Common Coolant leak problem. Help!

[klamathpro]

I have the common GenI leak under the right front Facia where the hidden fill bottle is located. It happened overnight after a run the day before. I know it did not leak when I parked it because I always wipe the Viper down with Meguires Final Inspection after each run and I didn't see or smell anthing. I can't see where it's comming from but opening the wheel-well circular cap revealed a mess of antifreeze. My facia bottle is about empty and it was full the day before (I check before every run.) Main upper fill bottle is full.

Do I need to remove the facia or do I just try burping? If I do need to remove the facia, why does everyone say that the christmas tree push-in clips need to be removed? Can't I just remove the six bolts holding the bumper on the frame and remove the bumper with the facia attached? Everywhere I looked, everyone says to remove the PITA clips but the manual doesn't show them as a removal step. Plus check out this link:
http://forums.viperclub.org/showthread.php?t=593597&highlight=remove+front+facia
He has his attached, can I just do that and skip the clip mess? I hope I don't have to remove it at all.

thanks in advance

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Before you do that much, invest in a new radiator cap. It's a long story, but basically a bad cap will allow hot coolant to exit and never pull it back - it'll pull air instead. And since the upper tank is not the highest spot, it doesn't always show the air - the air is hiding in the heater core...

New cap, then burp, then see what happens. Get a spring-center cap; they have better sealing so this doesn't happen again.

http://forums.viperclub.org/showthread.php?t=526248&highlight=spring+center+cap
http://forums.viperclub.org/showthread.php?t=569968&highlight=spring+center+cap

 

[boman]

The problem may be that one of the lower fascia screws may have pierced the bottom of the bottle. This can happen when the facia gets temporarily pushed up by touching a parking lot divider, etc. If that is the problem, I think you have to remove the facia to repair it. As insurance, many guys cut off the tip of the screw that lines up with the bottom of the bottle.

Boman

 

[Bolt]

The problem may be that one of the lower fascia screws may have pierced the bottom of the bottle. This can happen when the facia gets temporarily pushed up by touching a parking lot divider, etc. If that is the problem, I think you have to remove the facia to repair it. As insurance, many guys cut off the tip of the screw that lines up with the bottom of the bottle.

Boman

Ditto!!!!!

This was exactly what happened to mine. Buy the 2 part plastic repair kit for these plastic bottles at Advanced. Follow the directions closely. You must take the bottle off to repair it. The 2 part mix is runny and you must rotate the bottle for 20 minutes to keep the epoxy from running. When you put the bottle back in put a shorter bolt in this location where the old one hit. In fact everyone should put a shorter bolt in this location to prevent this damage.

Bolt

 

[klamathpro]

It's not the bottle piercing thing, my screws are 1/2 inch away from the bottle and I felt underneath the bottle by putting my hand in the hole and felt for any cracks or piercings and didn't find any. I finally felt where the overflow hole is on the bottle and it was wet up there. Dodge should have ran a hose to the outside instead of letting the coolant leak all over the inside facia. I found that a 1/2 inch rubber injector hose fits nicely. I think I may run the hose through the rubber circular cap to the wheel-well.

I'm going to replace the radiator cap as suggested. Is a $5 aftermarket one ok or should I get a mopar? Thanks again.

 

[Copernicus]

My concern with running any overflow hoses to the fender well is that antifreeze is extremely slick. If antifreeze exits the tube and covers your tires, you could be in for an interesting ride.

 

[95Viper]

If you have a puncture your tank will obviously be empty.

Do not get the OEM Gen1 cap. Get a Gen2 cap. You need one that has a spring center, not the drop type center of our Gen1's. You also should buy a pack of those little spring clamps at Autozone or Murray's or Napa for about $3. You should clamp every rubber to metal to rubber to metal connection from the surrogate tank to the expansion tank to ensure air is not being drawn into the system at cool down.

 

[agentf1]

My concern with running any overflow hoses to the fender well is that antifreeze is extremely slick. If antifreeze exits the tube and covers your tires, you could be in for an interesting ride.

Antifreeze will also damage your paint if it sits on it long enough. Is this a problem with Gen II GTS's also?

 

[klamathpro]

UPDATE: My facia tank was actually completely full, not completely empty. It was hard to tell until I blew air into the tank and saw the bubbles. I went and tried an aftermarket cap but it didn't fit tight enough so I went to the dealer and picked up an OEM cap the next day. This seemed to fix the problem. I think what happens is when the cap fails, it gives out under pressure and dumps the coolent into the facia tank. Since my facia tank was already at the max when cold, it overflowed. I lost just over a full gallon of coolent through the cap so I had to refill and burp.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I don't want to say I told you so because what happened to you had happened to me, which is why I knew what you were seeing. The cap relieves under pressure like it should, but the dime-sized metal disc on the underside doesn't seal properly to allow the antifreeze to be pulled back in when it cools. That's why a spring center cap (one that has a spring to close the dime, and is OEM on newer Vipers) is better than the drop center (relies on liquid seal alone and was OEM on older Vipers).

 

[ryan94rt10]

hey tom,

where can i find the right radiator cap for my gen 1...i would like to replace this before it becomes an issue...thanks

 

[RAYSIR]

I think I would be testing it for a Blown headgasket. Common problem on Gen 1. And it will blow the coolant to the reservoir and overflow it. In my shop I use my Emmision tester machine to read for HC (hydrocarbons) in the radiator or overflow. If there are any it's headgasket time!!! Good luck if it's just a radiator cap!!

 

[ryan94rt10]

I think I would be testing it for a Blown headgasket. Common problem on Gen 1. And it will blow the coolant to the reservoir and overflow it. In my shop I use my Emmision tester machine to read for HC (hydrocarbons) in the radiator or overflow. If there are any it's headgasket time!!! Good luck if it's just a radiator cap!!

Raysir, I already had the headgasgets replaced. I just want to change the cap, before i have an issue with it...i'm thinking i might just go get a mopar one, unless someone chimes in on a better aftermarket one.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Stant #10330 is a safety lever 16 lb spring center cap that fits. I have one on my car.

 

[ryan94rt10]

Stant #10330 is a safety lever 16 lb spring center cap that fits. I have one on my car.

Thanks Tom,

Where can I find one!

 

[95Viper]

Thanks Tom,

Where can I find one!

You can also call Tator and get a OEM replacement but get a 2001, it is the spring cap and it fits a Gen1. That is what I did. 20% off no shipping. I found other caps but they looked like crap.

 

[Pry]

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Is this the new better cap?
Found it on my Gen 1. Maybe the previous owner upgraded it?

I have a leaking facia tank so I guess that's the main reason for my coolant loss

Edit: Actually it's the older type cap. I'll have to consider of changing it.