Guidance needed - replacing a shock absorber.

[10BamBam01]

The right front shock absorber on my '03 is leaking. 14,000 miles on the car. The left one is fine. Here are my questions:

1. Is this a standard shock replacement job or is there something special that needs to be done for this car?

2. Do both shocks need to be replaced or can I just replace one and not worry about the other.

3. The Mopar shocks for this thing are over $800 EACH! Are they gold plated? Are they filled with crack *******? For this kind of money should I be looking at a different shock and if so, which one and where should I buy it and is there a difference in installing it?

4. Do I need to have an alignment done after installing the new shock? If so, is that a pretty standard deal or is that a special process as well?

5. Any other words of wisdom about my plight that you would care to impart?

Thanks for the help!

Bam Bam

 

[ROCKET62]

Bam Bam,

I have a stock front shock assembly off my 2005 with only 2000 miles on it and I would be willing give it to you at no cost - just pay for shipping. I'm over in the quad cities, so shipping should be minimal. I cant imagine that you would need to do an alignment and the shock replacement is a fairly straight forward job. From my service manual:

(1) Raise vehicle. (Refer to LUBRICATION &
MAINTENANCE/HOISTING - STANDARD PROCEDURE).
(2) Remove wheel and tire assembly. (Refer to 22 -
TIRES/WHEELS - REMOVAL)
(3) Loosen, but do not remove, nut attaching stabilizer
bar link to lower control arm (Fig. 17). Back off
and position nut at end of link stud (Fig. 18).
CAUTION: The nut must be positioned at the end of
the stabilizer bar link stud to help prevent the end
of the stud from being damaged when separating it
from the lower control arm.
(4) Position center punch in dimple on end of stabilizer
bar link stud (Fig. 18). Strike center punch
with hammer, releasing link stud from lower control
arm. Remove nut.
(5) Remove bolt and nut attaching shock assembly
to bracket on lower control arm (Fig. 17).
(6) Remove bolt and nut attaching shock assembly
to bracket on frame (Fig. 17).
(7) Using a pry bar, carefully push down on upper
control arm far enough to remove top of shock assembly from frame bracket.
(8) Remove shock assembly from vehicle, out through center of upper front control arm.​

Heck, bring over a case of beer and I'll do it for you and save you the cost of shipping. Let me know if I can help a fellow Iowa Viper owner.

 

[10BamBam01]

Bam Bam,

I have a stock front shock assembly off my 2005 with only 2000 miles on it and I would be willing give it to you at no cost - just pay for shipping. I'm over in the quad cities, so shipping should be minimal. I cant imagine that you would need to do an alignment and the shock replacement is a fairly straight forward job. From my service manual:

(1) Raise vehicle. (Refer to LUBRICATION &
MAINTENANCE/HOISTING - STANDARD PROCEDURE).
(2) Remove wheel and tire assembly. (Refer to 22 -
TIRES/WHEELS - REMOVAL)
(3) Loosen, but do not remove, nut attaching stabilizer
bar link to lower control arm (Fig. 17). Back off
and position nut at end of link stud (Fig. 18).
CAUTION: The nut must be positioned at the end of
the stabilizer bar link stud to help prevent the end
of the stud from being damaged when separating it
from the lower control arm.
(4) Position center punch in dimple on end of stabilizer
bar link stud (Fig. 18). Strike center punch
with hammer, releasing link stud from lower control
arm. Remove nut.
(5) Remove bolt and nut attaching shock assembly
to bracket on lower control arm (Fig. 17).
(6) Remove bolt and nut attaching shock assembly
to bracket on frame (Fig. 17).
(7) Using a pry bar, carefully push down on upper
control arm far enough to remove top of shock assembly from frame bracket.
(8) Remove shock assembly from vehicle, out through center of upper front control arm.​

Heck, bring over a case of beer and I'll do it for you and save you the cost of shipping. Let me know if I can help a fellow Iowa Viper owner.

That is incredibly nice of you! I'll be in touch with you about this. I just bought the car 2 weeks ago and my dealer wants to look at it this afternoon and "make it right with me". Not sure what that's going to mean. If he replaces the shock with a new one for free, that will make it right with me.

I found the problem a week after I bought the car and it was obviously a problem before that. This seams like something the dealer should catch and fix as part of the prep for selling the car.

Thanks again for the offer. In either case, I'll let you know how this turns out. Peace!

Bam Bam

 

[xlrashn]

Hey Rocket... that's awesome of you to offer that!! If he comes down I'll have to came along we can and make an outing of it.

You should see the stripes on his car... they are awesome. Carbon fiber-looking

 

[10BamBam01]

So, I took the car to the dealer and they confirmed that the shock is indeed bad and needs to be replaced. The good news is that they agreed that this is something that should have been replaced prior to sale. So, they are picking up the tab on this for me as it was discovered a week after I bought the car.

Thanks to everyone for the input!

Bam Bam