ENGINE PROBLEMS, NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE

[BLUESNAKE367]

Hey Viper community I really need your help..

Background: 97 GTS, 33K miles. driven spiritly but never abused or tracked.And very anal with care of this car.

Problem: was out driving my baby the other day and noticed a tapping lifter on the drivers side. Went directly home and removed the valve cover and could find no obvious problem but one of the rear sets of lifters was certainly tapping loud. Took it in today to a Viper Tech he says yep you got a bad lifter alright and we may need to remove the heads and check for piston health. Ouch this is my dime we are talking... Quote just to replace all lifters which they recmd is $2,500.00 including labor, but does not include other materials like gaskets and so on...Viper Tech recmnds pulling the motor to get a look at all the pistons..

My thoughts: I simply love my GTS Viper, I have always wanted to replace these heads anyways and do some other engine upgrades and now is just as good as time as any. May take me some time to get up the cash I need to do the repairs so my GTS is out this year...

What would you guys do? anyone ever have lifter issues??? Viper Tech says it is ok to still drive the car as long as I take it easy, says lifter issues like these would not destroy the engine..Is that true????

Thanks in advance,Rick

 

[bmw1952]

hey i just shipped my gts to the dealer. i have the same issue but he is going to check it out tomorrow. the car is making a a tapping or knocking sound not sure. my local mechanic took off the valve cover and the lifters looked fine but we had the car turned off. he thinks the issue is deeper and when we did the oil change he found medal shavings. not sure but will keep u posted.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

A "bad" lifter is one that doesn't take up the slack in the valvetrain, so it "taps." It does this because sometimes the precision clearance parts get gummed up and it can't self-adjust anymore. This type of problem occasionally goes away after a long hot run because thinner hot oil can get into the small gaps and unstick things.

I would like to know from someone what the risks of valve contact with the piston would be. I would think it is extremely small.

I'll let others comment on the price. Seems high. The lifters are same as V-6 econobox, so they aren't expensive.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Whats your oil look like Rick? Was the tapping THAT bad....or you a little sensitive? Let me know...I'm home this weekend and we can have the heads off in 45 minutes!!!

 

[grcforce327]

Be glad it's a gen II !Gen I head gasket/upper gasket set $1100!!!As for his price......RIP-OFF!!!!!!!! I paid around $220 for my Mopar Performance lifters and I DID NOT charge myself $2280 in labor! If I did,I would have told myself to step outside,and then I would have proceeded to kick my @SS!!!

 

[hemibeep]

Price too high.
I drove a truck with ticky lifters for 3 months.
Tom is correct, the tick is the "slack" therefore those "ticking" valves are not fully opening. They will not hit pistons, but you have lost power on that cylinder(s).

If this is a true tech, what does a bad lifter have to do with the pistons?
I actually had three cracked pistons and other than piston rattle, the car ran fine.

Heads must come off to change lifters. Vipermads price sounds more reasonable!!!

Can inspect most of bottom end by just pulling oil pan.

Start on the cheap....check/change oil.

I think I remember lifters about $20ish each. so $400-500 for all. Head gaskets around $450 pair (might try to buy upper gasket kit which has a bunch of gaskets)

Don't panic too fast!

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

I'm telling you Rick.....I'll bring the sawz-all over, and the super glue....we'll fix it right up!! Whatever you do.....order ALL parts from an official VCA sponsor!! Sure, go ahead and compare with what Hall will charge you...IF you decide to let Clint do it there but a sponsor will beat them, so save a penny or two where you can.

BTW....I'm cheap....BUD or FOSTERS!

 

[vipergts1960]

Let me know if you and Tony take it apart this weekend. I can come over and pass the tools. I know years ago, it was not unusual for an engine to have noisy lifters. There wasn't a reason to panic then, so I doubt there is now. Let me know what you do. Tony, I can bring some fresh blades over for your sawz-all.

 

[BLUESNAKE367]

bmw1952- Your GTS under warranty?

Tony- Your killing me, thanks to your quick lift I changed the oil a month ago 10w30 Mobil 1 as always...kind of little depressed right now I love this car you know. I have all the manuals and most tools needed so me and the boys may tackle this ourselves but your help would be greatly appreciated...Thanks.

Tom-I will try your suggestion, do you think a engine oil flush would help?

hemibeep-my exact question, what the heck does the lifters have to do with the pistons, He stated the pistons may be scored on top or there may be ring wear...why does the engine need to be pulled? looks like the heads can be removed while in the car. Yes or No ?.

Thanks everyone...

 

[grcforce327]

You can remove it all and leave the block in the car!

 

[BLUESNAKE367]

grcforce 327- situation kind of reminds me of the Chevy Chase movie Vegas vacation. The dealer states to Chevy hey give me half of what you have and I will take you out back and kick you in the nuts and we can call it even....lol..looks like Viper tax to me...

John- agree does not look like a real bad situation, I just did not want to do anymore damage intentially. I will still hang with you this weekend, but I will leave the Vettes alone for now..Iam gonna do some reading up before I try to do this, but would really enjoy you and Tony being around.....and what the heck is the sawzall stuff about???lol

 

[BLUESNAKE367]

You can remove it all and leave the block in the car!

Thanks, I thought it was possible...

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Heck...now even I can take you in the CTD!!!! LOL! Come on.....its just a stock turbo!! I'll bring those parts by your house this weekend...I have some banners/flags for your garage too.

John and I can hang them up then sit back and "supervise" from the easy chairs!!

 

[99 R/T 10]

I would go ahead and do another oil change and add(going to get flamed here) a can of Gunk engine cleaner. Do the 5 minute wash, change the oil. After you add a new filter and oil, leave it one quart shy of full, add a can of Marval Mystery Oil. If it is a gummed up lifter, this should clean it out and save you the trouble. If not, no harm will be done and you'll know to go into the engine to get the lifter and have the chance to have Greg Good do some massaging of your heads!

 

[grcforce327]

If you decide to pull the heads,I think it's "MOD TIME"!!!



Guy C.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Use a cheap mineral oil 5W30 if you're going to try a flush. Mineral oil is better at dissolving deposits than synthetic. Honestly, at Texaco we tried to develop a flush product and anything safe for the gaskets and elastomers didn't help; anything that worked would also soften seals etc. Varnish is a tough thing to remove.

 

[vipergts1960]

Well my Viper is down for the weekend as well. We will all have to hang out with our Non-Viper automobiles. On my way to Rick's tonight I smelled anti freeze. Once I got to Rick's we popped the hood and Rick spotted anti freeze on the top portion of the heater core housing. Given the low mileage of my car we were both surprised. Since it was a shorter distance to Dodge dealer than home, we dropped it off there to be fixed. I have a feeling the needed parts won't be readily available so it may be awhile. Have you ever seen a heater core go bad on a Viper?

 

[Vic]

not as much fun as a sawzall

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Vic is always bringing me down!! LOL!!