starter on 98 dodge ram

[chumly2071]

not sure if they are similar or not, but the starter on the diesels are known for this same problem, and all you generally need to do is replace the contacts on the solenoid. If I remember right, the contact kits can be had off ebay for ~~$20.

 

[Logan]

I have a 98 Ram and had to have a transmission repair and torque convertor replaced at 85,000 mi. last year. Almost all highway miles and never dogged. I attribute the damage to pulling my trailer loaded with a Kubota L3010 w/loader up some steep WNC mountains. I only did that once and it never overheated on the trip. I have pulled the same load here in S. GA a few miles on a few occasions, on flat ground, again with no overheating. The transmission failed while the truck was not loaded. Could have been coincidence I guess. But I think the transmission is a little weak.

 

[Soundguy]

Alot of folks around here have had problems with the 5.9 liter pulling harder than the transmission can handle. Had any problems with yours? Other than that the mid 90's to 2000 dodge trucks were pretty good

So far, (knock on wood ) the trannies been fine. I have no problem spinning tires.. but try not to hot rod her... I let her pull my tractors and trailer around and do farm work.. move hay.. etc.. occasional city driving.. etc.

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

not sure if they are similar or not, but the starter on the diesels are known for this same problem, and all you generally need to do is replace the contacts on the solenoid. If I remember right, the contact kits can be had off ebay for ~~$20.

This is a nippo gear redu starter.. looks like two soda pop cans glued together offset from each other with a bit of a nose cone.

i imagine I could ahve opened her up to dress contacts.. but i had to take the core in anyway.. so i just dropped a new job in her.


I mainly use this truck to pull a 7kw trailer.. pretty much all she does now is move tractors and move round bales of hay.. plus farm supplies.. fencing.. etc.

soundguy

 

[MarkBall2]

Dodge 2nd generation automatic transmissions have a couple weak links in the design.

1. Check valve in the trans cooler line. It often seizes in the closed position & you aren't able to circulate fluid through the cooler in the radiator.

2. Trans cooler in the radiator. Not big enough to cool the transmission if you use the truck to tow anything heavier than the truck itself, minus trailer. Get an aftermarket one sized to the load you may be carrying/towing & mount it solid in front of the radiator where good airflow will get to it.

3. Only use genuine Mopar fluid in it. The stuff you get at the auto parts stores don't have all the additives or the additives are different enough it will cause problems in the trans.

I have a 2001 Quad Cab 4x4 the tranny took a dump in about 98K. I took it to my transmission guy & he let me watch over his shoulder as the rebuild went on (good friend of mine & professional trans rebuilder). I learned a lot about the inner workings of the trans & a couple tricks that are common in all Dodge vehicles (mentioned above).

Chrysler has used gear reduction starters for many years. The new ones are much lighter & have more torque in them than the old ones. They take less power to spin them too.

 

[Soundguy]

I believe this one was listed as a 1.4KW starter.. etc.

sure seems to zing the engine around fast.. way faster thant he old one ever did.. even when new!

soundguy

 

[hydrovane218]

I'll second what Pat32rf said. I bought a 2003 f450 16ft cube w/ 7.3l diesel in June(only 82,000km-now has 107,000).
Last week went out and no go. Hit it 10-12 times....nadda. Picked up a rebuild to put in...well. working on the gravel driveway, snowing.....wet heavy crap and blowing, not too cold, about -3 or 4 celcius. Wouldn't or at least shouldn't be a big deal as is only a two bolt job as yours was. One of the two bolts had head already M.I.A: now i knew the fun was beginning. Second one broke on the way out. No biggy, pull starter of the bolts/now studs and extract, right? **** thing was stuck somethin good as the aluminum holes on the starter had fused on to the steel shanks of the bolts. Couldn't swing hammer well enough at chisel to split the two apart. Got lucky by using the gas drive compressor and air chisel to get it free.............but whoooo man, would have been more fun doing it down in the land of the orange trees: of that I am certain.

 

[Soundguy]

Gotta love the problem installs/removals when they should be a half an hour deal...

soundguy

 

[EvanMacaluso]

Ok I need some help... I have a 1998 Dodge ram 1500 4x4 5.9 and I am in the process of replacing the timing chain. I have the thing pulled apart but I cannot get the Damper off the crank shaft. The big nut holding it on will not crack loose as the shaft just rotates when I torque it. Hayes says to remove the starter and wedge a screwdriver in the flywheel teeth to keep it from rotating...easy enough.. not! I cant get to the upper nut holding the starter on. Houdini must have put this thing on. There is not enough clearance to get a ratchet on the nut and the starter is only two inches away from the frame so a regular box wrench won't fit either. So how did you get the top nut loose? Any suggestions would be appreciated. What was supposed to be a 4-5 hour job is going on two days.... Thanks

 

[MarkBall2]

For the starter top bolt, make sure the battery is disconnected, then get enough socket wrench extensions to get your ratchet out toward the front of the engine, between/over/under the motor mount. You may need a swivel on the extension between the extension & the socket. Then you should be able to just unscrew the bolt.

The bolt on the harmonic balancer...... just use a big impact on it. The rattling of the air impact wrench will spin the bolt out. To reinstall it, then you need the starter out so you can block the flywheel with either a screwdriver or something that will block the rotation.

Go here: http://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-ram/41924-merry-christmas-guys.html and download the service manual. It's a big PDF document that is the service manual for 2001 Dodge Ram trucks. You may have to log in to Dodge Forum's but it's worth it for this bit of info itself.

Let us know how you fare with the new timing chain.