After 20 Years I Finally Got One

Hey all,

Long time lurker (joined in 09 ) but I finally became an owner a few months ago. Its crazy owning my childhood dream but so satisfying.
Obviously I love the car but theres nothing like some old school forum horror stories to really bring one back down to earth.
Anyways, I figured I show off my car a bit and introduce myself in hopes we can keep this place alive (facebook groups annoy me).
If any long time owners have any sage advice for keeping this thing going for the long haul I’d love to read it.
I was a BMW tech for several years before moving into aerospace so I’m fairly competent when it comes to mechanical things, lets get technical!

Congrats, beautiful car, and garage!

Generally speaking, Vipers are about as easy as it gets in the "exotic" car world as far as maintenance and durability. I guess I've never actually had anything else myself, but from everything I've read and heard, the Viper is super easy to deal with. I've done all sorts of work on my car over the years between repairs for my own dumb mistakes to general maintenance and upgrades. The car is put together pretty simply and most things are readily accessible with standard hardware to remove them. I've had the entire dash structure out of my car in the past dealing with a blend door issue on my A/C (that I need to do again one of these days since I never really fixed it). Sure it was involved, but ultimately I think it's 8 bolts or something that hold the dash in and a couple of big electrical connectors and it came out. I've got 135000+ miles on my car now and have barely even touched the suspension wear parts. Only thing I've replaced to date is the shocks, but that was partially because I just wanted to upgrade. All the bushings and bearings and stock and still in great shape. They used really good materials and coatings, so even after all those miles (many of them in all sorts of weather), there's hardly a speck of rust anywhere on the chassis that I can see.

There are a couple of weak points, but guessing you've probably seen that over your years here already. Oil cooler lines and the power steering line/fitting tend to be the most prevalent for that generation, both pretty easily addressed. You could get into oil issues if you track it, but if it's just a street car I doubt you'd ever run into any kind of problem. Shocks seem to be hit and miss lately as well. I'm seeing more and more threads about them having poor ride quality, but then again the cars aren't getting any younger. I think the best advice has always been just to make sure you drive it and keep it moving. Sitting is ******* any car and basic maintenance goes a long way on all cars. Keep the fluids fresh and everything exercised and you should have many years of enjoyment in front of you. Welcome to ownership!

Congrats!
Looks like Florida in your pictures.

The wiper seals seem to be degrading on the stock shocks more and more causing the fluid to bleed out from what I can see.

I would double check the lines and hoses for routing. These cars were hand built so they are all a little different. My power steering return line was rubbed through by the steering column for instance.

Congrats! Welcome to the Viper world!

Absolutely congratulations! Can attest to the power steering line, absolutely needs to be replaced, I believe most common cause of fires (keep an extinguisher handy anyways!). Have an 04 same gen and color - excellent choice - Power steering line and pump exploded at 20k miles for me, but was 20 years old when it went. If you do happen to be in Florida I cannot recommend DLM - Doug Levin Motorsports enough if you ever need any serious work done or power add. Beating a dead horse to a tech here, but some people here aren't as big of sticklers as I am for tires, but check the dates! #1 cause of accidents is lead feet / hands, #2 is OLD and cold tires. Cannot stress enough how important it is for spirited driving, I still see people running 10+ year old tires at VOA meets and it kills me. Definitely find your local Viper club! Cheers

New member here. Congrats! I too have just recently bought my dream car.

Here's my new girl.

Nice!

I looks so much cleaner than mine, lol.

Thank you! Although, my rear diff just went. Grrr. Looking for a good GEN 4 diff if anyone knows of one.

Thanks again!

Venamous54 said:

my rear diff just went. Grrr.

Thanks again!

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Wow, Grrr is right!!!!

Less than ideal for sure. Can get it completely rebuilt with 3.55 gears for 1500. Beautiful girls can be expensive.

Venamous54 said:

Thank you! Although, my rear diff just went. Grrr. Looking for a good GEN 4 diff if anyone knows of one.

Thanks again!

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You may just need to change the fluid. They're known to make some "grrr" noises when it's time.

Lol, unfortunately thats the first thing I did. No changes in the Grrr.

I assume you included the friction modifier when you did the fluid change? My understanding is that that is the main thing that affects noise in the differential.

Agreed with above... I didn't put enough friction modifier in mine when I changed the fluid and it grinded around slow turns. I added more friction modifier to it and it 90% went away.

Yeah, could be lack of friction modifier if the grrr only occurs during turns. Could also be a wheel bearing, I had one fail, and it was a constant grrr while in motion.

Friction modifyier is essential. Since you worked on BMWs, this car will be easy. Everything is pretty easy to work on, key is to get a Service manual. What year is your car? I have a few for sale, if you need one, PM me.

If the last fluid change is unknown, it would be a great time to get acquainted with the car. Plugs/wires, oil/fluid changes are easy. Might be a littler tight on the back Pass side.

Well I'll chip in my new purchase as well:



Has a full belanger headers + exhaust on it, but I'm not a huge fan honestly... it's just too loud, and the car is throwing codes for running lean.

kmagnuss said:

Agreed with above... I didn't put enough friction modifier in mine when I changed the fluid and it grinded around slow turns. I added more friction modifier to it and it 90% went away.

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Well how much more did you need to add over the standard amount states in the manual?

zombie said:

Well I'll chip in my new purchase as well:

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Has a full belanger headers + exhaust on it, but I'm not a huge fan honestly... it's just too loud, and the car is throwing codes for running lean.

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Reset your computer. Remove the positive cable off the battery, touch the cable to ground for a few seconds. The let the car relearn. Should fix the issue. How old are your front O2 sensors? Might be a good idea to put in new ones at the same time

Goggles Pizano said:

Well how much more did you need to add over the standard amount states in the manual?

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Lol I wish I knew. I spilled some of it when putting it in... because I'm super smart.
If I had to guess, I'd say I put in around 5 oz (1 oz over recommended I think).

Welcome! A couple of recommendations, probably others hit them already. (**Check your crankshaft pulley bolt---Mine after 15 years of ownership....was 'finger tight.' Damn near had to get in the engine bay to get to 250Lb-ft to re-torque it. I believe other years are only 130lb-ft, depending on the bolt. Semi-common issue and worth a check, trust me. Also, not 'if,' but 'when' on the door regulators on a Gen 3 (4's too I think). They are hard to find, not cheap and many owners just have them re-built. The oil cooler lines seap...a.k.a. leak over time (go aftermarket), OEM shocks will start to leak...(ain't gonna lie, expensive ...at least to me to replace to coilovers, anywhere from 1,400 to 6K..depending on your need(s), some feedback I've seen/heard on the differential...but fluid w/friction additive seems to take care of that...at least mine, flawless........other than these and a few routine items, the car is tough as nails and reliable. I have NOT had any MAJOR issues....budgeting for shocks though...that's be a 'shock' after labor and parts

One last $0.02 of advice. Start buying wear parts randomly. For the first 10 years of my ownership, not too bad, pricing not too bad, availability not bad. Last couple of years, dramatic increase in pricing AND availability of some parts. Seems buying the rear tires (345's) is getting a little tough too. (Strange, OEM rotors, probably shared with the RAMs ---inexpensive, easy to find; however, starters, A/C compressors, even wiper inserts...don't even ask on the headlights ....watch out big $$. Overall, NONE of the above should stop you from owning a wonderful car. It's the only car I've owned that never gets old to drive. Had a vette', more recently charger hellcat, none of them are as fun to drive/own as a Viper---they are just special. Rare, American / hand built, V10...just not many of us left. I have over 50K miles on my '03. Been a rock solid car. Congrats Again.

I appreciate all the input from everyone. Being a new owner, all that information helps. When my car started making noise, I immediately took it to one of the only 3 Viper certified mechanics left in Michigan. Along with the racket the car was making, I had him go over it from front to back. At this point, the bearings in the diff are bad. I am having it completely rebuilt. Im having a 3.55 gear set put in as well. Along with all fluids changed, hoses changed to silicone hoses, belts, plugs and wires.

Venamous54 said:

I appreciate all the input from everyone. Being a new owner, all that information helps. When my car started making noise, I immediately took it to one of the only 3 Viper certified mechanics left in Michigan. Along with the racket the car was making, I had him go over it from front to back. At this point, the bearings in the diff are bad. I am having it completely rebuilt. Im having a 3.55 gear set put in as well. Along with all fluids changed, hoses changed to silicone hoses, belts, plugs and wires.

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Gen3 differential units are notoriously bad, you might want to update the while in there.

Well, I went and ordered a Wavetrac. Its back ordered but since its time to put her to bed for the winter I'm not concerned about the wait. I'll just pick away at maintenance stuff for now. Thanks for all the input.