  We study mass bounds of the $W_R$ gauge boson in generic left-right symmetric
models. Assuming that the gauge bosons couple universally to quarks and
leptons, we allow different gauge couplings $g_R \ne g_L$ and mass mixing,
$V_{CKM}^L \ne V_{CKM}^R$ in the left and right sectors. Imposing constraints
from collider experiments and $K^0$, $B_d$, $B_s$ physics, we investigate
scenarios where $W_R$ is lighter, or heavier than the right handed neutrino
$\nu_R$. In these scenarios, $W_R$ mass bounds can be considerably relaxed,
while $Z_R$ mass bounds are much more stringent. In the case where $M_{W_R} \le
M_{\nu_R}$, the experimental constraints come from $W_R \to tb $ and $W_R \to
jj$ channels, while if $M_{W_R} \ge M_{\nu_R}$, the dominant constraints come
from $W_R \to \ell \ell jj $. The observed (expected) limits in the
two-dimensional ($M_{W_R}$, $M_{\nu_R}$) mass plane excluded at 95\% confidence
level extend to approximately $M_{W_R}$= 3.1 (3.3) TeV in the $ee$ channel and
3.3 (3.4) TeV in the ($\mu\mu$) channel, for a large range of right-handed
neutrino masses up to $M_{\nu_R}$= 2.1 (2.1) TeV in the $ee$ channel and 2.6
(2.5) in the ($\mu\mu$) channel, representing a significant relaxation of the
mass bounds.
