Okay it seems to be the time for starter troubles, by the looks of this board lately.

Mine has been cranking very slowly lately, actually took it back to Sam's where the batteries are from - changed out both for free (still within 3 years - warranty). It made NO differance. Is it time to throw on a new one? I may at least clean contact on this one but it really sounds taxed...it does start on the first crank, however.

thanks for any help...

 

Start by reading here. Larry B has the pieces you may need.

http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/

 

Start by checking all of your wiring and connections. The wire in these trucks is regular copper wire and therefore it can corrode a lot which increases resistance a lot. You may need new wire or you may just need to clean up the connections but I would look into that before a starter.

 

Instead of buying a new one see about getting it rebuilt at a shop. Not a reman from a parts store but actually pull it off the truck and take it to an electric repair shop that can do the rebuild. That's what I did with mine last time and it works 10 times better now than it ever did when it was new.

 

Yep - combination of bad bearings, worn brushes, worn contacts in the starter solenoid - check out Larry B's stuff - looks good, works fine, lasts a long time..............

 

REPLACE YOUR BATTERY CABLES that ground to your block and the starter cable. It is way to costly to do it the way I did it, starter, alt, batteries, then finally cables and the cables made all the difference.

 

If you do need a cable, here is a pretty good place to get a set.

http://custombatterycables.com/appli.../dodge_ram.htm

 

I would start with checking connections and changing the starter contacts.
You're going to have to change the contacts eventually anyways.
Hard problem to find sometimes is cables that are corroded way under the insulation where you can't see it. Sometimes you can find the corroded areas by flexing the cable back and forth.

 

Well, finally will have a chance to pull the started tomorrow. I can't seem to find new cables, and it's amazing to me that a started (reman) is only $175 with a care! For that i may just throw the new one on and turn in the old one! It's growling fairly badley now, 8:1 that's the problem. Thanks, hope it not too hard to get out of there....

 

Well, finally will have a chance to pull the starter tomorrow. I can't seem to find new cables, and it's amazing to me that a started (reman) is only $175 with a care! For that i may just throw the new one on and turn in the old one! It's growling fairly badly now, 8:1 that's the problem. Thanks, hope its not too hard to get out of there....

 

Wow - never had that happen. How you all liked the second post better, with the typos corrected....

 

dunno why , but when i got mine a new one was cheaper than a reman and and had a lifetime warranty vs the reman 2 year, got it at napa.

 

Well, the starter was the problem. Reman unit in from O-Reili's, it has a lifetime warranty, and was only $175. The Core Charge on the old unit was $185!! Pretty amazing that it was so high. Sure nice to have the high-pitched motor again, the old one was obviously getting pretty weak. Not too bad to get on & off, was a big help having a friend with long-wiry arms to reach down from the top & get the third bolt. Back in business!