99 R/T 10
Enthusiast
I wanted to take a moment to thank the many that help me get back on the road during the AL/TN Tail of the Dragon drive in Pigeon Forge, TN. We had 33 cars and there is always one that has to have issues. This time it was me 
.
After driving 6.5 hours to get to the hotel on Thursday(car drove without any issues), me and my son went out for diner and I notice some notchy movement fromt the steering wheel. To anyone who has had the problem, it is an impending P/S pump pulley failure. Drivng straight line and small easy turns are usually ok. So after I realized I might have an issue, I gave a good friend a call (JD) to see if he had one and if he could Fedex it to me. He had recently upgraded to a billet pulley and was going to throw out the cheap plastic one, BUT it's amazing how valuable it is to some one in dire need . Since the GA Prez (******'s Chad) was going to see him just before leaving for TN, Joseph said he would pass it on and that I would have it the next day 
.
Well, I decided to chance it and go on the Tail of the Dragon anyway, just could miss out. About 5-6 miles into it I made the mistake of trying to stay with Matt at Speedwerks in his S/C Viper
. I hear a pop and notice my P/S has gone bu-bye and the temp gauge is on the rise
. On goes the hazards and pull over as I watch everybody go by .
My buddy John Slaughter took pity on me and stopped to give a hand. After popping the hood, it looked like the belt just popped off. We got it back on and fired it up and...............
the pulley comes completely apart. I tell John to go have fun, I've got AAA and gave them a call. 2 hours later, they finally arrive and get me to the hotel with a interm stop at the parts store for some tools. I knew I had a PS pulley coming and I will have the broken piece off before they get back, right?
Wrong, trying to get that metal insert off was one of the biggest pain in the a$$es. I actually broke off the lip on the pulley insert because it was on so tight. This is where Matt at Speedwerks comes to the rescue. He gives his friend Jason (Randy's Customs) a call to help me get back on the road. He shows up just before I get the pump off the car and takes his Saturday morning to cut/press the insert off the shaft of the P/S pump. We first tried to use an impact to press it out, but no dice 
. He got a cut off wheel and took off the lip of the insert, then put the pump in a 20 ton press to break it loose! Unbelieveable! I don't know why it was so difficult, but was happy to see it come off! I have change out a few pulleys with a puller on the car and never had THAT much trouble. But two minutes later, Jason had the replacement pulley from Joseph on the pump, and was ready to go!
We got back to the car and 20 minutes later, I was good to go. I can't say enough about the help I received from the many people(JD, John, Chad, Matt and especailly Jason) that took their time to help me get back on the road. If not for them, I would still be in Pigeon Forge sitting on my butt. And Jason from Randy's Custom's would not take anything for his efforts! The help I received was priceless and all he would take was a thanks and a handshake. Although I wanted to give the guy a 
, I figured it would look a little 
. So thanks to JD, John, Chad, Matt at Speedwerks and Jason from Randy's Customs!!!!!!! You guys are why I love the Viper nation so much 
If you would like to see what part I missed go here:
http://forums.viperclub.org/general-viper-discussion/614304-lot-vipers-dragons-tail-*******-6.html
. After driving 6.5 hours to get to the hotel on Thursday(car drove without any issues), me and my son went out for diner and I notice some notchy movement fromt the steering wheel. To anyone who has had the problem, it is an impending P/S pump pulley failure
. Drivng straight line and small easy turns are usually ok. So after I realized I might have an issue, I gave a good friend a call (JD) to see if he had one and if he could Fedex it to me. He had recently upgraded to a billet pulley and was going to throw out the cheap plastic one, BUT it's amazing how valuable it is to some one in dire need . Since the GA Prez (******'s Chad) was going to see him just before leaving for TN, Joseph said he would pass it on and that I would have it the next day . Well, I decided to chance it and go on the Tail of the Dragon anyway, just could miss out. About 5-6 miles into it I made the mistake of trying to stay with Matt at Speedwerks in his S/C Viper
. I hear a pop and notice my P/S has gone bu-bye and the temp gauge is on the rise . On goes the hazards and pull over as I watch everybody go by . My buddy John Slaughter took pity on me and stopped to give a hand. After popping the hood, it looked like the belt just popped off. We got it back on and fired it up and...............
the pulley comes completely apart. I tell John to go have fun, I've got AAA and gave them a call. 2 hours later, they finally arrive and get me to the hotel with a interm stop at the parts store for some tools. I knew I had a PS pulley coming and I will have the broken piece off before they get back, right?
Wrong, trying to get that metal insert off was one of the biggest pain in the a$$es. I actually broke off the lip on the pulley insert because it was on so tight. This is where Matt at Speedwerks comes to the rescue
. He gives his friend Jason (Randy's Customs) a call to help me get back on the road. He shows up just before I get the pump off the car and takes his Saturday morning to cut/press the insert off the shaft of the P/S pump. We first tried to use an impact to press it out, but no dice . He got a cut off wheel and took off the lip of the insert, then put the pump in a 20 ton press to break it loose! Unbelieveable! I don't know why it was so difficult, but was happy to see it come off! I have change out a few pulleys with a puller on the car and never had THAT much trouble. But two minutes later, Jason had the replacement pulley from Joseph on the pump, and was ready to go!We got back to the car and 20 minutes later, I was good to go
. I can't say enough about the help I received from the many people(JD, John, Chad, Matt and especailly Jason) that took their time to help me get back on the road. If not for them, I would still be in Pigeon Forge sitting on my butt. And Jason from Randy's Custom's would not take anything for his efforts! The help I received was priceless and all he would take was a thanks and a handshake. Although I wanted to give the guy a , I figured it would look a little . So thanks to JD, John, Chad, Matt at Speedwerks and Jason from Randy's Customs!!!!!!! You guys are why I love the Viper nation so much If you would like to see what part I missed go here:
http://forums.viperclub.org/general-viper-discussion/614304-lot-vipers-dragons-tail-*******-6.html
Last edited:
