i need your guys help bigtime/head gasket problems 96 gts

[speedshftr]

i bought the car about 2 months ago.its super clean with 6800 miles on it.about 3 times i smelled anti freeze while driving it.i thought it was a passing car or something.the other day i drove it to work and it sat all day.when i went to go home i started her up and warmed her up and took off.about 4 blocks into the trip the temp gauge was at 220.it never ever was that high so i knew something was up.about 5 more blocks and the temp was almost at 245 and the temp warning light came on.i was about 2 blocks from home so i drove her home under 2k rpm.she was running fine but something made it hot.i pulled up at the house and let her cool for a bit.when i popped the hood i noticed the dipstick was off the top and a creamy brownish liquid was frothing around and off the tube.i was horrified cause i thought i knew a head gasket failure when i saw one.i had my mechanic come over and verify the worst.
car ran fine the day before and never ran hot.i never over revved her .i did go thrue the gears acouple of times but no redline screamers ect.could the gasket failure be do to the car sitting for a long while?i had absolutly no problems with any of my other 3 vipers and was disapointed to see this.any body have any ideas to what caused this?
also what should be done in order to repair the car.
do they make a kit?
how many hours does the book call for the job?
any block or head preperations?
what would one expect to pay for a job like this?
anybody close to delaware that is viper experienced that could do the job neatly and safely for cash money?the car starts and sounds fine but the temp goes right up and the oil is a milkshake.
can you guys walk me thrue this and give me your thoughts good and bad.
thank you all , i really need you guys on this one.
thank you

 

[terribleted13]

Bad news speedsftr,
I think your diagnosis is correct.With the "chocolate milk" oil, all the bearings will be spotted/damaged. A light rebuild is in order or overhaul for MORE POWER! Pick your tech carefully. Cheap is not the way to go. Least expensive option might be a used engine. I feel your pain. Just read your other post, forget the SRT and stroke it,cam it, port and polish the heads. IMO.

 

[FrankBarba]

Contact Joe Kalas or John Kerwin at Barbera Dodge in Philadelphia. They might be able to do the job offsite at the Race shop in New Jersey. These guys are top notch & they take car of several World Challange Cars.

 

[dblankenbaker]

You're only an hour from Jason Heffner. I would take it to him, and get the heads ported while you're at it.

At the very least, call him and get a guesstimate.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Go see Chuck Tator 914-763-3136!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[speedshftr]

mabey ill cut my losses now and sell her with a bad gasket for best offer.any one got anythoughts?
thanks guys

 

[GCHDEALER]

mabey ill cut my losses now and sell her with a bad gasket for best offer.any one got anythoughts?
thanks guys

What do you want for it with the gasket and engine probs, I may be a player. Send me a PM, I am looking for a project.
C~

 

[speedshftr]

the only problem is the gasket/all else is awsum/how about 49k s she sits?im going to ebay her tonight i think to see if there is any interest.i just paid 53 k for the car a few months ago from mershons.this really ***** cause i didnt even beet on it to cause the failure.any one have ideas on price to fix this car?thanks/any one interested [email protected]

 

[SNAKE BITE]

aprox. $1000 to fix it yourself or $2000 if you take it to someone.

 

[99 R/T 10]

You won't get anything near $49K for a car with a bad head gasket and other associated problems. Just get it fixed now bfore more damage occurs from sitting.

 

[Marc Lublin]

Oh come on, it's just head gaskets. No big deal. In my mind no way is it a reason to get rid of the car.

 

[TomH]

Same thing happened to my 97', no big deal, just get a new gasket installed and go on your way. Make sure the coolant recovery bottle isn't holed, mine was, and burp the air out. Also check to make sure the heads are still flat before you put it back together.

 

[Casey]

Let Heffner fix it for you and then sell it, if you still want too.
I don't think you get anywhere near $49k for it on Ebay with bad gaskets.

good luck!

 

[GCHDEALER]

the only problem is the gasket/all else is awsum/how about 49k s she sits?im going to ebay her tonight i think to see if there is any interest.i just paid 53 k for the car a few months ago from mershons.this really ***** cause i didnt even beet on it to cause the failure.any one have ideas on price to fix this car?thanks/any one interested [email protected]

With bad gaskets and possible internal damage. YOu will be lucky to get much over 30 on ebay. I would fix it and keep it if I were you. Best of luck!!
Chad

 

[joe117]

I had no idea that a 96 GTS with 10k miles, would be worth $49k even with a perfect engine.

 

[viper spray]

Just put new gaskets on your car and forget about it. Really , it is no big deal.

 

[speedshftr]

joe current market value for my car with good gaskets is at about 50 k with the 6800 miles that it has.the blue and white cars are bringing decent money if there clean.thanks guys.
what would you all expect to pay to have this job done?
thanks again

 

[JWVIPER]

Fix it and you will be fine. My 95 still has original, checked out by Tators, we plan to monitor this summer and do them anyway in the fall/winter after cruise season is over (and maybe a few internals as well )

 

[99 R/T 10]

joe current market value for my car with good gaskets is at about 50 k with the 6800 miles that it has.the blue and white cars are bringing decent money if there clean.thanks guys.
what would you all expect to pay to have this job done?
thanks again

I would guess around $2K +/-, but call Chuck Tator to be sure.

 

[ROCKET62]

How do you know for sure its the head gaskets? One other possible gasket that could cause the same problem would be the timing cover gasket. Still a pain in the AS* to fix, but easier and less expensive than the head gaskets.

I don't know the best exact way to test, but I seem to recall pressurizing the cooling system and trying to listen with a stethoscope.

Good luck either way.

ROCKET

 

[carguy07]

I would be VERY concerned about bearing damage from the oil getting contaminated. Not saying that this has happened, but everything I have ever heard or read has stated that antifreeze contamination of 1/2%-1.0% is enough to cause serious damage to bearings. Maybe someone that has seen this on a Viper can chime in and give some experience based advice. Not trying to be negative at all, but the wives tales regarding this happening always finish with spun bearings and rod knock. Oh yea, for the love of God keep that car it sounds way too cool to part with. Just have it stroked a little and you can justify replacing the bearings.

 

[VIPERMAN]

Does this problem also occur with recent cars ... like a 2000 for example ?

 

[MichaelP]

No the car he is talking about is a 1996 with only 6500 miles. These and most cars are meant to be driven. When they don't get driven the fluids don't keep the gaskets lubed so they dry out and fail.