Starter Bolt missing, stranded with loose starter

[Ed's5.9]

Does anyone have the bolt specs for the 3 starter bolts on a 2004 Ram 2500 5.9l 24v I have found the part number (04429834) but I need size, thread, pitch and grade to find a quick match at fastener store, thank you ! 

[Me78569]

Are all 3 gone?  

 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Found.

twelve point cap screw, M10-1.50 x 35mm

Cummins p/n 3903834,

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/forums/1st-gen-ram-all-topics-93/thread-size-starter-bolts-299110/#post3061668

[Ed's5.9]

no only 1bolt was left and it was lose, also it's not the factory bolt (hex instead of 12pt) so I'm not sure if they backed out because they where not long enough to grab enough thread the shop where I got the starter done must have replaced oem screws. thank you guys for quick answer.

Are bolt sizes the same for 2nd gen 2 bolt starters and 3rd gen 3 bolt starters ? I ask because P/N 3903834 is coming up for 94-98 ram 2500.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Ed's5.9
typo

[Me78569]

from what I can see the bolts are the same for 94-11

[Ed's5.9]

Copy that, thank you Me78569 and Mike !!

[IBMobile]

When putting the new bolts in, check that the threads in the bolt holes aren't buggered up by the old bolts banging around on their way out.

[Ed's5.9]

Got the truck home and now trying to figure a more proper solution, I found some metal shavings on bolt threads when pulling the starter off to inspect threads so there was some damage to the threads. Looks like I will have to helicoil/timesert the holes or at least 2 out of 3 (noticed one of the threads is a pass through which should allow me to use a longer bolt with a nut to lock it in.)

On another note does anyone know if these trucks are suppose to have some sort of starter support bracket ? I didn't see one on there but wasn't sure if it even had one to begin with.

Last year I had the starter changed by a local shop, I was in a bit of a jam so I couldn't do it my self and now I'm paying the price ... So now that I have the time to do it my self I want to do it right so any tips or recommendations are welcomed, thank you !

[Buzzinhalfdozen]

No support bracket that I know of. They are one of the easier starters to change actually other than being kind of heavy to hold with one hand and line up the bolts. 

[Royal Squire]

My 12 valve ran for a while with loose bolts and lost one. I just put a longer bolt in the hole that goes through. Seemed to be enough extra threads to hold. Never came loose again but tightened bolts myself this time!!

[IBMobile]

I've replaced my starter motor twice now, thank you NAPA lifetime warranty, and pulled it down once to replace the crankshaft sensor. There is no bracket for it.  Ya it's a little on the heavy side but no big deal.   

Before you go through the trouble of helicoiling the holes see if you have enough 'meat' left in the holes to run a tap down them and clean them up.

[01cummins4ever]

I would also try different measures before drilling and installing hell coils, I tried that on an old 6.5 chevy diesel, wish I hadn't, Those starters are under a lot of torque, and not enough bite on those heli coils, trying to re tap the original threads would be the first option

[Ed's5.9]

I ended up buying the factory bolts from cummins, pulled the starter, generously sprayed holes with brake cleaner, hit it with some air and used a small caliper to get confirmed hole depths. Once I had proper depth measurement i proceeded to clean the threads by carefully threading the bolts in, once I started feeling any resistance I would back out spray and clean and then keep going until I got resistance and then rinse and repeat until I got the bolts in all the way to proper depth after performing this process on all 3 bolts I took starter to local rebuild shop for thorough inspection which was a good call because some of the bolts had came lose in the starter from all the rattling. With starter back in proper working order and clean threads with fresh bolts I put everything back together and tightened bolts as close to 37-40ft lbs as my scale certified hands could get it. At this point just for good measure I got a white sharpie paint marker and made straight lines down the side of the bolt heads and on the the housing of the starter of all three bolts to easily identify if bolts start to back out in the future. Its been a couple of weeks now and all line marks are still lined up, so as of now looks like its resolved but I will check periodically once or twice a week and keep a wrench an extra wrench in the truck for the next month or so. 

Also I learned something that may serve others that have this issue in the future. Visibly from the exterior it looks like only 1 bolt passes through but in reality 2 of them do the other passes through into the flex plate area I didnt confirm if alignment would permit it but it almost looked like if you use too long of a bolt you could possibly drive starter bolt into flex plate (made me feel at ease that I went with factory bolts...)  but for others that go with longer bolts you may want to take this into consideration. 

[dripley]

Good to hear.

[IBMobile]

Thanks for the report back. Sounds like you did a great job cleaning the threads up with out a tap. good info about bolt length.