Potential New owner

[amilch]

Hello everyone, fairly new to this forum. I am looking nto purchasing my new viper and was hoping I can you guys opinions about the undercarriage of this vehicle. Is there anything I need to look for in the undercarriage that may be concerning?


image1.jpgimage2.jpgimage3-2.jpg



Thank you in advance.

[Boosted Motorsports]

Looks good as far as I can see. This must be a 96-99 model with the older 8qt oil pan. Has the chassis frame supports (riveted triangles) installed correctly which is good. Only other thing I see is the passenger side aluminum head shield is bent up, not a big deal but maybe take a look up there and see if its just that?

[amilch]

Yes, its a 96 GTS. I will check it out the aluminum head shield. Thank you

[LifeIsGood]

Definitely not a garage queen. Some of us anal retentive owners keep the undercarriage a bit cleaner. It has a lot of accumulated brake dust. It looks all original except for the recall riveted gussets. I don't see anything in those pictures I would be concerned over.

[MacGyvers Mullet]

The other thing I would be suspect of is an oil leak on the driver's side. The plastic cover that wraps around the main frame rail is soaked in oil, especially compared to the passenger side. I had the same issue on my 96 and it was due to a combination of a leaky PCV hose from above, a leaky rear main seal and the older style plastic oil pan gasket that originally came on the 96's. The oil will eventually get underneath the plastic and stay there, showing that there was a leak at some point. My plastic just came off on it's own, due to the oil soaking. Plus, the driver's side looks much more wiped down, with a possible thin layer of oil that is keeping it a bit more shiny than the passenger side.

Either they fixed the leak or they did a very good job at washing the underside. I would check more into it and be aware that you may have a small leak on your hands after purchase. Don't fret too much, as the early model GTS's were a bit on the leaky side to begin with and you are dealing with 20 year old rubber gaskets/hoses that will leak after all this time, no matter how good they were to begin with. It could very easily be the PCV system rubber tee that is right in front of the driver's side throttle body, or anything that is connected to it. Check around there for signs of oil.

[dave6666]

Definitely not a garage queen.

Odd discussion for here.