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1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
#754240 November 18th 2019 6:52 pm
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Hello all! I've recently had a oppertunity to purchase a dodge Xplorer camper van with a 360 v8 and had a few questions pertaining to it. I've always leaned towards chevy vans but this one is in immaculate shape. So first things first it did not pass smog in California last week. The reason was due to excessive smoke but i teat drove it for 45 min. And there was zero smoke at start up or during the drive. Im taking it to Oregon anyway but worth noting. Brakes, power steering, transmission are in good shape with no leaks. Theres a small oil drip from the drain screw but im sure that it just needs a new gasket/tightened. Interior looks brand new and all appliances work great. Zero rust on the chassis. Paint looks brand new, no fading at all. I guess my main concern is it seems to be running on the hot side. I'd probably flush the cooling system and see if that yields a better result, new plugs, wires, oil, hoses/belts. For 3,500 bucks does anyone think i should jump on it? Im expecting routine maintenance but are there any signs i should keep my eye out for with an old dodge like this? Thanks in advance y'all!

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Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754241 November 18th 2019 6:53 pm
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Forgot to mention it has 78,000 miles on it. Many service records as well.

Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754242 November 18th 2019 7:07 pm
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Where was the dial reading in the engine temp gauge? You’ll want to make sure you water pump and thermostat are operating correctly. $3500 is not bad for all that. I have a 79 with a 360 and even with heavy tow usage, it runs strong.


1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Death or victory #754246 November 18th 2019 7:48 pm
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It stayed neutral throughout the ride, never over half way. Drives really well, better than my '93 chevy coachman. Good call! Ill probably end up replacing most of the cooling system before any long drives. Im picking it up Wednesday, pretty excited!

Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754250 November 18th 2019 9:44 pm
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Sounds like everything is working fine to me. My other van with a 318 has stock cooling system and it hovers right around the middle of the dial where it’s supposed to. It climbed up some on long steep hills but never once made me concerned.

My 360 van has an aluminum radiator and never goes over 1/4 up the dial.

I would drive it around town in traffic and see how it does. Make sure the coolant level is correct in the radiator and both the overflow tank. If you don’t go above half way in slow light to light conditions, you’ll be just fine leaving it as is. I just replaced the cap on my radiator for safe measure as that can cause some issues if not sealed well


1987 B250 - Painkiller
Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754261 November 19th 2019 10:31 am
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Although ours is a 250 it has the 5.9 360 engine and the 727A tranny which have all been awesome in our opinion.

A couple of points of note we've discovered... A numbered gauge will go a long way to let you more accurately know what the temp is. We found that the dash gauge had us always wondering. Now we see normal temperature ranges with actual numbers like the 195 that our engine craves.

Also, that 'drip' at the oil plug... we used to think that is where it came from as well but learned it was from a seal higher up just tended to 'hang out' in a drip right at that plug. No big deal to us. We've just been keeping her oil topped off for the last nine years. One day we'll get to those seals but it hasn't been imperative yet.

Good luck with everything we've absolutely loved our girl and have live in her full-time for seven years!


Nicole
1988 Dodge B250 5.9l 360 Ram CamperVan / 727 Tranny / Rochester Quadrajet Carb
www.nikothenomad.blogspot.com
Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
nikothenomad #754277 November 20th 2019 2:18 am
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Thanks for the response! Im picking mine up tomorrow and couldn't be happier. I'll definitely look into a numbered gauge, i couldn't agree more about the dash gauge it never read high on my '93 g30 but I've recently ran into issues due to overheating. Full time for 7 years wow! Congrats to you, it's a fantastic lifestyle. I plan the live out the foreseeable future in my new rig. Im about 2 years full time as of now.

Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754284 November 20th 2019 10:44 am
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Coachman... Excellent! Happy to meet another rubbertramp. By the way, we also eventually added a mechanical oil gauge which showed that our 31 year old oil pump is still kicking quite happily. The dash gauge would drop to 'visually' concerning levels and she was shutting off randomly in ambient hot temps. That gauge allowed us to confirm that it wasn't an oil thinning issue or pressure issue and instead a vapor lock. Prior to that we would watch the dash pressure gauge drop and thought we had a bigger issue. Now we know just keeping our foot on the gas lightly in 100+ temps counters any issues. Always happy for a non-repair repair!


Nicole
1988 Dodge B250 5.9l 360 Ram CamperVan / 727 Tranny / Rochester Quadrajet Carb
www.nikothenomad.blogspot.com
Re: 1979 dodge b300 Xplorer questions
Coachman4295 #754285 November 20th 2019 10:45 am
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p.s., a vacuum gauge will go a long way for little price for ya too. At some point we will have a permanent mount but for now we just hook it up at various times for diagnostics. Simple but very effective tool to avoid random repairs.


Nicole
1988 Dodge B250 5.9l 360 Ram CamperVan / 727 Tranny / Rochester Quadrajet Carb
www.nikothenomad.blogspot.com

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