valve clatter

[Quickkitty]

Hi Guys,
Bare with me please, this is my first SRT 10 and I see I have a few things to learn.
So I bought my 05 viper with 14K on the odometer, I believe it to be true mileage but the engine sounds like a sewing machine.
At idle there seems to be a lot of valve clatter, at higher rpms it is still far louder than I would expect but at idle is the worst.
Is this normal? Are these valves adjustable? I am planing to take it in to get it checked out but thought I would ask here first.
The car sat for about 3 years, is it possible that the lifters are not getting pumped up?
Thanks
Jay

 

[Allan]

These engines do seem to have alot of valvetrain noise. I freaked on that too when I first got mine. Everybody seems to have the same issue and considers it a normal condition. Something about the bleed rate of the lifters apparently is the cause. (at lower rpm, lifters don't stay fully pumped up, causing excessive valve lash, hence the noise.) I think the idea behind that design is to reduce valve lift and overlap at idle to help with emission control. (milds out the effective cam profile during idle / no load conditions) I noticed that running 15w50 oil instead of 0w40 helped reduce the clatter significantly. Also the engine seems to lope a bit more at idle---lifters now stay pumped up with the thicker oil. -Others might say I'm full of crap, but this has been my personal experience. (noise comes back if I switch back to 0w40) Before you "take it in somewhere for inspection" or whatever, if it makes any difference, I'm not a do-it-yourselfer/ shadetree guy, not that there's anything wrong with that, but this is my trade. Hold ASE certifications as master automobile, master med/hvy truck, master engine machinist, L1 advanced engine perfofmance, parts specialist, and service consultant. Hope I've been of help. -Allan

 

[Allan]

On the lighter side of things, I noticed that a louder exhaust system REALLY helps the valve noise to be less noticable.

 

[bluesrt]

it could be a little louder than normal due to sitting for 3 years, drive the car normal for a few 2 or 3 hundred miles and see if it gets better, may have a few lazy lifters for a while

 

[cubican]

CHANGE YOUR OIL to mobil 1 15/50 and make sure that they use the white viper oil filter.

 

[Greg Good Cylinder Heads]

If you switch to a slightly higher viscosity oil, make sure that the oil warms up before *racing* the engine or going wide open throttle. The higher viscosity oil does not flow as well at ambient temperature. The rod bearings are what we are concerned with here. Just an FYI.

 

[Flexx91]

If it gets louder as the engine heats up and the viscosity of the oil drops, it's considered normal. I had two Gen. III's and the valve noise was exactly the same - the reason why I consider it normal.

 

[ViperGeorge]

I've spoken to an SRT engineer about this (and also about some trans/clutch noise in my Gen 4 when idling with clutch out). Both are normal.

 

[Steve M]

If you think a Viper is bad, you should come listen to my daily driven Toyota Tacoma. The valvetrain noise in that thing makes me wonder sometimes, but it runs well even after 60,000 miles of that clatter.

 

[Quickkitty]

Thanks guys,
Wow, I am feeling a lot better about this.
I was getting a little worried, I will change the oil to 15/50 put a new white viper filter on it and see how it is then.
You guys are Awesome!!

 

[BlackViper03]

15W50? My '03 says to use 10W30. I just changed the oil...I used 10W30 QS synthetic. After reading all of the posts that say the clicking is normal, I thought it would be best to use the viscosity Dodge says. I didn't even consider getting any other viscosity. I still hear the clicking at idle (same as before) but I would think Mopar did enough testing on the drivetrain to know what oil should be used. IMO if the noise is normal, why should I stray (my car is stock).

 

[cubican]

The viper uses 0w40 for the factory fill now. I change to the 15w50 mobil one over 3 years ago what a difference that made I'm in Texas 15w50 works great for me.

 

[Sonoman]

The viper uses 0w40 for the factory fill now. I change to the 15w50 mobil one over 3 years ago what a difference that made I'm in Texas 15w50 works great for me.

Agreed. Viscosity range should really depend on the intended operating ambient temperature range. On some vehicles there is a chart in the owner's manual showing the different oil viscosity ratings versus their minimum ambient operating temperature. Since I virtually never start my Viper (or my Ducati) in temps lower than 50F, I run 15W-50 in both. When cold starting in freezing temps, the 0W- oils are a plus.