Major problems with my new Viper!!!

[FRANK]

Tell the Dodge dealer to replace the head gaskets with the newly designed ones. Cost may be around $1,500 depending on the shop. I guarantee it will solve your problem...forget getting it rebuilt...waste of time and money.

Remember one thing...if this happened to any car produced other than a Viper, the head gaskets would be replaced and you'd be driving it within a few days...no if's and's or but's...

If others respond here suggesting a rebuild, maybe those "knowledgeable" souls will aid/take up a collection for Arrow to rebuild your motor...

 

[FRANK]

Where does it say that the motor was seized? Just because it hydolocked doesn't mean that the motor is shot...Take the plugs out and crank it over...see what gives...

 

[Marv S]

Jon:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Will his car need another rebuild in ~20k miles for the same problem or does the Arrow rebuild result in a more durable motor?
[/list]

 

[Daffy]

Devil,

That's a bummer, I've had a similar experience with a car I had just purchased for a mighty chunk of change & I know how truly disappointing it is. I can't offer any mechanically based advice that's worth anything, I'm a viper newbie myself. From an emotional & economic perspective I would consider whether I really wanted to fix & keep the car for the long haul - if I did I would go for the Dodge deal, get a good solid rebuild at half price & enjoy the car for 4+years. On the other hand I might consider a cheaper route to a fix & sell the car over the course of this season, looking to get into a used '95 or later snake for next season. I don't know if that's helpful or not, but it's some of the thoughts I would consider if it were me. Best of luck to you, it will work out in the end, either way (but it's sure a pi$$er in the meantime).

Dave.

 

[garolittle]

I agree with Bryan ... the timing of this whole event sounds a little suspicious.

 

[Rich Carlson]

Please don't let your emotions get the better of you. I have a couple of questions for you and some general information.

Are you sure the vehicle has only 23k miles on it? Can it be documented? I have seen 23K on the odometer and the PCM tells me that there is 50K on the vehicle.

Are you sure the engine has never been over heated ? I see you live in Arizona....did the vehicle come from Arizona? Possibilty that the owner knew about the problem and that is why he sold it.
Do you what maintenance was done the vehicle over the years? This many have contributed to the problem.

BTW, this problem is NOT going to happen to all 92-94 Vipers. It also is not a poor design. Many engines use a liner in the block still today. What you have is a design that was put together over 12 years ago. I personally know of many early Gen 1 motors that have 50-70K miles on them and they have never been apart. Just remember, you never hear about the people around you that stay alive, only the the ones that get killed.

If the liner has moved, you can not just slap on new head gaskets and call it day. What ARROW is going to do with your motor, is take the whole thing apart and rebuilt with TODAYS technology. That means the block will be UNI-BORED, use a new style line that can shimmed which will be better than ever.

It was unfortunate timing that this happened to you so soon after you bought the vehicle but take advantage of the offer you where given by ARROW, I hope in the long run you will be to enjoy your Viper for many years to come.

 

[Gerald]

No, it won't happen again, because your gonna make sure you put in good gaskets this time. When I bought my 1994 one of the first things I did was get THE BEST head gaskets.

 

[SCS]

I'm very impressed that Dodge offered to help pay for half the repair cost on a 7 year old car...I've never had a manufacturer offer to help pay for any repair out of warranty regardless of how expensive the car was...Like Jon B. said...Jump on it...

 

[RonC]

Man, here I sit with a 94 with 5200 miles on it and waiting for the darn thing to blow! Bob, I could'nt even get Dodge to repair the bi-metal corrosion on the side sills so I am off soon to Fat Alberts to have them repaired. As far as the offer in light of my dinky little problem, RUN RUN RUN FAST, sign the papers. Do what Jon B told you to do.

Jon, here is a question them for you. Are all 94's subject to this problem or was there any change in later cars. (Ok I have a vested interest in this question since mine was deliverd in June, 1994 #2283 / 3083). I would think there is a chance that Dodge could have modified mid-stream. I figure if anyone knows the answer, you would. What do ya say?

You must be registered for see images

Ron

P.S. The sale sounds fishy to me also. Whoever you buught it from must have known.......Just to close to the sale!

 

[Jay Herbert]

I'm glad to hear you took up Dodges very nice offer. The

 

[Russ M]

ElDiablo,

There are several missleading comments you make to get our sympathy the first one being "Major problems with my NEW viper", I am sorry to say that you get what you pay for. In this case you bought a car which has probably been on the road for 8 years, and by no means is this car new anymore.
When you buy a used car you are also buying the problems which come with it, hence the 1/3 less of new cost. If you wanted to buy a car which would have absolutly no problems and one which the manufacturer would back if any problems occured then guess what. Go down to your local Dodge dealer and hand over the 70k+ which the majority of us paid and stop moaning to us. Otherwise fix it and be happy with it till the next problem occurs.

 

[Chuck 97 GTS]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Russ M:
ElDiablo,

There are several missleading comments you make to get our sympathy the first one being "Major problems with my NEW viper", I am sorry to say that you get what you pay for. In this case you bought a car which has probably been on the road for 8 years, and by no means is this car new anymore.
When you buy a used car you are also buying the problems which come with it, hence the 1/3 less of new cost. If you wanted to buy a car which would have absolutly no problems and one which the manufacturer would back if any problems occured then guess what. Go down to your local Dodge dealer and hand over the 70k+ which the majority of us paid and stop moaning to us. Otherwise fix it and be happy with it till the next problem occurs.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jeez, cut the guy some slack! He was just asking for some advise. I'm sure he already has enough stress without people giving him grief on top of it.

My $.02

 

[phiebert]

Frank,

I just wanted to say I'm on your side whenever you point out that the Viper engine is still just an engine and everyone gets a little anal about it when repairing. Maybe its the extra two cylinders that does it?! Stick to your guns!

Jon B/ Eldiablo,

Jon, if you recall I was asking your advice on this same topic for my '94 a few months ago. I had a couple interesting experiences. Firstly, it appeared on mine to be the thermostat hoses that were on very loosely and that cause the coolant smell. Those hoses were leaking badly. It seemed to be the problem for me but I am still watching for signs of a gasket problem.

The interesting part is I ended up talking with a mechanic that works for a Chrysler dealership. The dealership he is at now doesn't do Viper repairs regularly but he "claimed" that he had done a lot of work on Gen I Vipers at his previous dealership. He said that almost all of the '94's came in with the gasket problems. When I mentioned it to him he said just pour in some of that new "creamy leak stopping stuff". I never did get the product name because my response was an automatic "I'll never dump any of that @#$%# in my car!". But he said, "Why not? We used to rebuild the whole engine when that problem occurred, then we started just replacing the gaskets and both fixes made the cars come out fine and lasted as long as I knew the owners. In the end we had a couple guys, whose gaskets were just starting to go, pour in the creamy, not pellet, stuff. It works great, within a day the coolant smell disappeared, it never blocked any other areas and those guys came back a year or two later with no problems. What have you got to lose? If it doesn't work, just flush the coolant and change the gasket."

Think he had a point?

 

[Russ M]

ElDiablo,

Someone replied that since you paid fair market price you should have gotten a good car, to them I answer since when is 37k a market price for any VIPER? To me it sounds like a deal of the century since a friend of mine has asked me to look at several snakes with him and I am aware of what they are going for. Anything under the low 40's is very low, no matter what the milage is. The people that are willing to sell em cheap are trying to get rid of them plain and simple, and trust me usualy there is a reason for it.

You did not buy a mustang or a corvet or any other basic transportation, you bought an exotic plain and simple. If you cant afford it o well, not my problem or anyone elses. Like I said before it is an old car, almost 8 years to be exact and cars that old have problems now take it to arrow or anyother good machine shop and have it rebuilt.

 

[Marv S]

Bob came to this site a few months ago asking for info on Gen 1 cars. After the research he pulled the trigger and put his excited "I got one" on the board.

As for the price, I find several 1994 cars on the VCA page and traderonline with LESS miles in the mid $30k to low $40k range. Yes, some are mid to high $40k also, but these are ASKING prices.

I don't know how a seller could have prior knowledge of this the of failure and then cover it up. Once it starts it would not just go away.

Bob, this just set back that $4k header/catback system a few months. Be glad you didn't one of those multi-valve foreign cars than end in "i" and find you need a rebulid.

Good luck
Is there a difference between a 93 and 94 RT/10

WANTED TO BUY: 1994-96 RT/10 Cash Waiting

Well, I'm finally a Viper owner!

What would a gen I car sound like with just high flow cats and no mufflers, just straight pipes?

Is the A/C in a 93-95 Viper cold?

 

[Lawrenzo]

Not sure if this is true or not, but I was in for service on my car and spoke to a very long term Dodge service manager. He said that there was a problem when they were milling the heads I believe. He said that one of the employees had "decided" that he could get more work done if he sped up the process, but he messed up the tolerances in his rush.

 

[phiebert]

Bob, just so you know (since your a new Viper owner), Russ M is not a typical example of the kind of people you find owning Vipers. Unfortunately Chrysler doesn't make you take a maturity test to buy a Viper. Viper ownership has nothing to do with ego's and wealth. I am quite sure I am no worse off financially than Mr. Russ M, yet I too have a '94. His comments bother me and I'm not sure who he is or why he decided to lash out at you. A year ago I became a Viper owner and came onto this board and had some of my first posts attacked like that by an equally charming individual. Must be beginners luck, 'cause since then it's been all positive.

The good news is there is a very short list of known and common problems with the GEN I cars, unfortunately you seem to have been hit hard and fast by the worst one. I feel for you but keep your chin up, when it's fixed it will be rock solid reliable.

Tom, I commend you for being open about selling the car. My two cents is I'm sure you didn't know that this would happen. It's pretty hard to hide the problem and frankly it's pretty hard to sell any car just a week before it fails, unless your psychic!

 

[NascarDave]

El Diablo, I usually don't get involved in discussions like this, but, I can't believe the attitude of Russ M. Please don't take his comments as representative of this board. I've been quietly posting for a year or so and can assure you that there is a wealth of knowledge, good advice and great products available from the quality people here. Thanks to all postive participants who always take time to answer questions from people they don't know. Your experiences help us all.

sorry, I'm off my box now.

DN

 

[SoCal Rebell]

El Diablo, sorry to hear of your misfortune and I wish you the best, I've followed this thread and I just want to let you know you are welcome here with any Viper problems might arise, MOST of the people on this board have only your best interests at heart. Don't feel bad I have one of those $70,000+ Vipers and my motor failed, the only difference is I did not have to pay for it (yeah I know a BIG difference), but I was still was without my snake for 9 1/2 weeks while it was still reletivaly new.

Here's the upside with Arrow, you will get it back quicker then my 9 1/2 weeks because it is summer and fewer motors are sent there, so it is a quicker turn around time. Demand a report to what was done to the motor even if they say they don't do that, I got a report after repeated requests. The motor in my 2000 RT was burning too much oil and here is what they did to the motor as per the report:
Replaced crankshaft
" camshaft
" lifters
" pistons
' rod assemblies
" timing chain set
" two exhaust valves
" one intake valve
" water pump
" rod/main bearings
" gaskets & seals
They did a 2 hour dyno run with three WOT runs to check hp & torque, and did leak down and compression tests.

They are very thorough and inspect EVERYTHING they even found a missing starter bolt. I know it is costly but you'll have a NEW motor.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

OK, OK, I will throw in my 2¢. First off, I would say that perhaps Russ' intent was as it related to the word "new". While unfortunate (very), there are simply no guarantees with a used car. Indeed, some Vipers are babied so much that they may have problems when the next owner gets more aggressive with it. I am sure that isn't the problem with Tom's previous car, but you just NEVER know what you end up with in a used car - even if it is inspected by a Viper tech and owned by Jon B himself. My rule of thumb is to always factor in the worst case scenario (usually new motor) when buying an unwarrantied car. Mind you, Russ came off a tad bit aggressive, as I suspect a good portion of current Viper owners bought their cars used. After all, who in their right mind would throw $10,000 in taxes + 10% depreciation out the window on a new one? That's the cost of a rebuild by itself!

You must be registered for see images

Now, as to your rebuild, rest assured you will be VERY pleased, especially since you are getting a warranty on the "new" motor. My motor was rebuilt by Arrow over the winter and it is just fantastic now. Strong, smooth, and dependable as they come. I think you got an awesome deal from Dodge on the rebuild and you will really enjoy the results. When I bought my last used car in 1991, it was an out-of-warranty BMW 7 Series. It cost me a fortune as various parts failed and BMW would not lift a finger to help me. I am thrilled for you that Dodge has made such a great offer and know you will be just as thrilled with the motor that comes back.

Be sure to keep us posted as things develop. Oh, and if you decided to keep the car in your garage instead of the dealers while it is motorless (as some owners do), start using that Zaino - it is a fun way to keep yourself occupied as you wait for your motor to return!

Chris

 

[ELW98]

DODGE......................Different?

 

[King RT10]

Russ M,
I do not think he is whining when he just spent $37000 on the car and has a $10,000 engine repair job the next week. The car only has $23,000 miles.Its a valid complaint. By your posts I can tell you are a real people person. The last time I looked a new viper does not cost $111,000 so your comment about him paying 1/3 of the price of a new one must have been for effect or lack of calculators. I would make sure and keep your friend who solicits your help because you sound a little high strung. Imagine how mad you would be if your trailer started to leak a week after you rented it.
PS Where do I get a Corvet? Never heard of one!
Sounds interesting!

 

[TOOOFST]

Hey El,Russ is jealous,he wasn't that cool at 20.Now with your new motor comes a factory warrenty?!Maybe the dealer will get U full warrenty.A new guy at the club told me he bought a 95 and the dealer got him a warrenty for $1300.Income/diversification-charge girls to ride naked,to pick up the cost!

You must be registered for see images