I recently saw a youtube video of a guy walking through a salvage yard and checking pre-2008 4.7 engines, where he found a bunch had failed/cracked a cast post in the head. From the top side of the head on the front cylinder passenger side, there is a cast post in the head that supports the rocker arm for the valves. He pointed out that post is known to crack/fail such that the rocker arm assembly drops out of position, which then of course fails the valves for that cylinder.
The post 2008 head on that side, cylinder #2, has that post cast into the head with a thick web from top to bottom of the post, so the post cannot crack off and cause the rocker assembly to drop out. Just based on that info I will only buy a remanned 4.7HO that has the updated head casting to support that rocker assembly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6I8Ake2dcEWith that update, and the other updates done to the 2008 and later 4.7, and the updates that Powertrain does to the remanned long blocks they produce, it should make for a much better, reliable long term 4.7HO engine. I keep up on my oil changes and maintenance, so I feel the 4.7HO can be a good engine.
