ghengishahn
Viper Owner
Here is an interesting story about a guy that took his 09 Viper in for service to fix the rear hatch strut. Funny and good to know as well if this happens to you.
Rear Hatch Strut Attachment Fit - Funny Story
- Thread starter ghengishahn
- Start date
CitySnake
Enthusiast
Wow! Forget the cost and damage cause by the extra work, the sheer amount of ignorance is frightening!
eucharistos
Enthusiast
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vpower01
Viper Owner
Anyone with any common sense and a thimble of mechanical skill would see the problem and fix it. ****ING IDIOTS!
67PLY
Enthusiast
Anyone else have this problem? One of the rivet heads popped off today on the same side ( driver ) on my 09 ACR..... less than a week after getting it out of the body shop.
Later,
Later,
67PLY
Enthusiast
Anyone? Do you just drill the rivets out and replace? Looks like aluminum rivets, replace with same? Or go with steel rivets?
Darbgnik
Enthusiast
I'd use a serious adhesive on it and use the rivets to hold it while the adhesive sets.
Maybe the aluminum rivets would mushroom easier than steel, thus not damaging the fiberglass??
Maybe the aluminum rivets would mushroom easier than steel, thus not damaging the fiberglass??
sssammm
Enthusiast
Actually, im suprised they never wedged a lump of 4 x 2 up the back and nailed it back...
steve911
Enthusiast
I have been reading this with great interest as I have 2 Gen 3's '04 & '06 with wings (1 with a comp coupe wing, the other with an ACR wing).
I looked at my mounting plates for the struts and discovered that the stems on 3 of the rivets had fallen out leaving what amounts to a hollow tube now that the stem was gone. that stem provides one heck of a lot of resistance to crushing and shearing of the rivet itself.
If the stem had fallen out of the rivets on the cars in question in this post, it could have easily accounted for the rivet failure especially with the added pressure of the heavy duty strut.
The rivet is a common automotive one, so if it/they ever need replacing it wont have a Viper tax associated with it.
I looked at my mounting plates for the struts and discovered that the stems on 3 of the rivets had fallen out leaving what amounts to a hollow tube now that the stem was gone. that stem provides one heck of a lot of resistance to crushing and shearing of the rivet itself.
If the stem had fallen out of the rivets on the cars in question in this post, it could have easily accounted for the rivet failure especially with the added pressure of the heavy duty strut.
The rivet is a common automotive one, so if it/they ever need replacing it wont have a Viper tax associated with it.
One thing I will say, is that the Techs do TRY very hard.
That said, I often have to return several times to get the same thing fixed. And then the Dealer repeatedly calls me to ask how my service visit was? (I duck these calls when possible). I could post stories, but I will just continue to be brave when I take the car in and preserve the peace.
The level of everything at the Dealers falls well short of the type of service one should expect with a $100k car (both in terms of quality and atmosphere). My BMW and Mercedes are both less expensive cars, but service is generally a much better experience. You also do not feel the need to sterilize the customer lounge with a flame-thrower before you sit down. Just say'in... .
That said, I often have to return several times to get the same thing fixed. And then the Dealer repeatedly calls me to ask how my service visit was? (I duck these calls when possible). I could post stories, but I will just continue to be brave when I take the car in and preserve the peace.
The level of everything at the Dealers falls well short of the type of service one should expect with a $100k car (both in terms of quality and atmosphere). My BMW and Mercedes are both less expensive cars, but service is generally a much better experience. You also do not feel the need to sterilize the customer lounge with a flame-thrower before you sit down. Just say'in... .
Same thing in my 2008 ACR! Driver's side as well. After reading this post, I went to the garage and a total of 9 minutes later (I drive faster) it's fixed! Thanks to each of you and especially to GHENGISHAHN for the original post.
67PLY
Enthusiast
OK, got an update. Had the car about 1 1/2 years, got hit in front, went to body shop for repair. 1 week out of shop. rivets broke on driver side mount for lift support on the body. I went back to the body shop for advise on repair. The guys looked at the bracket and noticed that all of the adhesive came off on the metal bracket, and none had stuck to the body of the car, meaning that there was little or no prep work to the body ( sanding or scuffing ) plus the type of adhesive they saw on the bracket was not a very strong one to begin with.So they proceded to grind off the old adhesive on the bracket, and use 80 grit sandpaper to rough up the mating surface on the body. With new rivets ready, they used a product made for gluing body panels together on high end autos, made by 3M , forgot the name, and we glued and riveted the bracket back on. I was told to let it set for at least 24 hours, then re install the supports. Well this worked great for 1 more week, then the one on the passenger side did the same thing. Seems as though the adhesive turns loose, then the rivets fail. I'm going today to get the other one re installed. I'm not sure why this is happening after only a little over a year, unless temperature, or the number of times the hatch is opened or what. I wash my car pretty often, and I open the hatch every time to wipe down everything, plus I've got my bag of detail products in the back as well. I took some pics of the bracket this time , and you can see that the adhesive is stuck to the metal bracket fine, but the surface that was stuck to the body is smooth, so it did not adhere very well. I hope this prepares the rest of you guys for what seems to be a common occurance.
Later,
Later,
Attachments
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BUMP ! Bumping this story as a reminder to fellow ACR owners to check the integrity of your Drivers Side Strut Rivets....
VIPER GTSR 91
Enthusiast
Hey SRT talk, where is that TSB you mentioned for this terrible design??
If you have had an issue with your 08-09-10 ACR or ARY struts, please contact me at [email protected]
Evaluation in progress. I need the last 9 of your VIN, and simple details: Left, Right, Failed / Loose / Repaired?
Update: Coincidence!? 3 of the 6 cars so far are Orange! 1 is red.... 2 I dont know..... Please Cooperate if you have an issue?
MODS: This is NOT a commercial inquiry, please allow my contact info to stand. Thank You. JonB~~~~~:<~
Evaluation in progress. I need the last 9 of your VIN, and simple details: Left, Right, Failed / Loose / Repaired?
Update: Coincidence!? 3 of the 6 cars so far are Orange! 1 is red.... 2 I dont know..... Please Cooperate if you have an issue?
MODS: This is NOT a commercial inquiry, please allow my contact info to stand. Thank You. JonB~~~~~:<~
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