the info..... I sent him an email and asked if he could get a second shop to give him another opinion on it. I'm trying to figure out if he just warped the heads and this first shop was trying to make some extra money on him or if he did something to the block or spun a bearing.
I just noticed you're from PA.....he's out near you. He lives up in Johnstown. My plan is to go out this winter and do the swap for him but the last thing I want to do is have him buy heads and gaskets and get out there and there be something else wrong with it. I guess he overheated it pretty good.

 

[Dj Wolf]

he prob said he need s new motor since swapping the heads is a Royal PITFA on the 4.7L. most places charge about 1k-2k for labor alone so that plus the price of heads = cost of new motor. My only advice is take off the weekend to do the job, you need to strip most of the engine down to do the swap. It will help if you have a few special tools like the chain holder
http://millerspecialtools.spx.com/Detail.aspx?id=497 and the TENSIONER PINS
http://millerspecialtools.spx.com/Detail.aspx?id=565

 

[scjeep4.7HO]

You can also use the HO heads if you happen to run across them. I don't think you can use the newer gen II 4.7 heads since no one is positive if it's a direct swap. I would use new head bolts while you are in there.

 

[dbilik]

You guys think the heads are that hard to get off? Granted I haven't done them in the truck yet, but they weren't that bad when the engine was already out.

 

[caulk04]

It's the timing setup that creates problems from what I can tell.

I've not done a head swap, but I would imagine you could use the same wedge tool used for cam swaps (holds the tensioner/guide from moving and keeps the chain in place) to hold it in place while swapping heads.

 

[Dj Wolf]

It's the timing setup that creates problems from what I can tell.

I've not done a head swap, but I would imagine you could use the same wedge tool used for cam swaps (holds the tensioner/guide from moving and keeps the chain in place) to hold it in place while swapping heads.

the guides need to be unbolted from the head to remove the head so that wont work. Zip ties and and marking sprockets is the best way to keep the timing.




If the engine is out of the truck it will be way easier but then you have to think about all the extra work for getting the engine in and out of the truck.