posted 02-01-2018 02:49 PM                  

Like I said only time will tell if this is actually going to work or not.

posted 02-04-2018 12:21 PM                  

A few other things Im considering is to smooth out the bottom of the bottom of the plate that contacts the boot to reduce friction, or possibly adding a thin teflon washer to ride between the boot shoulder and the spindle plate.

posted 02-05-2018 09:34 AM                  

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posted 02-05-2018 06:32 PM                  

Here is a young man with the answer, I believe he is correct.

posted 02-05-2018 07:15 PM                  

Sorry if Im stating the obvious or bringing up other people's points Im just trying to catch up and maybe provide some other ideas.

posted 02-05-2018 07:30 PM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by kayaksrfr1069:
Padroo that makes a lot of sense... And would also pretty much rule out the boot degradation being the cause of the issue and lean more towards road conditions and spirited driving. Unfortunately because it would require a complete replacement of the spindle and lower control arm it pretty much guarantees we wont see a fix from DC for this other than to keep providing ball joints (which they dont seem to be doing either). If the NHTSA is only seeing a few issues from this per year it'll be completely overlooked.

Sorry if Im stating the obvious or bringing up other people's points Im just trying to catch up and maybe provide some other ideas.

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The Prowlers won't generate enough complaints mostly because of their numbers. There will be no fix but I followed the video and I think he makes a valid point.
I have never been much of a suspension guy, if it breaks I just fix it and go on with my life. I have never replaced one of my own ball joints but have for other people. If I were designing a car I would find out what works and what doesn't and go with that.

posted 02-24-2018 05:44 PM                  

The arms upper and lower are available with a new ball joint but the cost is

Front
Drivers upper
4865321AA

Front
Passengers upper
4865320AA

Front
Drivers Lower
4865323AA

Front
Passengers Lower
4865322AA

Rear
Drivers Lower
4865319AA

Rear
Passengers Lower
4865318AA

#4
4865322AA
Lower Control Arm, RIGHT
961.00

There are only a few places that have stock of just the ball joint 300 dollars.

posted 02-24-2018 09:22 PM                  

Here is what the new BJ looks like with the shrink tubing:

And here is what it looks like installed:

Using Onecat's great instructions as a guide I had a fairly easy time with the install (although there's no way I was getting this done in an hour).

I used a 1.5" diameter dual wall marine grade shrink tubing that also has a heat activated adhesive that I found on ebay, it has a bit more elasticity than standard shrink tubing. I cut it oversized and then trimmed the top so the original boot is exposed at the top. I then trimmed around the bottom retainer ring. When installing, you need to flip the shrink tubing up at the bottom to get it to fit through the hole for the press fit:

Once the BJ is pressed into place simply flip it back down over the bottom of the boot and proceed with the rest of the install.

Again, only time will tell if this is an effective fix for the problem but at least the boot will be better protected.

posted 04-12-2018 12:05 PM                  

Went to the local Chrysler dealer that has a Viper/Prowler/Crossfire mechanic. He told me that it can only be repaired with replacing the entire lower control arm. Then it requires an alignment which takes a "Special procedure" and will cost $190 for alignment.

I took him a copy of the approved Chrysler repair procedure (TSB) last Friday and can't get him to call me back. Thinking that this may not be the best place to take it eventhough I have had good experience there in the past.

posted 04-12-2018 01:17 PM                  

Brad,,, I doubt there are many 'Prowler techs' still around at dealerships, or admitting they are one.... Check with other dealerships that sell many Vipers, and check with their Viper tech directly with your questions about the change. I'm thinking you will find the right place to take your car,,,,it will be worth a drive.

$190 for an alignment? Rather steep....

Good luck my friend,,,

posted 04-12-2018 03:53 PM                  

"The company received notice from the NHTSA Office of Defect Investigations of 2 field reports describing separation of the lower control arm ball joint on 1999 MY Prowler vehicles, and subsequently opened PE02-062 on August 13, 2002.

The company identified five additional reports of lower control arm ball joint separation.

The lower control arm ball joints on 5 company fleet vehicles were inspected. Three of the 10 joints inspected had torn boot, and four others were found to be distorted. It was not clear if there was a consistent cause of the boot tears, or if the boot distortion could eventually result in joint separation.

A review of parts returned from the field revealed that although there was evidence of boot damage, there was no specific causal issue that could be identified.

It was suspected that heat from the brake rotor might cause boot distortion. However subsequent severe braking tests done on an instrumented vehicle at the Chrysler Proving Grounds confirmed that brake heat was not causing boot distortion.

Other possible causes for boot tears or distortion were investigated.

Further analysis of returned parts suggest that an internal boot support collar within the ball joint assembly could be causing seal tears by cutting the seal from the inside. A design review determined that although there was no internal interference by design between the boot and this collar, this clearance was small (1.0mm)

An X-ray analysis of knuckle and ball joint/control arm assemblies was set up to further investigate this possibility, This analysis showed that there was contact between the boot and the internal collar on the ball stud after the ball joint was installed into some knuckle assemblies. This established that variable pull up into the knuckle assembly could potentially cause an interference condition that may eventually lead to boat degradation.

A separated ball joint received from a field return showed no evidence of boot damage. This suggested that a loss of sealing could potentially also occur due to torsional loading (twisting) of the boot.

A design analysis of the part revealed that interference with the collar as well as the tendency for torsional twisting could be eliminated with two changes. The undercut taper of the ball joint stud inside the boot area could be removed since this feature was not required for the Prowler application. Subsequently elimination of the undercut area will also allow the internal collar to be removed, preventing a potential cause of internal boot cutting."

posted 04-13-2018 09:35 AM                  

How to check Ball Joints.
Video: http://youtu.be/62bVn7E8gyk?t=46
See your owners manual for correct jacking points.
You don't have to lift both sides at once. One side at a time is fine.

posted 04-13-2018 10:15 AM                  

I searched for an alternative to replace the ball joints this week. I stopped by a local Sears Auto shop because I found a groupon to do alignment for $59. ASE Certified mechanic told me that he had not worked on a Prowler before, but did some checking and said that it is not that different from other vehicles especially after seeing the Chrysler TSB to replace ball joints and my Prowler tool set. They have Prowler specs for alignment and can do that too. Price is $336 for ball joint replacement showing 2.8 hours labor, plus $59 for alignment.