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Looking at picking up a 78 w200 Forestry truck. Looks to be stock, but not sure what stock would be on this truck? I'm guessing a 318 with automatic. Does anyone know what came in these as far as motor, tranny, transfer case and Rear End Gear ratio's?? Any help would be appreciated.
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318, 727 auto, NP203 t-case, Dana 44 front & 60 rear with 4.09/4.10 ratio
virtually all military/forestry type trucks are this setup.
Bucky -
Bucky, thanks for the info....and I see you have owned more than a few of these trucks?
Does this 727 tranny have the lockup converter style, because I had read that some of these years they had this style of converter. Just trying to figure what kind of mpg's I should expect.
I would love to change this thing to part time 4x4, with a 5 speed manual. I have a good NV4500, which came out of a 96 GM truck. Just wanting to see what my options are realistically. Thanks for any help you can provide.Comment
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NON-lockup and anywere from 8 to 10 MPG to a best of 12 MPGComment
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Unless you own a salvage yard, you'd be money ahead to just get another vehicle that already has part time 4x4 & 5-speed.Originally posted by dbear View Post
And it'd take quite a bit of expense in mods to get this truck into the teens mileage wise. They just werent made for blasting down the interstate at 75mph getting 18mpg, nor towing 14,000# trailers. These were made when national speed limit was 55, for the purpose of off-road & other limited traction situations. I'm not trying to be a dreamkiller, just want you to know what you can expect.
BuckyComment
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I did find out today that Mile Marker makes a conversion kit for these 203 transfer cases, which makes them part-time 4x4. The kit is around 100.00 for kit with new locking hubs! This might be an option for me....not sure if part time 4x4u will change mpg's, but it would less wear and tear probably. Not sure I wanna tackle the 5 speed swap first .....maybe down the road. Thanks for the info fellasComment
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Originally posted by dbear View Post
The hubs in the kit do not fit your axle. The full time Dana 44 that Dodge used in 3/4 of that era has no provision to install hubs. There was a rare hub that was around then but they haven't been made in years. If you really want hubs then you have to change the spindle and outer shaft. The good part is that there are thousands of these in boneyards. I installed a 203 part-time kit in my old '78 years ago and just went with that. I did get some better mileage even though the front end was still turning everything, it is just a rolling drag loss instead of an actual parasitic drag on the engine.Comment
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Greg....that is some good info bud. The kit without the hubs is about $45. Did u use the mile marker kit? How difficult was the install? Thanks again for the info!Comment
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Leave it stock
Not worth the minimal mileage gains. resale value will be higher with an unmolested stock forest service vehicle. I know we never plan on selling our trucks but the day may come when you regret modifying the truck.Comment
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Grease the front hubs
There is a hole in the rotor that allows access to a grease fitting. If it was a forest service truck maintenence should have been above averageComment
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Originally posted by dbear View Post
It was 1984 when I had mine done and I don't remember if it was a Mile Marker or not. I didn't do the install myself, I had a tranny shop do it when I had the 727 rebuilt because of neglect by the previous owner. The mileage gain was not huge but noticeable, I felt like it was worth it. I was in the Marine Corps at the time and did some long drives when transferred. I don't think that the conversion would be considered molestation or have an effect on resale,,the truck is 34 years old and this isn't any kind of irreversable procedure. I don't want to start a fight or argue with anyone here because we are here to help each other. All this info is just my opinion and experience. If it was my truck,,,,IF,,,I would do the conversion and start looking for the spindle and outer stubs at boneyards and do a full conversion. You may get lucky and find the stuff with hubs already installed.Comment
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Greg....what year and model would I be looking for in the boneyards? thanks again!Originally posted by greg rider View PostComment
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Pretty much any Dana 44 with 8 lug till I would guess 1994 when things changed. The best bet would be mid 80's Dodge stuff with a manual locking hub. You may have to take everything from the knuckle out just so you get the spindle, stub, hub, and rotor. The easiest would be any GM of the same era. I say that because I have heard that Ford had a different bolt pattern on the spindle where it bolts to the knuckle. It could be easy to take the whole knuckle including the caliper and it's bracket. You would just have GM brakes on the front,,,,so. On Prirate 4X4 site there is a lot of info on the Dana axles.Comment
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Best would be 80-84 Dodge W200. After that they were CAD axles.Originally posted by dbear View Post
BuckyComment
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I agree 100%! Fulltime 4wd in those years works very well, and a part-time conversion will only cost you, not help mileage (at least, not significantly).Originally posted by 74w300uteline View Post
Those military/forestry trucks are awesome pullers, but not made for gas mileage. You're much better off to find something else if this is a priority. The biggest culprit is the 4.10 gears. I love this series of trucks, but they are as aerodynamic as a brick and simply not made with gas mileage in mind.
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