The following was posted on the "alt.autos.dodge.trucks" newsgroup by
regular contributer Mike Simmons. Mike is a Chrysler technician and
generally posts some pretty good stuff.
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I have just determined through "live" consumer testing that the 4.7L engine
will last "exactly" 15,089 miles on its "factory fill" of oil and its
"original" oil filter.
Yup, today in clattered a '00 WJ with 15,089 miles on the clock. Made a
hell of a racket in the service drive. The owner said he was "just riding
along" and the oil pressure dropped to zero and the engine started sounding
like a diesel (no offense Cummins guys!).
Got it in the shop and pulled the 'stick.... no oil...... hmmmmm? Had Scott
pull the drain plug..... no oil....... hmmmmm? As we were pondering what to
do next I noticed the original oil filter still installed...... hmmmmm? I
had Scott pull the pan "just for fun" and in the bottom was the nastiest,
stickiest sludge you have ever seen...... hmmmmm?
I called the owner and told him what we found. He said that it couldn't be
out of oil because he takes it to "SkippyLube" all the time. I told him
that the vehicle still had the original oil filter and that if he truly had
been taking it to SkippyLube he should visit them for an explanation of why
the original filter was there.
Then he asked the inevitable question.... the one I KNEW he would ask sooner
or later.
IS IT UNDER WARRANTY?
Damn, I hate to wish misfortune on anyone, BUT, if you are too stupid or too
cheap to get regular oil changes well then I guess you get what you deserve.
He took it like a man..... which is better than alot of folks do. We have a
new engine coming tomorrow for his Jeep and I'll bet he will now "have
religion" when it comes to regular oil changes.
BTW, I see this happen about once a year, but this is the FIRST 4.7L engine
failure for any reason I have seen since they were introduced back in MY
'99.
Mike
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