Dam stock pwr steering junk

[RTTTTed]

I had my stock Power Steering Bracket snap on my supercharged Viper last fall. I was in my yard and lucked out, no tow truck required.

Called Sean Roe and ordered his Billet Bracket and Metal pwr str pulley, since I'd read in the VCA forums that stock pwr str stuff failed often ... and mine is supercharged so there is much more stress. Until the bracket snapped off I didn't realize my stuff hadn't been changed yet.

seeing where the Pwr Str bracket broke shows the flaw in the design. should have added another rib and they wouldn't have broken.

The pulley is a big pain to find a puller and I tried two different ones and even built one (no hardening euqipment so mine bent). Today I was 40mi. from the nearest town and 160mi from home when the plastic/metal hub pulley exploded and left with no wheels on the side of Hwy 20.

"God provides" and I stopped 300' past a mechanic's yard and he just happened to be a nice guy and lent me tools and had the new style puller I couldn't find in the city. Since I'd already bought the pulley and it was in the trunk so I managed to get 'er changed!!!

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I suggest Roe Racing bracket and pulleys so that you don't need to find "special parts" when your fan belt leaves the car because of YOUR bracket or pulley.

Warning to the Wise.

Ted

 

[99 R/T 10]

Been there, done that and needed a tow truck......................................

 

[red heat]

I lost my power steering at Pocono raceway at high speed. the power steering line detached and sprayed oil all over the engine. I thank God every day that myself and my car made it home that day in one piece. I was able to recover without causing an incident.

 

[dave6666]

Roadside repairs? Wow. Not like changing a tire!

I did the Big Brakes bracket/pulley combo some time back per the stories of other. I bet Sean's or Dave's phones might be ringing on Monday again from another procrastinator or two.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

The entire stock Viper power steering system is dangerous. Caps come off and pulleys and/or brackets fail. We should mention the p/s vent tube, and the Big Brake Dave or Roe pulley and bracket kits to all newbies who post, just like we warn them about old tires, IMHO. I have all 3 upgrades on my car (done before any failures) and drive with a lot more confidence in the p/s system than I used to have.

 

[Dom426h]

I was just telling another viper owner this weekend about the powersteering pulley&bracket. I said; if you keep up with the Forums, Its like clockwork every few months someone chiming in with a failed powersteering component.

Dont forget to periodicaly check the tightness of the PS Cap as well...
or get the HipoEngineering.COM that locks it in place.

 

[ViperTony]

Yep, changed mine out three years ago for Dave's bracket and pulley. Heard of the stories and decided to perform a preemptive strike. I've heard that the OEM pulley is more prone to failure with super/turbo charges due to more heat being generated. Seems like a require upgrade when getting blown.

 

[Red Snake]

Mine blew on me while pulling out of my driveway.


I got the Roe pulley and installed it with no problems.

 

[Martin]

I lost mine at high speed, going uphill a one-lane road with no turnouts. Needless to say, it sucked - overheated the crap out of my car by the time I could safely pull over. Instead of dicking around with the pulley, I just bought the whole Archer setup. It's been flawless since, and seems to perform better than the stock unit. Now, I can replace the pulley on my stock unit at my leisure and keep it as a backup, or just sell it.

 

[Brentt]

Just curious, about how many miles is the stock unit good for? Or is this oneof those things that is totaly unpredictable?

 

[RTTTTed]

Not a lot of stockers break if they're used like a normal car. But my supercharger and running the car hard has it's consequences. Most of Dodges factory parts are good for 800rwhp, except pwer str pulley and bracket have a tendency to fail. I though mine had been replaced, but it wasn't. I found out the hard way. It did last 42,000 miles on my supercharged engine though.

Ted

 

[NI-KA]

What years of Vehicles are we talking about here?

I own a 2006.

 

[C-Note]

Just curious, about how many miles is the stock unit good for? Or is this oneof those things that is totaly unpredictable?

Mine failed at 17k and it was stock.

Check this out...
http://forums.viperclub.org/illustr...er-steering-warning-all-how-fix-easy-way.html

 

[C-Note]

"What years of Vehicles are we talking about here?

I own a 2006."

Gen2 only 1996 to 2002.

 

[EllowViper]

You should see the torque on that belt when you rev the motor with the 10 lb pulley. That belt tensioner takes up a lot of slack that wasn't there with the 5 lb pulley...so the loading on the accessories has to be significant just by looking at the action of the tensioner. I did mine before I was blown just because I could and had the opportunity to do it.

 

[RTTTTed]

My car had everything that was recommended although it was an older build. The pwr steering cap vent tube was on the car and I thought the pulley and bracket had previously been replaced with Roe parts. I was wrong.

As far as the belt torque goes I know what you're saying. The supercharger is supposed to use 100rwhp through the belt to drive the sc. The Twin Screw Roe has a bypass valve that bypasses the TB and allows the sc to spin pretty much freely when not making power. That is the secret of making the Supercharger truely streetable. If the sc was 'working' all the time I don't imagine the pwr str, alt, waterpump and tensioner bearings would last very long. With the bypass open the stock tensioner works great for Roe sc's.

Ted

 

[2MANYTOYS]

I had one break on my 96 B/W s/c car. Thankfully, I had just got through racing a cobra and was pulling in my driveway when it let go. I had an extra one and just swapped it out. It was a pain in the ass though.

 

[dave6666]

I think it's been said before on the subject of how much can these parts take, that it's not if they are going to break, but how much inconvenience it will cause you when they do break.

I did mine just to never think of it again. Same reason I replaced my perfectly good impeller/shaft spinning water pump from the 2001 era.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I bought two sets and changed the bracket and pulley on #34 a few years ago. Still gotta get around to the RT/10. At 118,000 miles I know I'm pushing it.

 

[dave6666]

I bought two sets and changed the bracket and pulley on #34 a few years ago. Still gotta get around to the RT/10. At 118,000 miles I know I'm pushing it.

And at 120K you're gonna give it that first coat of wax right Chuck?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

And at 120K you're gonna give it that first coat of wax right Chuck?

The first 70K it got a lot of wax.

The next 30K not so much.

It's probably been about 18K since the last.