Gen II Upper and Lower Ball Joint Replacement

[Totenritt]

Thanks for starting this thread! Really appreciate the work put in so far. One question; in the following link for the upper, there's the K727 and the K719. Which do we need?

The following links are to the proper ball joints for our cars. They should fit almost every year model. If in doubt just call them.

Screw in Upper Ball Joints: https://www.howeracing.com/c-583-scr...er-lowers.aspx

Press fit lower ball joints: https://www.howeracing.com/p-7942-howe-22408-viper.aspx

[uvbnbit]

this is on my list this year too. When we did the brakes few weeks ago, noticed uppers were smashing, splitting, etc

[Blue96GTS]

Finishing up the winter brake/suspension overhaul. I used the Howe Racing ball joints. Screw in uppers are Howe part # 22310 (replaces K778). Press in lowers are Howe part # 22408. They look good and feel much better than the ball joints I took out, but I cannot vouch for how they work yet - hoping for success on the long drive to NVE2! You'll also likely want the dust/dirt cap for these models - Howe part # 22398, which screw in to the top of the zerk fitting enclosure. Don't bother with the Howe ball joint dust boots, they are not great. Go with OEM, which will fit fine. Part numbers were the same for front and rear.

For the pesky uppers, you'll need a 2 9/64 ball joint socket, which uses a 3/4" drive. You'll also want a big-ass breaker bar and some Wheaties for breakfast to get those things unscrewed. Or, cheat like I did and use an air tool to get things started, then back them out manually.

Here are some pics:

Old and New Ball Joints
Box of Ball Joints.jpg

Upper Ball Joint Tool with 3/4" adapter
Ball Joint Tool.jpg

Front uppers and lowers installed
Control Arms and Ball Joints.jpg

Helpful assistant. Get one with opposing thumbs if possible.
Garage Cat.jpg

[GTS Dean]

Rep for you!

[ACR_Matt]

Updating the links since the website was redesigned.

Upper ball joint: http://howeracing.com/index.php/stor...aces-k778.html

Lower ball joint: http://howeracing.com/index.php/ball...dge-viper.html

Good to see other people wrenching on their snakes!

[ACR_Matt]

Some pics of my ball joint replacement since I realized I never posted any!IMG_5483.jpg

[Fatboy 18]

Oh that looks nice, what shocks are those and why did you choose them?

[ACR_Matt]

Oh that looks nice, what shocks are those and why did you choose them?

That's MCS's two way adjustable kit with Eibach springs. The factory Koni's started to leak and since there has been nearly 20 years of technological improvement since they were designed, I figured it would be the great time to upgrade. I ended up picking MCS because of their superior quality, valving, amazing adjustability and positive feedback from other members who have them on their cars. I got them from Mark @ Woodhouse several years ago and couldn't be happier with them. I do recommend getting the quick disconnect lines. I opted out only to have them added this year.

http://motioncontrolsuspension.com/2w/

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for the quick reply.

[white out]

Do the front and rears use the same upper & lowers?

[ACR_Matt]

Do the front and rears use the same upper & lowers?

Yes they certainly do!

[white out]

Yes they certainly do!

Thank you

[ACR_Matt]

Oh that's rough looking. Any chance they were just overfilled? It's easy to get too much in them. One or two squeezes from a grease gun is usually enough. If they are bad, the rears are a bit of a pain in the ass because of the half shafts and clearance issues created by the u-joint. There's not enough room for a regular socket when it's time to torque it. However, you can torque the upper ball joint stud without removing the hub from the knuckle but you'll need a crows foot adapter and remember to calculate the new torque number because the longer length of the adapter will change the actual torque that's being applied.

[Jlrock]

Know it's been a while for this thread but want to confirm the ball joints since the links above aren't working.
I have a 2002 GTS and want to make sure these work for me.

These are the two ball joints,

Upper:
https://howeracing.com/products/ball...31916558221452

Lower:
https://howeracing.com/products/ball...64eaf4f7&_ss=r

[AviP]

Numbers are good. I don't recall the X at the end of each of them.

[Fatboy 18]

Given the lack of response I'm going to assume no one else has replaced their ball joints. Or I'm the only penny pincher that has a problem paying the Viper Tax for these parts. Either way, new ball joints for my car are arriving Thursday.

I have been watching the thread but have to ask why do you need to change your ball joints? My car has almost 100,000 miles on it and my ball joints are still ok? Do you think its lack of proper maintenance over the years IE not greased regularly?

[Fatboy 18]

Pretty sure its time to replace mine.

Not sure if you need to change out your ball joints, but its definitely time to clean up your control arms and suspension! YUCK

[AviP]

My replacement is due to lack of regular maintenance due to it being used sparingly when the kids were growing up and little problems became big problems. When I did use it, I never hesitated to drive it in the wet and that probably contributed as well. Plus in my very early years, I offroaded the Viper in ever friggin National Park in the US. So it probably introduced a lot of dirt into the vicinity that a couple of them seemed to bind. Given that they are now almost 25 years old, I went ahead with the replacements of all 8. I did use a galvanic compound in between the body and the A-arm.

[Fatboy 18]

Got it

[GTS Dean]

Not sure if you need to change out your ball joints, but its definitely time to clean up your control arms and suspension! YUCK

The photo above indicates massive overgreasing. The joints only need enough grease pumped in to *just* see them begin to pooch out a little.

OE ball joint boots are shared with multiple vehicles in the Chrysler/Dodge lineup. They are super cheap and of superior materials and construction to any aftermarket boots I've ever come across. Brake rotor heat and brake dust will degrade them over time.

[Cardboard]

Says ," Page not found" for howeracing

[usmcfieldmp]

Says ," Page not found" for howeracing

Just search "Viper" on their site. They'll pop up.


EDIT: Did it for you:

Upper: https://howeracing.com/products/ball...-replaces-k778

Lower: https://howeracing.com/products/ball...werdodge-viper

Boot: https://howeracing.com/products/2239...all-joint-boot

Viton Boot: https://howeracing.com/products/2239...int-boot-viton

[dave6666]

I don't recall the X at the end of each of them.

There are some important updates to this topic.

* Howe now distributes the Viper ball joints exclusively through Bobby Archer and a network of distributors he is setting up. That is stated at the Howe web site and it is factual. Since Bobby is local to me I met him today to pick up an order of 4 lowers and 4 uppers. Bobby's phone number is at the Howe site with the part listings.

* There has been a 2-1/2 year hiatus in the production of the ball joint while Bobby was developing improvements to the ball joint design. Bobby was given full control of the project by the owners of Howe Racing Enterprises.

* The first shipment of redesigned ball joints arrived to him just this past weekend. Anyone not getting them directly from him or his network will have the older design.

* Bobby briefly discussed the design improvements to me but if you want details call him.

* He also mentioned some of the distributors he's set up to work with but that went in one ear and out the other since I was standing right in front of him with my parts in my hand. Once again... call him for more info.

So now you know where the X comes from.

20211213_181359.jpg

20211213_181409edit.jpg

20211213_181424edit.jpg

[Fatboy 18]

Cheers Dave

[AviP]

Now I know indeed. But what are the design improvements?