Crank pully and bolt came off
- Thread starter Twister
- Start date
great......didmt think a lil water would hurt anything and i was just bein cheap cause i bought a big bottle of power steering fluid.
good example of why you should take her to a mechanic if your not mechanically inclined. you think i would have learned from trying to do my own work on my nsx.
can my local jiffy lube flush the power steering? or am i really screwed now.
someone mentioned an o ring would probally stop the leak and im thinking thats all i (needed) as well.
im gonna go ahead and put the car in reverse while someone presses the brakes and tighten the crank bolt a lil more as well. someone stated above that thats the best way to tighten the crank pully.
ill do that and then the o ring and get the power steering flushed and hope for the best.
dont laugh too much. atleaste im attempting to learn. appreciate the help
good example of why you should take her to a mechanic if your not mechanically inclined. you think i would have learned from trying to do my own work on my nsx.
can my local jiffy lube flush the power steering? or am i really screwed now.
someone mentioned an o ring would probally stop the leak and im thinking thats all i (needed) as well.
im gonna go ahead and put the car in reverse while someone presses the brakes and tighten the crank bolt a lil more as well. someone stated above that thats the best way to tighten the crank pully.
ill do that and then the o ring and get the power steering flushed and hope for the best.
dont laugh too much. atleaste im attempting to learn. appreciate the help
AZTVR
Enthusiast
I have a good friend kind of like you I think. Although he is mechanically inclined, he has a lot that he doesn't know, and he doesn't know that he doesn't know it. But he will try anything. That's scary to guys like me (who think that we know what we are doing) and both of us scare professional mechanics.
There are more advanced guys here than me who can suggest what to do now. Safest is to flat bed it to a pro. I'm thinking that if you haven't turned the steering wheel, you haven't gotten water into the steering rack yet, so it would be better not to. I'd guess that you haven't ruined anything if you get the water out soon. I could suggest what to do if you decide you must drive it somewhere to get it fixed. It wouldn't be the "right" thing to do; but, it would be better than just driving it as is.
There are more advanced guys here than me who can suggest what to do now. Safest is to flat bed it to a pro. I'm thinking that if you haven't turned the steering wheel, you haven't gotten water into the steering rack yet, so it would be better not to. I'd guess that you haven't ruined anything if you get the water out soon. I could suggest what to do if you decide you must drive it somewhere to get it fixed. It wouldn't be the "right" thing to do; but, it would be better than just driving it as is.
ssjcreeper
Viper Owner
Bad news is the water can lead to corrosion of the internal components and likely will not mix well with any remaining fluid.
Good news is you may have a future in fail-over testing for SRT.
Good news is you may have a future in fail-over testing for SRT.
steve911
Enthusiast
The next time you want to add to the fluid levels in your car, open up the owners manual, and READ IT. Sheesh.
Fatboy 18
Enthusiast
Video now removed by user
Suggest you drain the power steering system and then flush it several times. Most likely you will need to change the power steering hose, it is more than the o-rin g. The fitting needs to be replaced and it must be done with the hose, you cannot replace it separately.
-The hose is bad, replace it. You cannot get that end apart.
-Given the noise it was making in the video the pump is probably already gone, if not severely compromised.
-It will be a hell of a time getting all of that water out, that's for certain. You need to drain as much as you possibly can on each flush. **** the reserviour dry, and unhook the cooler lines and fan motor return at a minumum and let them drain. Do NOT disconnect the hydraulic lines after you replace that bad hose, the O-rings are a 1-shot deal. Then refill, idle for a minute or two, and dump it immediately. Repeat until you no longer have a milkshake, then start running the steering back and forth to try and get any water out of that too, and continue until it stays clean and clear.
-The crank snout looked compromised.
-The balancer was wobbling on the snout. It is surely damaged and needs to be replaced.
-DO NOT tighten that bolt anymore. Tighter does not fix the fact that the snout and damper are damaged! FIX IT RIGHT.
-Reverse is the WORST gear to do this in! It is the weakest gear of them all, with the highest torque output to the wheels. Due to transmission differences, 4th gear is best for Gen-1 & 2, and 6th gear is the best for Gen-3 & 4. The E-Brake is more than enough when using 6th gear.
-You should not start an engine without a balancer on it, certainly not one that runs the water pump off the drive belt!
-My God man.
-This car really should be going to a professional. The crankshaft damper issue needs to be fixed FIRST, before it definitely is too late [and it may already be] and the engine needs to be rebuilt too.
-Given the noise it was making in the video the pump is probably already gone, if not severely compromised.
-It will be a hell of a time getting all of that water out, that's for certain. You need to drain as much as you possibly can on each flush. **** the reserviour dry, and unhook the cooler lines and fan motor return at a minumum and let them drain. Do NOT disconnect the hydraulic lines after you replace that bad hose, the O-rings are a 1-shot deal. Then refill, idle for a minute or two, and dump it immediately. Repeat until you no longer have a milkshake, then start running the steering back and forth to try and get any water out of that too, and continue until it stays clean and clear.
-The crank snout looked compromised.
-The balancer was wobbling on the snout. It is surely damaged and needs to be replaced.
-DO NOT tighten that bolt anymore. Tighter does not fix the fact that the snout and damper are damaged! FIX IT RIGHT.
-Reverse is the WORST gear to do this in! It is the weakest gear of them all, with the highest torque output to the wheels. Due to transmission differences, 4th gear is best for Gen-1 & 2, and 6th gear is the best for Gen-3 & 4. The E-Brake is more than enough when using 6th gear.
-You should not start an engine without a balancer on it, certainly not one that runs the water pump off the drive belt!
-My God man.
-This car really should be going to a professional. The crankshaft damper issue needs to be fixed FIRST, before it definitely is too late [and it may already be] and the engine needs to be rebuilt too.
Last edited:
AbsolutHank
Enthusiast
malcoll
Enthusiast
I admire people who want to learn how to do this kind of work themselves..... I would "learn" on a car less expensive than a Viper.....but admire the effort. But you have to realize sometimes you are going to mess something up that may get expensive.
Good luck.... unless you have all the tools to flush the power steering fluid you might want to take it to the dealership this time cause you definitely want to get all the water out and flush it very thoroughly....
Good luck.... unless you have all the tools to flush the power steering fluid you might want to take it to the dealership this time cause you definitely want to get all the water out and flush it very thoroughly....
Viper Garage Elite
Viper Owner
Wow this has got to be the biggest blunder self inflicted wound I have ever heard of. FINAL GTS said it best MY GOD MAN just have a professional fix it and just put the gas in her. Good luck and I do feel for you. Lesson learned I hope.
MTGTS
Enthusiast
OMG, I can't believe this
ssjcreeper
Viper Owner
While we're covering the bases here... can I use Sunny D if I don't have coolant handy - yes or no?
ssjcreeper
Viper Owner
Sorry man couldn't resist. Given your recent problems Twister I would flatbed the car to a good shop and have them give it a thorough going over. Hope you get this resolved.
ViperGeorge
Enthusiast
Twister, nothing wrong with trying to work on your own car. However, ask advice first and read the manuals before starting. The service manuals are there for a reason. Even professional techs have to refer to the manuals for car specific stuff. Don't be embarrassed (at least not too much), we've all done some stupid stuff, just get it to the dealer and consider this a lesson learned.
MY GOD MAN!
LOL
Honestly Ive been tortured so much over this car since Novemeber that Im actually chuckling right now. Theres nothing that can phase me at this point. This Novemeber Im planning a head build and Im budgeted quite a bit over so Ill be adding quite a few more things to the mix after this latest fiasco.
Final GTS thanks. Unfortunetly I already put her in reverse and had my daughter hold the brake. She sinched down seemingly flawlessly.
I will order that hose as I tried today to get her to stop leaking and like you said its just not gonna happen.
I spent a few hours today flushing her the best I could. went through about a gallon of powersteering and yes the milk shake is "almost gone" to the point where it does look like normal fluid now. Like I stated I never turned the sterring wheel after the waterpoint incident. Dont know if that matters or not.
wanted to get some good preflushing done before I take her a mile up the road to the shop for a real flush.
The dealer is simply not an option for me. Last time they had my car for four months and had disconnected the battery and forgot that the windows were rolled down that automatic half inch and when I got my car back it was waterlogged and mildewed. Threatened to sue them and a big wig came down the next day and had a few grand of work done at no expense to me includeing the origional work I took it there for. Got lucky that time but theve screwed me bad on several other times.
after the flush Ill make a vid of the crank and see if you guys think she looks ok. after cinching her down really good today it looks good to me but obviously my standard of whats good for a viper has lost all merit at this point LOL.
THANKS
LOL
Honestly Ive been tortured so much over this car since Novemeber that Im actually chuckling right now. Theres nothing that can phase me at this point. This Novemeber Im planning a head build and Im budgeted quite a bit over so Ill be adding quite a few more things to the mix after this latest fiasco.
Final GTS thanks. Unfortunetly I already put her in reverse and had my daughter hold the brake. She sinched down seemingly flawlessly.
I will order that hose as I tried today to get her to stop leaking and like you said its just not gonna happen.
I spent a few hours today flushing her the best I could. went through about a gallon of powersteering and yes the milk shake is "almost gone" to the point where it does look like normal fluid now. Like I stated I never turned the sterring wheel after the waterpoint incident. Dont know if that matters or not.
wanted to get some good preflushing done before I take her a mile up the road to the shop for a real flush.
The dealer is simply not an option for me. Last time they had my car for four months and had disconnected the battery and forgot that the windows were rolled down that automatic half inch and when I got my car back it was waterlogged and mildewed. Threatened to sue them and a big wig came down the next day and had a few grand of work done at no expense to me includeing the origional work I took it there for. Got lucky that time but theve screwed me bad on several other times.
after the flush Ill make a vid of the crank and see if you guys think she looks ok. after cinching her down really good today it looks good to me but obviously my standard of whats good for a viper has lost all merit at this point LOL.
THANKS
Sonoman
Enthusiast
Yeah, hang in there Twister! I've admired your enthusiasm for awhile now. Some day you'll look back on this experience and laugh about it. I once left the bolts out of the hold-down plate for a brand new radiator on my old '71 Rally Sport Z/28 show car. I got a few blocks down the road and the radiator fell back into the spinning fan... just the sound of it was enough to make you want to hurl! 
It was a custom double thick radiator too... should have seen the look on the radiator shop guy's face when I brought it back to him in shreds just a week after he built it!
Better to have a wounded Viper in Hawaii than a runner in the frozen North!
It was a custom double thick radiator too... should have seen the look on the radiator shop guy's face when I brought it back to him in shreds just a week after he built it! Better to have a wounded Viper in Hawaii than a runner in the frozen North!
CEJ
Enthusiast
I hope you get this straightened out without too much fuss. Flushing out the fluid promptly may have saved your bacon. Go for a short drive and flush again. Remember that this fluid gets hot.
Do you have the set of Dodge service manuals? Not Chilton's or Haynes, but the real-deal factory books. E-bay is a great place to find them for a reasonable amount. Would really suggest that you get them before doing more work on your snake.
Do you have the set of Dodge service manuals? Not Chilton's or Haynes, but the real-deal factory books. E-bay is a great place to find them for a reasonable amount. Would really suggest that you get them before doing more work on your snake.
Twister...what P/S fluid did you use for flush and refill ?
Judging from the color and having an 03, it was filled with the standard PS fluid all along. Even if he switched to ATF, on that number of flushes, it would still be fine.
The part is 152$ for that quick release fitting and hoseing that is leaking.
Just texted my mechanic whos about 30 miles away. Gonna see what he says about flushing the system for me. I know hell do it till its done whereas if I take it a mile up the road to the local oil change shop theyll just do a standard power steering flush.
Im thinking Ill order the part and when it comes in Ill drive the car down to him and let him do the flush and install the new hose and inspect the crank ect.
Just texted my mechanic whos about 30 miles away. Gonna see what he says about flushing the system for me. I know hell do it till its done whereas if I take it a mile up the road to the local oil change shop theyll just do a standard power steering flush.
Im thinking Ill order the part and when it comes in Ill drive the car down to him and let him do the flush and install the new hose and inspect the crank ect.
