Questions and Answers

Dodge Truck Questions Q. Hi Vince, I have a classic 1979 Dodge Magnum, 45,000 miles, 318. My problem is a light on my gearshift has gone out, I suspect a ground, because when I hook a wire direct to a hot wire it lights up good. My question is where can I find the ground, I've looked everywhere, I can't find it, any idea where it's located, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Vince, It's me again, forgot to ask about another problem on a 1985 Dodge Ram D-150 pick-up 318, P/S, P/B. I found oil in the radiator, cleaned it all out, refilled it; a day later it's back. What's going on, any idea what's causing this problem, what kind of repairs am I looking at and approximate cost.

Thanks a lot,
Dave

A. If you run a hot wire to the light and it lights up, that says the problem is in the power side of the bulb, not the ground side. If it lights, the ground has to be good. I would look for a broken wire near the bottom of the shifter. This is where they usually broke due to movement.

As far as the oil in the radiator goes, there's no sense cleaning the oil out of the radiator until you find out why it's getting in there in the first place. If you have a bad head gasket that's allowing oil to get into the cooling system, you can clean the cooling system every day and it will just come right back. You have to cure the problem, not the symptom.

To replace both head gaskets on a 318 would run about $900.00 with parts and labor.

Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA