OK Report On Viper With 1 Mile NEED HELP

**viperdriver5150** · 05-04-2015

Please inform me on this one.

Dealer called and said the cam in not spinning. Basically is that a catastrophic failure? Mind you this car has 6 miles on it total...

**viper04** · 05-04-2015

Wow! Sorry to head this, I can said not good. Maybe a broken timing chain?

**Dman** · 05-04-2015

Sooo, the crank turns but it's not rotating the cam? Cam chain failure, or other front end failure but how bad .. depends, if the crank is turning/engine firing & the cam isn't rotating the valve train, that's usually described as, oh, what's the word, catastrophic. 6 miles?? Holy assembly line hangover, Batman.

Wiser folks should chime in, but good luck .. wow.

**darbgnik** · 05-04-2015

Is the Gen 5 an interference engine?

**viperdriver5150** · 05-04-2015

Dman

He just said cam is not turning and that it is a real bad thing...LOL

**1.8t** · 05-04-2015

Only way for that to happen is a broken timing chain. As a veteran of a timing chain failure, when you turned the engine over after it shut off, did you hear the pistons hit the valves? You would have if the timing chain broke. It is extremely uncommon for this failure to occur and I blamed my failure on an aftermarket under-drive pulley that did not properly dampen crank harmonics(this happened to me on a vette). If this is indeed what has occurred, the dealership will declare your engine a total loss and replace it under warranty.

**viperdriver5150** · 05-04-2015

After I shut the car off, calmed down and tried to restart, only the starter would spin, never tried to actually turn over the motor.

**mjorgensen** · 05-04-2015

Originally Posted by darbgnik

Is the Gen 5 an interference engine?

Yes

The cam phaser could have failed also, is this a 13' that has sat all this time? That's a long time to just sit...

**Lawrenzo** · 05-04-2015

Originally Posted by mjorgensen

Yes

The cam phaser could have failed also, is this a 13' that has sat all this time? That's a long time to just sit...

How would the long term sitting affect this??

**mjorgensen** · 05-04-2015

Originally Posted by Lawrenzo

How would the long term sitting affect this??

Not sure that is why I asked if they truly let it sit there that long. The 13' cars needed the cams "loosened up" a bit and some even needed extended idling when new because the cam clearances were so tight that they would react slower than called for and they would throw a code thinking it was sticking when in reality you were talking milliseconds difference. Just wondering if it sat there that long and no oil running through it could have been any type of contributor is all. Just wondering for my own knowledge more than anything.

**swexlin** · 05-04-2015

Originally Posted by mjorgensen

Not sure that is why I asked if they truly let it sit there that long. The 13' cars needed the cams "loosened up" a bit and some even needed extended idling when new because the cam clearances were so tight that they would react slower than called for and they would throw a code thinking it was sticking when in reality you were talking milliseconds difference. Just wondering if it sat there that long and no oil running through it could have been any type of contributor is all. Just wondering for my own knowledge more than anything.

Interesting, thank you Mark. Never knew this.

**Jack B** · 05-04-2015

You may be spinning the bottom end.

Originally Posted by viperdriver5150

After I shut the car off, calmed down and tried to restart, only the starter would spin, never tried to actually turn over the motor.

**viperdriver5150** · 05-04-2015

Originally Posted by mjorgensen

Not sure that is why I asked if they truly let it sit there that long. The 13' cars needed the cams "loosened up" a bit and some even needed extended idling when new because the cam clearances were so tight that they would react slower than called for and they would throw a code thinking it was sticking when in reality you were talking milliseconds difference. Just wondering if it sat there that long and no oil running through it could have been any type of contributor is all. Just wondering for my own knowledge more than anything.

Mark, thank you for chiming in on this. It was a 13' model year and I have idled it in the garage on multiple occasions probably up to 15 or 20 minutes ( well ventilated of course ) to get myself familiar with the gauges etc...

It ran beautifully and never made a odd sound ever. When I was trying to complete my loop around the block, it never left 2nd gear and babied it the whole time as it was the first trip out, basically just wanted to see what it sounded like while driving. Heck I don't even have plates for it yet.

**viperdriver5150** · 05-04-2015

When you say spinning the bottom end, what does that mean?

**Newport Viper** · 05-04-2015

http://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/H...NCarLaws_1.asp

**supersnake** · 05-04-2015

[QUOTE=viperdriver5150;132599]When you say spinning the bottom end, what does that mean?[/QUOTE

He means you are spinning the Crank, rods, pistons when the starter is turning. What i don't get is you shut the engine off, I would think if the camshaft is not turning it would shut itself down. Other than a metal sound, What did the engine run like before you shut off the engine. I just can't see the engine running with no camshaft turning. Not on a Viper but I have seen crankshafts breaking ahead of the rear main journal. But did they turn it over with the starter to see if the cam was opening the valves or did they turn it over by hand from the front?