Nephew's Pickup Truck: What to do, opinions appreciated...

[7milesout]

Hey folks,

Off-topic discussion here. I'm just looking for opinions, and blurbs of insight that I may have not considered for myself.

I have a good nephew who's about 18 years old I guess. His mother is my wife's sister. His mother has always been a mooching bum. However, over the last few years (of like 30 years bumming), she's worked as something like a teacher's aid. Just enough to rent some place, but that's all. She's been in a "state" of divorce for 10 years, ran the husband off (the king of the mooching bums) like 10 years ago, and he's paid very very little child support for his 5 kids. I tell you this just to give you some background on this son.

These kids are surprisingly good kids. Non-bumular (so far). This nephew, let's call him Brad, is working 2 jobs, going to school, and has a girlfriend that lives somewhere sort of far away, (130 miles). Brad lives in south GA, very rural. To the point...

His mudda somehow (I think the father managed to help a bit) bought her son a 2002 or 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. Yeah yeah, I know. Not such a quality vehicle, but they could afford it and Brad was happy to have a truck. And Brad really got to liking his truck. About a month ago, it stopped running. Towed it to a repair shop and it has been sitting. I called the shop and they were nice enough. They said it's just a blown head gasket (which is not what I was expecting from Brad's description of how it stopped running). The mechanics say that it's too expensive to repair.

Now some mechanics, I have respect for (a lot I do not). Let's say you get a vehicle worth $2,000 on a good day, and it requires a $1,500 repair. A good mechanic is probably either going to NOT work on it, or strongly recommend NOT to work on it. Because their risk to get stiffed on such a repair gets rather high. And that's where this mechanic shop is.

So Brad's truck has just been sitting in limbo while the rest of the bum family try to figure what to do. All this is going on about 220 miles away from me.

I've done 2 or 3 head gaskets, but of FAR SIMPLER engines. I've done other work, even as deep as requiring the removal of cams. This would be the deepest I will have dug, simply because of the architecture of a V8. His engine is a 4.7L V8. And yes, they're known to blow a head gasket.

I've got 2 weeks off during Christmas. I'm considering going down there and hauling his truck to my Mother-in-law's house, she's got a nice big garage in which to work on this truck. And just going to town digging into the truck and replacing the head gasket. Brad can help me when he has time (and he would help me too, he's a really good kid). Brad just doesn't have a male role model in his life, and nobody he knows has 2 nickels to rub together to help him.

The problem is, as I see it, I think this would take 2 whole days (for me), and that's based on everything going PERFECTLY, and having all the service parts I need ready to go. But the bigger problem is, crap like this NEVER goes perfectly (for me) and I'm concerned we will start digging into this engine and find more crap wrong with it, than expected (like a dropped valve / valve seat) and those items would have to be addressed and the cost would go way up. I saw exactly that, on a 4.7L Dodge engine, and the guy just replaced the entire head with some kind of new / rebuilt aftermarket head with all the valvetrain ready to go.

And the kicker is, I could put all this work into his truck (and admittedly I could screw it up, but I'm meticulous), and it could go 3 months and throw a rod or similar.

So, I don't know ... what's your opinions? Even if I were to do it, and it were an inexpensive massive success, there's no dancing girls in it for me. No atta boy. No pat on the back. When it's done, I get to tuck my tail between my legs drive home and pay bills. Even with no 40 virgins, I would still feel good about helping this nephew. On the flip-side, I could be opening one massive can of worms by working on this truck. I just don't know. And I don't have room at my house to bring it here and play with it.

[Basic]

When you said 02 or 03 I kept saying please be 02 please be a Magnum and not a 4.7.... but I already knew... ugh.

Man there is no limit to the amount of crap you are getting ready to unwrap with that baby. I would be interested to hear what Brad's description of what happened was, because I would bet its completely coked up with sludge. The 4.7 is actually a really good engine, but it needed a specific synthetic oil that Daimler engineers demanded and somewhere along the line depending on who you get the story from, whether it was Chrysler engineering or the Dealers themselves either changed or ignored. A properly maintenanced 4.7 is a beast. A poorly maintained one (most) is a boat anchor.

Sorry this doesn't help you make a decision, but it's cool that you are trying to be a good uncle. That kid probably needs it.

[inuvik]

I's steer clear because you really don't know what the issue is at this point. I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.7 that I bought second hand and sludge sludge sludge in the engine. I dropped the pan and it wasn't pretty. Cleaned what I could, changed the oil and filter a couple of times during the first month and then sold it. It was a engine bomb waiting to happen.

[Eggman]

There’s lots of ways to approach this but letting the shop handle it would be my first choice. Ask for a hardship discount to get your best price from the mechanic who has been storing it, in the hope that you can work a deal and help with any contingencies that might arise. Knowing those engines can be problematic the mechanic might give you the answer you need, not necessarily the answer you want. Check into splitting the expense with your nephew so he’s got some skin in this too? Just some thoughts.

You’re a good guy trying to help a good kid. Good on you for trying to do a good deed and play a positive role. Good luck however it turns out.

[Top_Fuel]

I would look at every forum thread (and YouTube video) I could find about doing this job before I dove into it.

A quick search turned up this guy's detailed post. These directions seem to be a good idea of what you're getting into...

https://www.ramforumz.com/threads/he...nt-4-7l.63320/

I'm not sure how to do it in this case...but you need to consider the likelihood of this engine having other problems even if you fix the head gasket. Is it going to run OK for a couple of years, or is something else likely to be a problem a month after you get it back together? Basic and inuvik aren't exactly painting a positive picture about the 4.7. Maybe once the heads and timing cover are off, you (or a shop) might have a better idea of the overall internal condition of this engine before making a decision to just bail out. If it's not all sludged up, then it may be worth fixing.

These decisions are a whole lot more difficult without a decent supply of (affordable) used vehicles out there. You can't tell him to buy another cheap used car because there aren't any these days.

[Mark]

Hey folks,


So, I don't know ... what's your opinions? Even if I were to do it, and it were an inexpensive massive success, there's no dancing girls in it for me. No atta boy. No pat on the back. When it's done, I get to tuck my tail between my legs drive home and pay bills. Even with no 40 virgins, I would still feel good about helping this nephew. On the flip-side, I could be opening one massive can of worms by working on this truck. I just don't know. And I don't have room at my house to bring it here and play with it.

Sell your 2020 Mirage for the $25,000 you're asking for it. Take that money & buy two older used ones. Give one to your nephew, & toss the truck. Easy!

You have a good heart! That truck may give you a good headache! In theory, helping him fix it up sounds good! Tough call!

[7milesout]

You guys are all correct. Firing at the target and hitting all around the center. I called the mechanic's shop again. A better mid-size garage, I don't think a person can find. It's almost instant that I can tell the owner is straight up 100% honest.

Just like Basic mentioned, the mechanic / owner said the 4.7L is a fantastic engine ... if it is maintained. I asked him, "how much do they owe you? I may pick it up, and I know you can't let it go without getting paid." He said, "oh man, I can't do that to Mindy (the nephew's mother, my mooching / bum sister-in-law). She doesn't owe me anything." He knows instinctly that they don't have 2 nickels to rub together.

I asked him if he knew which bank blew the head gasket. He said, both sides are blown ... this thing got HOT. He said, a lot of times you can do a head gasket and it'll run good for a good long time, but I can tell this thing got WAY HOT, and I wouldn't be surprised if both heads are warped and/or cracked.

I had already checked into ready to go replacement heads. They're about $800 a piece (from memory). I trust everything he said. So I asked him, "so, your opinion is that, don't bother with repair, just replace the engine." He said, "absolutely." I said, "and that's why it's not worth doing anything, a new engine costs more than the truck is worth and repairing it could be one pandora's box after another, and blow up 2 months down the road." He said, "Yup. The only reasonable thing to do, would be to repower it, but it's just not worth it."

So ... I'm going to leave it alone. Then Top Fuel hit the next snag. As I mentioned about the 2 nickels, this crazy used car market is making things very difficult for them to find another car. Brad and I talked a few weeks ago about what car he should get if he could replace his truck. I told him, find a mid 2000's Camry (183W with MY seats in them!). With proper maintenance, there's just no better tool. Until he can get graduated and out on his own making some folding money, he doesn't really need a truck. Unfortunately, his Ram has made him a truck man. He really only wants a truck. But I'm sure he'll take whatever he can get.

About his Ram, I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE, to make a project out of it. Put it in my M-I-L's garage, and find a good Cummins 4BT to repower that sucker with. That would take too long, he would have to have another ride before I'd be done with it. And 4BT's are probably a MINT now in this market. In any event, the 4BT would probably cost more than the truck would ever be worth. But he'd have a helluva good long lasting power plant, and in his truck, he'd probably be able to get 25 mpg with a 4BT (his truck is 2WD). And I'd be super jelly...


7milesout

[Basic]

All mechanical 4BT would be sweeeet