2000 mile drive showed some problems

[mdurbahn]

1.
I just drove my 96 gts on a 2,000 mile trip of hard driving through the desert. I checked the oil periodically and it was always good until I got home now I see it is 2 quarts low and it looks like it could have been coming from the top of the dip stick maybe. Is this a common issue? Anything else common on the passenger side of the engine that might be leaking I can't see?

2.
About 1300 miles in I noticed a clunk developed like a bad ujoint when loading engine in 6th gear. I am going to change ujoints, how many do they have?

car now has 21,000 miles.

Thanks, MAtt

 

[TomH]

You may have just evaporated the water and unburnt gas out of the oil. I have a 97' and it has always had drive-train lash that is most noticeable in 6th on level highways using the cruise control.

 

[got one]

Awesome to see you out and driving it! 2000 miles...sounds like a fun trip!

 

[dave6666]

You have 6 u-joints - 2 driveshaft and 2 ea per halfshaft.

If you want to do them yourself, I know an on-line driveshaft retailer for Dana/Spicer joints for real cheap. PM for info, as if I post a link it will likely just get deleted.

The clunk might be the result of motor or tranny mounts. I've had numerous driveline clunks/noises on my '01 solved by Woodhouse mounts. If your car has still the factory mounts I would start there.

 

[mdurbahn]

Awesome to see you out and driving it! 2000 miles...sounds like a fun trip!

It was a great trip, we went from Denver to Tuscan, AZ and back. 2 vipers, 2 vettes, 1 gallardo, 1 lotus, 1 m3. Vipers got the best fuel economy of the group, 22 mpg.

You have 6 u-joints - 2 driveshaft and 2 ea per halfshaft.

If you want to do them yourself, I know an on-line driveshaft retailer for Dana/Spicer joints for real cheap. PM for info, as if I post a link it will likely just get deleted.

The clunk might be the result of motor or tranny mounts. I've had numerous driveline clunks/noises on my '01 solved by Woodhouse mounts. If your car has still the factory mounts I would start there.

Thanks, I dug into this a little more and put the car up on jacks. My ujoints do feel tight. A torn mount sounds like a more likely problem now. How often should the ujoints be changed though? Might be good preventitive maintence.

You may have just evaporated the water and unburnt gas out of the oil. I have a 97' and it has always had drive-train lash that is most noticeable in 6th on level highways using the cruise control.

I do have some drive-train lash, but when I drove the other viper in our group (01 gts) it felt quite a bit tighter then mine.

 

[dave6666]

I did all mine a while back (car had 20K then?) just for grins and giggles. The u-joints that is. Cheap insurance is right.

 

[Paul Hawker]

When I tracked my 96, hard driving would cause the dipstick to pop out and leak a bit (maybe an ounce, not a quart). I began to use a wrap tie to hold it down securely. (Quick, cheap, easy and effective.)