Surprise After Belly Pan Removed

[SINIS7R]

So I was preparing to do some preventative maintenance, differential and transmission fluid change, that required me to remove the belly pan. When I removed it, I saw a line of grease that was slung on the belly pan.
Then I went to investigate the half shafts and found grease slung from the passenger side CV joint. The biggest surprise was all the bolts holding the CV to the differential flange were loose.
5319353194

I wondered how could this have happened only on one side and not the other. So I looked back at the paper work from when the differential was replaced under warranty. The dealer only replaced the half shaft bolts on one side (ordered 6 instead of 12). These bolts, per the service procedure are single use bolts and must be replaced by new ones. Case in point, here is a picture of the good side.
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I already contacted the warranty department but they said they couldn't do anything really. So before I reach out to the dealer wanted to get some suggestions on how to handle this.
Ultimately, I would like the new half shaft I need, because of this service error, to be covered.

Additional details:

Differential was replaced at 12,685 miles. I just found this issue at 23,236 miles (super lucky I found this now and not after the bolts fully backed out).

[13COBRA]

11k miles later...it'll be hard to prove anything. Just hope the dealership will take care of a customer.

[ViperGeorge]

SINIS7R, I had the same issue with my ACR. I had it into a shop to diagnose a clutch issue so I asked them to go over the car since I track it. Driver's side bolts were all loose and I was slinging grease everywhere. The shop removed all the bolts one by one, cleaned them, locktited them, and re-torqued them. The shop does a lot of work on Mopars, SRT Jeeps, SRT Challengers, etc. They say they've seen the same problem on a relatively new Challenger.

[SINIS7R]

SINIS7R, I had the same issue with my ACR. I had it into a shop to diagnose a clutch issue so I asked them to go over the car since I track it. Driver's side bolts were all loose and I was slinging grease everywhere. The shop removed all the bolts one by one, cleaned them, locktited them, and re-torqued them. The shop does a lot of work on Mopars, SRT Jeeps, SRT Challengers, etc. They say they've seen the same problem on a relatively new Challenger.

Did they not replace the half shaft? Is there a way to re-grease these?
But that was my plan, get new bolts for both sides and loctite them so I don't have to worry about this

[Martin]

The good news is that dirt and grime probably didn't get into them, so re-packing them with grease might work out OK. I would still want to pull them, inspect everything, and make sure nothing is burned up. I've had CV boots go, and after about 10k miles (just a rough estimate because I don't know when they went) the axles were shot. But, that was because the dirt and grime could get in. You might get lucky - but to be safe, pull it and see if it needs to be rebuilt. If you're really lucky, your dealer will honor their work and fix it (if that was the half shaft they worked on - that wasn't totally clear to my foggy mind).

[Steve M]

If they only used 6 new bolts, that's on them. All 12 would have had to come out to R&R the differential, and as already stated, they are one-time use only bolts.

I'd raise a big stink over that one, elevating it as high as possible until they resolve the issue on their dime and time. Compensating you for your down time would go a long way too.

There's always safety wire:

https://i.ibb.co/F0QbrG4/Safety-Wire-Axle-Bolts.jpg

I won't lie, I put a lot of hours into that.

And for the record, those are not OEM bolts - they are grade 12.9 bolts that I drilled for safety wire myself, hence why it took so long (and I destroyed about 40x 1/16" drill bits in the process).

[Steve M]

Forgot to add: new OEM axle bolts have green thread locker already applied to the threads. Additional Loctite is not required.

Edit - here's a pic for reference:

https://i.ibb.co/QnnjDmH/OEM-Gen-5-Axle-Bolt.jpg

They put it on THICK.

The bolts are sold in pairs, and come with a new metal spacer/washer/whatever-the-hell-it's-called thing that connects the pair of axle bolts together already in place and ready to bolt in.

[Steve M]

For thoroughness, the OEM axle bolt specs are:

M10 x 1.25 x 54 mm socket head bolt (10 mm diameter, 1.25 thread pitch [1.25 mm between thread peaks], 54 mm under head length)
Grade: unknown
Wrench size: 8 mm hex socket bit/Allen key
Torque spec: 44 ft-lbs
Mopar part number: 06510757AA (Used for: BOLT AND RETAINER. Halfshaft. M10X1.25X54.00. Mounting. Rear Halfshaft to Axle)
Vehicle fitment: All 2013-2017 Vipers, all trims
Price: ~$8-9 per pair (as of April 2023)

https://i.ibb.co/KXF1bSZ/Gen-5-Axle-Bolts-OEM-Pic.jpg

Torque spec source (from Steve-Indy): https://driveviper.com/forums/threads/29816-Torque-Spec-needed?p=456106&viewfull=1#post456106

One other add: while you still may be able to source the axle bolts, you will likely not be able to source a new OEM Gen 5 axle shaft. I had to scour Ebay to find a couple of good used ones from salvage yards.

[ViperGeorge]

Did they not replace the half shaft? Is there a way to re-grease these?
But that was my plan, get new bolts for both sides and loctite them so I don't have to worry about this

They did not replace the half shaft. They believe the bolts were not loose for long and the half shafts looked good to them. I have no idea myself what they should look like. They did re-use the bolts though and did not replace them. I know Dodge says that some bolts are one time use, like Caliper bolts, but having a supply of OEM replacement bolts for everything seems tough to acquire although I will now look for them. I have always re-used Caliper bolts even though they are one time use. I guess maybe I'm asking for trouble.

Steve M says that OEM bolts come with locktite but that doesn't seem to explain why these bolts are coming loose. The shop was working on one of those new Challengers, the one that is like a Demon, but I forget the name. It had loose half shaft bolts and the car was fairly new. I guess this is something that requires periodic checking.

[PkB2014]

Yep, they are one time use bolts. I had this happen to me as well. Also after differential work. My mechanic reused the bolts as well instead of getting all new bolts. When I found it there was only 1 bolt that was tight and holding it all together. I was also very lucky it didn't give way at some point. Thankfully it was under warranty and was taken care of at a different dealer and no issues since. But I do check them now from time to time, especially before an event.

[Arizona Vipers]

If they only used 6 new bolts, that's on them. All 12 would have had to come out to R&R the differential, and as already stated, they are one-time use only bolts.

I'd raise a big stink over that one, elevating it as high as possible until they resolve the issue on their dime and time. Compensating you for your down time would go a long way too.

There's always safety wire:

https://i.ibb.co/F0QbrG4/Safety-Wire-Axle-Bolts.jpg

I won't lie, I put a lot of hours into that.

And for the record, those are not OEM bolts - they are grade 12.9 bolts that I drilled for safety wire myself, hence why it took so long (and I destroyed about 40x 1/16" drill bits in the process).

Woah, that's badass, nice work!

[13COBRA]

If they only used 6 new bolts, that's on them. All 12 would have had to come out to R&R the differential, and as already stated, they are one-time use only bolts.

I'd raise a big stink over that one, elevating it as high as possible until they resolve the issue on their dime and time. Compensating you for your down time would go a long way too.

There's always safety wire:

https://i.ibb.co/F0QbrG4/Safety-Wire-Axle-Bolts.jpg

I won't lie, I put a lot of hours into that.

And for the record, those are not OEM bolts - they are grade 12.9 bolts that I drilled for safety wire myself, hence why it took so long (and I destroyed about 40x 1/16" drill bits in the process).

That's beautifully done.

[SINIS7R]

Thanks Steve.
Do you have a good procedure to repack these half shafts? Also what grease should I use?

[ViperGeorge]

I just reached out to an engineer friend at SRT, he says one time use bolts are mandated for one of two reasons. First, the bolts could be "stretch bolts" that yield to torque, bolts like head bolts for example. These bolts should only be used once as they have stretched during initial installation.

The other reason they say to replace bolts is if the bolt comes with pre-applied thread locking compound. Since they cannot control whether the mechanic will in fact use new thread locking compound they say replace with new bolts since the new bolts will have thread locking compound pre-applied. However, he says that if you use locktite or some type of thread locking compound on these bolts you should be fine as they are not "stretch bolts" He believes most suspension and other driveline components use the pre-applied thread sealer hence the reason they suggest replacing them.

Given this, I think you are ok to re-use the bolts as long as you apply thread locker.

[Steve M]

Thanks Steve.
Do you have a good procedure to repack these half shafts? Also what grease should I use?

I do not...I've never personally had to do it, but I've always wondered what you'd need. Likely just some new Oetiker clamps as long as the boots aren't torn. A quick Google search for CV joint grease makes it look like they do make grease specifically for that purpose, although I'm not convinced it would have to be anything special.

Random thought: one of my Gen 5 axles came from X2 Builders on Ebay. Both joints were super tight compared to the other one I bought from a different auction - that one was what I'd expect to find from a CV joint that had been broken in, but not excessively worn.

My best guess is that X2 had this particular axle refurbished/rebuilt, so maybe a phone call to them would provide you some insight into how they do it, or who they might be able to recommend that could do something similar (or at least give you an idea of how to do it yourself). Prefix might also be a good source of info.