***!!!! No room to remove oil filter after 998 Recall. HELP!!!

[onerareviper]

O.K.,

Car is on jackstands (doing oil change), but I can't seem to get the filter between the crossmembers, etc... I recently had the 998 recall done, where they welded a new crossmember near the steering rack. I unscrewed the filter, but can't find a hole big enough to remove the Mobil 1 filter (M1-204). To the right, the oil pan is in the way. To the left, a suspension piece (don't know name) is in the way. To the front - this new crossmember. I've been at it for an hour. Tell me I am a *****, and instruct.....

Feeling reeeaaaaalllll stupid,

Onerare

 

[Tom Sessions]

Is the gusset that is rivited to the frame right below and covering the oil filter or is it pointed towards the front?It should not be pointed towards the rear covering the filter.I have seen several of these gussets install incorrectly during inspection at Viper days events.There are several good pictures that have been posted here showing the right way it should look under the car

 

[onerareviper]

*** Note: The picture below is correct. Mine is NOT like this.

Tom,

I AM PISSSSED!!!! They installed it wrong. They had my car for almost a month, and couldn't get it right!!!! They riveted the gusset right below the oil filter, in between the triangle of the frame (Towards the rear)(Under the drive belt in the picture below). Hence, my inability to remove the darn filter. It is like this on the left and right side. Can I assume the drivers side is wrong as well, and should be installed the same way as the picture below? What should I do? For now, I guess I will just screw the old oil filter back on, and fill up with new oil (since it's already drained). What have other Viper owners done to correct this mis-installation?

Thanks for any help Tom. You probably saved me several additional hours of frustration trying to remove the filter.

Thanks again.

 

[1TONY1]

That *****. Now you will have all these extra holes in your frame.

 

[Vic]

I would scream bloody ****** at the stupid dealership that did that work. Whats the matter with the welder? Can't he see that the oil filter is directly above where he was putting the gusset? Duh...

Call them and tell them to come tow it back to their place, and make them fix you like new. Call Dodge Customer Service, and let em know how you feel.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[onerareviper]

Here is another pics of where the gussets should be riveted. I am so pisssed, I am going outside to take pictures for you guys to see how mine is different.

I need a beer.

You must be registered for see images

 

[MichaelP]

IMO I would NEVER let that dealership get hold of my car again.

Post on the board where you live and get guys to tell you where they went for their recall. Then call Dodge service and [******].

Oh yea post the dealership before some other person makes the mistake of going there for the recall.

 

[Russ Oasis]

That is truly unbelievable. Why aren't there more competant techs like Tom Sessions? It's a real problem...not just for Dodge, but all American nameplates.

 

[luc]

If I remember correctly,the plates are not flat and conseqently are,when installed correctly,"side specific".

it will seems that the left plate is on the right and vice versa.

I feel sorry for you,but not vey surprised,more often than not, when you bring a car or truck to be fixed,they usually manage to screw something up.
In any case,the dealer own you big time.

luc.
Yor dealer is plain stupid, the instructions package in the recall,that all dealer got,have plenty of drawings to make sure that this mistake can't happen.

If they redo the job,you are going to end up with 38 1/4" holes in your frame,with 10 unused.
Nice way to reinforce a frame!!!!!!!
And from what Tom say,your are not the only one.

May be the best way would be to drill a hole,in the bracket,big enough to slide the filter through?

 

[onerareviper]

Here are the pics. Did I mention I'm pissed...

You notice in a few the oil filter in sitting on the gusset. Before I unscrewed the filter, I thought there would be enough room to remove toward the front of the car. Not expecting some bonehead did the recall incorrectly. Looks like the only way to remove the filter is through the triangle in the frame - where my nice gusset is now blocking. Did I mention I'm pissed?

Where's that beer.

P.S. - Please give suggestions. At this point, I'm leaning towards Luc's suggestion of cutting a piece of the gusset, so I can remove the filter. I would rather do this, than have hole in the frame from the rivets. Anyone else have any idea's?

 

[red98GTS]

Nothing a Sawzall and a carbide grinder won't fix in about ten minutes. Go for it. pete the ex-glass guy and hot rodder

 

[JGK95]

Ouch! Hope it all works out for you.

Jay K.

 

[ceieio]

Call DC HQ and ask them how they would like to proceed in setting this right. Someone needs to bend over backwards to get this right. From chatting around three to five days is a reasonable time for a 998 recall, a little off of the 30 days you suffered.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I'm sick.

I've been holding off on doing the recall. I always thought it looked like a hack job anyway, even when done correctly. I would think nice clean welds would be all thats needed instead of all those rivets.

 

[BigCarrot]

I'm getting mine done Thursday. He told me 3 HOURS!!! Not days, or weeks! That ***** man! I'd raise Hell with Dodge!!!

 

[onerareviper]

Oh well, it's been a long night. Absolutely no way to get the oil filter out from under the car, without removing/cutting the misplaced gusset. Screwed the old filter back on, and filled her up with Mobil 1.

P.S. - Tom, what have the other victims done to resolve this problem? Other than not being able to remove the oil filter, is there an issue with leaving the gusset where it is (Since cutting a section of the gusset sounds like a good idea - to get access to the filter)? HOW COULD ANY MECHANIC BE SO STUPID? I would assume a diagram comes with the recall instructions, not to mention the fact that one might realize the oil filter needs to be accessible. But it seems others are making this same mistake as well, so what's the deal?

 

[Viperzilla]

I need a beer.

After the faulty recall, you should have that fixed, no cost to you, and get a beer, no cost to you.

Where's my beer

You mean to tell me that you haven't gotten one yet?!? I'll give you one, under one condition. Viper ride after the ordeal is corrected! Just kidding. Good luck with the mess.

 

[genXgts]

OneRare,

After changin my oil today and giving a once over on my recall work I feel for ya.

While in my case the recall was performed correctly, they seemed to have not put the proper fluid in the rear differential, grinds like a fiend on corners, not good.

So go drain what you paid the dealer three times over cost to change and redo it yourself, go DC!!!

One thought, while not an expert on ACR models, they did run a remote oil filter setup different than our (assuming yours is as GenII as well) setup. Off chance, but by transferring over to the ACR system, which I recall seeing in the Dodge Motorsports catalog, perhaps that would relocate the filter to a position that would allow it to be removed. Off chance, but worth a look into.

good luck,

 

[jimandela]

where it that little puke graemlin when i need him...?

:ralph:

 

[ROCKET62]

This may be a reach - but it could be a way to avoid removing the plate(s) and leaving holes in the frame. Have the dealer pay for and install the remote ACR oil filter adaptor.

The only challenge is figuring out a way to get the old filter out? Just a thought?

 

[Viper Wizard]

That s$cks!!
If they got the Gussets wrong, what about the rest of the Recall??
They must be 5-Star?

Call the Wizard, maybe I can help?
I've had to re-do two Recalls so far from other Dealers!

 

[Ron]

The ACR Adaptor is not "remote", just without the spring loaded internal bypass.

In designing the "fix" remember to consider re-sale. I would think an incorrect installation (what you have now) would be just as much as a problem as a hacked repair (cutting the brace for filter access or drilling out all the rivets and starting over).

I would think removing the incorrectly installed braces, welding up the holes (or welding in a small plate to overlap the holes) coating the weld from the inside and outside for rust prevention, then installing the braces properly would be the only right solution. Clearly Dodge needs to get involved in order to engineer the repair as you don't want to have another hack making things even worse!

Appearances count. Good luck on this one and please keep us posted......

p.s. Take Chuck's advice and make the drive to see him. I guarantee he'll get it right.

 

[Janni]

Oh. my. God. The instructions are VERY detailed (with drawings....) so this is a pathetic error. Not only in the tech's inability to read, but placing the brackets where there already is triangulated support lacks common sense. (Not to mention anyone that's ever changed the oil knows that this is where you have to drop the filter... duh.)

Like Chuck said, I'd be very concerned about the rest of the recall, as well. You need to get to a competent dealer ASAP.

Please keep us updated and let us know if we can help.

I would suspect that the best way to fix the bracket problem is to cut out the piece that is blocking the hole without removing any rivets. Then, drill out the rivets on the crossmember and cut off only a portion of the piece remaining. Hopefully, use the same holes in the crossmember for installing the brackets in the CORRECT orientation. This will leave you with an extraneous piece of metal rivets to your frame (aft of the gussets), but I cannot see removing it and exposing the holes.

 

[SylvanSRT]

I love my Vipers. The dealers/service is the weakest link in the chain. I do all my service at Dick Scott Dodge in Plymouth and they are great. I hope that Dodge/DC take the proper action to remedy this travisty! would love to hear the outcome.

 

[Larry Macedo]

Chuck,

Orlando Dodge has performed a few of these recalls and it appears they are competent and proficient. Chris the Service Writer can be reached @ 407.299.1120 and he'll run the last (9) numbers of your VIN for any other open campaigns.

 

[Joe Dozzo]

You're pissed! And well you should be.

Thanks to your pictures I now know that Christophers Dodge in Denver Colorado just flat lied to me. My 1998 GTS was in their shop for the 998 recall and I don't have any of the gusseting shown in your pictures.

Christopher's Dodge, Denver Colorado - AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

 

[GTS Dean]

In regards to the extra holes that will be left in the process of correcting this screwup, I would drill the rivets out and install new ones to fill the holes aft of the crossmember. MIG weld the holes closed in the front edge of the crossmember, grind them smooth and paint to prevent rust. Once that is complete, redrill and install new gusset plates in the correct locations.

That is simply an unforgiveable mistake.

 

[slaughterj]

That's some major BS! Tom Sessions did mine, and at the time mentioned how some had been done wrong (i.e., like yours), glad he knew what he was doing! Thanks Tom!

 

[FRANK]

That's why I do all of my own work. All it takes is one idiot. Unfortunately, it was an honest mistake though...it happens...I'd drill out the rivets and MIG the holes in the frame up, grind them and then paint the frame rails with a matching chassis black paint. Then, I'd reweld the brackets onto the frame in the right position. I's weld up the holes in the brackets to the frame. You better hope that the next person who buys your car doesn't know this happened to your car. The typical anal prospective Viper owner will want to knock the price down because there are additional holes drilled in the frame etc. Now the car is worth less.

 

[1TONY1]

Don't call the dealer and tell them........take it to the same dealer for an "OIL CHANGE" and see what happens Don't leave it...... you have to stay at the dealer and keep an eye on it, or they will redo your recall without your supervision.