New to this Forum and also new to owning a Dodge

[Daewoo10356]

Hey guys love this forum it has already helped out with alot of stuff since I don't know much about Dodges. Well anyway been without any kind of truck for over year and was getting old having to borrow the father in law's truck to haul stuff. Well the wife heard one of her co workers say they had a power wagon they might wanna sell cheap so here it is.

It is a 79 half ton with the 360 and an automatic, which i am not crazy about since all the auto's in my gm's have had problems but I have heard the 727 is pretty tough. Has electrical problems and a little rust but starts right up and for the price is way solid ($500) and the wife drove it home. Anyway just gonna throw some wheels and tires at it and try to figure out the electrical issues and enjoy driving a Dodge.

[Andyp]

You came to the right place, there is a wealth of knowlegde here and every one is helpful.
Start by checking the past discussions for electrical and you'll be able to solve alot of easy issues right off the bat.
-get a Chilton or Haynes Manual for your yr \model of truck,this is a must.
--2 boxes on dodges that I must keep new extras in the glove box. I don't have my book handy to give you the right name for them but;
-on fire wall about 3"x 5" maybe called -E.R.G.? Truck will turn over but not fire if this is pooched-and no visual way of knowing it is the prob.
-small ceramic resisitor on driver side fender or wall, 1"x 2".,sometimes you will find a crack in it ,but some times not visual...cheap part, replace it and keep an extra handy.
-Disconnect \clean\reconnect ALL ground wires.
-relays 1"x1" dr side,check and clean all connections-if not right can give the same indications of a dead battery, click\click but no juice. only my '87 did this for some reason..?
That's my 2 cents, fire her up and drive -it-like-you-stole -it -buddy .
have fun & welcome to the site.
later dude
AndyP

[Daewoo10356]

thanks for the help I really don't see many week points in this truck as designed that the end user can't alleviate. And also when I got home from work tonight Christy got it fired up and that was the first time I heard it run, is it just me or does the 360 just sound mean and ready to take anything on. Also my father in law has a snow plow kit he ended up with somehow and we have talked about mounting it on the power wagon but come on in Oklahoma how ofter would it get used.

[Andyp]

send the plow up to me in Alberta and it'll never get dusty-we-gots-snow-dude..lol
I agree Old Mopar are great trucks..-even the rusty ones are trusty ones,I'm currently searching for my 5th,and have too many extra parts\pieces\panels to switch to a lesser brand now.
have fun\enjoy
AndyP

[KRB64]

--2 boxes on dodges that I must keep new extras in the glove box. I don't have my book handy to give you the right name for them but;
-on fire wall about 3"x 5" maybe called -E.R.G.? Truck will turn over but not fire if this is pooched-and no visual way of knowing it is the prob.
-small ceramic resisitor on driver side fender or wall, 1"x 2".,sometimes you will find a crack in it ,but some times not visual...cheap part, replace it and keep an extra handy...AndyP

He be talking about the ECU (looks similar to the voltage regulator) and the ballast resistor. All good stuff from AndyP

Never owned a half ton but if they have the same axle design as the 3/4 you should start off your relationship by greasing those front hubs.

And welcome!

[712edf]

The half ton will have the same front axle (Dana 44) as most fulltime 4x4 3/4 tons & yes will need to be greased.

Bucky

[74w300uteline]

welcome Daewoo

your in the right place. keep in mind that there will be some good natured ribbing going on . interest in the the 70's PW's have been booming lately. Andy P my compliments to you .You have been here a short time but you have already begun to pass the torch of knowledge to newcomers. understandably the long time expert members get tired of repeating the same info over and over. its up to us newer guys to pick up the slack by passing on the tips that we have been given by the veterans. my 2 favorites grease the front bearings, and clean the grounds

[yogibare143]

Hay Daewoo

Where do you live in Oklahoma? I live in Bartlesville. Have friend in Copan who has any parts you might need.

Mark

[Daewoo10356]

I am just east of OKC in a small town called McLoud and about all I know that i need now is a tailgate and to figure out what is up with the electrical system. I haven't had much time to mess around with the truck it just came home Monday and had to work some overtime, 12 hour days don't leave much time to get anything done at home. But starting this weekend i may get a chance to play with it some got some slick stuff to hammer around in,

[712edf]

Expecting ice are you, Daewoo?

Bucky

[Daewoo10356]

ya we got ice some sleet last night now it is snowing may get up to six inches glad i don't go back to work till sunday

[Daewoo10356]

you might say we getting a little snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJuDvJ1kOBU

[Hobcobble]

That's a great truck for the money! Although Dodge used to offer the
half ton W's with a Sno-Fiter package, I always thought that it was
not that great of an idea. Half ton trucks can take a serious beating
depending on which plow you have.

As others have suggested, grease those front hubs right away.
You probably should drop all of the other fluids out and replace
them too..... it gives you a good starting point.
John

[KRB64]

Yep and make sure the transfer gets engine oil not 90W!

[KRB64]

you might say we getting a little snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJuDvJ1kOBU

Cool, sounds just like mine. Like its about ready to quit, I need to rebuild that carb again.

How much white stuff did you guys get? Most of it has gone south of us.