Large Bang and Smoke

[rcl4668]

About 3 or 4 miles into a 50 mile drive yesterday I heard a loud bang from the rear of the car. I was slowing down to approach a stop light and the bang occurred and then the shifter popped out of first into neutral. I pushed the shifter back into first at the light and the car performed fine after that. Maybe I was being overly sensitive or paranoid after that but later when accelerating from a stop to about 20-30 mph I could detect a slight high-pitch whine coming from the rear of the car. Again, the car performed fine. Should I be concerned?

Second toward the end of the 50 mile drive I ran the a/c to keep cool in some stop and go. It was a sunny day and the sunlight really bathed the cabin. At that time I noticed wisps of smoke coming from the base of the windshield and from the climate control vents. There was a pretty intense, acrid smell too. I rolled down the windows to vent the car at speed and this helped but whenever I returned to stop and go I could see more smoke wisping from the same areas. As a side note, I have never been in a car where it actually makes the car hotter to roll down the side windows. The engine must be pumping out an incredible amount of heat.

I have done a search and it looks like both issues may just be part of the Viper's innate character. When I got home I just let the car sit with the hood and doors open and things were fine. I just wanted some more recent opinions.

Despite the above quirks I am loving this car.

Thanks for your input.

/Rich

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I know Gen 1 and 2's have been known to make loud "POPS" from the rearend. Mine also had done it a couple times, also on deacceleration. While I was getting an oil change, I asked the tech to tighten ALL the bolts in the rearend (not just ones on the pumpkin) and he did say one was really lose. I cant remember what he said it connected, but it was on the upper left side of the rearend of the car. Since then, I havent heard the POP, but I had only heard it 2-3 times in the 6 months I had owned the car anyway. I'm not sure about the smoke, havent run into that problem <knock on wood>

 

[Scotty B]

I don't know what to think about your smoke situation but the "loud POP" and then the car coming out of gear I would be 90% sure it is the dreaded yet very rare and unsettling occurance in these beautiful SRT10 hot rods called "Driver Error"

Seriously, what happens a lot of times is when we are "just out for a cruise" we tend to not be as aggressive with the shifter and sometimes don't completely and thoroughly engage the shifter 100% all the way into the the selected gear...

The transmission only catches half a tooth (if you will) and the natural tendancy of the transmission is to work it's way the rest of the way out back into neutral rather than the rest of the way fully into the selected gear... So what you feel is the same net effect as if you were strolling down the road approaching the light under decel and just reached up and forcebly ****** the shifter uceremoniously into neutral

Not really a big deal, just work on being more deliberate with your shifts and don't be quite so nice to the shifter and you should be fine, remember these cars are built to be driven

sbw

 

[ABADASP]

The smoke was cold air hitting warm humid air, happens alot here in the south.

 

[rcl4668]

Thanks. I drove the car a similar distance again yesterday and neither the bang nor the smoke occurred again.

/Rich