bad day in the snake

[caj98GTS]

Hello guys - as you can see this is my first post! I have been lurking around for 2.5 years and have been a viper owner for 2 years. I have a silver 98 GTS with approximately 9,500 miles. I have relied on this board for countless tips and tech advice so after my experience in the snake this afternoon I knew I needed to come here for some insight and advice.

Went out for a short spin earlier today. Was not really getting on it all that hard and had only traveled approximately 2 miles from the house. All of a sudden I look in my rear view mirror and see tons of white/gray smoke pouring out of the exhaust. At first I think that maybe I puked oil into the airbox but then I looked at the temp gauge and it was well on its way up to the high end. Shut the car down and then restarted a few minutes later - still hot, started climbing again and then the smoke was back. Opened the hood, and the coolant overflow was empty and the coolant puke bottle in the facia looks empty/low. Pulled the dip stick and saw a nasty greenish/yellow/brown oil. Obviously I had her towed home and later checked the oil again to find that the level is way up and is the color of dark mustard.

So, I figure I either blew a head gasket or god forbid cracked a head. What do you think? Is there any way to know how severe it is short of breaking it down? What is a ballpark estimate of what it will cost to put new head gaskets on it?

Now here is my real delima - since the motor will be broken down fairly far to fix this problem - what mild mods should I do to the internals? Rockers - what will this get me? Should I have the heads worked over? What will that do for me and what should I expect to pay?

Thanks in advance for the advice - hate to ramble on in my first post but I know you guys are experts on this stuff. By the way, I am in Houston so I have some great tuners right here in my back yard. Thanks again

 

[got one]

Good questions. I as well am curiuos on those prices....anyone?

 

[Gerald]

You're going to have to take the heads off. I suspect you probably blew a head gasket. Decking the heads would be a good idea since you might have warped the head..

You're going to have to take the heads off no matter what you do and then and only then you'll know what your up against. Anything else is speculation.

What mods could you do? You could go crazy on a port job or mild. Like anything else, it all depends on how much you want to spend..

Good Luck and report back what the issue was..

gerald

 

[ERDOC]

Do you have an added care warranty? Do you think you will ever supercharge the car? Many variables on the rebuild depending what you want out of it. Sorry about what happened to your motor.

 

[caj98GTS]

Thanks for the replies. No extended care warranty - was going to try and lean on dodge to cover some of it given that the car only has 9,500 miles. They have covered the majority of my stuff to date even without an extended warranty.

As far as what mods to do, I doubt I will ever supercharge it. For now I have smooth tubes, high flow cats and corsa cat back. I guess I would consider minor internal mods if it will make the engine stronger and more durable. Moderate HP gains are all I would be looking for.

 

[1TONY1]

Have Greg Good do your heads......you guys are in the smae town.

 

[caj98GTS]

Do you have a number for Greg?

Thanks

 

[ROCKET62]

Another possible area that could allow coolant into the oil is the timing cover gasket - not good, but certainly better than a head or head gasket. You might be able to try to pressurize the cooling system to try to listen for the breach. Good luck.

 

[viper spray]

You blew a head gasket. Replace them only , do more only if you know exactly what mods you will be doing in the future. Heads & cam, S/C ,or turbo will dictate your headwork.

 

[AJT]

Clay you have a PM.

Andy

 

[caj98GTS]

PM back to you ATJ

 

[Mike Red 97 GTS]

Mine did the same thing in June, with the exception of no white/gray smoke coming out the back and it was the timing cover gasket.

 

[caj98GTS]

I thought about the timing cover gasket problem but figured since the smoke was coming out of exhaust it meant that the coolant was getting dumped into the cylinder.

Have talked to my Dodge service contact and to do a straight gasket replacement I am looking at $2000 - 2400. Ouch!!!! So....I talked to Greg Good at length and have decided to tackle the job myself with him doing the head work for me. Should definitely come back stronger and slightly more robust.

By the way, let me echo what others on the board have said about Greg Good - he is a great guy who will definitely go out of his way to help you out.

 

[snakebitdave]

My 93 sprung a leak into the crankcase via the water pump to block gasket. Turned out the sealant is computer applied to the gasket and it missed a spot. The rebuilt was around $18,000. Everything that turned or moved was replaced.