Bought a 2000 Ram 1500

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Braeden Clark

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Location
Williamsport PA
Ram Year
1999
Engine
5.9l
A bought a rust free 2000 Ram 1500 in North Carolina and drove it 13 hours home to PA. No real issues on the trip. The truck though does have a good number of things I need to sort out. And I have a ton of questions for yall.

1. When I tried to check for any codes on the truck, the OBD2 port had no power. I found a blown fuse and replaced it. That fixed the OBD port. But now whenever that fuse is in, the reverse lights in the 3rd brake light are always on. Any help? It was fuse 12 (IOD)? I think.

2. There was a strange noise that I could hear when I was coasting. Even with yhe vehicle off and in neutral I could hear it. Maybe rear end? It has the 9.25 unfortunately. Cost to have that rebuilt?

Other then that there are small things that I should be able to fix. Unfortunately the person I bought it from has left some electrical gremlins (radio doesn't work) and some stuff like that. Probably associated with question number 1. Aby help is much appreciated. Thanks
 

Nealuss

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Ram Year
1994
Engine
5.2L 318
As for the lights there is a short somewhere. Hard to tell but I would start with easy to access things like the brake light switch and neutral safety switch. First thing to do is go through it with a fine tooth comb and find anything else no matter how seemingly small that may be acting up. Try to find something those items have in common and start tracing. Or take it to an electrical technician.

As for the noise I can tell you it is common to get rear end problems on these trucks with age. In my experience it's usually from misuse and lack of service. Pinion seal leaks, nobody cares, fluid runs low, diff overheats. Boom. As for cost typically $1000-$1300 maybe more depending on your area and if you go for a used unit or have it rebuilt. You can buy complete remanufactured axle assemblies for the 9.25 in any configuration you want if you want to go all out.
 
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Braeden Clark

Braeden Clark

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Location
Williamsport PA
Ram Year
1999
Engine
5.9l
As for the lights there is a short somewhere. Hard to tell but I would start with easy to access things like the brake light switch and neutral safety switch. First thing to do is go through it with a fine tooth comb and find anything else no matter how seemingly small that may be acting up. Try to find something those items have in common and start tracing. Or take it to an electrical technician.

As for the noise I can tell you it is common to get rear end problems on these trucks with age. In my experience it's usually from misuse and lack of service. Pinion seal leaks, nobody cares, fluid runs low, diff overheats. Boom. As for cost typically $1000-$1300 maybe more depending on your area and if you go for a used unit or have it rebuilt. You can buy complete remanufactured axle assemblies for the 9.25 in any configuration you want if you want to go all out.
I found the light thing *** a fuse. Thankfully that was easy. As far as the noise I'm going to make sure it's not the rear brakes hanging up anywhere.

If it is the differential I guess I'm gonna have to find the cheapest possible fix to that issue. I hope its not but I'm not too confident.
 

MAC830203

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Location
Beaufort, SC
Ram Year
1996
Engine
Magnum 408
After a tear down, i find the 9.25 Assy pretty simple to do. The cost is in the parts, not the work. Plus you could save some cash making your own special tools. I find shimming is better than a crush sleeve. My opinion. However, when you take off the axle cover and don’t have leaks or gears that look like they are ready to cut fish, might just need a ring/ carrier adjustment for now. Take it off for a winter project later. A rebuild kit is about $100. A Quality limited slip carrier is about $400 and ring and pinion are better if used(No break-in) in good shape. The true point is, no matter what, buy the best quality parts, Period! There is so much junk that is passed off as mopar, but is junk. Either it’s junk or doesn’t fit like it should. Spend the cash and do it right.
 
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Braeden Clark

Braeden Clark

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Location
Williamsport PA
Ram Year
1999
Engine
5.9l
After a tear down, i find the 9.25 Assy pretty simple to do. The cost is in the parts, not the work. Plus you could save some cash making your own special tools. I find shimming is better than a crush sleeve. My opinion. However, when you take off the axle cover and don’t have leaks or gears that look like they are ready to cut fish, might just need a ring/ carrier adjustment for now. Take it off for a winter project later. A rebuild kit is about $100. A Quality limited slip carrier is about $400 and ring and pinion are better if used(No break-in) in good shape. The true point is, no matter what, buy the best quality parts, Period! There is so much junk that is passed off as mopar, but is junk. Either it’s junk or doesn’t fit like it should. Spend the cash and do it right.
I ended up trashing that entire differential and bought a 3rd gen with disc brakes. Welded the brackets in the right spots and swapped it in. So far no issues with the stock proportioning valve but time will tell. If needed, I will swap in an adjustable one but right now I'm loving it.
 
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Braeden Clark

Braeden Clark

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Jun 4, 2021
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Location
Williamsport PA
Ram Year
1999
Engine
5.9l
After a tear down, i find the 9.25 Assy pretty simple to do. The cost is in the parts, not the work. Plus you could save some cash making your own special tools. I find shimming is better than a crush sleeve. My opinion. However, when you take off the axle cover and don’t have leaks or gears that look like they are ready to cut fish, might just need a ring/ carrier adjustment for now. Take it off for a winter project later. A rebuild kit is about $100. A Quality limited slip carrier is about $400 and ring and pinion are better if used(No break-in) in good shape. The true point is, no matter what, buy the best quality parts, Period! There is so much junk that is passed off as mopar, but is junk. Either it’s junk or doesn’t fit like it should. Spend the cash and do it right.
Just realized I never updated this thread about the noise. It was both a blown t case and blown differential. Swapped them both out with some lower mileage used ones and so far no issues other then a pinion seal leak thats still there after replacing the seal. The old differential had a chip in both the ring and pinion as well as a bad pinion bearing. And all the clutch clips for the posi had fallen out and gotten completely chewed up in the gears. It was toast
 
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MAC830203

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Beaufort, SC
Ram Year
1996
Engine
Magnum 408
Super!! The pinion seal is a ******. When ready, use grease to lube to keep from tearing. Good to hear.
 
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Braeden Clark

Braeden Clark

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Williamsport PA
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1999
Engine
5.9l
Super!! The pinion seal is a ******. When ready, use grease to lube to keep from tearing. Good to hear.
Yea I replaced the pinion seal. Still has a small leak. Whatever. More grease woulda been smart. A tiny bit of stop leak fixed or slowed it greatly. Although I hate the idea of stop leak a ton....
 

MAC830203

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Location
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1996
Engine
Magnum 408
If you did shims, it’s not so bad. A crushed sleeve in my opinion is worthless on a truck…
 
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