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Dodge Ram Axles and Suspension

59 messages,  Last post on Mar 13, 2010 at 11:14 AM

You are in the Dodge Ram-2010 and older Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Ram Pickup 1500, Suspension, Truck

Messages Page 3 of 6

#20 of 59 Re: 2002 Dodge 3500 van axle ratio [dodge3500] by KCRam@Edmunds HOST

Feb 18, 2008 (3:37 pm)

Replying to: dodge3500 (Feb 18, 2008 12:32 pm)
You may want to look through the Conversion and Full-Sized Vans group in the Vans message board. This discussion is intended for the Ram pickup, and while many components are the same,. the fuel economy concerns you have won't compare very well between a full size van and a full size pickup..
 
kcram - Pickups Host

#21 of 59 DEATH WOBBLE by inkram

Mar 31, 2008 (1:07 pm)

I have a 1995 ram 1500 pick-up. It has 237,000 miles and still running strong, my only problem is I started to develope a really bad death wobble a few months back.
   I checked it out and it looks like it's a sway bar or trac bar. it looks like it connects the to the chassis on one side and the axle on the other. what is the name of this part. i need to price it and get it fixed.
 
Thanks Bryan

#22 of 59 Re: DEATH WOBBLE [inkram] by KCRam@Edmunds HOST

Apr 01, 2008 (3:38 pm)

Replying to: inkram (Mar 31, 2008 1:07 pm)
I went through 2 trac bars on my 96 Ram 3500 4x4 in 9 years. You also want to check the ball joints - they also contribute to DW.
 
kcram - Pickups Host

#23 of 59 1999 dodge ramfront diff. by rascal5

Apr 20, 2008 (8:57 am)

I am reinstalling the front carrier and need to know the carrier bearing cap bolt torque spec?

#24 of 59 2500 springes in a 1500 truck by ct_russ

May 24, 2008 (9:04 pm)

im looking to lift my truck on the cheap .. yes i know it will give me a harsher ride and ill still only have 1/2 ton brakes .. just want to know if thay will fit , if i will get any lift other than reduced sag and aprox how much lift i would get .... just seems to me i can get comp lift with out spending 4 5 hundred dollars ..... thanks russ

#25 of 59 Anti sway bars? by bud08ram

Jun 12, 2008 (8:29 pm)

Got a Ram Sport 1500, has anyone added after market sway bars? Is there any benefit?

#26 of 59 Where to Buy after market parts? by bud08ram

Jun 12, 2008 (8:34 pm)

Has anyone bought anything from PerformanceCenter.com? I am planning on installing a airade cold air intake, flow master exhaust and a super chip programmer, later plan on a leveling kit, and 35's....just wondering where to get the best deals...

#27 of 59 Water in the rear-diff on my Ram by justins79

Mar 19, 2008 (12:50 pm)

#28 of 59 Water in the rear-diff on my Ram by justins79

Mar 17, 2008 (5:48 pm)

'05 Ram 1500 4dr, 4x4 w/ Hemi, just under 50k
 
Early last week my ABS and Brake indicators kicked on. I'd been meaning to get my truck serviced anyway because I had a loose tie-rod end and my rack & pinion was leaking on my driveway. I made my appointment for dropping off my truck today at the dealer I bought it from. After I called and prior to the drop-off my speedo started going wacko on me, staying at 0 until I hit 20mph or so and then jumping up. It would occasionally kick me out of cruise, downshift, or it would downshift twice real hard as I was coming to a stop. Basically it wasn't sure how fast I was going and it was jacking up my shift pattern. That's expected when you lose a speed sensor and the truck can't consistently determine your speed.
 
I got a call from my dealer about an hour ago. They're claiming that there's water in my rear diff. I have never had that lightweight piece of junk in high water, ever. It only ever had maybe 200 miles of non-paved roads put under it (and I had to replace the factory tires just to get a decent set of rubber for our gravel roads). For a country guy now living in the city this truck has lived the high life (minus the garage). The only things I can think of is that the vent tube was off of the rear diff or the filter on the end of the vent line was jacked up. They're saying that there's nothing wrong with either. I asked them to check the front diff because if I was in high-water in the rear it would be highly likely that I was in the front as well. He balked at that and said something about having to charge for full diagnostics and all that jazz if they crack open the front diff. He then tried to say that if the seals on the front diff weren't leaking then there wouldn't be any water in their. I caught him on this and spun it back on it. I asked that if leaking seals could cause a water problem in a diff then why couldn't that be a possible cause for my rear diff and if a seal is leaking then why would that not be covered under warranty? He couldn't answer that question. To cover the parts and labor they quoted me $990.
 
They also want me to pay $185 for the diagnostics, labor, and parts for a damaged speed sensor which is jacking up my ABS. He said that it is not covered under my power-train warranty.
 
They also want me to pay a $100 deductible to Chrysler to replace a transfer-case output seal which they say is leaking. I have one oil slick in my driveway and that's caused by the leaking power rack and pinion. I don't know how this seal could be leaking noticeably without leaking a grease spot on my driveway. It could have just started leaking of course but I would expect something on my drive in most cases.
 
They want me to pay another $100 deductible to Olympi-Care which covers my rack & pinion. They're replacing the whole steering rack, both outer tie-rod ends, and the power-steering coolant lines. And of course they're going to align the front-end again. Why wouldn't this be covered under my Chrysler warranty?
They recommended I replace the fluids in the front & rear diff as well as the transfer case for a total of $325. That's a lot of $$$ for 90-weight and ATF.
 
In total they asked for $1375 plus another $325 if I do the fluids in the diff and transfer case. Now I made sure to mention that my father was a mechanic (+30 years but he doesn't do warranty work and he's now out of auto and the aircraft industry) and that he made the initial diagnose on the tie-rod end and rack & pinion. I also told him that I'd be checking with the service tech I knew at another Chrysler dealership down the road. I put in calls to both of them. They both called BS on this, saying that 1) the prices were outlandish and 2) that there should not be water in the rear diff if I've never drive in high water (which I don't) and 3) that warranty should cover all of that. I called the guy back with some pointed questions about the vent tube & filter, why they cracked open the rear diff to get to the sensor (which I've been told is removable from the outside), and for contact info for both Chrysler Customer Care and the Olympi-Care people. I also asked him to save the fluid from the rear diff. My friend from another dealer said that the axle seals are a lip seal and are good at keeping fluids in but not so good at keeping them out. Still I've never been in high water so I don't think that's a problem.
 
About 15 minutes later he called back again. He said that he and his service manager checked everything over again and said they thought they could work something out with me. He asked if I bought the truck with them which I had and that I was the only owner. He said that they'd eat the $990 since I was a customer. That seems like a pretty dramatic reversal to me. He said there wasn't much of the oil/water left from the rear diff, that they'd already dumped most of it. Convenient.
 
Now I'm mechanically inclined (I'll tackle just about anything with good directions) but I'm not a mechanic. I'm a computer engineer. My father is the mechanic. I'd like to think that I'm nobody's fool though. Frankly this sounds like they're trying to put a good one over on me, seeing a nice shiny pickup with a clean interior, thinking I'm a city guy that wouldn't know a dip stick from rectal thermometer (had I pulled up in a flatbed with a feeder on the back I wouldn't elicit this kind of response I don't think).
 
I feel confident in siding with my other mechanics and calling BS. Does anyone feel differently? Should a power-train warranty have covered all of this? This is a fairly large regional dealer and their radio ads claim to have been rated to have the #1 service dept in the country (though don't all dealer claim that?). I'm putting in calls to Chrysler and Olympi-Care tomorrow to find out exactly what my coverage should be.
 
Thanks
 J

#29 of 59 Re: Water in the rear-diff on my Ram [justins79] by corkscrew

Mar 18, 2008 (7:48 am)

Replying to: justins79 (Mar 17, 2008 5:48 pm)
Have you talked to the owner of the dealership?

Messages Page 3 of 6

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