hey, i'm thinking about purchasing a 99 ram standard cab, short box, 318. all stock with new tires ( 265, ?, ?) burgandy. this truck has 59 k miles on it and is at a local dealer. over all the truck has a few dents and scratches but nothing to worry about. i know the 318 motor and drivetrain in a 99 are supposidly good. my question is i gave the truck a through going through and i found tranny fluid seeping out ( small spot on driveshaft). after looking at everything i have come to believe it is a seal gone bad. i do believe they had a recall on this part for the 99 model year. However, it was never taken care of. If i were to buy the truck i would have to have this replaced. My question to you guys is how much do you think the seal is going to set me back. i dont know the labor behind it if they would have to drop the tranny or not. i got the truck down to 8700 bux, but i wanna know how much a tranny seal like i exlpained right by the drive shaft exiting the trans itsself would cost me.. i think its kinda late to get it on a reacall.. would a 7 year, 70k powertrain warrenty cover this..?

 

tell them you'll take it if they fix it. If its a good dealer they usually will fix a few problems you find on a vehicle

 

The way you describe it, sounds like the output shaft seal...if it's more than $100 installed, I'd be really surprised, it's easy to do...drop driveshaft, remove seal, install seal, install driveshaft, top off fluid.

But as HansonHVAC said, if the dealer has any customer service at all, they shouldn't have a problem fixing it for you to get the sale.

 

As posted above, rear seals on a trans is a pretty simple fix.

Just jumped over to Recalls and TSBs and didn't see anything recalls for `99 RAMs for leaking transmissions. If you buy it without having them fix it, you're on your own.

 

I had a transmission seal go out on my truck about 2 months ago. I took it to the shop and they said it would be about $800. But that was with new ball joints and new torque converter. I took the easy way out and put some stop leak fluid in it and the leaks have stopped, but I have a feeling it's only temporary. If you could get the dealer to fix the truck you should buy it. It seems like it's in good shape and the miles are low.