Thanks for the video buddy I was stressing about replacing my 03 3500 starter. Only difference from your video was mine had 3 bolts holding the starter in. Very informative and just what I needed. Thanks buddy!
Did this job yesterday on a '03 Ram 1500 2WD Automatic. Everything shown in this video was dead-on. I even decided to use the 5/8" socket rather than a 16mm as it was a tighter fit to the mounting bolts. I used a universal joint with the socket/ratchet, but I really didn't need to. I was able to use my 1/2" torque wrench to torque the mounting bolts to 50 ft-lb (as specified in the service manual) without using an extension for either bolt. The toughest thing for me was getting the electrical connector fully seated on the new starter (AutoZone Duralast) as the connector didn't want to insert far enough to "latch" the retaining clip. I eventually got it to hold.
Hey Jeff Thanks for the video. Helped me replace the starter in my 03 Hemi. I will say, at least for my truck, there was a bracket of sort hiding the bottom bolt. Once I felt around and found it, I was able to get an extension in there to get it out. Another thing to note, the red clip on the plug on the starter can be pushed from the back with a small flat head. I had to do it that way since the actual clip broke. Again, thanks for the helpful video.
Very helpful video. It was a little different on my 02 5.9L 4x4 1500. The starter is sort of cramped into a cubbyhole and just getting the bolts off (one bolt, one nut) was tough because the tight space, and then worming it out of it's cubby and back in again. Forget breaker bars and torque wrenches! All the same, couldn't have done it without you. Thanks!
Really really helpful 👍 im not a mechanic but i so all my mechanic issues and i was like do i need to remove all the oil from the transmission?. !! But is definitely easier than i thought..
You did a perfect job showing how to get the old one out and put the other one in I'm just curious on whether or not I should buy a new one or try to rebuild.
Great video . I have a problem , I followed step my step thoroughly (2002 ram 4x4 automatic transmission) but now it makes a sounds and I’m afraid the new starter gear isn’t disengaging the clutch. The only thing I can think of I messed up is I put a washer between the battery cable and battery cable terminal ( the one you tighten with the deep 13 mm socket) could that be the problem ?
@@DIYJeff okay great that's what I was thinking. My '05 2500 starter is going out to the point as of today, intermittent starting so i plan to park the front end on the concrete slab at my house. Gives just enough clearance for my big gut to get under there without needing a jack. Lol. A little tap got it started earlier when I already suspected it was going bad last week. Just kinda put it off lol. Will tackle it this weekend when I can buy the replacement. Thank you for a thorough video. I considered rebuilding it and even watched your other video on how to do so but decided I'll just swap for an aftermarket remanufactured one. '05 2500 v8 5.7 hemi 4wd with 218k manual 6 speed transmission and original starter finally gave up lol. Not too bad if you ask me. Typical.
Could the issue be that corrosion on the main positive terminal at the starter? My solenoid is engaging fine, nice click sound, but I keep having to attempt it several times before the starter kicks in and cranks fine for the rest of the day or whatever. This is a new battery, clean terminals and I've been using a trickle charger to keep it topped up. I was hoping the vid would show if the terminals are easy enough to access without full removal but I didn't get a good angle here and it's too damm wet and cold outside to go crawl on my back right now, lol.
@THRASH METAL & FUN RIFFS, it's certainly possible there is corrosion on the positive cable going to the starter, but highly unlikely. When you're hearing the clicking sound, what's happening is that you probably have an issue with a broken tooth (or teeth) on the gear inside the starter and it finally catches and turns over eventually, but it will continue to get worse, not better. Check the cables at the starter, but if you see no corrosion, you need to replace it. You can definitely remove the power wire without removing the starter.
@@DIYJeff Yeah, it did it again today, I think the corrosion had spread down from the positive terminal into the 2 positive wires, I can see the starter terminal behind the tire and wiggled it around and sprayed some contact cleaner expecting it to maybe be greased up from valve cover leaks but it looks ok. Loosening and wiggling the positive terminal and spraying some cleaner into the cable on the terminal side got it starting again this morning. It looks like my starter has each bolt going in opposite directions. It may be easier to remove the tire next spring if I end up messing with that end anymore.
@@DIYJeff I think it's fixed! I found a straw for my contact cleaner spray and got it up in there over the starter terminal behind the turned wheel but mainly on the positive terminal at the battery is 2 factory thick wires spliced and wrapped tight together so I made a split in the rubber with a box knife and stuck the straw in there and filled her up a few times which made it sizzle and stuff up out of there and now it's starting on the 1st try each time! (I also hit it on the negative at the block and popped the little plastic caps to the ignition splice thing on the other side of the battery where the 2nd red goes, which was like new anyway.) I'll use ur vid again when it's time for a starter, looked pretty easy and I'm at 155k now on this 360 2002 Quad 4x4.
Thank you so much, Jeff! Replacing my '02 2500 starter just went smoothly thanks to you. Interestingly, my starter is not shaped exactly the same on the transmission-mounted end. There is a large conical extension that extends into a large recess in the transmission. But everything relevant to the job was identical! If I may be so bold, I would suggest to you and others to put the jack stands underneath the control arms directly behind each wheel instead of to either side of the cross beam. This gives you a much wider spacing that is more stable, thus safer.
I removed the bolts but the starter was completely stuck in place still and couldn't get it off no matter how hard i tried. Tried rotating the engine thinking it was stuck on the flywheel but nothing. Fml lol
Helpful , Not sure what the need is to jack the truck up.. and disconnect your POSITIVE so you dont ground out and cause a shock , otherwise a good vid
Thanks for the video buddy I was stressing about replacing my 03 3500 starter. Only difference from your video was mine had 3 bolts holding the starter in. Very informative and just what I needed. Thanks buddy!
Did this job yesterday on a '03 Ram 1500 2WD Automatic. Everything shown in this video was dead-on. I even decided to use the 5/8" socket rather than a 16mm as it was a tighter fit to the mounting bolts. I used a universal joint with the socket/ratchet, but I really didn't need to. I was able to use my 1/2" torque wrench to torque the mounting bolts to 50 ft-lb (as specified in the service manual) without using an extension for either bolt. The toughest thing for me was getting the electrical connector fully seated on the new starter (AutoZone Duralast) as the connector didn't want to insert far enough to "latch" the retaining clip. I eventually got it to hold.
Forgot to mention that the truck had the 4.7L V8
@danconsie398how did you get it to insert
Hey Jeff
Thanks for the video. Helped me replace the starter in my 03 Hemi. I will say, at least for my truck, there was a bracket of sort hiding the bottom bolt. Once I felt around and found it, I was able to get an extension in there to get it out. Another thing to note, the red clip on the plug on the starter can be pushed from the back with a small flat head. I had to do it that way since the actual clip broke.
Again, thanks for the helpful video.
Hey thanks jeff this was the most informative video ive seen thanks i like doing my own work and this deffinatly helps keep up the good work
Very helpful video. It was a little different on my 02 5.9L 4x4 1500. The starter is sort of cramped into a cubbyhole and just getting the bolts off (one bolt, one nut) was tough because the tight space, and then worming it out of it's cubby and back in again. Forget breaker bars and torque wrenches! All the same, couldn't have done it without you. Thanks!
Thank you for telling the bolt size. mine has a little guard around the top bolt. Wish it was open like yours. Might watch the rebuild vid soon.
Now that's good instructional video right there explained it all to the t. Perfectly
Glad it was helpful!
Perfect video , straight to the point and very clear 👌🏽
Really really helpful 👍 im not a mechanic but i so all my mechanic issues and i was like do i need to remove all the oil from the transmission?. !! But is definitely easier than i thought..
@mickey505, I'm glad you found it helpful. Yes, it's a relatively easy replacement, especially on a dodge ram.
Very helpful. Only issue I had was they switched the bolt size on positive lead to starter from 13 to 12 one the new one.
I’m glad the video was helpful.
Is it possible to replace the starter without having to raise the truck?
It’s possible depending on big of a person you are.
I just did it on my 02 4x4. I'm a little large around the waist and had to squeeze under the running boards, but sliding around on cardboard helped.
You did a perfect job showing how to get the old one out and put the other one in I'm just curious on whether or not I should buy a new one or try to rebuild.
@ Scott Stoddard, I have a video on how to rebuild this exact starter. Check it out and see if rebuilding is something you could tackle.
Great video . I have a problem , I followed step my step thoroughly (2002 ram 4x4 automatic transmission) but now it makes a sounds and I’m afraid the new starter gear isn’t disengaging the clutch. The only thing I can think of I messed up is I put a washer between the battery cable and battery cable terminal ( the one you tighten with the deep 13 mm socket) could that be the problem ?
I’m doubtful that the washer is the problem but that’s an easy thing to remove and see if it fixes it.
Awesome job! Thank you my friend!
@Elita Flowers, you're welcome. Are you planning on replacing your starter?
What length of breaker bar did you use?
@Branston Rush, I didn’t need a big one. I used an 18” breaker bar.
@@DIYJeff okay great that's what I was thinking. My '05 2500 starter is going out to the point as of today, intermittent starting so i plan to park the front end on the concrete slab at my house. Gives just enough clearance for my big gut to get under there without needing a jack. Lol. A little tap got it started earlier when I already suspected it was going bad last week. Just kinda put it off lol. Will tackle it this weekend when I can buy the replacement. Thank you for a thorough video. I considered rebuilding it and even watched your other video on how to do so but decided I'll just swap for an aftermarket remanufactured one. '05 2500 v8 5.7 hemi 4wd with 218k manual 6 speed transmission and original starter finally gave up lol. Not too bad if you ask me. Typical.
Great Video
Thank you DIY Jeff salute to your channel
Subscribing.
Thanks for the video.
You're welcome
I'm trying to plug the wiring clip back in, it's so Stubborn. 😢
5/8 socket?? It's metric....15mm
Could the issue be that corrosion on the main positive terminal at the starter? My solenoid is engaging fine, nice click sound, but I keep having to attempt it several times before the starter kicks in and cranks fine for the rest of the day or whatever. This is a new battery, clean terminals and I've been using a trickle charger to keep it topped up. I was hoping the vid would show if the terminals are easy enough to access without full removal but I didn't get a good angle here and it's too damm wet and cold outside to go crawl on my back right now, lol.
@THRASH METAL & FUN RIFFS, it's certainly possible there is corrosion on the positive cable going to the starter, but highly unlikely. When you're hearing the clicking sound, what's happening is that you probably have an issue with a broken tooth (or teeth) on the gear inside the starter and it finally catches and turns over eventually, but it will continue to get worse, not better. Check the cables at the starter, but if you see no corrosion, you need to replace it. You can definitely remove the power wire without removing the starter.
@@DIYJeff Yeah, it did it again today, I think the corrosion had spread down from the positive terminal into the 2 positive wires, I can see the starter terminal behind the tire and wiggled it around and sprayed some contact cleaner expecting it to maybe be greased up from valve cover leaks but it looks ok. Loosening and wiggling the positive terminal and spraying some cleaner into the cable on the terminal side got it starting again this morning. It looks like my starter has each bolt going in opposite directions. It may be easier to remove the tire next spring if I end up messing with that end anymore.
@@DIYJeff I think it's fixed! I found a straw for my contact cleaner spray and got it up in there over the starter terminal behind the turned wheel but mainly on the positive terminal at the battery is 2 factory thick wires spliced and wrapped tight together so I made a split in the rubber with a box knife and stuck the straw in there and filled her up a few times which made it sizzle and stuff up out of there and now it's starting on the 1st try each time! (I also hit it on the negative at the block and popped the little plastic caps to the ignition splice thing on the other side of the battery where the 2nd red goes, which was like new anyway.) I'll use ur vid again when it's time for a starter, looked pretty easy and I'm at 155k now on this 360 2002 Quad 4x4.
The 2 mounting bolts are actually 15mm, NOT 5/8
Great video, and I was going to ask why they would have a standard and metric combination bolt
The 2005 5.7 has a 12mm nut on the starter and 15mm bolts holding the starter on.
Other than that, your video is spot on
Came here to say exactly that. 15mm bolts
Yeah i was gonna say that.. DIY Jeff makes his own tools, so he can call it what ever he wants.
On my 2002 5.9L, it was definitely 5/8
No need to disconnect battery?
Perfect.
As per factory manual it says not to let the starter to hang from the wiring
My power cable just broke off my starter so now I need to somehow crimp a new copper circle on
Thank you so much, Jeff! Replacing my '02 2500 starter just went smoothly thanks to you.
Interestingly, my starter is not shaped exactly the same on the transmission-mounted end. There is a large conical extension that extends into a large recess in the transmission. But everything relevant to the job was identical!
If I may be so bold, I would suggest to you and others to put the jack stands underneath the control arms directly behind each wheel instead of to either side of the cross beam. This gives you a much wider spacing that is more stable, thus safer.
@Nunnless, thanks for the jack-stand tip!
Hey nunnles, is your dodge 2500 manual transmission?
Hey Jeff
You are grrrrreat
@ jamesbrown6626, lol thanks!
Yes how you rebuild it...thx
thank yiou!
I removed the bolts but the starter was completely stuck in place still and couldn't get it off no matter how hard i tried. Tried rotating the engine thinking it was stuck on the flywheel but nothing. Fml lol
If you are positive you’re model only has 2 bolts, I would try lightly tapping it with a mallet to break it loose.
Helpful , Not sure what the need is to jack the truck up.. and disconnect your POSITIVE so you dont ground out and cause a shock , otherwise a good vid
My bolts r 10 mm 24 point bolts
Great instructions
Next time show how it sounds when it’s bad before taking it off
A bad starter won't typically sound bad. It just won't turn the engine over.
I really appreciate your video, very clear, very specific.