2006 coupe trying to install aldan rear shocks but cannot screw the aldan rear shock into the fork the threads are wrong

[All Car Guy And Viper NJ]

have a 2006 coupe and purchased aldan rear shocks for it when installing them I removed the originals and unscrewed the forks but the aldan threads would not go into the original forks are there diff aldan shocks or forks being 80 years old just really difficult . Needed a pipe wrench and a 3 foot pipe to remove the original shocks from forks very easy to remove the originals but now what any help would be greatly appreciated please call if you can Richard at 973 769 0092 in Morristown NJ. Original owner 25,000 miles corsa track system , random tech cat and 170 thermostat otherwise stock

 

[intense5.5]

I’m impressed that you’re 80 and working on your car yourself. I’m in Denville if you need a hand.

 

[barbdwire67]

I too have a 2006 Viper coupe, and have recently had the Aldan American coil over shocks installed on my car. My mechanic used a heat gun to heat the fork/ shock threads to allow removal of the fork (which is required to install the "new" Aldan coil overs). He says that there is some type of adhesive like "Loctite" securing the two parts together, hence the need for heat to aid removal.

The presence of "old" adhesive may be preventing you from assembling your Aldan's to the old forks. I'm told that the forks are not aluminum, but are likely some alloy like "white metal", which is a weaker alloy and can be easily damaged by using too much force. Take care or you will have to replace your Aldan's with another brand that includes the fork if you damage the original forks!!

I feel the the Aldan's would benefit from having their own forks and not relying on scavenging forks from the coil overs that are being replaced.

For the money that Aldan costs, I would look at a different manufacturer that includes the fork with their rear coil over assemblies if I were to need to replace the coil overs again. I feel it's a ****** setup from Aldan!!

 

[MoparMap]

Chasing the threads sounds like a good idea. Might be difficult as I'm guessing they are quite large and who knows if they are some kind of standard (I would hope so, as it would require custom tooling otherwise). Driveshaft yoke bolts are the same way. They get a lot of threadlocker buildup if you take them in and out several times without cleaning them up.

 

[All Car Guy And Viper NJ]

Appreciate all your help, guy in denville give a call and come visit . The aldan shocks I bought from Jegs were the wrong ones it seems that aldan makes shocks for 2 diff size forks one is 2 inch as the originals and also one in 2 1/8 inch the box is clearly mismarked. I sent the ones back to aldan that I bought from Jegs and they sent another set exactly like the first set, wrong ones. I am now waiting for the third set that should fit the 2 inch fork. They were very easy to come out of the car because of the 5 inch hole above the shocks that you simply push it up a bit into the car and then just lift it out over the upper a arm. I removed the inner fenders to line them with insulation because the noise from the tires is very loud.I bought a tool that is supposed to hold the shocks to allow removal of the shock from the fork. Well it didnt do the job. I took a large pipewrench to grab the shock and a 3 foot long iron pipe on the wrench and after taking a few nitro pills was able to get the shock out. They obviously used some sort of sealer on the threads. No problem holding the fork in a large padded vise. I did try heating the shock but it did not loosen it. Last year I needed to fix a leaking ps hose one goes into top of pump. I bought just the metal fitting and carefully cut the old one off so as to not ruin the detent on the hose itself it worked ok I did not want the repro hoses they have a smaller diameter and flow less fluid. Being 80 the difficult part of driving the viper is that the door panel and console are hard plastic and my elbows hurt by the end of the ride. But for 16 years I have been driving this car with almost no issues best car ever. Had a 2003, 2006, 2008 vette just literally fell apart had leaks, el;ectric issues, just a not reliable. Viper you can rev it to redline over and over it just says thanks take care Rich

 

[All Car Guy And Viper NJ]

Just a reminder about the aldan with no forks. Before you can take it off the fork you have to take the coil spring off. Not hard but just another pain to do. used a mcpherson strut compressor to do it . I did not see any other replacement shocks that come with the forks installed that did not lower the car, are there any shocks you can reco that comes with the forks that will retain close to the factory height. Also when in 2006 I was able to have the body computer make the fog lights act as daytime driving lights. It seems that in Canada that was standard. Another thing is when the voltage regulator went bad and was over charging it is located in the engine computer and cannot be repaired . Answer engine computers I believe are still available from dodge and are not expensive buy one or 2 to keep. I thought it was built into the alternator not so.

 

[MoparMap]

Appreciate all your help, guy in denville give a call and come visit . The aldan shocks I bought from Jegs were the wrong ones it seems that aldan makes shocks for 2 diff size forks one is 2 inch as the originals and also one in 2 1/8 inch the box is clearly mismarked. I sent the ones back to aldan that I bought from Jegs and they sent another set exactly like the first set, wrong ones. I am now waiting for the third set that should fit the 2 inch fork. They were very easy to come out of the car because of the 5 inch hole above the shocks that you simply push it up a bit into the car and then just lift it out over the upper a arm. I removed the inner fenders to line them with insulation because the noise from the tires is very loud.I bought a tool that is supposed to hold the shocks to allow removal of the shock from the fork. Well it didnt do the job. I took a large pipewrench to grab the shock and a 3 foot long iron pipe on the wrench and after taking a few nitro pills was able to get the shock out. They obviously used some sort of sealer on the threads. No problem holding the fork in a large padded vise. I did try heating the shock but it did not loosen it. Last year I needed to fix a leaking ps hose one goes into top of pump. I bought just the metal fitting and carefully cut the old one off so as to not ruin the detent on the hose itself it worked ok I did not want the repro hoses they have a smaller diameter and flow less fluid. Being 80 the difficult part of driving the viper is that the door panel and console are hard plastic and my elbows hurt by the end of the ride. But for 16 years I have been driving this car with almost no issues best car ever. Had a 2003, 2006, 2008 vette just literally fell apart had leaks, el;ectric issues, just a not reliable. Viper you can rev it to redline over and over it just says thanks take care Rich

Regarding the power steering hose, I think there is a "best of both worlds" answer there. I had that problem on my 04 as well and originally bought the aftermarket kit to convert to the AN style fittings. Long story short, I think they sent me the kit for the Viper truck and not for the car. The hoses just seemed like the wrong lengths and I couldn't route them in a way I liked. I also only replaced the line from the pump to the fan as it was the only line that was bad, no reason to pull the others just to make life difficult. I kept the original line though, which is where the final "fix" came in. Since I never liked the routing on the new setup, I took the old line to a local hydraulic shop here and had them just braise on a matching AN fitting to go with the part included in the kit. That lets me keep the original line and routing, but still use the better AN fitting that has a more solid connection. I think you can buy the adapter fitting for the power steering pump separately so you don't waste money on the hoses that you wouldn't use. Just another option for people to consider.

Just a reminder about the aldan with no forks. Before you can take it off the fork you have to take the coil spring off. Not hard but just another pain to do. used a mcpherson strut compressor to do it . I did not see any other replacement shocks that come with the forks installed that did not lower the car, are there any shocks you can reco that comes with the forks that will retain close to the factory height. Also when in 2006 I was able to have the body computer make the fog lights act as daytime driving lights. It seems that in Canada that was standard. Another thing is when the voltage regulator went bad and was over charging it is located in the engine computer and cannot be repaired . Answer engine computers I believe are still available from dodge and are not expensive buy one or 2 to keep. I thought it was built into the alternator not so.

There are a couple different aftermarket shock makers out there that come completely assembled, but they tend to be more expensive. I bought a set of MCS single adjustable ones many years ago that were ready to drop in out of the box and have threaded bodies so you can adjust the ride height wherever you want it. I lowered my car a tad with them, but you should be able to run them at stock ride height as well just as easily. I think they are maybe one of the "cheaper" options as far as higher end stuff goes. Otherwise you are talking about stuff like Motons and Penskes and the other big namess. The MCS kit was something like $2700 back in the day, though they don't come with springs, so might have been a little more in the end, I can't remember.

 

[All Car Guy And Viper NJ]

have a 2006 coupe and purchased aldan rear shocks for it when installing them I removed the originals and unscrewed the forks but the aldan threads would not go into the original forks are there diff aldan shocks or forks being 80 years old just really difficult . Needed a pipe wrench and a 3 foot pipe to remove the original shocks from forks very easy to remove the originals but now what any help would be greatly appreciated please call if you can Richard at 973 769 0092 in Morristown NJ. Original owner 25,000 miles corsa track system , random tech cat and 170 thermostat otherwise stock

I am getting back to the forum on the viper aldan shock problem it has now been 7 months of very hard work in exchanging and repairing this rear shock issue. The aldan people are very nice but the G3SBR2 rear shock for the 03 to 10 comes with a 750 lb spring about 9 inches long for the street they are very hard and difficult to live with. Car retained its stock height but was just too hard to live with, the car was actually bouncing over bumps. Like it had a solid suspension. They just sent me a free set of 550 pound springs which I will put in of course I have to remove the shock from the bracket fork again. When I did it the first time I used anti seize and not locktite should come apart. The new 550 springs are only 8 inches long the original 500 psi springs are about 12 inches long the 750 psi aldan are 9 inches long and twice the thickness. Does anyone out there have a nice set of original rear shocks with low mileage and not leaking the originals on the right had a leak. The roads here in Morristown NJ are not good and it is unpleasant. I am just not sure that this 8 inch spring is really correct for the car but I will try The original springs 500 were longer than the shock so they were under pressure needed a spring compressor to get them off. Not sure what much shorter springs from aldan or aftermarket means but I am sure it makes the car ride harder. My dodge truck actually rides better than my viper now over rough roads. any ideas would be appreciated call if you wish Rich 973 769 0092

 

[Goggles Pizano]

People are happy with the BC coilovers. There is a guy selling a mileage set he had on his gen3.