identifying motor

[Rays94RT]

Looking through recipts I received when I purchased my viper,(last week ), The entire motor assembly was replaced in 2000 under warranty at the Dodge dealer. It is a 94 RT and I looked at photos of other 94 engines and noticed they had four parallel stripes on each intake manifold, mine has three. Would they replace with different motor under warranty? Is there an easy way to tell what motor I have?

Ray

 

[99 R/T 10]

mid-year 94 the intakes were changed from 4 ribbed to 3. I THINK it was a complete swap when they had to do it. Easier than just taking it apart to get to the block. Just check to see if you have the original type of head gaskets or not. If the are the original paper and not the MLS type, they will fail over time.

 

[PittsburghRT]

To check what type of head gaskets are on your car you need to get underneath it. Once you are under the car look at the passenger side of the engine between the block and the head. If the headgasket has a tab sticking out with a rivet (towards the rear of the head), then it is the new style metal layered gasket. If the tab is solid, then it is the old style paper layered gasket. You can also feel the difference if you touch the gasket tab too. The Viper Wizard told me what to look for when I was looking to buy a Viper.

As for the 3 rib intake vs. the 4 rib intake I heard that the 3 rib is a little stronger and it was a mid year change in 1994. My 94 RT/10 has the 3 rib that looks like the intake on the Gen2 cars. Hope all this helps you.

 

[Rays94RT]

Thanks for the info. I will look into the gasket tab. I guess the question remaining is if the motor was replaced in 2000 by Dodge, would they ship out a 94 crate motor or would they provide a newer motor.

Ray

 

[C O D Y]

Just look at the VIN on the motor to see if it's they rebuilt the oringinal. It's some what tuff to see and you'll need to be under the car with a light and a mirror.

 

[Rays94RT]

The receipt stated engine assembly replacement. $16k for the engine excluding labor. Is there somewhere\way to decipher the engine VIN and find out which engine it is?

 

[C O D Y]

Yes. There year code is part of the VIN on the engine.

It will be on the engine on the pass. side near the back of the motor up on a pad. You most likely will need to be under the car to see it and you will need a mirror and a flashlight. The last eight numbers are on the pad in a dot matrics style font that can be hard to read. The first digit is the year code.

94 = R
95 = S
96 = T
97 = V
98 = W
99 = X
00 = Y
01 = 1
02 = 2


Oh ya, now join the club and have some fun with your car!

 

[Rays94RT]

Thanks for the info Cody. I'll look at it when I get back in town next week.

Ray