1976 Dodge 5/4 - Hoping to Buy

[Corkwheats]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here. Glad I found this forum. Traditionally, I suppose I'm sorta a Ford Guy, but love all old, classic trucks. I have a 71 Ford with a warm 390 in it that I love, but it's 2WD. So, I've been looking around for a 4WD to use for a farm work truck, especially during the Winter up here (you ain't hauling a hay wagon with 2WD in the winter here!).

So, check this out: I found a 1976 Dodge "Five Quarter" for sale. It was a Govt. Forest Service Truck, and has 27,000 original miles on it! It runs and drives perfect. It has a 318 - which is an awesome engine, and a 727 Tranny - which are basically bulletproof.

So, expect to see me here quite often if I'm able to get this puppy. I'm really excited about it. With the heavier suspension, and tough engine/drive train this will be perfect for us.

I think the guy who is selling it gets these from auctions somewhere. He had a 1977 5/4 with 21,000 miles on it for sale about 2 years ago. It had an old Fire Dept. emblem on it. That one was sweet, too. I wish I knew where the heck these auctions were! (and wish I has $ to play with!).

Well, glad to have found this forum. I will doing lotsa research here. Have a great day, and wish me luck.

Bob

[712edf]

Welcome,
Here is something you might want to know. While the US government classified your truck as a 5/4 ton, it is essentially a W200 3/4 pick-up.

When going to the parts store, if you tell them its a 5/4 ton, they wont have a clue. Say W200 & itll get you results.

Virtually all had 318/727 & 4.10 geared Dana 60 rear/ Dana 44 front. All had the NP203 fulltime t-case.
I think most had manual steering too.

Greasing the front hubs should be towards the top of your maintenance list. It is done (wheel off) through an access hole in the hub. It's not likely to have ever been done in the past.

Good luck. You will like your Dodge.

Bucky

[712edf]

Gov auctions

www.gsaauctions.gov

Click on vehicles.

Bucky

[W_A_Watson_II]

Bob,

In deed welcome to the site. The mid to late 70's Dodge Trucks are great, I'm partial tot he 77/78 models, but they can be a pure work horse.

[Corkwheats]

Thanks Guys. I knew about the W200 thing. I've been doing quite a bit of research. The guy who helped me with my old Ford (true Ford-a-holic) told me that these engines/transmissions are "bulletproof". I had another really good mechanic friend (GM Freak) say that I may wear out several bodies before the engine/tranny goes. That tells me volumes.

I also had heard about the front wheel bearings - to check them, and keep them lubed. I think somebody said there was a type of upgrade you could do to them, but honestly, if I get this truck it will only be driven probably 2,000 miles a year.

I really hope I'm able to pull this off. If so, I'll post some pictures here. Great Forum. Glad to be here.

Bob

[712edf]

Outside of wiring & rust issues, 70's Dodges are great. Yes that drivetrain is tuff.

Bucky

[Ron in Indiana]

My first PW was a 78 W200 Club Cab with a 360 and 727. I loved full time four wheel drive. If this truck doesn't have PS it's an easy enough bolt in swap to power steering. I did a 75 last year with junk yard parts. Good luck on getting your dream.

[Corkwheats]

Great Info. Thanks.
Well, somebody beat me to the Dodge 5/4 w/27K miles. Drats!
Too bad I wasn't born rich, eh? I hope it does well for whoever got it.
But, I still have the mid-70's Dodge M880/W200 bug, and am still looking around. We'll see what happens.

A question......I had a couple people say that their Dodge Trucks (of these type) that had "full time 4WD" would automatically go into 2Wd at about 30-35 MPH. Then, I had another M880 Fella tell me his was 4X4 always (regardless of MPH), and never went to 2WD. What's the deal with that?

Thanks,
Bob

[W_A_Watson_II]

A question......I had a couple people say that their Dodge Trucks (of these type) that had "full time 4WD" would automatically go into 2Wd at about 30-35 MPH. Then, I had another M880 Fella tell me his was 4X4 always (regardless of MPH), and never went to 2WD. What's the deal with that?

Thanks,
Bob

The "couple of people": were wrong, they were full time 4x4's, no way to put into 2WD with out pulling the front drive shaft and then putting the treansfercase into "lock".

[Ron in Indiana]

Will is correct. You will also run across people who say you can convert a full time to part time for better fuel mileage. IF you can find a conversion kit I highly doubt you'll get a payback on the initial cost. You may gain 1-2 mpg but it's still better as a full time in my opinion. I loved my 78 W200 with full time. Yeah the mileage sucked but it always pulled ALL the time. The best is a limited slip rear end like I had with 4:10's. Hope you find your dream truck it's out there waiting to be found which is half the fun.

[Don Williams]

Another misconception about these trucks is the lock feature on the transfer case. Some people will tell you that this locks the differentials and makes it pull with all four wheels. In reality it locks the transfer case making the front and rear both pull all the time but has nothing to do with the differentials.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Don,

Good point to re-enforce. I loved out '77 Power Wagon, it had a 360, and with it's low gears, 94 MPH was top speed, but drop it into low lock and you could pull a freight train. The only aggravation other than a crappy cooling system, was when in low-lock the truck would twist enough with torque it would kick out of lock, so you would hold your right foot on the shifter and apply the gas with your left foot, thankfully it was an automatic.

[712edf]

Another misconception about these trucks is the lock feature on the transfer case. Some people will tell you that this locks the differentials and makes it pull with all four wheels. In reality it locks the transfer case making the front and rear both pull all the time but has nothing to do with the differentials.

True.... and if both axles had open diffs, then (in Loc) you'd only have 2wd, 1 front & 1 rear.

Bucky

[horace]

Chrysler told us dealers there was less than a mpg w full time vs part time remember 2 wheelers weren't @ their best 75-79 either. The cost & effort to change would never pay off. The full time transfer case was considerably less trouble than the one preceding it. The case begining in 80 wasn't bad but seeing them taken apart was scary plastic & alum. I think people prior to 79 used their trucks much harder as well.

[75Crew]

Full-time 4WD in PW

I have owned several 70's era Dodge Power Wagons - with and without the full-time 4WD transfer case. I can truly say that I couldn't tell much difference in gas mileage and the ones with the full-time setup and limited slip rear differentials (or a locking differential like I have in the one I now own) could be counted on to better get me out of trouble in snow or mud due to the fact that I didn't have to stop and worry about locking in the hubs. I just pulled back the lever into the lock position and powered through the situation. I recently had the transfer case in my '75 W200 crew cab rebuilt by a truck driveline shop and it's ready to go another 38 years. The mechanic who did the work actually said he had 6 of the new chains in inventory and he hadn't had a call for one in several years. He also told me that the NP203 transfer case was one of the heaviest ones ever built for pickups and it would likely last a long time if I kept the right fluid in it - which is 30W motor oil. The rebuild job was less than $500 (labor and materials). If I drove it like I drive my Suburban (50-60K miles per year) I would likely have a different opinion but for the job I call on it to do, which is weekend work and play, (3K-5K miles per year) it is the perfect choice.