I did a little bit of work on my Gen II over the winter and had some interesting problems/fixes came up:
1. The car is a 97 and has probably had the oil drain plug out 25 times without the plug gasket/washer being changed. It finally started to weep oil. I found a replacement washer at NAPA, it was part number 704-1093. It was $1.25, I think the oem replacement washer is over $10.00.
2. I changed the diff gears and during the winter and thought that there was a problem with the diff cover bolts. They appeared to be too short. I tracked it back to the 908 recall. During that recall I had the dealer also install a new diff. He mixed the bolts from the belly plate (plate between frame rails) with the true diff cover bolts.
A heads up on the diff cover, diff fluid is tough to seal. Permatex makes a single purpose sealant for the differential. It is "Gear Oil RTV Sealant". Since there is no pressure in the diff, it will probably also work to seal a minor leak from outside the case.
3. I had the oil pan off and I reused the same gasket for about the sixth time, this time I had had a minor leak. I ordered a gasket from Tatar, they are now approximately $350. The point is, they will last several on/off operations.
4. I originally had 3.33 gears and I changed to 3.55 gears. The speedo-adjustment box was purchased for the 3.33 gears directly from Unitrax (great people). I had never verified the speedometer against a GPS, as I found out I should have. The supposed 3.33 adjustment box shows accurate speed with the 3.55 gears. I realize it is only a 6% diff, but, the speed is now exact with a mismatched diff and speedo adjustment box.
5. The car had a clicking sound from the right rear when turning. It was the passenger side half shaft. It was not apparent till you removed it, but, it would not telescope - it was binding. Just a heads up, the passenger side half shaft is usually the one that fails. there is more dynamics happening at the passenger rear axle when accelerating.
6. A lot has been said about gear changes, but, for a NA car the 3.55 gears just makes the the car seem more complete. IMHO the viper T56 trans does not have the correct ratios for an oem 3.07 rear ratio. My guess is the 3.73 gears will be similar, but, keep in mind with a 26" tire you will have a max speed in fourth gear of about 130 with the 3.73 gears, that could hurt at the strip.
7. I installed the Woodhouse poly trans mount last year and picked up a resonant vibration. Probably if I did both engine and trans there would not have been a resonant vibration. Perhaps more perceived vibration, but, not the sharp 2500 to 2800 rpm magnified vibration. I put the oem mount back on and no vibration it was smooth as could be. I will just change it back to the Woodhouse mount when the car goes to the strip.
I hope some of this will save someone else some time in the future.
1. The car is a 97 and has probably had the oil drain plug out 25 times without the plug gasket/washer being changed. It finally started to weep oil. I found a replacement washer at NAPA, it was part number 704-1093. It was $1.25, I think the oem replacement washer is over $10.00.
2. I changed the diff gears and during the winter and thought that there was a problem with the diff cover bolts. They appeared to be too short. I tracked it back to the 908 recall. During that recall I had the dealer also install a new diff. He mixed the bolts from the belly plate (plate between frame rails) with the true diff cover bolts.
A heads up on the diff cover, diff fluid is tough to seal. Permatex makes a single purpose sealant for the differential. It is "Gear Oil RTV Sealant". Since there is no pressure in the diff, it will probably also work to seal a minor leak from outside the case.
3. I had the oil pan off and I reused the same gasket for about the sixth time, this time I had had a minor leak. I ordered a gasket from Tatar, they are now approximately $350. The point is, they will last several on/off operations.
4. I originally had 3.33 gears and I changed to 3.55 gears. The speedo-adjustment box was purchased for the 3.33 gears directly from Unitrax (great people). I had never verified the speedometer against a GPS, as I found out I should have. The supposed 3.33 adjustment box shows accurate speed with the 3.55 gears. I realize it is only a 6% diff, but, the speed is now exact with a mismatched diff and speedo adjustment box.
5. The car had a clicking sound from the right rear when turning. It was the passenger side half shaft. It was not apparent till you removed it, but, it would not telescope - it was binding. Just a heads up, the passenger side half shaft is usually the one that fails. there is more dynamics happening at the passenger rear axle when accelerating.
6. A lot has been said about gear changes, but, for a NA car the 3.55 gears just makes the the car seem more complete. IMHO the viper T56 trans does not have the correct ratios for an oem 3.07 rear ratio. My guess is the 3.73 gears will be similar, but, keep in mind with a 26" tire you will have a max speed in fourth gear of about 130 with the 3.73 gears, that could hurt at the strip.
7. I installed the Woodhouse poly trans mount last year and picked up a resonant vibration. Probably if I did both engine and trans there would not have been a resonant vibration. Perhaps more perceived vibration, but, not the sharp 2500 to 2800 rpm magnified vibration. I put the oem mount back on and no vibration it was smooth as could be. I will just change it back to the Woodhouse mount when the car goes to the strip.
I hope some of this will save someone else some time in the future.
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