78 Dodge Power Wagon

-
RTom

RTom

Depressingly A-Bodyless..
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
Messages
872
Reaction score
1
Location
Nampa, Idaho
So, I just picked up the 78 Dodge Power Wagon from jeff (Jeffthemarine). I'm looking for some places to get some good info ( whether it is on here, or another good old dodge truck forum).

I'm needing to at least replace the front wheel bearings now but, eventually, I'm wanting to switch it all over to part time 4WD (its currently full time).

Do you guys have any suggestions as to good places to look for info on this?

Thanks!
 
mile-marker makes a part-time kit that converts that old NP203. they have a shaft kit for the transfer case,and the hub extensions for the front axle with lockouts. but it is quite expensive.......
 
I get most of my truck info from dodgetalk dot com. thats how/where I found FABO.
I would say fix yor bearing problem first or it will get worse. Or better replace with a better unit. I have 3/4 ton axles under my 75 PW. Dana-44hd front an Dana-70 rear.
There are a few ways to make it a part time. Things you will need are lock-out hubs and transfer case with part-time. Lock-outs are kinda inexpensive (less than $100). get a NP-205 X-case from a salvag yard. Then your drive shaft may need to be shortened by about 2-3". If i remember correct NP 203 are belt drive unit whereas NP-205 is chain drive. If you don't plan on heavy wheeling the 203 should be good but will need the kit to make it part time drive. probley cost more then a junk yard find 205.
 
I have one too but decided to just run it the way it is. unless you find a cheap donor truck with all the parts, it was just too expensive to justify the minimal gas savings you'll get.
 
BTW congrats, I was drooling over that truck... love the color combo, glad it went to a good home and FABO member!
 
Replacing the wheel bearings is a bad idea. Usually the "hub" that the bearings ride on is destroyed also. 75-80 W series trucks use a 1 piece hub and rotor and it's expensive.
The best fix is to convert it to part time hubs now.
Is the truck 3/4 ton (8 lug)? If it is get the outer axles, spindles, hubs, rotors, etc., off a 3/4 ton Chevy (solid axle). Either Dana 44 or Corporate 10 bolt will work, the parts are the same, even auto locking hubs will work. You can keep your 203, you'll just need to drive in the HI LOC position until you convert the case to part time.

If it's a 1/2 ton truck, you can use the Mile Marker hub conversion, but it's expensive and not very strong. Because of the 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern the drive hub is very small, the ones used are OE on a Bronco II or Ranger.
The best way to deal with a 5 lug is to convert to the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern used on later trucks. You can get the parts off and 81 or newer 1/2 ton Dodge. Again outer axles, spindles, rotors etc. In the rear get the axle shafts and drums from the later truck. but check the rear axle types first. Most 78 1/2 tons use the 8 1/4 style axle and most later trucks use 9 1/4, you may have to get the whole rear end from the later truck. You might be better off grabbing the complete axle assemblies front and rear and swapping them in.

The 203 is a chain driven case and the 205 is gear drive. The 203 can be converted to part time with Mile Marker part #501, it comes w/o hubs and retails for about $50, check with 4Wheel Parts. 203's are perfectly adequate and strong if the chain and sprockets are not worn out.
The 205 comes in 2 versions, the early 1 (up to 74) is divorce mounted, it uses a short driveshaft between it and the transfer case and won't work with your trans. Later (post 81) 205's bolt directly to the trans, but are only used in 3/4 ton and up Dodges.
81 and later 1/2 tons have the 208 case, which is also chain driven and physically much smaller than the 203 or 205. The 208 is not a bad case either and was used until it was replaced by the 231/241 cases in the Ram generation trucks.

Sorry for being so long-winded and I hope this helps some.
 
Thanks Rocky! I"ve been looking for an older 'beater' truck locally for a while now and couldn't find any good old dodges on craigslist and lucked out that I logged on and saw his add!

Jaws, I really like the paint scheme on your truck! I'd like to do something similar to that with this one.

lrazor, that is a lot of good info! I think right now my best bet will be to look around for an 81+ half ton to rob parts off of for this truck ( I'm assuming a ramcharger would work as well?).

I would ultimately like to drop in a magnum 360 or hemi into it, put a 2 to 3 inch lift on it, and ad a/c ( it gets hot here in the summers ).

I will try to post some more indepth pics up here soon!

Thanks for all your input guys!!!
 
I cheated. I stuck the body of my '78 on a mixed year frame with '87 3/4 ton twin 60s. So I have the look, with a cushy cab, and hubs with twin 60s.
 
if you put it in part time to me its no longer a power wagon, just a power ram and the full time has basically factory locker style axles and will out do any other 4x4. but th tcase and axles have to go to pull it off, youll need another truck from the 80s, or a 74 thru 76 i believe had the lockout axles. youll nedd the tcase and axles just swap all that out and there ya go. why ppl do this idk. i have a 318 in my macho and i get 15 16 mpgs.
 
Ramcharger and 1/2 ton axles and transfer cases are the same in any given year.

As to why someone would swap out the full time stuff, the answer is the front hub/ wheel bearing design. This was the weak spot in these trucks from day one. When the system was first introduced, the bearings were "sealed for life" with no method to add grease. In 76 a zirk fitting was added, but it had to be reached by removing the front wheel and lining up a hole in the hub with the hidded fitting. There was a tech bulletin to add the fitting to older trucks. Unfortunately very few people ever lubed the bearings.
I started working in a Dodge dealer parts department in 77 and the bearing kit and hub/rotor part numbers were among the 1st that I memorized. The fact that these parts sold for nearly $500 in 1977 made them pretty memorable, not to mention the customer's reaction when he heard the quote.
As I said before, there's nothing wrong with the 203 case, the 1 in my 75 W200 has over 250K on it.

BTW Macho, all Power Wagons produced before 1975 were part time and Power Wagon, just like Power Ram is just a model name. The only locking function in the full-time trucks is in the T-case and locks the front and rear driveshafts together for off pavement use.
These trucks don't have locking axles, some were ordered with limited slip in the rear only, but the front is always open. No limited slip or locker was ever offered by the factory for the front axle. Installing an aftermarket locker in the front makes steering difficult or impossible on pavement, even a limited slip causes steering and tracking issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top