Oil Pan Gasket Leak

stopltracr

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Well, I took the Viper out for a drive yesterday and when I got it up on my lift I noticed that the drivers side rear corner of the oil pan has just a tiny smear of oil that ran from the rear bolt. The bolt head is also wet. Anybody know what a dealer charges to replace an oil pan gasket? How hard is it to replace yourself?
 

red heat

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the gen 2 vipers were known to have problems with the original oil pan gasket. I just had mine replaced at a local dodge dealer for my 02 RT/10. fortunatley I purchased the extended warranty years ago. the list price for a replacement gasket from dodge is $185 (commonly referred to as financial ****). there is a certain type of sealant that should be placed on the bolts holding the oil pan in place as well. don't remember the name of it. it is very easy to replace if you have access to a lift. there is nothing in the way of it when removing it (i.e. exhaust pipes). naturally you will have to change the oil as part of the job. the bolts I believe should be torqued to 29 ft-lbs. I have the service manuals for the 2002 vipers. I would have to double check that specification. do you have a gen 2 viper?
 
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stopltracr

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Mine's a gen III, I've got a lift and was going to change the oil next weekend. I figured if it wasn't too bad I'd go ahead and swap out the gasket too.
 

ROCKET62

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First I've read about on the Gen 3. On my Gen 1 when this happened, I first cleaned the area with starting fluid, took out the bolts that the leak was coming from, added a dab of Red High Temp RTV, and torqued to specs and no more leaks. As stated above, Viper tax on this gasket is ridiculous.
 
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stopltracr

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First I've read about on the Gen 3. On my Gen 1 when this happened, I first cleaned the area with starting fluid, took out the bolts that the leak was coming from, added a dab of Red High Temp RTV, and torqued to specs and no more leaks. As stated above, Viper tax on this gasket is ridiculous.

I think I'm going to try out that fix first as it seems that it is leaking around the bolt. It's not much oil either. So far it hasn't even left a drop in the drip tray under it. I only noticed it because I was checking out the oil filter and happened to see that the bolt was wet.
 
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