2006 Viper with 12500 miles purchased, what maintenance should I have done?

[Morketh]

Newly purchased '06 Viper with 12,500 miles on it and I just finished reading the owner's manual in its entirety and I have some questions of what maintenance I should have done.
I already plan to do an oil change using mobil 1 synthetic 0w-40 unless you guys recommend something better, but curious of the below.

The owners's manual recommends the following as I was reading through it:

1. Check transmission fluid level
2. Check exterior of rear axle every 12 months or 6,000 miles for evidence of gear oil leakage
3. Brake and clutch fluid must be changed every 2 years
4. Engine Coolant is said to last 5 years or 100,000 miles before replacement. I trust I should have this flushed and changed out since the car is almost 10 years old and probably hasnt had this done before.
5. Have front and suspension ball joints inspected

Now going by the Schedule "A" maintenance schedule I also notice this and since the car is 9 years old or 108 months if I actually go by the months and not the mileage there there are many things that need to be done and I am wondering if others would follow this:

1. Change front and rear axle fluid
2. Inspect brake linings
3. Lubricate the front and rear suspension ball
4. Replace spark plugs
5. Replace ignition cables
6. Inspect auto tension drive belt and replace if needed

If you so happen to be in the Houston area, who do you take your viper to for maintenance/repairs?

 

[Jay Lopez]

You can change the power steering fluid also. And the air filter. Since you don't know the history, I would change every fluid. It is not cheap, but at least you will have a baseline. I have had 3 used Vipers, and I change everything each time.

 

[Jay Lopez]

I have also replaced the hatch struts a couple of times when they felt weak.

 

[Allan]

All the fluids...........
Spark plugs, a good idea. -I change mine every season. I am still running the original wires though. Just haven't had a problem or reason to replace them.
I am at a little over 57,000 miles. Been tracking the car since 22,000 miles. No street driving other than the commutes back and forth to racetracks.

Car is pretty bullet-proof if you take care of it. I hammer on mine pretty hard, and it's still solid as a rock.

Mine is also an 06.



................watch out for cops.

 

[Morketh]

Roger that, I will change all fluids and spark plugs as well.

This Service Manual (I bought for cheap on ebay) for 2006 is actually for a 2005 so I guess I am going to get my money back because the first thing I noticed was that in my owner's manual it asks for 0w-40 Mobil 1 synthetic and then in the service manual I got it was saying 5w-30... I thought the engines were the same in 2005 and 2006? Service manual also saying 11 quarts where I have read in the owner's manual it is 10 quarts of oil. Apparently it is debated on how much to put in there.
Prolly go by what the oil cap says and do 10 quarts of Mobil 1

I don't plan on ever taking it to the track, just use it for weekend joyrides is all. Good to hear they are bullet-proof though! I've only got up to 85mph so far hehe, going to take care of maintenance before I do anything else.

 

[Allan]

2006 factory fill is Mobil-1 0w40. A lot of us have had issues with valvetrain noise at idle with the recommended oil -or any of the lighter weights like 5w30, 10w30, etc.
Most of us track rats run 15w40 or 15w50. The heavier oil seems to cure the excessive valve clatter. (noise is due to the design of the lifters in these engines. They tend to bleed down a little at hot idle, hence the ticking)
No problem with the thicker oil for street driving.

10 quarts, 10 1/2 quarts, 11 quarts............depends on who you ask, and what time of day it is I guess.
I run 11 quarts, so it's actually a little over-filled for track use. -also have the gen IV oil pan w/ swinging oil pick-up.

Weekend joyrides are great, but again.........remember to watch out for the cops.

 

[Kirkinsb]

First thing I think about with a 9 year old car with only 12K miles....is are the original tires still on it? If so, think about new tires. My tires on my 2003 that I bought a year ago were the originals.. ROCK Hard and the OEM Runflats. Offered no traction.

My shocks were also leaking badly and I replaced them with BC...which work great for me since I don't take my car to a track. They were 1000% improvement over the worn out stock shocks. No wheel hop anymore with the BC's plus dropped the ride height a little bit which looks better.

Replaced my leaking oil cooler lines with aftermarket ones.

That is what my 2003 needed to get back in shape. Other things I did were elective....gears & tune & exhaust.

 

[Morketh]

Thank you guys for your advice!!

I live in Texas so it is very hot here, typically 88-100 degrees in the summer.
So you think 15w40 would be better? I do hear the noise from the engine that you are talking about and my dad was quite curious if it is supposed to sound like that or if there was valve lash and the valves need adjusting or something.

Maybe I will try the 15w40 as well then and see if that helps with the noise! I'll do 10 quarts and see how full it is after that and judge whether to do 10.5 or 11.

I was planning on changing the tires out within the next month or so, they are actually in good shape. I don't plan to go over 100, if that, with these current tires. I will do some browsing around. I saw them Michelin Pilots are around $675 per for the rears, can't wait to spend that much on a tire haha!
I'll think about the shocks too, you feel everything in that car as it is now haha, run over those road ******* in the middle of the road when switching lanes and it feels like a damn speed bump lol, I kinna like it though.

 

[AZTVR]

I live in Texas so it is very hot here, typically 88-100 degrees in the summer.
So you think 15w40 would be better? I do hear the noise from the engine that you are talking about and my dad was quite curious if it is supposed to sound like that or if there was valve lash and the valves need adjusting or something.

Maybe I will try the 15w40 as well then and see if that helps with the noise! I'll do 10 quarts and see how full it is after that and judge whether to do 10.5 or 11.

I like the fact that Mobil 1 publishes their Zinc/Phosphorus levels and their 15W-50 is one of the highest ( as is their 0W-40 formulation).

https://mobiloil.com/~/media/amer/us/pvl/files/pdfs/mobil-1-oil-product-specs-guide.ashx