Gen 4 ball joint and control arm question

[John Micciche]

I need a right rear upper control arm ball joint for my Gen 4 (2008) Viper convertible. It appears that I have to replace the whole control arm, rather than just the ball joint. Does anyone have any information on this?
Also I am having a difficult time finding the correct part number for the control arm for my car. Some of the adds I see say that their listed control arm is correct for all Gen 3,4, & 5 Vipers, And some say "not compatible for my car." Any info on part numbers or compatibility would be greatly appreciated.

 

[str5010]

I recall the service manual said you had to replace the control arm, but a replacement can be threaded in or pressed in. If memory serves it's the upper ball joints that are threaded. Howe makes high performance ball joints for the cars that many are running on their track cars. You can get them from a number of the track focused Viper shops like Complete Performance Motorsports in Ohio or through Bobby Archer/Jerry Robinson in Texas. I haven't checked in a few months, but the OEM ball joints weren't available at the time. The Howe units would be an upgrade.

 

[John Micciche]

Thank you sooo much for the info. Greatly appreciated.
Any other info regarding part numbers and control arms would also be appreciated.
Most info seems to imply that gen 3 and gen 4 control arms are the same even though different part numbers. And left and right are interchangeable.
Would like to have someone definitively verify that.

 

[str5010]

The places I mentioned can do that, give them a call.

 

[MoparMap]

I think one of the reasons the service manual states that you shouldn't replace ball joints but rather the whole arm is because they use a special gasket to help prevent galvanic corrosion. They are steel ball joints and aluminum control arms after all, so the two don't entirely get along on the galvanic chart. I think there is also just some general concern about threading stuff into aluminum and being careful about it, but I think that more just has to do with being careful. They might be concerned that old joints over time may seize up in the aluminum some and damage the threads when being removed would be my guess.

All that said, I have often considered going to rebuildable ball joints if I ever do have to replace mine. Would ideally give me the piece of mind that I can keep the joints fresh without wearing out control arm threads over time. Certainly an expensive way to go, but if control arms get harder and harder to find in the future it might make more sense.

 

[John Micciche]

Thanks for the info. Make a lot of sense. Can you help me to find out if left and right rear upper control arms are interchangeable, and correct part number or numbers for the upper rear left side control arm in my 2008 convertible?

 

[Steve-Indy]

Per the 2008 Parts Listing...the rear upper control arms are interchangeable...Part Number...05290117AB

As you know, the rear lower control arms are not interchangeable.

 

[John Micciche]

Thank you Steve-Indy. Most of the parts I see listed on ebay are 05290129AA. Is this and interchangeable part? Where is the parts listing you are referring to?

 

[Steve-Indy]

The many years of parts lists were posted here over a decade ago...in the Illustrated Upgrades section. Sadly, that seems to have disappeared.

I would suggest that you visit the parts desk at a CJDR dealer and view their computer screen to be certain.

 

[John Micciche]

thanks again

 

[stevensonjr]

i’m getting a knocking noise from the rear when hitting any size bump in my 05 Vert. Checked all bolts tight, exhaust tight and not moving, new shocks installed. Can anyone tell me the best way to see if it’s a bad ball joint, I’ve been chasing this noise for a while. Thanks, Bill

 

[CPsrt10]

i’m getting a knocking noise from the rear when hitting any size bump in my 05 Vert. Checked all bolts tight, exhaust tight and not moving, new shocks installed. Can anyone tell me the best way to see if it’s a bad ball joint, I’ve been chasing this noise for a while. Thanks, Bill

Had the same issue in my 04, check and see if the ball joints are plump and full of fluid and no tears or splits, some shops have rocket scientists that don’t put any grease in. You can also raise the car up and try wiggling the wheel with ur hands at the top and the bottom to check if they’re still tight and within acceptable amount of play. If it sounds like a metallic sort of clap I’d put money on it being those

Best of luck!

 

[stevensonjr]

Thanks, I made an appointment with my shop for Thursday, I’ll post what we find

 

[MoparMap]

The many years of parts lists were posted here over a decade ago...in the Illustrated Upgrades section. Sadly, that seems to have disappeared.

I would suggest that you visit the parts desk at a CJDR dealer and view their computer screen to be certain.

I think the parts lists are still hiding around here somewhere, it's just tough to find the thread. I think the upgrade section just linked to the original thread anyway. That being said, Roe Racing has them posted in their downloads section (https://roeracing.com/downloads/). I saved them all to my computer some time ago so I wouldn't have to look for them every time and in case they disappear from the internet.

For what it's worth it's still a good idea to talk to an actual dealer. The parts manuals are a snapshot in time of the parts available when the manual was made and released. Several have been superseded through the years. Typically the number is still the same and just the two letters at the end update to denote revisions, but there are cases where new numbers replace old ones. Gen 3 pistons are just one recent example I ran into where the numbers got weird. The number Prefix had in their system didn't match what other dealers had online when it came to supersession, but it didn't really matter in the end since I had to go aftermarket due to a overbore requirement.

 

[CPsrt10]

Thanks, I made an appointment with my shop for Thursday, I’ll post what we find

Awesome man! I’ll try to pull up the video I took of the sound so you can compare, crazy how much sound the little things can make

 

[CPsrt10]

New video by Cameron Prescott

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[MoparMap]

Wow, that is quite a sound. I don't think I've ever heard one crack like that. Normally I think they are more of a creaking sound, but certainly sounds like something is going on back there for sure that's worth checking out.

 

[CPsrt10]

Wow, that is quite a sound. I don't think I've ever heard one crack like that. Normally I think they are more of a creaking sound, but certainly sounds like something is going on back there for sure that's worth checking out.

Yeah at first I had thought it was the struts as you hear me saying in the video but after more investigation I found that the frame shop I had taken my viper to while I was getting the crash damaged fixed completely skipped over putting grease in the ball joints, 5 mins of laying under the car with a grease gun was all it took to fix it up and she’s been going good ever since, looking to replace my all joints coming up with some more track oriented ones!

 

[stevensonjr]

I did bring my 05 Vert to the shop on last Thursday, the ball joints were all OK. Still looking for the noise source in the rear when I hit a bump. Wet weather slowing things down.

Bill

 

[stevensonjr]

My noise is not like the video, it’s more muffled sounding when going over a slight bump

 

[MoparMap]

I could think of a couple different things, but hard to say without actually hearing it in person. The sway bar end links are basically small ball joints as well and not naturally greaseable, so they could maybe make some kind of noise. Same story on the toe link, but I would imagine an end link going before a toe link just based on the way the suspension moves. The other one that comes to mind is just the rear end. They are known to have a clunk from the factory, so I could maybe see hearing something like that when you go over a bump and unload a tire, but I'm not really sure on that one. Guess it wouldn't hurt to just check all the bushings back there as well.

I had heard the stock ACR KW shocks have some kind of clicking noise, but I don't know that I've ever heard it to know what it sounds like. My aftermarket coilovers will occasionally make a funny space age kind of twang noise, but I think it's just the springs rubbing on the plastic thread protectors that go on the shock body.