Weak Links Stop ‘Viper’ in Its Tracks : Magic Mountain: The new ‘world’s tallest looping roller coaster’ has been temporarily closed for the replacement of a faulty 800-foot chain that hauls cars to the top of ride.

At least for the moment, Magic Mountain’s Viper has lost its venom.

The much ballyhooed $8-million roller coaster, the subject of an intense publicity campaign, was taken out of service during Easter weekend, just seven days after it opened, because park inspectors discovered signs of stress in the chain that hauls the cars to the top of an 188-foot-high drop.

Courtney Simmons, a spokeswoman for Six Flags Magic Mountain, said the problems did not pose a threat to riders. It is not uncommon for rides to have technical problems during their first month of operation, park officials said.

Inspectors discovered what appeared to be indications of metal fatigue in some links in the 800-foot-long chain during a routine daily inspection Friday morning.

The links were not weak enough to break, and even if they had, the cars would freeze on the track because they are unable to roll backward, Simmons said.

As a precaution, engineers decided to install a new chain rather than replace the weak links. Simmons said the links would be sent to a laboratory where inspectors will try to determine what caused the problem.

Inspectors with the Los Angeles County Department of Building and Safety certified Viper as ready for occupancy before the ride opened. Once operating, amusement park rides are inspected by the department on schedules that vary from once a month to once a year, depending on the ride.

Simmons said signs were posted at the marquee, ticket booths and other key locations to alert patrons before they entered that Viper was not operating.

Viper is billed as the world’s tallest looping roller coaster. It took 1 million pounds of steel and 60,000 tons of concrete to build. At the bottom of the first 115-foot-long drop, the 28-passenger cars hit speeds of 70 m.p.h.

The ride’s debut April 7 was hailed by roller coaster enthusiasts who came to Valencia from across the country to celebrate its opening.

Simmons said the ride should be operating again this weekend.