Testing the Viper and Rambling

Just a quick diagnostic drive in the 2004 Dodge Viper (Gen 3) to try to identify if there are any lingering issues after the catalytic converter failed and blocked the exhaust on the driver's side. Since the car drove well, I just spent the time enjoying the weather and talking about modifications.

[@JohnMachado24]

Really enjoy your videos man! I hope one day I can actually own a gen 3 red viper myself! Sometimes I have thought about getting a challenger hellcat (safer, faster...), but the challenger just isn't really an amazing looking car, too common, and then you see a 17 year old Viper and it's still like, "WOOOOOW!!"

[@brandonanderson2438]

Hey man, wanted to comment. I love the content! I have the exact same car. 2004 red viper but mine has 43000 miles on it now. So far I’ve kept it stock. I found your channel researching the Borla exhaust and yeah after your issues I’m probably going to keep it stock until something breaks. I don’t like how hot the cabin gets though. I’m in Florida. I had a loose pulley bolt on the power steering pump and all my shocks are shot. I’m currently replacing the oil cooler lines and the rubber boot under the shift knob to try and cool off the cabin.

[@AmbiVe]

Nice. I would keep an eye on your catalytic converters, it is the stock drivers side that seem to give people the most trouble. You might also want to keep an eye on the power steering lines, they can have issues as well. I went with the BC coilovers, but they are definitely aggressive for regular driving on poor roads and their "suggested" height is probably too low to be useful in most parking lots. Enjoy the car! On a car like these, 43k is still just getting broken in 😉

[@laplantski]

No flat tappet. Has hydraulic lifters. The noise is due to a fast bleed lifter. A set of Johnson lifters will eliminate the tick. Keep in mind you will also hear the injector cracking and will also amplify the (tick). Use a 10 40 oil or 15 50 in warmer climates/mid late summer. This will help with a lot of the lifter noise. I noticed a instant improvement as soon as i switched to 10 40

[@chrisej5987]

I believe these always used roller lifters. The random clunks definitely have had me poking around for anything that might be loose though Not a thing was out of place. But whats all the racket from then?? 🤔😅

[@PotatoeJoe69]

Just a heads up man, the Viper uses hydraulic rollers, not flat tappet lol Mopar engines are just known for noisy valve trains. It is what it is

[@braddraper2013]

Hey Man ! I'm looking at upgrading the stock exhaust on my 2003 Viper with pretty much the same set up that you have, Borla Cat Back and Roe Hi Flow Cats with cross pipe delete. Wanted to know what you think of the exhaust so far. I don't want it to be stupid loud but do want a little more volume and definitely a better tone over stock. Based on research of various videos and sound bites, I hate the Corsa tone and the Bellanger seems to be too loud so I'm hoping the Borla is a nice compromise with a lower, more old school muscle car exhaust note but not overly loud. Would love to hear your thoughts on this since you've had it for a while. Love the videos and thanks in advance for any additional info.

[@AmbiVe]

Borla is much more reasonable, especially if you keep the stock cats in place. If you move to high flow cats, you might want to keep the crossover pipe in place to keep the rumble a bit more toned down. Good luck with the project!

[@txlonghor1n0]

Hey AmbiVe, so I started looking into Hi Flow cats to prevent this from happening on mine. I called JonB at parts rack. Nice guy btw, very knowledable. He told me the stock cats shouldn’t fail unless something is going on in the engine. He said bad spark plugs or wires even occasionally can damage the stock cats. When you did all this have you checked plugs or had any other issues to cause the original failure??

[@AmbiVe]

Nope, I pulled and checked the plugs and they were burning clean on the entire bank, injectors are healthy, and no warning codes in the computer. These cats failing are pretty common if you start searching about it. My guess is that it has something to do with cold starts or the length/shape of the exhaust.

[@abedanielspictures]

Dang, you need more views. How do we get you and the Viper to the Nordschleife! Well, maybe that test track in Ohio anyway.