02 viper......TOAST!

gwinnraptor

gwinnraptor

New member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Messages
157
Age
40
Location
Gwinn, MI
My dad, brother and I were on our way to christmas, michigan. Dad was riding his apex, my brother was riding my dads 02 viper, and i was on my srx.

I turned around when i saw they werent behind me anymore, went back and saw the hood up on the viper....... cord wouldnt pull....we thought it siezed. So we towed it to foggys and had it picked up by a friend of ours.

Well my dad and his buddy tore into it last night and found that the crank seal had went, causing the rod bearing to overheat and sieze, the rod broke, piston melted, rings went, and when the rod bearings went the crank gouged a hole in the bottom of the case. So basically the viper is toasted!

Needless to say my dad isnt too happy right now..... Just thought id share this story with you, possibly save someone else from completely ruining their motor.

I posted an ad in the wanted section for a complete motor, or a lower end.
 
post pics of the case. it could probably be welded. just rebuild it. the crank could be fixed for $400 by a guy by me and cylinder/pistons can be found on here in the classifieds. if you rebuild yours, you then know what you have in the end versus buying a used engine. just my .02.
 
It seems that this type of incedent is popping up more frequently. It seems that seals at this life span are failing and people who have not opened there engines up or have high miles are going to have to replace seals and any other related parts to avoid future failures.
Start rebuilding this summer.
 
i dont have pics right now. He said it needed to be replaced, so im thinking that the case must be "F'ed" for sure.

The sled was very well taken care of and only had 3400 miles.

He is searching for a lower end or a complete motor right now.
 
SRX7 said:
It seems that this type of incedent is popping up more frequently. It seems that seals at this life span are failing and people who have not opened there engines up or have high miles are going to have to replace seals and any other related parts to avoid future failures.
Start rebuilding this summer.
Click to expand...
^^^X2

seems like the older these viper gets more troubles are popping up,very
important to do top ends and jetting/oil usage checks more often..
 
gwinnraptor said:
i dont have pics right now. He said it needed to be replaced, so im thinking that the case must be "F'ed" for sure.

The sled was very well taken care of and only had 3400 miles.

He is searching for a lower end or a complete motor right now.
Click to expand...
Bud, Im sure its in great shape. But low miles and an older sled can be worse that a sled with 5000 miles just been rebuilt. Seals do tend to harden and will cause problems.
I've often thought if I ever came across a NEW SRX 0 miles would I buy it. No doubt I would but Im sure the engine if not started and stored properly would blow in the first 100 miles.
 
i think its because the gas we get gets worse each year,then if the engine isnt propperly fogged the additives in the fuel eat the rubber in the seals.i eaw this alot last spring in motorcycle engines.i can guarantee yaa in my region of the country the gas gets reformulated for winter,thats why in many cases its possible to see mpg in you vehicle drop 25-35% in winter.my 2 cents
 
SRX7: I never really thought of it that way. It certainly does make sense. The viper doesnt get ridden alot during the winter because its basically an extra sled for my brother and sister to ride when they visit. So what you said about the not riding and the motor sitting could very well have contributed to this problem.
 
gwinnraptor said:
SRX7: I never really thought of it that way. It certainly does make sense. The viper doesnt get ridden alot during the winter because its basically an extra sled for my brother and sister to ride when they visit. So what you said about the not riding and the motor sitting could very well have contributed to this problem.
Click to expand...
Thats why it's so important to fogg this stuff to keep a nice coating of
oil on everything..
 
Mine went at 4,000 miles and just got it running last evening. What a good feeling, rebuild it yourself it is not too bad. Not to mention all the support on this site. I will be building a second lower end for my sled this summer, gathering parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top