1994 RT10 Minor Oil Leak

[ohio_viper]

I am chasing a very minor oil leak on my 1994 RT 10. It has 5900 miles, I bought it in the fall of 2008 with 3200 miles on it. The previous owner used only Mobile 1 in it and the first oil change I did in 2009 was to Castrol Edge. When I changed the oil in 2011 I went back to Mobile 1 with some of the Lucas oil stop but it did not help. I am not losing a lot of oil, and it is more of an annoyance than anything. I hate leaving a car show with oil drops on the ground!

So it appears to be emanating from the front left side of the block at the oil pan gasket. That is the location of the heaviest oil and it spreads rearward from there. In the attached photo, you can see that one of the pan bolt heads is full of oil. There is also oil on the front of the engine block on the left side. You can also see where I re-sealed this joint in 2010 with some ultra-black since I thought it was coming from there, but I don't think it is now.

I have checked everything above this gasket plane and it appears that there is some slight splatter but nothing heavy above. The head gaskets were never changed on this car and I can't see any evidence of them leaking. I will eventually change them out.

My thoughts all along were the pan gasket and I think now more than ever this is what is leaking. I wanted to get thoughts from the knowledge base here.....

You must be registered for see images attach

Thanks,

Jeff

P.S> I am in NW Ohio (Republic/Tiffin) and would like to do the head gaskets myself....anyone nearby that has done them that would be willing to help?

 

[ohio_viper]

Cleaned it up today and started it, its coming from above the pan gasket on the front of the engine. I think there is another thread covering this topic. Pretty sure it is the timing chain cover gasket.

Also decided the head gaskets will need replaced pretty soon.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Timing chain cover gasket?? At this point, given your plan to do the head gaskets...I'd suggest that you change timing chain cover gasket, upgrade oil pan gasket, go with new tripple layer head gaskets , crossover gaskets, valve cover gaskets IM gasket, new t-stat., all 5 coolant hoses, etc. PLEASE heed advice here on securing pistons in place if heads off...especially if you cannot run right through this quickly. Chuck Tator or Dan Lesser can fix you up with ALL that you need (including great pointers) for this job. You'll need plenty of space to store hood, stack parts. While we all know that I am not a mechanic, I have been through this on two of our Vipers...will be glad to relay more tips per phone if you like.

P.S. If you are not sure about doing this yourself or cannot find a shop that suits you, you COULD have it done here in Indy by Tom Sessions when he comes here for our Spring session. Here is a link to our last such session:

http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...pecial-Viper-Service-Session-5...Tom-Sessions

 

[jdeft1]

My thoughts? ... Your car is a premium garage queen. If you don't plan to drive the car just keep a soaker under the thing and don't worry about it.


If it was my car I'd drive the $hit out of it for a thousand miles then clean it up and have a really good look. What you have is a 'parked car' oil leak. (IMO) 'Parked' cars tend to seep, so drive that thing or drain all the fuids and call it a museum piece.

Just follow Steve-Indy's ^ plan. (or sell it to me... haha)

 

[ohio_viper]

It WAS a garage queen....I do drive it more than the previous owner. Although nothing leaked when I got it......

That said, I would sell it or trade it for a newer model with more miles to have a "driver." I confess to not driving it as much as I want to keep the miles low.

Thanks for the links....

Steve, how can I get a hold of you and Chuck Tator or Dan Lesser?

 

[jdeft1]

Nothing leaked because it had been parked for twenty years....... You've driven it, hence, you see the leak.... No big deal.

Gen 1 engines are not know for timing cover leaks but since yours has been sitting for 19 years, it's hard to say what may happen. I stand by my previous statement.

 

[Jack B]

Dan is going to be the closest. As a sidebar - Are you capable of doing the work, the material costs are not that bad.

It WAS a garage queen....I do drive it more than the previous owner. Although nothing leaked when I got it......

That said, I would sell it or trade it for a newer model with more miles to have a "driver." I confess to not driving it as much as I want to keep the miles low.

Thanks for the links....

Steve, how can I get a hold of you and Chuck Tator or Dan Lesser?

 

[ohio_viper]

Dan is going to be the closest. As a sidebar - Are you capable of doing the work?

I am a Mechanical Engineer but not a car mechanic. I have an uncle who is a car mechanic but never worked on Vipers. So all in all I think we could do the work in his garage but I am not 100% sure he wants to mess with it. I am going to see if the local dealer has a Viper certified tech and what it would cost there, but I would rather do it myself so I can learn more about the car.

If I can get an idea of what all parts and tools I will need it would help me figure out if I want to tackle it......

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[ohio_viper]

Nothing leaked because it had been parked for twenty years....... You've driven it, hence, you see the leak.... No big deal.

Gen 1 engines are not know for timing cover leaks but since yours has been sitting for 19 years, it's hard to say what may happen. I stand by my previous statement.

I'm with you.....no issue there.....

 

[Steve-Indy]

Dan Lesser "Viper Specialty" 716-912-5336

Chuck Tator "Viper Wizard" 914-763-3136

These two guys are seasoned pros...and, can supply you with ALL of the CORRECT parts as well as great advice.

If you want to give me at call I'm at ... ... ....

 

[ohio_viper]

Thanks Steve!

 

[Dan Aseere]

1994 R/T10 with 6500 miles had to change the timing chain cover gasket. Thought it was the oil pan gasket but after cleaning it was coming out above the oil pan. Solved the problem.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Agree, Dan...as I have seen a couple of other Gen I owners with the TCCG issue...not common on a Gen I...and almost predictable on 96-98 Gen II.

UPDATE:

ohio viper...great to speak with you today...happy to know that you have connected with Dan as he will take great care of you!!

 

[ohio_viper]

1994 R/T10 with 6500 miles had to change the timing chain cover gasket. Thought it was the oil pan gasket but after cleaning it was coming out above the oil pan. Solved the problem.

Did you do the head gaskets at the same time?

 

[troublemaker]

I wish I had your luck in finding my leak. After 3 days of scrubbing crud off the bottom of the car, nothing is leaking, go figure. I had it running for a while in the air, but it might be an issue with oil sloshing up and out of something.

 

[ohio_viper]

I wish I had your luck in finding my leak. After 3 days of scrubbing crud off the bottom of the car, nothing is leaking, go figure. I had it running for a while in the air, but it might be an issue with oil sloshing up and out of something.

That could be (sloshing)....I focused on the area where the oil was heaviest, which I thought it was from the pan gasket, but it was just above there on the left side. Clean it up and put it back on the street and check again after some miles.......I am not convinced it is worth fixing mine yet, it does not leak really bad, just annoying......

 

[troublemaker]

Mine is annoying also, we have way too much salt on the road right now.

 

[ohio_viper]

Finally got some time to crawl under the car......after a little investigating where the oil was coming from, I found that it was the left side of the timing chain cover....got about 1/4 turn on the 2nd bolt up from the bottom of the engine and about 1/8 turn on the 3rd one and it stopped leaking.....for now......I am sure it could use a new gasket and will get one down the road. For now it is just annoying to have a leak, but it is abated as of now.

 

[CEJ]

Glad to hear it was an easy fix. Do you have the factory service manuals and a good torque wrench?