Gen 2 Power Steering Issues

[STL RT/10]

Believe that I lost the power steering pump while driving today. '02 RT/10 with 7k miles.Steering got heavy, so I pulled over and checked under the hood. The pump had seized and that actually was enough to stop the entire belt from turning (I thought it would have just been spnning around the steering pump pulley. Therefore, the water pump wasn't turning and it got a little hot. Fortunately, I was in a shady spot with a breeze and got it turned off immediately. The steering fluid reservoir was full and the fluid was clean. My questions...

1) Is there any way this could be an issue with the rack? I wouldn't think so since the pump stopped turning completely, but certainly don't want to work on more than I have to.
2) Anyone had similar issues? I know the caps had a habit of coming off, but I didn't know if complete failure was somewhat common, especially given the low mileage.
3) Does anyone have any experience with how long Gen 2 engines can run at elevated coolant temps before warped heads and a block become a concern? I pushed top end (250 degrees) for probably a minute or so before I got it turned off. Lost only about a cup or so of coolant out of the overflow.
4) What is the preferred replacement steering pump and where have you purchased from?

Thanks!

Matt

 

[VIPER PIT]

Snake Oyle products has a full alimuminum replacement pump and resivoir and it looks good too.

 

[STL RT/10]

Update...

Took the belt off once it cooled down and the steering pulley and all others spin freely now. Anyone ever have the pump just get hot or just intermittently lock up? Venting issues?

 

[SingleMalt]

Well, when you run a car that hot, it's best to NOT shut the engine right down (of course, with no accessory drive belt motion, you had little choice!). Let the coolant circulate for 5-10 minutes to avoid heat pockets that can cause warping. Your engine is probably fine though. The Viper motor is tough.

You should probably have that steering checked out. Because it's "working" now, your problem may be the steering rack but it's out of my knowledge wheelhouse. Best to let a Viper mechanic take a look.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Never heard of symptoms like that. Unusual for a pump to sieze and be fine later.

 

[STL RT/10]

OK, so here's another update. I was premature with condemning the steering pump. Upon further investigation, I think that it is fine, as well as all my other accessories. They all turn freely and appear to be OK. However, I found a couple complete pieces of belt, 1 "tooth" wide and 6-8 inches long laying down on the frame. It appears that the crank pulley is set in just a bit from the others. My belief is that the belt jumped a tooth forward on the crank pulley to be in line with the others. When it did this, it: 1) increased the tension on the belt such that when I turned the A/C on or turned the steering wheel (loading the belt), the belt stopped turning and 2) riding on the larger edge of the crank pulley wore the 1 "tooth" wide section of belt off. Anyone else seen anything like this? I know these engines sometimes had crank pulleys / harmonic balancers come off, but mine appears to be in just a little. Does anyone know of any other issues like this?

I bought the car with front end damage 9 years ago and replaced the belt along with all other wear items when I put it back on the road. I never specifically checked the belt with any regular frequency. I suspect that it has been getting worn over the years and 2k miles or so and finally went yesterday. Any thoughts / comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

 

[Steve-Indy]

Make sure all of your pulleys are properly aligned...in the same plane. Watch closely for overheating...hoping that you do not have a water pump impreller issue.

 

[STL RT/10]

I'm not up-to-speed on the water pump issues, could you enlighten me? My only overheating issue came from the pump pulley not turning.

 

[whitebluevipe]

have you replaced the plastic pulley yet?

 

[STL RT/10]

Steering pulley is still plastic, but the water pump was and still is steel. Are you saying that some water pump pulleys were plastic?

 

[Steve-Indy]

STL RT/10, you are correct about the pulley materials.

Addressing your question, let me quote you:
"It appears that the crank pulley is set in just a bit from the others. My belief is that the belt jumped a tooth forward on the crank
pulley to be in line with the others."

AND

"I bought the car with front end damage 9 years ago and replaced the belt along with all other wear items when I put it back on the
road. I never specifically checked the belt with any regular frequency. I suspect that it has been getting worn over the years..."

Thus, I said: "Make sure all of your pulleys are properly aligned...in the
same plane." Front end "whacks" worry me a LOT. You need to find and eliminate the root cause of the belt failure IF it was an alignment issue. There is a nifty laser tool for checking the alignment of these pulleys if you do not have an experienced Tech close by.

The second statement: "Watch closely for overheating...hoping that you do not have a water pump impeller issue." Two implications here: First (just common sense) is to be sure that your belt-dependent systems ARE working properly...HOPEFULLY without later finding evidence of damage to bearings from the over-heating that has already occurred.
Secondly, recall that there were quite a few 2001 Vipers that suffered water pump failures due to the plastic impeller spinning on the
shaft secondary to a failure in the manufacturing process. Interestingly, the "series" of bad pumps was apparently not traceable to a given set of 2001 VIN's....and, supposedly, some replacement water pumps were reported to be defective as well. Finally, some early 2002 Vipers were implicated in this water pump issue per "tech rumors". This latter issue was not meant to worry you...just be aware of it's potential.

Best of luck !!

 

[Steve-Indy]

By the way...have you checked P/S bracket to see if is broken?? Common issue.

 

[STL RT/10]

Thanks Steve. My p/s bracket is fine. Note also that the impact my car had in the front end didn't really get back into the engine. It was primarily cosmetic. Thanks also for the water pump note, I couldn't recall the details of the issue. Mine was built in March 2002, so later in the run. Hopefully the bad water pumps were weeded out by then.

It just appears that my crank pulley is set inward (toward the engine) just a bit more than the others. I have heard of some Vipers ejecting crank pulleys and harmonic balancers, but have you ever heard of my issue? It has me a bit intrigued. Thanks again.

Matt

 

[Grisoman]

I have no clue, but is a thrust washer used to take up crank endfloat? It could be worn thus causing the crank to slide fore and aft when clutching.

 

[AZTVR]

I can't answer the crank pulley question; but, I'd like to also suggest replacing the power steering pump pulley. As a result of reading posts here and seeing a failed one in person, I replaced mine. It had several cracks in it which would have eventually failed, and they were not really apparent while on the car. If you have had a long term added stress to the PS pulley due to misalignment in the system, then, I'd be worried that you are at higher risk.