Second Stallion in the stable. Picked up an used SRT-6 Roadster over the weekend. Has some minor issues but after a 17 hour drive I am still very happy to have the soft top.

First thing I noticed after 6-8 hours of driving was a low coolant light. I could find no leaks or wetness under the car or in the engine bay and the oil was at the correct level and not milky. I filled the tank with 50/50 coolant thinking there may be some air burping from the system after a recent repair. 6-8 hours later same issue, this time I went to straight water. I figuered if the coolant is leaking to the most common place, "the intercooler" it is better to have just water being burned. Have you guys heard of any other missing water leaks other then the intercooler?

Second, I noted that the car acted a little like it had an un-balanced rear wheel, more so when under hard power and has a roaring wobble noise coming from the lower middle to back of the car. I had the balance of the tires checked, no problem. I took comparison rides with my SRT Coupe to be certain and there is much more of a vibration/unbalanced roar noise in the Roadster. I figure the most likely causes could be drive shaft center bearing, wheel bearing or rear end? What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

Swap the wheels with the coupe to rule out the tires.

 

Good call. Thanks

 

top off your coolant and turn the heat on full blast and then pinch the top tiny coolant hose AFTER the overflow hose that goes to the coolant tank. This should work out any air bubbles.

And pinch it dont fully block the hose, this forces the bubbles to go off into the overflow tank.

 

I've put over 1000 miles on the car and added nearly 3 gallons of water in the past 3 days, I don't think air pockets are the problem any longer. I will remember your fill technique for the future.

 

I think you were right with the IC leak.

Congrats on getting another XF!
Tell me you did it right this time and got a good color!
Pics? Price? Condition?

 

Well that was half the problem. When I swapped the wheels I removed (6mm spacers from the rear). The spacers were non hub centric and allowed the rear tires to be mounted slightly off center. Now that they are removed the unbalanced ride in the rear is gone. The rumble/roar noise is still thier regardless of which wheels/tires are on the car. Thanks

 

Last time I experienced a "roar" from the rear it turned out to be a bad wheel bearing (this was in a Nissan Altima FWIW).

 

Yo BLACKSRT-6 how come when I click on your avatar it takes me to the profile of 05blacksrt6?

Weird!

 

It's not me, it's a forum link issue. Been that way for quite a while, I've reported it but evidently not to the correct person who can make the fix. 05blacksrt6 is a much younger man, guess I don't mind so much!

I purchased a Dark Metallic Gray Roadster. It has always been my favorite of the color options. The car is in Norfolk Virginia now but will go to my home in Millbrook Alabama over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

 

I don't know if this is what you are hearing, but you will have a lot more road noise from the roadster than the coupe...glad you found the spacers....and it does sound like an intercooler leak, hope not, but it could be if you aren't finding any leaks. How many miles are on ther roadster?

 

I don't think it is Soft Top related noise. I'll try the mid bearing first. Now that the unbalance wobble from the rear is gone, it sounds like it's coming more from the drive shaft tunnel.

It has an extended warrentee so I will see if the dealer will fix the leak. I'm pretty certain about the IC after searching common symptoms on Mercedes supercharged 3.2 engines. 48K on the car.

 

sounds like it, but the roadster, especially on concrete roads, has a lot more road noise from the rear area...good luck and welcome to the 2fer club....

 

Car is in good overall condition for the miles. The minor issues discussed here and the driver seat cover are the worst of it. I'll deffinitely be on th lookout for a replacement seat or skin. There are a few rattles that I assume are normal for a soft top, I will be hunting these down over the next few weeks. I purchased the car from RIOT. Nice guy with lots of crossfire history, hope he sticks around on the site.

 

I'm not positive but I think that I read a post about the driveshaft support bearing/mount, the mount was torn and was causing vibrations and noises as you described, and yes the rear tires can make some real strange noises on different types of pavement.

 

Talk to Rob @ NW about the driveshaft bearing. They are REALLY expensive at the dealer but he has the hook up and for a great price. Hope that solves that issue. As for the IC, doesn't sound like any fun. 3 gallons in 3 days is a LOT of coolant to be losing. Sad to say it but you're gonna need to get that corrected ASAP and I'd recommend you park the vehicle until this is corrected.

Take care and enjoy the new car (after of course you get it back up in tip-top shape)

 

Oh, do I know that car....lol....I would have thought they would have noticed a leak when the car was worked on....but, it sounds like it...shouldn't be any rattles....mine is solid. I am sure you will track them down...and yes, Kirk is a cool guy...you got a fast vert for sure...there have been some seats on ebay, might be just as good to buy a whole seat on there....good luck...

 

Didn't expect to be loosing water when I started the trip home. Once I realized I was, I didn't have much of a choice but to keep going. I would never have expected a low milage motor (roughly 15k) to pop an IC, but the water is going somewhere. The car is parked now until I can get the extended warrentee transferred and take it to the dealer. Hopefully, they will cover both issues.

 

well, it could be something else and not the intercooler....just won't know until you go looking....I can tell you this, Kirk wouldn't have let it leave if he would have known it...it got what it needed....that old boat racer is particular about his motors...

 

As the owner of both a srt coupe & rag-top, there is not that much more road noise in the rag-top. Slightly more. But there are more creeks and plastic on plastic noises. Which is to be expected.

Get that coolant leak fixed asap & please let us know what the problem was, including the other issues.

Get the problems fixed, then enjoy your new crossfire!