NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

Well it took some time by myself but I managed to get the slave cylinder, throwout bearing, and aftermarket 48-inch bleeder relocation hose installed. It took several hours to get the transmission back in place, manhandling it on my own, but by 6:30 PM it was bolted back up and the clutch system was fully bled with the help of my Award-Winning Wife. Tomorrow the rest of the hardware gets bolted back up and it will be time for a test drive.

And here's her award from 1994:

[njsteve]

I got to use some of my old parts that were hidden in the basement. I remembered having a few of these but this was the last package from back in the day. Look at the date on the package. May, 1992

[njsteve]

And just like the children's book, "If you Give A Mouse A Cookie", I had to do something else to the car since it was up on jackstands. I decided to flush and refill the cooolant. I had replaced it in 2003 or so, but the car didn't go anywhere - maybe 200 miles since then? So I let everything drain from the radiator petcock over night. It was pristine and green though only tested to be about -10 degrees for antifreeze effectiveness on the hydrometer. I got 15-1/2 quarts out in to the catch basin. I am now in my second day of attempting to burp the system of all the excess air. I only got around 14 quarts back in. I have been refilling it via the heater core valve line. (It's a 93, remember?) But I still had a bunch of air in the system on startup and the gauge went to about 210 before I shut it off. No heat out of the heater core. I let it cool down and the then was able to put another half a quart in. I started it and it hung around 195. (Still too hot for this car). The next day I used a tall funnel (about 18' tall, so the coolant going in was higher than any portion of the cooling system.

Those crazy heater core lines are not the highest point in the cooling system. The feed and return hoses drop down behind the engine and then rise up higher then the heater core inlets in order to reach the thermostat housing at the back of the block. I even tried lowering the back of the car to ground level in order to get the radiator higher. Not sufficient. I was able to get more coolant in today for a total of around 15-1/4 quarts. (Capacaity is 16 quarts). At least now the heater works and I can see the heat readings on my infrared heat gun. I test drove it and the temp was around 190 and I could see the needle fluctuate to 180 when the thermostat would open. There is still air in the upper radiator hose and you can hear it when you squeeze. I will let it cool down and try to add more tomorrow.

I do remember twenty years ago doing this and it also took several tries over several days to get it burped of all the air.

[njsteve]

Another day, another burp-athon-apalooza-fest of the V-baby. I got another quart in today! Took almost 30 minutes using the measuring cup filled with around 1/8th cup of coolant at a time. First, I popped the radiator cap off, and topped it off with around a half cup til it was at the top. Then I put the cap back on and disconnected the heater hose line and rotated it upwards. I also added a four-inch section of heater hose to the heater core nipple so I could see the level rise and fall without it just dribbling out. With the little funnel, I just trickled in an 1/8 cup at a time into the heater hose, watching it slowly drain down the funnel, until I went through an entire gallon of 50/50 mix. I reconnected everything and started her up again. Once warmed up the gauge hung around the 185 zone after a drive around the block.

BTW, this is one of the early 92/93s that still had the yellow zone on the gauge. It brings back such entertaining memories of back in the day driving the car in Florida heat with the gauge hovering at the right side in the yellow/red zone. After numerous complaints by southern Viper owners, Dodge sent out a very detailed TSB that essentially said "Ignore the yellow mark on the gauge. Your car isnt really running hot, You're imagining this, Pay no attention to the ViperTech behind the curtain with the infrared heat gun that indicates your radiator is running at 225 degrees..." yada-yada

Dodge in their infinite wisdom removed the yellow marking on the gauge for 1994 (and upgraded the radiator...and electric fans...and shroud...and added more coolant capacity...but that's just a coincidence)

[njsteve]

Last day of coolant filling and rechecking. She only took half a cup today and was finally full. Started her up and took her for a drive. Ran steady at 175 to 180 (I think). When driving at operating temperature the needle sits on the left slash of the three middle hashmarks. Hard to actually tell the real running temperature since the gauge starts at 0 and goes to 250. In the middle of the gauge are three hash marks with a "190" under them. But if you cut 250 in half, it would presumable be 175 at the halfway point in the gauge? When I use the infra-red thermometer, the temps on the heater hoses, return lines, and radiator hoses range from 140 to 190. So, anyway, I'm done with the coolant refresh.

And you can see the infamous yellow zone on the gauge that Dodge decided to remove for 1994 so owner's couldn't complain of the cars running in the gauge's hot zone any more.

On to the brake fluid flush next. I used Castrol SRF back when I last changed it in 2,000 and it looks absolutely pristine in the master cylinder at the moment. Very expensive but it is the best stuff on the planet when it comes to highest temperature boiling point. Back when I used to race the car, everything else I tried would boil and lead to brake pedal fade and air in the system after a few laps. This stuff lasted the longest under the Florida track heat.

[njsteve]

Hand-polished the extra set of rims for the Viper today. I have a new set of tires coming in hopefully next week. Michelin is the only company still making the rear tires in the correct 17" size. $400 a tire! No one else makes them (other than Hoosier)

I figure it's time for new shoes since the newest set I have is 28 years old.

These are the original BFG R-1 racing tires from the first year they were introduced in Viper sizes. 275/40ZR17 and 335/35ZR17. We did the some of the first testing for BFG in the Viper sizes, with the SCCA Solo 1 and 2 racing we did back then.

Before and after. (Dogs for scale). And cat because he liked seeing his own reflection. That is the true test of a polishing job - if an apathetic cat will stop to look at himself.

[njsteve]

I bled the brakes over the weekend. All the 20 year-old Castrol SRF that came out was still crystal clear. Amazing stuff. It's DOT 4 with the highest dry/wet boiling point (594/518 degrees) you can find.

I remember back when we were racing and I tried various brake fluids, you had to bleed the brakes after every run because the fluid would boil and make the pedal spongy. After I switched to the SRF, you could go the whole day of racing and wouldn't have a problem til the end of the day.

[olredalert]

Originally Posted by njsteve

Hand-polished the extra set of rims for the Viper today. I have a new set of tires coming in hopefully next week. Michelin is the only company still making the rear tires in the correct 17" size. $400 a tire! No one else makes them (other than Hoosier)

I figure it's time for new shoes since the newest set I have is 28 years old.

These are the original BFG R-1 racing tires from the first year they were introduced in Viper sizes. 275/40ZR17 and 335/35ZR17. We did the some of the first testing for BFG in the Viper sizes, with the SCCA Solo 1 and 2 racing we did back then.

Before and after. (Dogs for scale). And cat because he liked seeing his own reflection. That is the true test of a polishing job - if an apathetic cat will stop to look at himself.

----Looks just like our grey guy! He was a foodie and couldn't stay away from anything edible. He was a large sized version of yours and, sadly, has passed.We affectionatly referred to him as Fat Bastard!.....Bill S

[njsteve]

I had to pull the radiator from my January-1993-built Viper yesterday after seeing a puddle of antifreeze under the nose.

Just a heads-up in case anyone out there mistakenly thinks you can pull the radiator from a 1992 or 1993 (with the early style dual fan set up and filler neck) by following the one-hour Gen II procedure. NO WAY!!! It's an 8-hour job on the early cars.

The first two years of production used a fiberglass front bulkhead that holds the radiator in front of it, in the space between the bulkhead and the front fascia. There is NO opening to the rear and the shroud is part of the bulkhead itself. Only the fan motors are removable. The mid-year 1993 with the removable single fan unit and the fender-mounted reservoir, and the newer 94 and 95 (and Gen II) use a front bulkhead that had the radiator mounted behind it facing the engine and a removable fan shroud. On the Gen II you can unhook the rad hoses and the top mounting nut and pull the radiator out in the space between the engine and the bulkhead in a matter of minutes, even with the hood still attached.

On the 1992/93 Gen I, cars you have to remove the hood, remove the hood latches to get the cables out of the way and then remove the entire hinge assembly, which is nearly impossible because 2 of the 3 mounting bolts are underneath the headlight pods, then disconnect and remove the A/C condensor, if so equipped. Because the early cars have that radiator filler cap on the radiator, there is no way to maneuver the radiator the required 5 inches or so to get the inlet and outlet out of their respective holes in the bulkhead while clearing the radiator filler neck around the hinge mounting point. And no, you can't pull the front fascia off to get at the headlight pods because the early 92 and 93 cars used a giant styrofoam reinforcement inside of the fascia that wraps around and over the aluminum crash bar, which wont come out either, when you remove its mounting bolts because the side edges of the front fascia wrap around the inner fenders in a way that will crack the paint and the plastic if you attempt it in anything under 90-degree weather.

So in the end, I used an insane combination of 1/4" and 3/8" drive universal joints, straight and swivel head sockets and some wooden and plastic wedges to pry the headlight pods the extra millimeter or two up, so I could get to the last hinge bolts under the headlight pods.

I then dropped it off at Fingers Radiator Hospital in North Brunswick, NJ this morning. They have been in business for over 95 years! They do amazing repair work. They will be recoring it as a 3-core instead of the factory 2 core.

https://www.fingersradiator.com/fing...tor5v1_002.htm

Just thought you might want to know.