MOTOR PROBLEM

[Gavin]

Motor just up to temperature heard a ticking sound not unlike a lifter or injector - over a stretch of about a 1/4 mile to 1/2 a mile this ticking sound got louder and louder, then a grinding sound like something was dragging on the ground- pulled over and shut it off.

Looked all over the engine and under the car - no fluids, nothing dragging.

Started the motor - sounded like a piston hitting a valve - had it towed home.

Any ideas
Car has roller rockers.
1996 gts Venom 500
Extended warranty expires October of this year.

 

[Viper Specialty]

very sorry to say man... two possibles:

Spun rod bearing, or one of your roller rockers came apart. pull the valve covers to check the rockers... something that loud should be dead obvious by a visual. if its a rod bearing, to Arrow it goes...

PS- a Rod Bearing letting loose would most likely have shown a BIG difference in oil pressure.

PPS- DONT start the car until you find out what it was. If it turns out to be a Roller Rocker, pull your oil pan to check for damage, and remove the almost CERTAIN RR parts that fell into the bottom end!

 

[Jack B]

Pull the plugs and drain the oil, you will find the problem

 

[viper spray]

Towing was a good Idea! A Good Viper tech needs to be called ASAP!

 

[Gerald Levin]

Does the extended warranty continue to offer protection on modified engines?

 

[99 R/T 10]

Gavin, what kind of RR do you have? I remember that the Crowers were prone to failures.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Mine made some knocking noises. Could not find anything wrong on the top half of motor. Dropped the oil pan and windage tray and found the culprit. Engine was sent to Arrow then.

 

[Gavin]

T&D roller rockers
Symptoms could indicate a rod bearing failure
Pulling valve covers and sump (oil pan to you yankees) tomorrow night

If its the roller rockers I'm not going to claim under warranty - Rod bearing is on Dodge - whether they will pay is another question but I'm optimistic

Thanks for the info

 

[Moundir]

that sux I hope it works out for you.

 

[Gavin]

Relief - Crower roller rocker came loose - no obvious damage but will have a Viper Tech check it all out

[******] says he uses T&D rolloer rockers but these are clearly Crower -they seem to be made of stainless steel and are quite solid.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Very good news.

Take my advice: Drop your oil pan, check for broken peices, re-loctite and tighten all the sump screws -(it is worth dropping the pan just for this alone)- and change your oil and filter. You never know what may have been sucked up...

 

[joe117]

If you can account for each and every part, I wouldn't bother dropping the pan.

How about some details or even pictures of the actual failure.

 

[BigCarrot]

Dropping the pan is pretty easy. At the very least I'd change the oil and filter.

 

[Viper Specialty]

JOE117- even if you could account, I would still do it...maybe I am just anal, but hey, better safe than sorry.

Those sump screws come loose in short order, I had 4 of 8 loose in 5K miles! luckily, they can't cause damage due to the sump screen, but I dont like screws loose in my engine! lol

PS- If you do drop the pan, I HIGHLY recommend dumping the stock 8 sump screws, going from .5 inches (stock) to 1 inches in SS, and using either Red #271 loctite, or Green ?#242? on the new SS screws. You will need to tap all 8 holes deeper to accomodate the new screws, but there is more than enough room, at least in the 02' pans.

 

[Gavin]

Update - drained the oil prior to removal of the valve covers - nothing interesting in the oil, so when upstairs and found the roller rocker out of place.

Car is being trailered to Viper Tech who will check the motor out completely, including removal of the head to check the lifter, valve and cam. I run open track events and want to make sure the motor is 100% before getting on it hard.

Also taking this opportunity to install a 180 degree thermostate, do a leak down test to check that valve and condition of the rings. Motor is at 38,000 miles.

I figure the cost is small compared to missing something and doing serious damage at a track event.

All the input is most appreciated - So when are you East coast guys gonna come out here and drive a real race track like Laguna?
Gavin