PLEASE help diagnose this problem - Video attached

[onerareviper]

Viperholics,

OK. Here's my situation (1998 Viper GTS 40,000 miles original clutch):

1.) About 500 miles ago the Viper started to make a strange noise in-between high RPM shifts (Anything about 4,500 RPM). When I pushed in the clutch to shift, I heard a noise that sounded EXACTLY like a blow-off valve. No, I don't have turbos. Other than this noise, the clutch worked perfectly - no slipping, no smell, etc... So I decided to start with the simple things first, and changed out the clutch fluid + bled. Noise still present, but I figured I'd give it a few miles or so....

2.) Just recently, the noise has gotten worse and changed to a 'chirping' sound. You can hear it at idle + revving/driving - clutch in or out.

Therefore, I decided to go high-tech and take a phone video and post online. The noise sounds like it is coming from the clutch (definitely not engine bay). I slid my cell phone under the Viper (driver's side front of door under car). Again, the clutch still functions perfect - no slippage or difference in pedal feel. But it is pretty obvious something is wrong because of the noise. I'm guessing it is a release bearing (usually called throwout bearing right?), but I'll let you experts guide me......

Please turn volume up while listening to video.

From 0 - :38 seconds the car is in neutral with clutch out. If you don't hear the noise at first, you will once I rev the car and the RPM's start to drop.

From :39 - :51 seconds I am pushing the clutch in (noise gets louder) then letting out (noise is reduced). I repeat this 3 or 4 times.

From :52 - 1:07 seconds I am holding the clutch in while revving in neutral.

From 1:08 to end. I let clutch out and you can hear the noise reduce. I press and release of couple more times.....

Video (TURN VOLUME UP) - http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/fastcars05/Videos/?action=view&current=ViperGTS_1998_Noise1.flv


OK Fell'as. Help me out and thanks! in advance.

 

[Tusc]

Just so you know that people ARE viewing it... I don't own a Viper, but that particular sound/response is not one I have come across in my experiences working on my cars. Sorry I can't help, but the guys here will likely get on it tomorrow when they check in.

I'm curious to see what the cause is.

 

[Russ M]

Bearing? No matter what it is, you need to pull the trans out and see.

 

[viper spray]

Flywheel , check it out..............

 

[C O D Y]

I agree. Trans should come out. If I had to guess I would say throw out bearing. Just a guess.

Bearing? No matter what it is, you need to pull the trans out and see.

 

[Silver_Snake]

Geez, shut 'er down and **** the trannie already !!!

 

[onerareviper]

Yeah, I realize I'm going to have to pull the tranny no matter what. BUT, if someone has run into this same problems/noise and knows the fix, I can order the parts and be ready to go... Especially since I might have someone else do the job (due to my lack of time), and I don't want the car sitting at a repair shop for an extended period of time. Unless you have a Chuck Tator or Pemberton nearby, the car always returns with a few extra stratches etc....

 

[Ulysses]

Sounds like it's lagging the revs. Check to see if the front pulley has loosened. Worth a look.

 

[pugads651]

i have no experience with vipers at all mostly just corvettes and camaros but they take the same t56 transmission and i had a similar noise in my camaro a while back it ended up being the throw out bearing it only made the noise when the clutch was out once you pressed it in the noise would go away i dont know if that helps but thats all i got lol good luck finding your problem.


jonathan

 

[supraman95]

i have no experience with vipers at all mostly just corvettes and camaros but they take the same t56 transmission and i had a similar noise in my camaro a while back it ended up being the throw out bearing it only made the noise when the clutch was out once you pressed it in the noise would go away i dont know if that helps but thats all i got lol good luck finding your problem.


jonathan

I would definately say that it is the Throw out bearing from what you described above and I did not even watch the video. I have an RX7 with the Vette motor and a T56 in it and it did the exact same thing when the clutch was in and out.

 

[Johann]

I vote for a TO bearing, you can hear the difference in the raspy sound when loaded by the clutch and the tinny sound of it spinning to a stop when unloaded.

 

[Qualitywires.com]

I would say the same thing. Unless it's your clutch falling apart. Sounds like something is spinning freely and rubbing. Good news is the tranny to pull out is a snap. Do you have a car lift? Don't use jack stands...just had a guy die near me when he was yanking out his tranny and had it jack stands. Car tipped over and crushed him.

 

[ViperTony]

Don't use jack stands...just had a guy die near me when he was yanking out his tranny and had it jack stands. Car tipped over and crushed him.[/

That's awful...of course I had to read this as I was about to go under my car (up on jack stands) to work in the engine mounts. How did he tip the car over on jack stands? Were they set incorrectly or did he literally push the car over? Either way, that's awful news.

- TP

 

[CROM]

Well, when I first read this I thought throwout bearing. Could be lots of things. When my alignment pin came out and started rubbing the flywheel it made a somewhat similar sound, but more metalic with a couple "brang brangs" thrown in for good measure.

The transmission on these cars is very easy to remove. For a first timer I'd say 6 hours is a good approximation for removal, clutch install and reinstallation if you are remotely mechanically inclinded. I think I could do it in under 3 hours now.

Scary/Sad story! I could potentially see your point Ab, but unless you are hercules or don't have your car properly up on stands I really couldn't see you tipping a Viper over. I pulled my tranny and do all kinds of work with jack stands. Tator even said he does clutch installs on just jack stands.

You can get a full LUK clutch kit from Autozone or Ebay for under 250 dollars. My local Dodge dealer wanted 600 for the equivalent parts. You could order it from Autozone and return it if you don't use it. That kit comes with everything you should need....if this is clutch related.

For the record 8 (EIGHT) Bolts hold the transmission to the bell housing, and one of them is quite sneaky up top.

 

[Jack B]

Well, when I first read this I thought throwout bearing. Could be lots of things. When my alignment pin came out and started rubbing the flywheel it made a somewhat similar sound, but more metalic with a couple "brang brangs" thrown in for good measure.

The transmission on these cars is very easy to remove. For a first timer I'd say 6 hours is a good approximation for removal, clutch install and reinstallation if you are remotely mechanically inclinded. I think I could do it in under 3 hours now.

Scary/Sad story! I could potentially see your point Ab, but unless you are hercules or don't have your car properly up on stands I really couldn't see you tipping a Viper over. I pulled my tranny and do all kinds of work with jack stands. Tator even said he does clutch installs on just jack stands.

You can get a full LUK clutch kit from Autozone or Ebay for under 250 dollars. My local Dodge dealer wanted 600 for the equivalent parts. You could order it from Autozone and return it if you don't use it. That kit comes with everything you should need....if this is clutch related.

For the record 8 (EIGHT) Bolts hold the transmission to the bell housing, and one of them is quite sneaky up top.

I must be missing something, you would have to be a ********* to want to change the clutch on jack stands. The Trans is 135 lbs and on jack stands you cannot get a transmission jack under the car. If you don't get the trans all the way in and the back falls down you can ruin the disk and/or damage the clutch. Some people have taken two hours to just remove the hydraulics or the top two bolts.

I have to go along with AB, I had a car on jack stands come down on me and broke the collar bone. On both my 94 and 97 it was very tight to get in and out. I have had the trans out multiple times times on both cars and it isn't always easy and I have a lift and trans jack.

 

[onerareviper]

I would say the same thing. Unless it's your clutch falling apart. Sounds like something is spinning freely and rubbing. Good news is the tranny to pull out is a snap. Do you have a car lift? Don't use jack stands...just had a guy die near me when he was yanking out his tranny and had it jack stands. Car tipped over and crushed him.

Wow! That's horrible. And yes, I only have jack stands. And I would be doing the job solo. To be honest, I'm probably just going to let a buddy of mine do the work. He is a professional mechanic, and from my readings there is nothing unusual about the Viper clutch. Please correct me if I'm wrong.... I also have a service manual if he runs into trouble, which I doubt he will. And he'll probably charge me minimal labor. It is a bit of a drive to his shop, hence me wanting to have all the parts lined up....

 

[CROM]

I must be missing something, you would have to be a ********* to want to change the clutch on jack stands. The Trans is 135 lbs and on jack stands you cannot get a transmission jack under the car. If you don't get the trans all the way in and the back falls down you can ruin the disk and/or damage the clutch. Some people have taken two hours to just remove the hydraulics or the top two bolts.

I have to go along with AB, I had a car on jack stands come down on me and broke the collar bone. On both my 94 and 97 it was very tight to get in and out. I have had the trans out multiple times times on both cars and it isn't always easy and I have a lift and trans jack.

I thought the tranny was around 80lbs wet. I had zero issues doing it in my garage on jack stands. I used a Harbor Freight transmission jack (50 bucks) and put the car up on all 4's using 18" min height 4 ton stands from Sears. I had never removed the tranny before and did the whole procedure in less than 4 hours. Granted, I did not replace the clutch. I only removed the transmission and checked to make sure nothing was broken in the clutch. All bolts were easy to get to (once I found that one hiding on the top), disconnecting the hydraulic line was easy as well.. I had no issues and felt it was a pretty simple task. I spent a long time on the phone with Chuck getting a full step by step run down of what to do...so that saved me a substantial amount of time I'm sure. But I digress, for your typical weekend warrior I'm sure its too much work or simply too much of a pain in the ass. In the end it saved me about 1200 bucks, so I felt it was well worth the learning experience.

 

[onerareviper]

I must be missing something, you would have to be a ********* to want to change the clutch on jack stands. The Trans is 135 lbs and on jack stands you cannot get a transmission jack under the car. If you don't get the trans all the way in and the back falls down you can ruin the disk and/or damage the clutch. Some people have taken two hours to just remove the hydraulics or the top two bolts.

I have to go along with AB, I had a car on jack stands come down on me and broke the collar bone. On both my 94 and 97 it was very tight to get in and out. I have had the trans out multiple times times on both cars and it isn't always easy and I have a lift and trans jack.

Well that pretty much seals the deal. I was thinking the same, as my jack stands don't give me a whole lot of room.

 

[onerareviper]

Well, when I first read this I thought throwout bearing. Could be lots of things. When my alignment pin came out and started rubbing the flywheel it made a somewhat similar sound, but more metalic with a couple "brang brangs" thrown in for good measure.

The transmission on these cars is very easy to remove. For a first timer I'd say 6 hours is a good approximation for removal, clutch install and reinstallation if you are remotely mechanically inclinded. I think I could do it in under 3 hours now.

Scary/Sad story! I could potentially see your point Ab, but unless you are hercules or don't have your car properly up on stands I really couldn't see you tipping a Viper over. I pulled my tranny and do all kinds of work with jack stands. Tator even said he does clutch installs on just jack stands.

You can get a full LUK clutch kit from Autozone or Ebay for under 250 dollars. My local Dodge dealer wanted 600 for the equivalent parts. You could order it from Autozone and return it if you don't use it. That kit comes with everything you should need....if this is clutch related.

For the record 8 (EIGHT) Bolts hold the transmission to the bell housing, and one of them is quite sneaky up top.

Hmmm... What's all included in the LUK kit? Is it the same quality, or the same as OEM?

 

[CROM]

LUK makes the Viper clutches. The dealers just like to sell it to you, at twice the price, piece by piece in Mopar boxes. The LUK kit comes with everything....bearing, pressure plate, alignment tool, etc.

The part # for the LUK kit: 05-088

http://www.autozone.com/selectedZip...itialvehicleId,2381701/shopping/selectZip.htm

About this product: Part Number: 05-088 Weight: 37.9 lbs. Warranty:

Note: Contains: cover, disc, bearing, pilot, alignment tool

You must be registered for see images

 

[onerareviper]

LUK makes the Viper clutches. The dealers just like to sell it to you, at twice the price, piece by piece in Mopar boxes. The LUK kit comes with everything....bearing, pressure plate, alignment tool, etc.

NICE!!! You da man! So basically everything except the flywheel. All for $241.99. Can't beat that!

 

[CROM]

Actually, you can beat that. This guy sells the same kits on Ebay for 185 dollars. I believe a few guys on this board have had good luck with this seller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VIPER-DODGE-GENUINE-92-03-LUK-NEW-CLUTCH-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33730QQihZ007QQitemZ170120360556QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Im going to shut up now and go to bed...gnight.

 

[onerareviper]

Actually, you can beat that. This guy sells the same kits on Ebay for 185 dollars. I believe a few guys on this board have had good luck with this seller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VIPER-DODGE-GENUINE-92-03-LUK-NEW-CLUTCH-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33730QQihZ007QQitemZ170120360556QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVWhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VIPE...007QQitemZ170120360556QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

GREAT! This keeps getting better and better.

 

[Jack B]

The LUK alignment tool is the wrong size for the viper. You will have to pick up the correct alignment tool.

 

[sdaddy]

Is that a picture of your ass if I watch to the very end of the audio/video clip? Priceless!!!!!

 

[Ron]

NICE!!! You da man! So basically everything except the flywheel. All for $241.99. Can't beat that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything except the throw out bearing, pilot bushing and possibly the slave cylinder

 

[Simms]

FWIW, I just put a new tranny in my car with just jack stands. It was tight, but easily done with the help of a friends and an aluminum jack. If you can do it or have it done on a lift, I would go that route to just save any potential aggravation.

If you a just going to change the clutch, you may have enough room to do it by just pulling the tranny back in the tunnel rather than completely removing/dropping it. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can get the input shaft back far enough to remove the clutch. A quick call to Chuck T would let you know for sure.

Steve if you do decide to do it yourself, let me know if you need any help.

 

[onerareviper]

Is that a picture of your ass if I watch to the very end of the audio/video clip? Priceless!!!!!

Quit fantasizing! That is just my freak'in finger over the lense on the phone. Maybe a thumb...

 

[onerareviper]

FWIW, I just put a new tranny in my car with just jack stands. It was tight, but easily done with the help of a friends and an aluminum jack. If you can do it or have it done on a lift, I would go that route to just save any potential aggravation.

If you a just going to change the clutch, you may have enough room to do it by just pulling the tranny back in the tunnel rather than completely removing/dropping it. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can get the input shaft back far enough to remove the clutch. A quick call to Chuck T would let you know for sure.

Steve if you do decide to do it yourself, let me know if you need any help.

Thanks Simms, but I'm thinking I'll just bring it to Charlie. I'm sure the price will be more than fair and I suspect this will be a no-brainer for him.

 

[Simms]

Thanks Simms, but I'm thinking I'll just bring it to Charlie. I'm sure the price will be more than fair and I suspect this will be a no-brainer for him.

Charlie (I assume Arrowhead) could do it in no time.