NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

The ABS plastic headliner backing panel once all the old adhesive residue was removed.

[njsteve]

Time to clean off the old adhesive on the underside. It was some type of green epoxy resin. Some areas were flaking but others stuck like...glue. So I got out a heat gun and used my wife's oil-paint palette knife. That worked great. All I had to do was slip the blade under a loose spot and then gently slide it along and most of the outer perimeter glue came off several feet at a time.

[njsteve]

I then used the 3M 08327 Semi-Rigid Parts Repair epoxy and put down a bead in the same areas where the old green glue was. I then placed the headliner panel on it and covered it with some old towels and around 45 pounds of weights to press it in place. The 08327 cures in around 5 minutes so you have to work rapidly in laying down the glue.

[njsteve]

And the final result:

[KevinW]

Steve, I found these in one of my parts boxes, an image search came up on a 94 Viper for sale ad. You want them? Or should I chuck em?

[njsteve]

I can always use more license plate screws. I never seem to have 4 of the same style so that makes them super duper rare! I PM'd you.

[njsteve]

I've been driving the Viper the past few weeks to use up the 22 gallons of fuel in the tank in time for refueling and winter storage. We took the car to a couple cars and coffee events and had a lot of fun with it. This old relic is gonna be 30 years old in four months!

During the recent drive my son noticed that we had no back up lights, no brake lghts, no flashers, and only one turn signal working. Great!

So I pulled the tail light lenses and replaced several of the 29 year old, 3157 bulbs. That got us the turn signals working and the flashers but still no brake lights or backup lights.

So I crawled underneath the dash and looked at the brake light switch. It was very hot to the touch! So I pulled it out. I took it apart and noticed all the contacts were tarnished and causing so much resistance that heat was building up but no contact was being made in the switch. So I used an fingernail emery board and cleaned them up and reinstalled the thing. (I also ordered a spare unit since any parts for this thing are either unavailable or in the process - it turned out the unit is from a Dodge truck and is made by Standard Motor Products under part S-151 so I ordered one for $25). I reinstalled the switch and YAY now the brake lights work again.

I figured the reverse lights were due to the switch in the transmission no longer working from being parked in reverse for so long during storage, so I ordered one of those which is still available from Mopar for $29. Since that required putting the car up on jackstands and pulling the big transmision skid plate I figured I'd change the 29 year old transmission fluid at the same time.

I tested my bad switch hypothesis by jumping the two terminals on the wire connector and the lights lit up. Bad switch, it is. I swapped out the old switch for the new one and YAY we have reverse lights now too!

Now here's the bug in the ointment. These cars came with a T56 6-speed which used Dexron II(E) as the lubricating fluid. In 1994 Dexron II was replaced with Dexron III which was OK'd by Dodge for use in these transmissions. In 1998, Dodge put out a very specific TSB stating that the fluid in all Viper transmissions should be upgraded to Mopar ATF+4 to avoid neutral gear rattle...all EXCEPT the 1992 and 1993 cars. It had something to do with the blocker rings and synchros in the early transmissions being made of a material that was not compatable with a synthetic fluid. So...I had to find actual non-synthetic Dexron II or III. And of course the current Dexron VI synthetic is out as well.

I searched and eventually located a currently available, cheapo non-synthetic AC/Delco version that is called ATF Type III(H). It turns out that no one can call it Dexron III any more because GM no longer licenses it to be made under that trademark.

I also decided to drain and refill the rear diff as well. Luckily this is a very early car that actually has the drain plug in the rear diff. Shortly after this car was built, they did away with the drain plug and those owners have to suction out their diff for maintenance (not fun).

I did take a sample of both fluids and sent it off the Blackstone labs for analysis. I'll update when the results come in.

And if you're wondering what all the little yellow specks are in the photos: I ran over an Osage Orange (Maclura Pomifera) while coming home from the cars and coffee on Sunday. The frikken things are as big as a grapefruit and are all over the local roads around here. I thought it would clear the underside but it struck the front crossmember and then got neatly sliced in half by the transmission skid plate as evidenced by the section sitting on the plate when I removed it this morning. So now the underside smells citrus fresh! So I got that going for me.

[njsteve]

Here's that TFFKAD-III (The Fluid Formerly Known As Dexron) III(H) that you can currently get under the genericly named "Type III(H)" since Dexron is no longer licenced in its prior iterations as it is now considered "the name that shall never be uttered again" AC/Delco part number 10-9240

[njsteve]

Since she is up on jackstands I am still "mission creeping". I was greasing all the ball joints and tie rod ends when I noticed that all the sway bar link rubber boots have turned to rubble. They were a clear poly material originally and have totally decomposed after 29 years. Don't even get me started on what a new set of sway bar links go for if you could even locate an NOS set of the unique 1992-95 links - try around $300 each!!! And no one makes replacements.

There is some Viper parts place out west that advertises a new set of boots for $200 !!! (The dreaded Viper tax) Seriously guys? You can just measure the flanges and then shop for replacement boots on the net.

Before I started measuring and searching someone recommended I give Tator's Garage a call http://www.tatorsdodge.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJwL...el=LewisboroTV

So I used some ball joint pullers and got the links off today. They were all in perfect shape other than the boots. I was able to make contact with Chuck Tator at Tator's Garage last night. (they were formerly known as Tator's Dodge, est in 1908 and they were the oldest Dodge dealer in the world, when Mopar decided to cancel their franchise during the bloodbath of 2008 when they killed off 1/3 of their dealership franchises because they were not multi-branded.) They were also one of the largest Viper dealers for Dodge back in the day.

I left a message for Chuck and he called me back at 8:30 this morning and said he was mailing out the new set of boots for $40 and needed my address. I then asked if he was ready for my credit card info. He replied: "I don't do credit cards - the bank takes too much money. I just send out the parts and an invoice and you can send me a check when they come in." He even encloses a stamped, self addressed return envelope.

Holy Cow! It's like I'm back in olden times.

[njsteve]

One day later, they arrived from Tator! :-)

$45.50 for the boot set including a stamped, self-addressed envelope for payment. I rounded up and sent him a check for $50 just for the helluvit.

Easy install, The small ring clips go on first and are easy to slid over the flange. You then grease up the joint and slip the seal over until the big flange goes over the collar in the link. Then you gently wrap the large spring clip around while holding the end in place. Takes some practice but by the 8th one I could do it in around 15 seconds.