Rear suspension defect?

[PeterMJ]

That reminds me of my 3000GT VR4 all wheel steering car...

 

[ACRucrazy]

Again, you have to ask yourselves this, with the millions of miles driven on the road the odds of having a rear suspension fail and not end up in an accident are huge. It is just basic statistics. Please show me pictures of Vipers sitting on the side of the road with a rear suspension failure that are not wrecked.

Right now all I see is a crap load of wrecked Vipers with rear wheels bent in....this is meaningless since nobody knows what the failure is...tie rod, knuckle, A-arm, hub, etc....oh, did I mention the cars were all wrecked?

Just because a rear wheel goes into massive toe out or toe in, does not guarantee a wreck (I've seen a lot of cars sitting on the freeway with suspension failure where the wheel was literally laying sideways and the car was able to be safely brought to a stop). Once I see 5 oar 6 pictures of rear knuckle failures (or whatever the part is that is failing) that don't end up in wrecks, then I would start getting more concerned....statistically this would have to be happening.

Cheers,
George

What about the multiple threads out there where the owners said they were driving along when the car suddenly lost control and darted across the road?

 

[TrackAire]

What about the multiple threads out there where the owners said they were driving along when the car suddenly lost control and darted across the road?

I've talked to a LOT of Viper owners who have lost it and had no reason for it, on the street and track. There are multiple things going on in the rear suspension of a Viper, and if any one of those things is not right or is not within spec, it can cause a car to lose control much easier.

I don't want to see pics of Viper in an impound yard (tow truck operators have bent the suspension of Vipers just loading them wrong)....the odds would show that if there was any severe issue, there would be multiple vehicles that broke down at highway speeds, did not wreck and are sitting on the side of the shoulder. 95% of the time you're on the highway, you're going a straight line. With the million of miles that have been traveled in a Viper, the odds dictate that if there was a failure at highway speed, a percentage of those car would have been able to come to a stop and not wreck in the process. Where are those pictures??

Since Vipers are kind of an oddity, there would be multiple pictures of Vipers sitting on the side of the road (not impound yard, again this is vague as to why the wheel is bent in) with the wheel failure. Once I see cars parked on the side of the road with a bent "wheel" and not wrecked, then I would start getting very concerned. Until then, there are just too many vague facts being thrown out.

This issue should be investigated, but at this point I'd be more worried about my window regulator.

Cheers,
George

 

[JAY]

I agree 100 % Garrett , cheap insurance ! Thanks for your help , supports installed !

I agree the pictures look scary, Since all of the treads started I have installed the rear supports on my car.

http://www.snakeoylproducts.com/product.php?productid=17851&cat=341&page=1

I don't think I will ever need them, but for under $300 and a piece of mind it does not make sense not too.

 

[ACRucrazy]

2005 broke

rear suspension defect

Has anyone heard of any issues, or incidents from a defect in the rear suspension? Preliminary report from collision center says left rear knuckle has a clean break (no pics yet).
Wife and I getting on interstate, my kids where following right behind; no other traffic fortuneately. Definately not getting on it. Driving about 45. Next I know it fealt like I was rear ended, car took a very hard left into the concrete embankment.

Doing 45 when this broke. Never been on a track.

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Comp coupe broke
Rear wheel breaks off!!!

It happens in vipers that are raced with some regularity. SnakeOyl products sells the rear toe link support for the rear upright that prevets the wheel from turning in abruptly in the event the rear toe link mount breaks.
Here is a pic of the piece. It saved my butt once.

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2006 with 10k miles broke

A good friend has a 2006 SRT10 coupe with just around 10,000 miles on it and the right rear wheel assembly broke off and turned 45 degrees in the wheel well. The car has no history of being tracked or otherwise abused. The owner, who's in his 70's, uses it as a good weather cruiser. Fortunately the problem occurred in his neighborhood while he was driving at a very moderate speed. It turned the car around and put it in a ditch resulting in some underside damage. The dealer says the 'rear knuckle' sheared off. (I'm thinking that's like a U-joint) The car is still under the MOPAR extended warranty but it doesn't cover the additional damage to the car beyond the rear end issues.

He's very lucky he wasn't on the freeway otherwise it would have made the newspapers. Anybody out there ever hear of something like this happening or a failure similar to this???

05 and 06 possible recall coming

There is no doubt that the rear knuckle is basically made out of glass. Unfortunately I have broken several....
I can say from personal experience, any impact to the rear wheel/axle will will damage the knuckle. It's that simple.....
For the last year or so, I have been using a bracket that braces the the knuckle's "wing" to the main hub. It is similar to SO's but thicker and a little bigger.
NO PROBLEMS SO FAR...
Mine was built by the fabricator that built my roll cage.
( Sorry for the dirty suspension photos....)

2004 with 39k miles broke
Just wrecked my car I just I just bought 2 days ago.

Little Update. 2/16/2013

Real culprit to why I spun out and totaled the car. Adjuster and mechanics called me to ask what happened when I was driving to lose control. I told them I ****** the wheel a bit to miss a deer in the middle of the road (I was in the left lane so I turned to the left a little bit) turned the wheel left and went to straighten out the wheel and all of a sudden the car banked a hard right.... They called me over and showed me the wheel and there is no damage on the wheel to indicate why the wheel was in like that. The inner toe just look like it snapped (COMMON PROBLEM FOR VIPERS THAT ARE TRACKED).
Toe must have cracked when I ****** the wheel to the left a little bit, I didn't **** that hard at all, deer was in the middle of the highway.

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So what is it going to take to get a new design where this is not a worry/concern/problem. The fact that people are making brackets because this does break is a red flag in my book. A great bandage, however Dodge has had how many years now to improve this so its not longer a problem, racing or not?

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[ringram]

Easy fix if they can be bothered and likely to save life and limb.

 

[Richie7]

Is this a gen 3 problem or have any gen 4s had this happen??

 

[ACRucrazy]

Treesnake said he has broke several racing. He has an ACR.

 

[Richie7]

Treesnake said he has broke several racing. He has an ACR.

several!?!?

 

[SLViper]

I've talked to a LOT of Viper owners who have lost it and had no reason for it, on the street and track. There are multiple things going on in the rear suspension of a Viper, and if any one of those things is not right or is not within spec, it can cause a car to lose control much easier.

I don't want to see pics of Viper in an impound yard (tow truck operators have bent the suspension of Vipers just loading them wrong)....the odds would show that if there was any severe issue, there would be multiple vehicles that broke down at highway speeds, did not wreck and are sitting on the side of the shoulder. 95% of the time you're on the highway, you're going a straight line. With the million of miles that have been traveled in a Viper, the odds dictate that if there was a failure at highway speed, a percentage of those car would have been able to come to a stop and not wreck in the process. Where are those pictures??

Since Vipers are kind of an oddity, there would be multiple pictures of Vipers sitting on the side of the road (not impound yard, again this is vague as to why the wheel is bent in) with the wheel failure. Once I see cars parked on the side of the road with a bent "wheel" and not wrecked, then I would start getting very concerned. Until then, there are just too many vague facts being thrown out.

This issue should be investigated, but at this point I'd be more worried about my window regulator.

Cheers,
George

I cant speak for anyone else but my "Highway Speed" tends to be around 85 MPH. I am pretty sure if one of the 13 inch wide rear tires was to suddenly turn in and contact the frame at a steep angle that you could not control the car, and ease off the side of the road. Also makes sense to me that the breaks would occur under stress. For Example full blast hole shot, High speeds curves etc. High speed off road excursions end in roll overs, ejections and Death. Untill now chocked up to "Driver Error" If my window regulator fails It can be repaired, the above scenario's can't.

 

[treesnake]

Treesnake said he has broke several racing. He has an ACR.

My apology if I wasn't clear, rear knuckles broke due to an impact. Not a hard hit but an impact nonetheless..
When I saw how easy it broke, I ordered the bracket.

 

[ACRucrazy]

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[knuk]

I had this happen BUT a guy on a motorcycle ran right int my rear wheel at the gas station. This was an extremely low speed hit but it broke the "knuckle" - my wheel ended up on a 45 degree angle as well!
From the speed in which he hit me I never imagined that amount of damage could be possible. The bike was only going 2-3 mph. When we checked the damage it appeared there was only a small scratch on the rim....when I went to drive away the wheel ended up at a 45 degree angle. I was totally shocked!
Mechanic said it must have been a fluke, was just hit perfectly.
If it only takes a small amount of stress to break the knuckle then we should all be worried about high speed cornering etc...you think?

 

[NO HEMI]

I'm with SL viper, that's why i had mine mounted 2 weeks ago!!

 

[knuk]

Should this be an issue that Dodge does a recall? Is very dangerous and possibly a poor design?

 

[SLViper]

I'm with SL viper, that's why i had mine mounted 2 weeks ago!!

Mine will be here in a few days, Do they mount with existing bolts? How long will it take to install once you pull the back wheels? Are torque settings in the instructions
It may take years for the recall.
Not just cheap insurance but peace of mind for $318.00!
Thanks,

 

[DMan]

Mine will be here in a few days, Do they mount with existing bolts? How long will it take to install once you pull the back wheels? Are torque settings in the instructions
It may take years for the recall.
Not just cheap insurance but peace of mind for $318.00!
Thanks,

Same here. Almost 15 yrs of viper ownership and I first heard of this on here a couple wks ago. I asked Tom Sessions about it when he worked on my car and although he said he's only seen them break from cars tapping wheel to wheel on the track, he recommended getting the brackets, as in the difference of eating a concrete retaining wall and actually being able to just limp the car home. Next day I reached out to SnakeOyl, for $300 and 20 min install, that's serious peace of mind. Hopefully Ralph and company offer something, like even a voluntary Mopar upgrade, Tom mentioned their race cars they put different ones one so its not an issue, they could offer those to those who want them ...

 

[JAY]

Easy install , less than 2 hours with wheels off , bolts are supplied , torque I BELIEVE was 110 foot/lbs at spindle bolts and 55 ft/pds at tie rod nut . Check your parking brake inner pad while ypur there .

Mine will be here in a few days, Do they mount with existing bolts? How long will it take to install once you pull the back wheels? Are torque settings in the instructions
It may take years for the recall.
Not just cheap insurance but peace of mind for $318.00!
Thanks,

 

[NO HEMI]

SL Viper: what Jay said is correct.

 

[SLViper]

Got the upright braces installed Wed in less than 2 hours, which included some wheel off detailing.
Has anyone called a dealer as Chrysler Spokesman Eric Mayne said below? Curious what they would say about it.

Chrysler said it is cooperating in the investigation and that the Viper meets all federal safety standards. Spokesman Eric Mayne said any Viper owners with concerns should contact a dealer.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/2...ge-viper-for-suspension-problem#ixzz2TSQ3q3w5

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[bluesrt]

Got the upright braces installed Wed in less than 2 hours, which included some wheel off detailing.
Has anyone called a dealer as Chrysler Spokesman Eric Mayne said below? Curious what they would say about it.

Chrysler said it is cooperating in the investigation and that the Viper meets all federal safety standards. Spokesman Eric Mayne said any Viper owners with concerns should contact a dealer.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/2...ge-viper-for-suspension-problem#ixzz2TSQ3q3w5

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the dealer will say, shure bring it in, and give you a diognostic check fee along with a list of things you need..... lol

 

[steve911]

What is the dealer going to do that you cannot? There are no diagnostic tests. They will pull the wheel and look. The same thing that you can do, and save some money at the same time...

Got the upright braces installed Wed in less than 2 hours, which included some wheel off detailing.
Has anyone called a dealer as Chrysler Spokesman Eric Mayne said below? Curious what they would say about it.

Chrysler said it is cooperating in the investigation and that the Viper meets all federal safety standards. Spokesman Eric Mayne said any Viper owners with concerns should contact a dealer.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/2...ge-viper-for-suspension-problem#ixzz2TSQ3q3w5

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[ViperGeorge]

I have the SnakeOyl brackets on my car. My co-driver in the One Lap of America put the passenger side of the car sideways into the tire wall at the bus stop at Daytona. When we checked the suspension everything looked good. Wheels were scraped to hell though, the splitter was cracked, and there were a few small scratches in the rear quarter panel. Question is short of x-raying the suspension could you really tell it was going to fail????

 

[swexlin]

My apology if I wasn't clear, rear knuckles broke due to an impact. Not a hard hit but an impact nonetheless..
When I saw how easy it broke, I ordered the bracket.

What did you hit, and did you lose control when it happened? I assume since your car is OK you were able to maintain control.

 

[WDW MKR]

I just went to order the brackets only to be charged more than $30 to ship a tiny box to Ohio. Killed the order and sent them an email to see if it's an error. Other folks charged the same? The price is already plenty high for two small brackets. I'll make something before spending over $300 on these.

 

[PeterMJ]

I just went to order the brackets only to be charged more than $30 to ship a tiny box to Ohio. Killed the order and sent them an email to see if it's an error. Other folks charged the same? The price is already plenty high for two small brackets. I'll make something before spending over $300 on these.

330 bucks, now this is some viper tax. I would wait for factory retrofit or reinforcement, no doubt there will be one coming. Gilles should really figure out what his priorities are and quickly.

 

[WDW MKR]

Snake-Oyl was kind enough to email me back. Basically said cost is due UPS fees, banking fees, fuel surcharges, environmental fees for cadmium plating, etc. Still doesn't add up for me, but I appreciate that they responded.

 

[Steve M]

330 bucks, now this is some viper tax. I would wait for factory retrofit or reinforcement, no doubt there will be one coming. Gilles should really figure out what his priorities are and quickly.

I think you might be overly optimistic about that one.

 

[TrackAire]

Snake-Oyl was kind enough to email me back. Basically said cost is due UPS fees, banking fees, fuel surcharges, environmental fees for cadmium plating, etc. Still doesn't add up for me, but I appreciate that they responded.

It costs a business with a UPS account approximately $15.50 to send 10 lbs across the country via UPS to a residential address......about $13.25 for 5 lbs.
All the other charges should be in the price of the bracket.....not the freight line but it is their right to charge whatever they want for freight.

Regarding a Viper Tax, I'll let you do the math.

Cheers,
George

 

[ACRucrazy]

Snake-Oyl was kind enough to email me back. Basically said cost is due UPS fees, banking fees, fuel surcharges, environmental fees for cadmium plating, etc. Still doesn't add up for me, but I appreciate that they responded.

I ship items weekly via FedEx and USPS.
You are correct, it doesn't add up.
USPS even offers flat rate boxes, free box included!
Small box (if they fit?) $5.80
Medium $12.35
Large (baby sized) $16.85.

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