[nohsreg2000]

Pics of my Viper\'s motor apart.

Some of you remember that I had the Head Gaskets Replaced on My car about 2 months ago. Well I did take some pics, And I finally figured out the camera.

The Work was don by txlen at Northstar Dodge in San Antonio.

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

.

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

..

 

[THOR]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Nate How many miles were on your car when you had to have the headgaskets replaced?

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Nate How many miles were on your car when you had to have the headgaskets replaced?

33k

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

...

 

[McGuireV10]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Did you need to have them replaced, or were you doing other work inside or something?

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Did you need to have them replaced, or were you doing other work inside or something?

It is my understanding that Every Gen 1 has to have this done at some point.
The Head gaskets were paper and would start to leak coolant. Mine started one night out of the blue and it was not a slow process, Leaked most of my coolant in a very short time.

The New gaskets are metal and permenantly fix this problem.

 

[THOR]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Did you need to have them replaced, or were you doing other work inside or something?

It is my understanding that Every Gen 1 has to have this done at some point.
The Head gaskets were paper and would start to leak coolant. Mine started one night out of the blue and it was not a slow process, Leaked most of my coolant in a very short time.

The New gaskets are metal and permenantly fix this problem.

I cannot believe that DC does not fix this "Defect" under some sort of a warranty or recall since they know (knew) this is a flaw in their material/workmanship!! /images/graemlins/soapbox.gif What did this repair cost you??

 

[viper spray]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

most 95 cars are OK .

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Did you need to have them replaced, or were you doing other work inside or something?

It is my understanding that Every Gen 1 has to have this done at some point.
The Head gaskets were paper and would start to leak coolant. Mine started one night out of the blue and it was not a slow process, Leaked most of my coolant in a very short time.

The New gaskets are metal and permenantly fix this problem.

I cannot believe that DC does not fix this "Defect" under some sort of a warranty or recall since they know (knew) this is a flaw in their material/workmanship!! /images/graemlins/soapbox.gif What did this repair cost you??

The parts can Run 2000+$$$ and the labor runs about 1200++$$$

I called everyone on earth to get the best prices.(Arrow,different dealers,everwere on the internet,tuners)

If this happens to you I would without hesitation Call Chuck Tator(He was going to sell the parts at cost to me..And told me what cost was..BIG THANKS to Chuck Tator, If I was to ever buy a new Dodge I would be willing to Go to New York to Buy it from him.)) Knowing this I was able to get a cost deal on parts from Northstar Dodge in San Antonio Texas. (800 bucks /images/graemlins/supergrin.gif)

Len Mcdonald (Northstars Viper tech)is a great guy to work with and anyone who needs anything done to your viper I would not hesitate to recomend him.

 

[FUSCUCLA1]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

most 95 cars are OK .

How do you know? I have heard 95's are affected too. My car hasn't had the service and thus far I have not had any problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[99RT10&GTS]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

most 95 cars are OK .

How do you know? I have heard 95's are affected too. My car hasn't had the service and thus far I have not had any problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.

All Gen I's are affected. That includes 95's. Any Gen I may have the head gaskets go bad, some have, but most haven't. Some people like to say "it's not if, but when."

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

most 95 cars are OK .

How do you know? I have heard 95's are affected too. My car hasn't had the service and thus far I have not had any problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.

All Gen I's are affected. That includes 95's. Any Gen I may have the head gaskets go bad, some have, but most haven't. Some people like to say "it's not if, but when."

After looking at the Gaskets on my car It is VERY evident to me that every Gen 1 will suffer this problem at some point. If a car is driven very conservitavly it might not happen for a while. Lets face it Vipers are low milage cars(not driven very much) So It may have not happened to many cars yet. I Had Erosion on all the spots were it occurs on the head gasket. A little erosion does not mean the gasket will fail right away but I would bet that if you take apart any Gen1 with more than a few thousand miles on the motor it will be showing the signes.

 

[viper spray]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Get under your car. Bring flashlight. Shine up onto block where heads meet block. Look for the type of material your gaskets are made of. A cork type material is the old gasket material, a metal or mesh looking material is the new ones.

There are so many opinions regarding this topic, it's confusing. Dodge made a change sometime in 95 to the gasket material. Also I have read that Dodge made changes in 95 to address the cylinder slipping issue that caused many gaskets to fail .

 

[McGuireV10]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Ah! I didn't realize you had a Gen I.
I thought at some point you had moved to a Gen II.

 

[nohsreg2000]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Ah! I didn't realize you had a Gen I.
I thought at some point you had moved to a Gen II.

Nope I still have the Po' boys special /images/graemlins/supergrin.gif

That is why it is for sell. I am Looking for a Gen 2 now.

 

[txlen]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

yea...almost all gen 1 engines had this prob...but the new gaskets are made of a 3 layer metal construction....if ya think ya mite had a prob...get the car up on a lift...look up along the sides of the block up near the heads from underneath...if ya see moisture or what looks like a kinda whitish kinda power or stain have it checked out..ya may catch them before ya really have a prob...if ya need anymore info give me a yell or p/m me...Len /images/graemlins/biggrin

 

[viper spray]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

The real problem happens when water leaks into the cylinder , sits , rusts and sticks the piston to the liner , then you go to start it and the liner pulls up and it's time for much more then head gaskets. Do the gaskets on all 94 and older cars and check your 95 for the gasket material. I think if you have an early 95 you may have an old type ,and if you have a later 95 , then you are OK . Check the Vin.to find out when your 95 was built, the one that I used to have was fine , 42,000 miles and no leak at all. What really sucks is when Mopar jacked the price on gaskets WAY up about a year ago.

 

[Jack B]

Re: Pics of the Motor of my Viper

Viper Spray:
A question - how does the liner move up, the head holds them down. It seems the only way would be if the gasket has deteriorated. The floating liner is an issue on both the Gen1 and Gen II, it is not a good idea to rotate engine with the heads off. I still cannot see any way the liner can move up if the gasket is incompressible.


Nohsreg2000:
I don't mean to rain on the parade, that is one sloppy mechanic. I hope his work is better than his organization. Let's hope he can find all those bolts that are laying loose and scratching your right toe box. I would have booted him.

Make sure you have him do a compression test prior to you accepting the car. Better yet have him do it while you are there. The range should be 145-155 on a Gen 1. Look for any deviation beyond the average. If you have a deviation of more than 10-15% on any one cylinder have him do a leak-down test. That should give you the source of the problem. These are all easy/cheap/quick checks on your engine. Better to find any problems before you accept the car. After you pay, there is little if not zero recourse.