Viper Help!! Overheat issue.

MrSled

MrSled

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I worked on a Viper for member on the site. Installed an M20 Airwave 136, added tunnel extension and was told this sled would overheat and the temp light was always flashing. We added rear heat exchanger, found some melted wires on the sensor. Thought maybe it was fixed. Then it started to use anit-freeze but never leaked it. I assumed it was the head gasket, put on a new head gasket, did notice the center cylinder looked more washed. I thought it was fixed again. After head gasket change it would last longer before temp light. I am at a loss here.. the only thing I can think of is that maybe the head is warped?

I thought I would reach out to the site and see if anyone has any ideas.
 
I am the owner of the Viper that Tom is referring to and after about 30 mi of riding today the coolant was 2 inches below the cold line. Only noticed a little coolant flowing out after the first time light went on... then didn’t see any more in the snow the rest of the day. More notes from the ride today:
Need to ride 3-5 miles on hard packed trails (good snow) and light will turn on. Light will eventually shut off while idling for a few minutes. If you can hit some powder off trail the light will go off for an extended period of time. No scratchers.
 
If it only takes 3-5 miles there is a good chance it could be a stuck thermostat and when it gets hot it could be dumping antifreeze through the overflow. I do have problems with my srx getting hot on the trails in northern Michigan if the trails are packed and there isn't much snow dust. I installed a temp gauge last year and that's how I found out it was running hot. This year on those trails it was fine and then I noticed it started to climb so I put down the newly installed ice scratchers and it instantly started to go back down. The viper has a low spot in the exhaust pipe so you could take it off and see if any antifreeze comes out of it.
 
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is there a way to do a thermostat delete mod? And also Im a noob to the term "ice scratcheers" never heard of them or used them before. So a link would be helpful I have a pair of vipers myself and this summer Im doing the rear heat exchanger mod but keeping stock tunnel length..
 
YamiSwami said:
is there a way to do a thermostat delete mod? And also Im a noob to the term "ice scratcheers" never heard of them or used them before. So a link would be helpful I have a pair of vipers myself and this summer Im doing the rear heat exchanger mod but keeping stock tunnel length..
Click to expand...

These are the scratchers I used. They work good. The only problem I have is once I used them I can't get them to hook back on the rail anymore but my rail is too thick in that spot. I am running the 136" mono shock suspension and it has stiffners that make it thick. https://www.ebay.com/itm/DURAFLEX-I...-POLARIS-ARCTIC-CAT-SKI-DOO-YAM-/282756148236
 
Thanks guys.. lol will add these on after i complete the rear exchanger mod this summer. im guessing just 1 on each side..Looking at the simplicity of these things its amazing to hear the stories of instant success using them. ofcourse with my fat @$$ on the sled it never really has a problem with not getting enough snow on the exchangers or slides.. lol plus it has a 1.5 ripsaw lug track on it.
 
You and I have ZERO problems with weight transfer. I had a guy tell me I should put adjustable transfer rods on. I told him .... with all my weigh do you really think I have a problem w/ weight transfer.
 
Mechanical seal seeping on water pump . Common issue . Sometimes difficult to detect as only leaks when running and coolant burns off . As coolant level gets low in bottle air is drawn into system causing temp to rise and light to come on.
 
may be a long shot but i recently dealt with a chronic overheating problem on my sxr. seemed like it would heat up all the time for no reason even when there was lots of snow on the trails. every time i would feel the heat exchanges they would be burning hot so i knew the system was circulating coolant and it had lots of snow so i figured it must have been a false code. sure enough i was out one day and the code for a bad temp sensor came up. replaced it and it has not come on since.
 
I have an 02 viper also, I used the opticool head gasket when I added the srx rear heat exchanger... no more heat light... but I never lost coolant.
 
I tried scratchers this past weekend and no more heat light which is a good thing. The only time I can run without scratchers is in fresh snow which is seldom the situation in the Minocqua area... usually packed trails. Given this information is it worth changing the thermostat or water pump seal anyway? How about the Opticool head gasket option? I don't mind having to run scratchers once in awhile but would prefer not run them every time I ride.
 
The thermostat is an easy place to start, and could very likely fix the problem. At the very least it's one less thing to suspect if you replace it. The only drawback is it's pricey for what it is, at least here in Canada.

Sent from my VTR-L09 using Tapatalk
 
bhall80 said:
I tried scratchers this past weekend and no more heat light which is a good thing. The only time I can run without scratchers is in fresh snow which is seldom the situation in the Minocqua area... usually packed trails. Given this information is it worth changing the thermostat or water pump seal anyway? How about the Opticool head gasket option? I don't mind having to run scratchers once in awhile but would prefer not run them every time I ride.
Click to expand...

You can change thermostat, update head gasket and even maybe change the sensor on the head. I know some them were very picky and would set the light off too soon. But its just more money to stick into it. If the scratchers did the job why bother with the rest. Custom builds can be a pain and to me the scatchers are an easy fix and your slides will never wear out with all the crap the scratchers kick up.
 
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