How hard is this? I have done it on a chevy gas before but never have done it to a Diesel. Is this task simple enough to do yourself or should I take it in?

2000 Ram 2500 4x4

 

It is simple. simular.

 

Will it need to be shimmed or will it be as simple as unbolt replace rebolt?

 

Not sure. I was unader my truck the other day just poking around and it looked basic.

 

Just a simple remove and replace, they mount different then the chevy's so no shims neccesary.

 

I just replaced the contacts on mine. It is only 3 bolts and 2 wires to get it off.

 

I removed my starter once. by mistake that is. even went as far as having it tested at v'autozone 3 miles away. come to find out, it was a wireharness quick connect near the battery that had failed. shorted internall. 5 hrs under that truck and it was a 10 min fix ..

moral is, are you sure its the starter???

hate to see ya yank it and it not be the problem.


mine took 12 point socket..to remove the 3 bolts. the starter weighs more than ...well, than a lot....

you have to lay underneath and get all nasty.

 

It isn't bad at all. 3 grade 8 heavy duty bolts. They're 12 point bolts, takes a 10mm box end wrench. If you've got the factory original still on there the bolts will be silly tight, the bottom 2 actually have some room for a breaker bar, the top one doesn't, if the starter hasn't ever been off most people use a block of wood and a floor jack to bear against the wrench and get that top bolt loose. Otherwise, it's simple, no shims to worry about. When I took mine off I was hoping it was just contacts, checked 'em and they were burned pretty bad, cleaned 'em, then checked the brushes just to make sure, 3 were great one was worn out. The brushes can be replaced but a lot of other should go into the starter at that point as well, re-surface armature, replace bearings, check windings, so at that point I got a re-man and back on the road. Total time: 2 hours (that was with all the messing around with the contacts and brushes and running to the parts store)

This site is a good reference for the starter parts, and if you call they know what they're talking about.

http://fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

 

Well I'm leaning more toward the solenoid in the starter. When I go to start it I just hear a click in the starter area and after a few times it will get started. I have check the batteries and they are strong. I talked to a local starter/alt rebuild shop and they told me instead of buying a new one to bring it in and let them replace the solenoid. He told me that those are one of the best starters made and if its just the solenoid it would be better to fix than replace.

 

The kit that they sell on www.fixinrams.com fixesyour starterissue. I had the same problem a few months ago and the kit cured it! I think it only costs $39 and come with a video showing you how to do it. I think the whole process took me about 45 minutes.