Pa's 11,000 mile viper

JDViper

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So my dad bought an '02 viper new in the fall of '01. When it was new he put in a hauck can, clutch kit and TIP intake adjustments. It now has over 11,000 miles on it and we are doing some work to it. Im thinking 3 new pistons, rings, and some stator work. I have the recoil off and right away found his electrical problem. The wires on the stator and pickup and junk. The insulation is like chalk. So I need to get the fly wheel off. Any ideas? Also, what are the thoughts on gaskets. If there isnt a problem now, do I need to replace any of the gaskets on the base, or can i just leave it in and do the top end? I need to weld the Y pipe too.

I guess my questions are:
should i replace just the rings, or pistons too?
what gaskets should i replace as long as im into it?
if i take the whole motor out, how do I align it when i go to put it in?
do I need to hone the cyls?

Thanks in advance....

I'll post some pics later.
 

JDViper said:
So I need to get the fly wheel off. Any ideas?

I guess my questions are:
should i replace just the rings, or pistons too?
what gaskets should i replace as long as im into it?
if i take the whole motor out, how do I align it when i go to put it in?
do I need to hone the cyls?

Thanks in advance....

I'll post some pics later.

To get the flywheel off of course you need to remove the recoil, then take mapp gas and heat up the 3 little allen head button bolts for recoil, this will release the lock tite on them then remove the screws. Install a good s3 bolt steering wheel/harmonic balancer puller on flywheel. I just give it a shot with a air impact and it will pop right off.

for pistons/rings, you will need to measure the pistons to see if they are in spec, if so just rings will be fine.

base gasket is reuseable as long as its clean, i usually dust them with copperkote spray. headgaskets the same, they are both metal sealing aluminum so they are harder then the head and cylinders, must be clean before spraying. If your not comfortable just buy new.

if you take whole engine out, then youll need offset and center to center tools to realign it in chassis.

honing cylinders is not mandatory but the rings will seat easier if you do, use a 280-320 grit stone and just lightly do them, your not trying to remove every flaw, just scuff them up some to help rings seat.
 
I have always wondered how to pound the wrist pin out of the pistons without putting sideways force on the rod bearing. Do you need to brace it with something? Any ideas, or can the bearing take it?
 
shouldn't be pounding on it and twisting rods.I made a homemade pin puller myself so it just pulls the pin out without smacking it out.You can also buy that tool cheap enough.
 
So I dug into it this morning. Got the fly wheel off fine and went to pull the stator off after I got the screws off. Came right off, no problem. But the behind the stator was this ring. It looks like it is a spring type retainer that is used in bearing seals. It was just sitting there on the crank shaft behind the stator. Any thoughts? Is it from the crank shaft seal inside there?
HPIM1664.jpg

Also im adjusting the chain tensioner. What is the spec for that? Finger tight and then one round backed off?

The stator wires are toast too. Nothing left to them. What would cause that? Just old?

HPIM1665.jpg
 
yea, that is the outer crank seal tension srping. I had a viper w/ 9,500 miles found the same thing, plus a peice of the seal lip looked like an O ring. just hanging on the crank when i removed the flywheel. I would suggest replacing the seal, which means pulling motor & splitting the cases. It is a double lip seal, meaning it has that seal lip on the inside & outside.
 
UPDATE:
We go the motor all done and in. Runs well. Any tips on break in?
We went out lastnight to adjust the suspension and grease it all up. Still no miles on the motor. We had the back of the sled up in the air since last weekend with almost a full tank of gas. When to start it last night and the motor was FULL of gas. There was a bunch in the can as well. pulled the plugs and the can and turned it over to clean it out. Let it dry all day today. Going to try and start it again tonight. My dad said it did the same thing one time last year. What would cause this? Was it becasue it was up in the air? It wasnt up in the air last year when it happenend. Is there a check or auto shutoff in the fuel pump? Im going to check the vent first to make sure its not pinched. (i hope it is because that is an easy fix).
 
Jason, there is a check valve in the pump,mine was leaking thru and I had to replace it, or put a valve inline.
 
We got it cleaned out. Started fine, took it around the garage and it sounded like it was burping every 10 seconds. Like it had a float sticking. Is that what it is? Idles fine and then bbrrrp. Then the idle goes high. Hit the choke and it goes normal. Then BBLLUBP... Like there is too much fuel... Im stumped????
 
When you put the problems all together, I would check your float heights and needle / seats. Might have one sticking and or set too high.
 


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