# My 1999 Ram 2500 Restoration Thread



## plowguy43

Well long story short, I'm getting rid of my 04 which I still owe a little money on and using a 1999 Ram 2500 Quad Cab 4x4 that I bought for very little money. Even with the work I'm putting into this 99, yes it is still worth getting rid of the payment.

A little backround on the truck :
Had a reman'd long block put in Jan 2009, has a 5 year 100k warranty with it that transfered to me (already sent in the forms). 
I have every receipt from 2009 forward and a good amount has been done. 
Truck had lost reverse so I purchased a beefed up tranny with a bunch of upgrades off ebay that comes with a 3 year 100k warranty - $1450 shipped to my door, no core return required - its built more for a deisel than my gasser.
So basically the drivetrain is covered by a warranty for the next 3 years.
It also came with a good condition 8' Minute Mount 1 Fisher that I just sold yesterday along with the push plates and wiring from my 04 - paid for the tranny. 

What I plan on doing :
The truck was mostly a plow truck so the bed has some decent rot, its been painted and the driver fender's body work isn't that good, the pass fender has some rust as well, the bottom of the doors have surface rust but hasn't gotten that bad. The interior is a mess (dirty) but otherwise fine. It still passed inspection and is good until August. 

I plan on replacing both fenders with Keystone Aftermarket Fenders, I just bought a rust free, dent free bed assembly from LKQ using one of my body shops discounts ($500 down from $1500  ), and then having one of my body shops repair any other rust and painting the entire truck Patriot Blue. I might change the front bumper and grill to the 99-01 Sport since I love that style the best. Thankfully most all of the body work will be free or just paying for materials and the fenders I will get at my shops cost.

While I'm replacing the bed, I plan on sand blasting and painting the frame with Por15. I will then swap over my strobes, light bar, tool box, and possibly replace the carpet inside the truck to freshen it up (only $150 shipped from ebay). 

I have a spare set of wheels and tires for my 04 so I'll be putting the goodyears on the 99 as well since they are basically new. Other than that I may put a leveling kit and a body lift on it eventually. 

Pictures of all of this will follow, I'll snap some of how it sits currently tonight.


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## MrPLow2011

You should have bought a Cummins. You may not be happy with the 5.9 gasser. They are a bit under powered for truck. But I hear ya on getting rid of payments. If your doors and rockers are bad you can call keystone and get replacement parts that weld in. They are alot cheaper and than replacing the whole rocker panel which goes half way up the door. And you can buy weld in bottom panels of the door also


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## plowguy43

Believe me I would've loved a cummins but to buy one would've put me in the same amount owed as I have on my 04. Just wasn't worth it. Plus the truck is only driven during the winter for plowing, to the dump ever 2 weeks, and when I put my boat in the water a few miles down the road. Otherwise it sits in my driveway for most of the year. 

I've owned a 97 and 01 Ram 1500 with the 5.9 and personally I think the torque in this motor moves loads just fine. Sometimes better than my HEMI, but all around the HEMI is far more powerful.

Sorry for the delay on pictures, been raining so I haven't ventured outside much. But I'm picking up the new bed today so I'll snap some pictures.


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## ram_tough2001

MrPLow2011;1284621 said:


> You should have bought a Cummins. You may not be happy with the 5.9 gasser. They are a bit under powered for truck. But I hear ya on getting rid of payments. If your doors and rockers are bad you can call keystone and get replacement parts that weld in. They are alot cheaper and than replacing the whole rocker panel which goes half way up the door. And you can buy weld in bottom panels of the door also


i have an 01 5.2 1/2 ton that i put an 8' hd fisher on and let me tell ya, not under powered at all! i can move mountains of snow with it, even when i had baldish tires on it. its a beast while plowing and the only upgrade i did was put diesel springs up front to handle the plow better.


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## Stik208

plowguy43;1284790 said:


> Sorry for the delay on pictures, been raining so I haven't ventured outside much.


No you don't say, I feel like I live in Seattle were on day 6 of rain down here. I am looking forward to the pics and good luck.


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## MrPLow2011

ram_tough2001;1284796 said:


> i have an 01 5.2 1/2 ton that i put an 8' hd fisher on and let me tell ya, not under powered at all! i can move mountains of snow with it, even when i had baldish tires on it. its a beast while plowing and the only upgrade i did was put diesel springs up front to handle the plow better.


1/2 tons are lighter by about 1300 pounds. So going from a truck with 345hp to a truck with 245hp is the reason i said he may feel it under powered. Trust me I hear yeah about the Dodge 1/2 ton my old 87 1500 with a 318 140/hp could move mountains also.

But I am sure losing a 400 payment a month can easily make a truck feel 10x better


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## plowguy43

ram_tough2001;1284796 said:


> i have an 01 5.2 1/2 ton that i put an 8' hd fisher on and let me tell ya, not under powered at all! i can move mountains of snow with it, even when i had baldish tires on it. its a beast while plowing and the only upgrade i did was put diesel springs up front to handle the plow better.





MrPLow2011;1284919 said:


> 1/2 tons are lighter by about 1300 pounds. So going from a truck with 345hp to a truck with 245hp is the reason i said he may feel it under powered. Trust me I hear yeah about the Dodge 1/2 ton my old 87 1500 with a 318 140/hp could move mountains also.
> 
> But I am sure losing a 400 payment a month can easily make a truck feel 10x better


Both good points. Thankfully my payment isn't that high but still, it'll be much nicer to bank the money rather than pay it out every month.



Stik208;1284812 said:


> No you don't say, I feel like I live in Seattle were on day 6 of rain down here. I am looking forward to the pics and good luck.


Thankfully they are calling for clearing this weekend, I'm crossing my fingers. Sorry still no pictures the sh*t hit the fan yesterday and I barely had time to get everything done. I did get the bed back to my house, and my new transmission arrived.

Here are the specs on the tranny :
The 518/618 HD Dodge transmission specifications

Hydraulic upgrades:
Up-graded pin and spring on reverse servo
HD2®kit equipped valve body doubles holding power of low in manual low.
The HD2®kit helps in preventing downhill clutch burn up when using an exhaust brake or engine compression braking and creates firmer up-shifts for performance and durability

Gear Train:
Forward steel 5 pinion planet.

Clutch Pack upgrades:
Master Kit with red frictions and kolene steels 92-02 A518 / A618 Overdrive PowerPack®

BANDS:
Kevlar band, Kevlar low band

Pan:
Deep pan B&M or Derale pan whichever is available

Torque Converter upgrade:
Performance Billet multi disc Torque converter
with custom lowered stall

Cooler:
Hayden "THE DAWG" w/fan


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## kevlars

So,what did that tranny cost you? How much to ship? Core charge?

kevlars


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## plowguy43

kevlars;1284998 said:


> So,what did that tranny cost you? How much to ship? Core charge?
> 
> kevlars


$1450 shipped to my door, 3 year 100k warranty, no core charge no core return. I got it from a company online, they had cheaper reman's that were pretty much a stock rebuild with some minor upgrades but I wanted something more heavy duty that eliminated the weak points of the 46RE. The planet gears are upgraded to 47RE's, clutches are upgraded with extra packs, etc, plus the converter and auxillary cooler with an electric fan w/thermostat seemed like a great deal to me.

I also purchased new tranny lines from Rockauto for a total of $50, and a temp guage from Advance Auto (mechanical) for $18.

My next purchase will be the GM Governor solenoid replacement which is another $140 but eliminates a bunch of problems associated with the Dodge Governor solenoid.


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## kevlars

If you could pm me the seller, I would appreciate it. I have 120K on my stock tranny, so I am on borrowed time!!!

Thanks, kevlars


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## plowguy43

Kevlars - Here is the link to the auction I won-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0691138541&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT


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## plowguy43

Just purchased a 3" body lift for it from SummitRacing. I'm also swapping over my 2.5" spacers from my 04 as well. I'm into lifted trucks and figured that this was the best way to ensure the push plates weren't too high off the ground without needing modifications. 

Sometime this summer I'll be purchasing some 315/75/16's for it for spring/summer use only. I also figure this will help with removing the transmission.


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## Stik208

9.6 going on this one? Pics yet?


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## kevlars

Thanks for the link on the tranny. I will be calling them soon.

kevlars


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## plowguy43

Stik208;1285593 said:


> 9.6 going on this one? Pics yet?


Yes sir, already swapped the harnesses over. Of course no pics yet. I already posted some in the Maine weather thread but let me see if I can post them here...


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## plowguy43

Still working on the pictures, didn't get around to anything last weekend since we were to busy with other things. 

I'm a little pissed because the tranny showed up without the torque converter and auxillary cooler. The shop supposedly shipped them but that was 2 weeks ago. All I keep getting are appologies but I'd rather here them just say they dropped the ball and forgot to ship it and they'll overnight them asap. Oh well.


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## plowguy43

So I finally took some pictures of the truck. No progress yet as I was too busy getting the 04 sold and purchasing a Jeep for my wife. I also still don't have my torque converter - it was shipped yesterday, and I have to buy an auxillary cooler since they are backordered and are refunding me. Only took me filing a dispute in paypal to finally get an answer from the tranny place....

Next weekend I will hopefully be replacing the transmission, cleaning out the interior, and removing the bed so I can sand the frame and POR15 it.


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## RacingZR

So now the truth comes out........you had to sell the 04 to buy the wife a new Jeep. That makes sense


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## plowguy43

Wasn't planning on it. But the truck market is dead right now and the dealers weren't willing to purchase it outright. We found a mint Jeep Liberty at Macdonald Motors and got a great deal so it was worth it. I'll have it paid off in a year and she'll have a car to haul the kids and dog in when we don't use my company car. I'd rather pay monthly for something we'll use rather than sit until the snow flies as well so it was a good deal.


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## RacingZR

I hear ya, just giving you a hard time about the wife


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## plowguy43

RacingZR;1287256 said:


> I hear ya, just giving you a hard time about the wife


Oh yeah, no worries. I didn't take any offense. A happy wife is a happy life LOL


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## Stik208

plowguy43;1287325 said:


> A happy wife is a happy life LOL


If thats not the truth I dont know what is.


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## plowguy43

Finally got my torque converter in yesterday, and ordered another auxillary cooler as the one I was supposed to get was on backorder so I got a refund. I'll probably finally start working on this thing next week.


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## plowguy43

Long time, no work had been done. I took last week off and was able to work on the truck on Wednesday and Thursday only. I was able to get the front half of the truck lifted with the body lift (did this first so I could get to the transmission easier), swapped over my 04 wheels/tires, and pretty much have the old transmission out. I ran out of time with about 4 more bolts to be removed from the bell housing. I plan on getting back into it this weekend. I'll finally get the new transmission in, remove the bed from the truck, then prep the frame for some paint.


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## plowguy43

Figured I'd toss in an update. The transmission is currenlty on hold. When I looked into it more I noticed a few things that didn't match what I had purchased. The transmission was supposed to have a billet torque converter, the one sent to me is just a regular reman'd converter, the transmission was also supposed to have a B&M or Derale Deep oil pan, the tranny has a stock converter on it. This along with all the other issue's I had with them (they refunded me $50 for the auxillary cooler that was apparently on Backorder, but is actually $140+ at local parts stores) with shipping everything I tried re-opening my dispute with Paypal. Well they don't allow that and pretty much said I was out of luck. Same with Ebay. Thankfully I purchased it with my credit card for fear of this exact situation. After telling them everything and about 20 minutes on the phone, they credited me back every cent and are issuing a chargeback to the tranny company. The only stipulation is that I may have to return the tranny to them, or after 45 days if no action is taken then I keep the tranny and the money. Personally I just want the damn transmission I purchased.

Anyways, I plan on removing the old one still and doing the paint work to the truck. I'm searching out rebuild kits now as I may have one of the techs who works for me rebuild the stock one for me. We'll see how this turns out.


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## plowguy43

Just another update, this weekend I have plans to do the sanding and painting of the frame. I plan on removing the bed and hopefully sanding the new bed down for paint. 

I've also decided to do a 5 speed conversion on the truck as it'll end up costing me less money than buying or rebuilding the current automatic and they are MUCH more reliable than the 46RE that came in these trucks. I've plowed with a manual before so I'm not worried about it, I'm actually kind of excited to have a 5 speed again. 

I'm possibly buying a "donor" truck this week, or I found a guy selling an entire conversion (all the parts for it) as well. I will update this once I figure out what I'm doing.


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## plowguy43

Ok so I've purchased a new flywheel, clutch kit, and pilot bearing sleeve for the truck (all needed for the conversion. I'm also heading tomorrow to purchase a donor truck, Ram 1500 Reg Cab Short Bed 4x4 5 speed. I'm hoping to get my old auto tranny out this weekend, and install the flywheel and clutch on my truck as well. It will make swapping the parts over that much quicker once I get the other truck back.


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## plowguy43

Here is the donor truck, not much to look at but it runs and drives mint.


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## randomb0b123

using nv3500 instead of 4500?


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## plowguy43

randomb0b123;1295015 said:


> using nv3500 instead of 4500?


For the time being yes. I've spoken with a bunch of people who have used the NV3500 behind the 5.9 and have run 100k miles without issue. My plan is to run this tranny throughout the winter and use some of the money from plowing to buy an NV4500 and either tack weld the 5th gear or purchase a locknut part I found online that is supposedly the fix for it. Everything I swap over now will be the same, minus the transmission, which should make fitting the NV4500 pretty simple.

I got some work done this weekend. Got the auto tranny out, seperated the transfer case, and have all but 4 bolts to remove the manual tranny from the red truck. I also got the pedal assembly ready to be removed, clutch hydraulics are all set as well. The manual was much easier to remove than the auto was. Boy am I sore today, paying $2500 for a lift is well worth it- I'm going to have to get one soon. I can't work on my back in the dirt anymore (and I'm only 29).


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## Dirty Jersey

Nice project you have going. The 3rd gen wheels look good on the Gen 2's. I have a set of 3rd gen wheels waiting to go on my truck. Keep up the good work!

John


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## plowguy43

Thanks, I've made more progress fairly slowly. But I'm at the point now of installing the manual tranny into the truck.

Progress Made - 
Swapped pedal assembly
Cut Hole in Floor
Installed Pilot Bearing & Sleeve
Installed Flywheel and Crank position sensor
Installed Clutch kit (disc and pressure plate)

Doesn't really sound like much but that stuff took awhile. Also the cutch master cylinder is different in the 99 than the 94, so I had to order one of those up which I'll be picking up today.

Pics:


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## plowguy43

Pics of the new parts installed on the blue truck, and "modifications" to the floor.


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## mercer_me

plowguy43;1287235 said:


> Next weekend I will hopefully be replacing the transmission, cleaning out the interior, and removing the bed so I can sand the frame and POR15 it.


If you haven't already painted your frame, I wouldn't recomend POR 15. It's way over priced and doesn't work any petter than Rustolium. I painted 3 Internation plow truck frames last Summer and they are right back to rust now. My cousin painted his frame on his GMC 1500 with driveway sealer a long time ago and it's not rusting at all. I think driveway sealer is the answer when it comes to frames.


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## randomb0b123

mercer_me;1297106 said:


> If you haven't already painted your frame, I wouldn't recomend POR 15. It's way over priced and doesn't work any petter than Rustolium. I painted 3 Internation plow truck frames last Summer and they are right back to rust now. My cousin painted his frame on his GMC 1500 with driveway sealer a long time ago and it's not rusting at all. I think driveway sealer is the answer when it comes to frames.


no offense intended man but i think you did something wrong mines holding up great


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## Dirty Jersey

Also nice to see a dash that's not all cracked to hell! I also need to find a new steering wheel mine is finally had it.


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## mercer_me

randomb0b123;1297115 said:


> no offense intended man but i think you did something wrong mines holding up great


I needle guned all the rust off so it was just surface rust. Then I blew all the rust particles off the area I was painting. After that I opened the quart of POR 15 and painted untill the can was empty. I never reasealed the cans and used them later. But, the trucks I painted had side dump sanders that spread a sand/salt mix. So, the frames got alot of sand and salt on them durring the Winter.


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## plowguy43

I haven't gotten to painting anything yet as I only get like 3 hours worth of work done before I'm ripped away from it for family duty. Its taken a long time to get where I am but probably could've finished if I had 2 full days to work on it.

I'm probably going to rustoleam the frame for the time being, and then por 15 it after this season along with redo the interior (new carpet, katzkin leather for the seats, new pieces for the dash trim since the guy drilled a bunch of holes for his buttons).

I also found online that you can swap from the Ujoint out with a Ford F350 D60 and have a free spin kit to get rid of the weaker hub bearings on the Dodge. Much cheaper and gain 1-2mpg's, so I'm now searching for an axle or parts truck.


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## plowguy43

Well just to update, I'll get more pictures tonight as it started to rain.

Yesterday I basically finished up the swap:

- Manual tranny installed
- Transfer case installed
- Driveshafts both installed
- Tranny Cross Member installed
- Master Cylinder/Slave Cylinder Assembly Installed
- Shifter installed
- Quick check of everything, turned the key - Started Right up.

Its running rough at idle, and is throwing a code which I'll check tonight. I have a bad feeling its the crank position sensor. The one I recieved had the wrong plug on it, so I spliced my old plug onto it. I'm thinking that its not reading correctly.

I did drive it down my street and it shifted great, was great to finally drive this truck that I bought in early spring (never driven it except for in my driveway).

To Be Finished-
Clean the interior
Install the shifter boot
Remove the rear bed
Paint the frame after sand blasting
Replace some front brake lines- donor truck has like new front brake lines 
Replace front fenders
PAINT!


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## Dubl0Vert

Good luck with the sensor! Looking forward to the rest of your build, looks great so far!


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## plowguy43

I got to snap more pics. 

Checked the codes and it was the crank position sensor. Did a little research and found that the manual tranny CPS is shorter than the auto tranny CPS but when you buy an aftermarket sensor, they are basically the same length. So I stacked two washers per bolt on the sensor to space it back a bit, started it up and it idle's perfectly.

I got it registered yesterday and will hopefully get it inspected by the end of next week. Something is always coming up that pulls me away from it.


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## THEGOLDPRO

Sweet thread man, Keep the pics coming when you get a chance.


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## plowguy43

Thanks I definitely will. I was really hoping to have more done by this point but something is always coming up. At least now I can focus on some other things.

I purchased along the way (can't remember if I posted this already)
- 2006 Ram 2500 Front Coils with 20k miles on them from Texas (look new)
- 2" lift spacers for the front coils
- Upper and lower control arms. 
Searching for an F350 D60 front axle to swap over the manual hubs/knuckle making a cheap anti spin hub kit for the Dodge.


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## Dirty Jersey

Glad to hear the project is coming along for you. No to get off topic a bit. You would happen to have an extra driver side A pillar cover. I don't want to hack up my OG one for my gauges. If you do have one or have a link to one PM me. If not no biggie.

Thanks,


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## plowguy43

I wish you had posted that earlier in the week. I just sold off my donor truck and I'm pretty sure there was a cover on there still. I would've just given it to you for the price of shipping. Sorry!


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## Dirty Jersey

Hey no prob. Thank you any way!


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## Stik208

1999 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Sport V10
PLOWLESS, Shopping For a New V

Hmmmmm....did you dump the restoration in favor of this??????


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## Banksy

Ya, it's been a month and a new truck in your sig. Did you give up?


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## plowguy43

No not really gave up,. I just found an awesome deal on craigslist after I sold my plow. I tossed the blue truck on craigslist and it was sold in 2 days. I bought it for $2500, sold the plow for $1500, basically made money on the parts truck I bought for the tranny swap and then sold the blue truck for $2500 still needing some work.

I bought a near mint 99 V10 from an older gentlemen that was a Sunday driver for under $4000. So now I'm getting a plow lined up for the new truck. You can see pics in the Maine weather thread.


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## plowguy43

I meant I bought the blue truck for 2500, etc. The new Black truck was under $4000. I would've easily beeninto the bluw truck for more money and it still wouldn't have been in as good overall condition as my new one. The V10 has never plowed and is a cvery solid tight truck.


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