94 Viper overheated today! Coolant leaking, any advice?

[Jeff Lemke]

It was a nice day for a ride until about 2 miles into it. I noticed the temp gauge nearing the 250 mark and anti-freeze smell. I limped it back home and could hear pressure noise coming between the engine/firewall. After the smoke cleared, I removed the windshied wipers and cowl to get a better look behind the air plenum. I could not get a confident feel as to EXACTLY where the leak is springing from, but there are puddles of antifreeze all over in this general area.

Is this a common area for coolant leakage? Does someone have a good idea of what this might be? I have never wrenched on this car in my five years of ownership but am not afraid to (I have had plenty of corvettes in the past that needed alot of work) and the access to this area seems workable although a bit tight.

I could just take it to the dealership but that is about 15 miles away and I am a little afraid to damage something from overheating. Last year my cooling problems started with a bad temp sending unit or something. The car would overheat when not moving because the fans would not kick on. Keeping the air conditioning turned on would make the fans automatically start thus keeping the temp in line. I don't think the two problems are related, but maybe.

I have never had any problems with this car (23,700 miles) and like to step on it once in a while but don't really drive it that hard.

If anyone could give me some advice on what to do I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jeff Lemke

 

[Qualitywires.com]

If I'm not mistaken the themostat housing is back there. You may also want to check the side of the block too for the freeze plugs. It might also be one of the hoses to your heater core. I had a 94 before and always burped the system as much as I could.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

I hade the same problem on my 94 same place turned out to be the thermostat gasget bit awkward to get to....

 

[knuk]

I had a similar problem on my 96 and from what I remember it was a cross over pipe - at least that's what I was told it was!

 

[HP]

Your problem could be as stated - a gasket leak on the thermostat housing.
But there are a few other possibilities to look at on the Gen-I motor -
mainly the coolant tubes that run above the exhaust manifold, due to the
extreme heat they are exposed to - they tend to rust where they mate with
the radiator hose.

 

[Jeff Lemke]

WOW! Thanks for the reponses so far! Have any of you actually fixed these problems yourself or did you take your car to a dealer. A thermostate gasket seems quite simple but I want to make sure I am not getting into something to deep.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Jeff Lemke]

Thanks, Hugh. I'll check those hoses.

Jeff

 

[knuk]

Dealership fixed mine - was a big job but still uder warranty

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Changed my hoses out for silicone hoses as the one on the thermostat has a bleed valve......

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

There are two thermostat gasket locations to check. One is for the "real" thermostat gasket, the other is for the two legs of the thermostat housing, one to each cylinder head. Each leg looks like a little intake runner and the rectangular gasket seems to fail easily. The good news is it makes a big mess, although it's a minor problem.

I couldn't get the thermostat housing out from under the cowl, but was still able to replace the "leg" gaskets. Yes, it's a pain, but it saved removing the intake.

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Cross over tubes as stated above. Over time the bolts loosen up and the gaskets leak. You can do it yourself. Your going to need extentions, elbows and a torke wrench to get at the bolts.

 

[Jeff Lemke]

ok. Thanks guys. I'll get the parts ordered and handle it myself. This forum is great. Thanks again.

If anyone has anything to add please feel free.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[RedEnuf93]

Check the rubber hoses at thermostat housing. Get rid of the spring type clamp and buy regular screw types. Spring types tend to loosen their strenght and will not hold under pressure.
This happened on my -93. Chuck Tator changed all clamps while doing the head gaskets.

Lauri

 

[Jeff Lemke]

Thanks, Lauri. Thats a good idea. It could be that simple.

Jeff

 

[tim721]

i had a similar situation with mine today

Jeff, what seemed to be the problem???

 

[Jeff Lemke]

Hi, Tim.

It was the thermostate housing gasket. I ended up changing the thermostat and everything while I was in there (not really nessessary, I got all the parts from dealership). It's a fairly straight forward job that only took me a couple of hours. A little cramped back there, but not impossible to get to. It's been great ever since.

Jeff