WTF is going on with Viper Parts

[GTS Dean]

I would take the old clutch assembly to a reman shop and let them have a look at it.

[Fatboy 18]

I would take the old clutch assembly to a reman shop and let them have a look at it.

That's a new term for me! What's a Reman shop?

[Steve-Indy]

Reman = Remanufactured

[Lawineer]

Brandon seems like a straight shooter, but they did drop the ball on a few jobs for me in the past

The noise associated with the throw out bearing was a concern back when I first took the car to them 7 months ago, but I was told the sound was normal until recently

He's definitely going through growing pains and learning the ropes of being a new small business owner. I can relate (and am fortunate to). That's a heck of a lot different than dishonest though. At least in my dealings with him. Then again, I was referred to him by someone who probably refers him a good amount of business and one of my closest friends taught him a lot to get him into the industry. But even still, he just didn't strike me as that kind of guy. He spent a lot of time looking for ways to get parts cheaper and etc.

If he was going to be dishonest, he wouldn't tell you not to replace the throw out bearing. I'd bet on having a worn clutch long before him scamming you to make a few bucks on a clutch he didn't upsell you on.
It's a massive V10 with no rev match. It's not hard to wear through a clutch with launches, track days and just being a "meh" manual driver.

[Mikey]

He's definitely going through growing pains and learning the ropes of being a new small business owner. I can relate (and am fortunate to). That's a heck of a lot different than dishonest though. At least in my dealings with him. Then again, I was referred to him by someone who probably refers him a good amount of business and one of my closest friends taught him a lot to get him into the industry. But even still, he just didn't strike me as that kind of guy. He spent a lot of time looking for ways to get parts cheaper and etc.

If he was going to be dishonest, he wouldn't tell you not to replace the throw out bearing. I'd bet on having a worn clutch long before him scamming you to make a few bucks on a clutch he didn't upsell you on.
It's a massive V10 with no rev match. It's not hard to wear through a clutch with launches, track days and just being a "meh" manual driver.

Agreed, he hasn't tried to upsale me in the past and a clutch that's taken a month to get in wouldn't make sense. They've missed some things in the past, which is why I was hesitant to make the commute to drop the car off again for the bearing, but don't feel he's been dishonest

[SLYBRI]

Jon B is always a great go-to source for sure. As an addendum to my earlier post, it’s looking like the MO-041 filters are broadly available again (apparently without the -AB designation I had heard of elsewhere). Perhaps a supply chain blip with no changes as these filters are built in Wix’s Filtron plant in Poland; perhaps delays were due the ongoing Ukraine/Russia war next door).

[ViperGeorge]

Jon B is always a great go-to source for sure. As an addendum to my earlier post, it’s looking like the MO-041 filters are broadly available again (apparently without the -AB designation I had heard of elsewhere). Perhaps a supply chain blip with no changes as these filters are built in Wix’s Filtron plant in Poland; perhaps delays were due the ongoing Ukraine/Russia war next door).

I'm sure is was Let's go Brandon's (aka Uncle Joe) fault.

[Fatboy 18]

Reman = Remanufactured

Thanks Steve

[Martin]

Not to beat this one to death, but I just got done following Dodge Speed Week, and Mopar Direct Connection has just about everything you need to build vintage Challengers and Chargers from the ground up, plus parts for most of the modern vehicles. I wonder what the odds are that we could get them to listen to our plight about trying to find parts for our cars that are still under warranty.

[Steve-Indy]

Martin, you make a good point.

Many times when my fellow local owners check at their nearby CJDR for a given part they have been told that they are no longer available. Part of this is due to the corporation changing part numbers. In other cases, one must asked them to check in VINTAGE PARTS, while in a few cases they need to check for a designation of "SSD"...Supplier Ships Direct.

Interestingly, when you apply these "tips", the part often arrives. Persistence pays off.

[Gen5snake]

Not to beat this one to death, but I just got done following Dodge Speed Week, and Mopar Direct Connection has just about everything you need to build vintage Challengers and Chargers from the ground up, plus parts for most of the modern vehicles. I wonder what the odds are that we could get them to listen to our plight about trying to find parts for our cars that are still under warranty.

If I'm understanding you correctly, if you're seeing if they can manufacture parts, I think it wouldn't hurt to try and is a good idea. It wouldn't be limited to cars under warranty. We all need parts. The issue we're going to run into is everyone wants to make money and the low production numbers may be a problem...the juice may not be worth the squeeze for them.

[StrokerAce]

Anyone have a passenger window switch?

[MoHaWk2003]

How are the 05-06 Ford GT owners doing with parts for their cars? Or are they just not driving them as much as ours?

[ViperGeorge]

Anyone have a passenger window switch?

Maybe check with JonB at PartsRack for a used one.

[Martin]

Martin, you make a good point.

Many times when my fellow local owners check at their nearby CJDR for a given part they have been told that they are no longer available. Part of this is due to the corporation changing part numbers. In other cases, one must asked them to check in VINTAGE PARTS, while in a few cases they need to check for a designation of "SSD"...Supplier Ships Direct.

Interestingly, when you apply these "tips", the part often arrives. Persistence pays off.

There are a number of factors at play. Sometimes, during initial design, parts were repurposed from other models - and then given new Viper P/Ns. In the process, people forgot what those identical other parts were. Then, we have the situation where part numbers get changed and a search needs to be done on the vintage parts, or direct shipments from suppliers.

Finally, we have operations like Direct Connection that has all the capability to deliver, but for some reason they're not in the loop.

I have friends who have DeLoreans, and they can still get just about any part they want. All the tooling was bought up, and it's a thriving business.

It's a weird phenomena with Vipers - compared to many supercars, it's a reasonably high volume car with rather low tech equipment. If you want to get parts for other out of production cars with similar performance characteristics, it's possible to find just about anything. For the Viper, if you want something as simple as a window regulator or window switch, you could be searching for a year.

Between 3-D printing, a bit of sleuthing to figure out what parts cross reference to other FCA cars, what other parts could be "reasonable replacements" because they're not visible but still work, and the aftermarket community, there's got to be a way out of this.

If we do see the value of our cars go down, it will be because replacement parts aren't available. There are enough of us out there that we should be able to solve this.

[13COBRA]

How are the 05-06 Ford GT owners doing with parts for their cars? Or are they just not driving them as much as ours?

VERY tough to come by some things

[Mikey]

This convo went over my head, so if someone can explain it better

What is stopping someone from making made to order spare parts? Molds, licensing?

[Martin]

This convo went over my head, so if someone can explain it better

What is stopping someone from making made to order spare parts? Molds, licensing?

Mostly economics. For a part that would normally cost less than $100 (like a window regulator) it just doesn't make sense to most aftermarket manufacturers. I'm quite sure a DIY solution could be had, but how many of us are willing to do it? For the mega buck parts like CF pieces and body panels, those really need to come from a shop that has very expensive tooling. They're out there, but they haven't yet been drawn to the Viper world (for the most part). When I saw what Direct Connection is doing for old and new Dodge cars, many of which are rarer than our Vipers, it got my head scratching.

Why don't they do it? It may be as simple as they haven't had enough people call them and ask for it.

[StrokerAce]

Maybe check with JonB at PartsRack for a used one.

Good call. I sent him an email. Thanks.

[ViperGeorge]

I've thought about starting to hoard some parts. Things that if they fail would render the car inoperable or at least materially affect usage. Window regulators come to mind, as do things like door nodes, door latch mechanisms, ball joints, steering racks, etc. Now if I could only find some of these parts... I would love to have a spare left and right window regulator. Those damn things fail just sitting around and are as rare as hen's teeth. Wayne Raul told me he has two cars with less than 500 miles that both need regulators. He has them fortunately. Window glass is also a problem not to mention almost any body panel. I suppose I should pick up crank sensor, cam sensor, coil packs, etc.

What parts are top on your priority list? I would think parts that are Viper specific and could not be replaced by a generic part. For example the oil cooler is Viper specific but could probably be replaced by a generic part of some kind.

My list would include:

Window Regulators (both sides) - Top Priority
Door nodes
Door latch mechanisms
Ball joints
Headlights
Taillights
Side Sills
Control Arm bushings
Control Arms
Steering Rack
Window Switches
Cam Sensor
Crank Sensor
Throttle Bodies maybe
Door Glass
Windshield
ACR Shocks (actually have these!)
Any and all body panels
Radiator Fans

What other parts would you add?

[Mikey]

Tires apparently, Jon B only had 1 set of continentals left when I placed my order

[ViperGeorge]

Tires apparently, Jon B only had 1 set of continentals left when I placed my order

I have 3 sets, 1 set of Michelins and 2 sets of Kumhos. Tires do have an expiration date though. Michelin is selling the PS4 in our sizes now.

[Gen5snake]

I have 3 sets, 1 set of Michelins and 2 sets of Kumhos. Tires do have an expiration date though. Michelin is selling the PS4 in our sizes now.

JonB suggested buying 50 gallon bags and placing the tires in them, sucking out the air with a shop vac and tying them up. I did that. He gave me some % of degradation per year and it's not much...if he's correct.

With respect to parts, I've been hoarding stuff for years. I have an inventory list somewhere. I have taillights, all kinds of control modules (TPMS module, Window modules, Body Controller module), interior pieces galore, PCM's, Side mirrors, Infotainment system, SWII Wheels, Full exhaust including manifolds and all hangers (there will be a day when people want a 100% Stock Viper), OEM Carbon Fiber Spoiler/Splitters & rub strips, foam air cleaner seal for hood...list goes on.

I've been looking out for a complete long block and rocker panels.

[StrokerAce]

JonB suggested buying 50 gallon bags and placing the tires in them, sucking out the air with a shop vac and tying them up. I did that. He gave me some % of degradation per year and it's not much...if he's correct.

With respect to parts, I've been hoarding stuff for years. I have an inventory list somewhere. I have taillights, all kinds of control modules (TPMS module, Window modules, Body Controller module), interior pieces galore, PCM's, Side mirrors, Infotainment system, SWII Wheels, Full exhaust including manifolds and all hangers (there will be a day when people want a 100% Stock Viper), OEM Carbon Fiber Spoiler/Splitters & rub strips, foam air cleaner seal for hood...list goes on.

I've been looking out for a complete long block and rocker panels.

Passenger side window switch you can part with? lol

[ViperGeorge]

JonB suggested buying 50 gallon bags and placing the tires in them, sucking out the air with a shop vac and tying them up. I did that. He gave me some % of degradation per year and it's not much...if he's correct.

With respect to parts, I've been hoarding stuff for years. I have an inventory list somewhere. I have taillights, all kinds of control modules (TPMS module, Window modules, Body Controller module), interior pieces galore, PCM's, Side mirrors, Infotainment system, SWII Wheels, Full exhaust including manifolds and all hangers (there will be a day when people want a 100% Stock Viper), OEM Carbon Fiber Spoiler/Splitters & rub strips, foam air cleaner seal for hood...list goes on.

I've been looking out for a complete long block and rocker panels.

Non-ACR rocker panels (or side sills) are available but they ain't cheap. ACR ones are discontinued.