Riveting Repair

How often do you get the chance to make a repair using your rivet gun? I’d say, not often enough. Chances are, unless you work in a body shop, that rivet gun you bought five years ago is just sitting in your toolbox waiting for its day in the sun.

Owners of 2001-2004 Dodge Sebring and Stratus sedans or convertibles may complain of an intermittent front end popping or clunking sound while driving over uneven roads that cause the body to come under a twisting load. This is your rivet gun’s chance to make its long-awaited debut and your chance to solve a very annoying problem.

Diagnosis

The noises may be reproduced when in park and at idle by turning the steering wheel quickly 90 degrees to the left and then back to the right. If a popping or clunking sound is heard, perform the following repair procedure.

Repair Procedure

This repair procedure involves installing two rivets in each front shock tower/wheel well area. Your customer and your rivet gun will thank you.

1. Raise the vehicle on an appropriate hoist.

2. Remove both front tire and wheel assemblies.

3. Remove wheel well splash shield.

4. Drill two 17/64 in. (6.8 mm) diameter holes from inside the shock tower/wheel well area into the inside of the wet plenum, (Fig. 1) and (Fig. 2).

5. Apply a corrosion inhibitor to the bare metal surface of drilled holes.

6. Install rivets, (Dodge P/N 06033864 or equivalent) in the holes drilled in step 4.

7. Install the wheel well splash shield.

8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for the other side of the vehicle.

9. Install the front tire/wheel assemblies.

10. Torque the lug nuts to 135 Nm (100 ft. lbs.) using a criss-cross pattern.

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Written by ALLDATA Technical Editor, Rich Diegle. Rich is an Advanced Engine Performance Certified, ASE Master Technician with an AA Degree in automotive technology and 23 years of dealership and independent shop experience.

2004 ALLDATA LLC