The infamous neighbor's 95 Neon that I always write about is in need of a valve cover gasket, or so they say. Anyhow, the daughter is bringing the car home this weekend and I said I'd change it for them. Turns out this car has 2 different engine options (SOHC versus DOHC I believe), and the daughter has no clue about cars so can not even begin to tell what it is. The VIN is 1P3ES47C1SD55XXXXX. Can anyone tell me which it would be?
What kind of engine in this Neon?
- Thread starter methusaleh
- Start date
- Status
According to that vin
Status = VIN is valid and has 132hp.
Country of Origin = Belvidere, IL (USA)
Make = Plymouth
Vehicle Type = Passenger Car
Passenger Safety Options = Active Restraints, Dual Front Airbags
Vehicle Line = Neon [US/ Canada/ Export]
Series = Highline
Body Style = Neon Sedan
Engine Type = 2.0L SOHC
Check Digit = 1
Model Year = 1995
Assembled In: Belvidere, Illinois - US/Canada/Export - MATCHED
Status = VIN is valid and has 132hp.
Country of Origin = Belvidere, IL (USA)
Make = Plymouth
Vehicle Type = Passenger Car
Passenger Safety Options = Active Restraints, Dual Front Airbags
Vehicle Line = Neon [US/ Canada/ Export]
Series = Highline
Body Style = Neon Sedan
Engine Type = 2.0L SOHC
Check Digit = 1
Model Year = 1995
Assembled In: Belvidere, Illinois - US/Canada/Export - MATCHED
Could this be the beginning of an unhealthy dependency? Tell us more about the clueless daughter.
Ha ha ha...the dependency began when these folks moved in about 6 years ago, they are all mechanically challenged, to keep it P.C.
The daughter is quite pleasing to the eye, about 6' tall and a star volleyball player, but I get paid with baked goods and no other ways you may be thinking of...I've got my GC-buying girlfriend back at home
The daughter is quite pleasing to the eye, about 6' tall and a star volleyball player, but I get paid with baked goods and no other ways you may be thinking of...I've got my GC-buying girlfriend back at home
"quite pleasing to the eye" LMAO
I bet its the headgasket....not the valvecover.
Check for the infamous oil leak at the back of the head, drivers side.
Check for the infamous oil leak at the back of the head, drivers side.
I think Methusaleh should post some pictures when the repair is made, anyone agree?
The owner will probably not be present at the time if that's what you are looking forward to...: ) But I can take some pretty boring shots of me and her father working on the car for ya!
And yes, when the car was taken in to a Dodge dealer for its first (when bought used) oil change there was a suspected head gasket leak. Personally I took a look and did not see anything that looked like one to me...but I will look again now that I've heard it from more than one source.
And yes, when the car was taken in to a Dodge dealer for its first (when bought used) oil change there was a suspected head gasket leak. Personally I took a look and did not see anything that looked like one to me...but I will look again now that I've heard it from more than one source.
...also frequently mistaken for a headgasket leak is the cam sensor seal. Cam sensor is the squarish do-hickey attached to the drivers side of the head.
So commonly misdiagnosed as a headgasket leak, even by dealers, there was a TSB about it back in 97.
So commonly misdiagnosed as a headgasket leak, even by dealers, there was a TSB about it back in 97.
Are the Neon engine(s) reliable and easy to work on? I was never interested in the Neon until they came out with the PT Cruiser and the Neon STR 4 Turbo. I hear they have 230 or so HP. They can be tweaked to 300 hp or so. The PT is based on the Neon chassis and engines. Now GM has copied this by coming out with the HHR based on the Cobalt platform.
Neons? Excellent engines.
The neon is really under rated because of a couple of nasty problems that were notaddressed well by Chrysler.
1. Pre-99 composite headgaskets were crap. Once you installed the new MLS (multi layered steel) gasket, it was near permanent.
2. The frameless windows....bad idea.
My 98 DOHC 5 speed Neon has just hit 175000 kms and it has never left me stranded.
I beat the snot out of it and it still pulls hard.
Either the sohc or the dohc coupled to the five speed manual is very peppy and responds very well to minimal modifications.
The DOHC head is a work of art. Here's an interesting clip from a magazine that I keep hanging on my office wall at work:
--------------------------------------------------
McCraw, Jim. "The Chrysler/Lamborghini Formula 1 V12: Revs R US!". High
Performance Mopar November 1993: 50-55.
Relevent Neon related information is on p.55, partially excerpted here:
HPM Nov.1993 p.55 wrote:
What Chrysler Offers The flipside is what Chrysler can bring to
Lamborghini
Engineering's staff of fewer than 70 people. It includes all the
engineering
manpower, ultra-modern computing, CAD/CAM, finite element analysis...
Early
in the information exchange program, a small team of Chrysler cylinder
head
flow experts ran the Lambo F1 V12 head on the flowbench, reshaped the
ports,
and improved intake flow seven percent and exhaust flow 21 percent!...
This
engine research for Lamborghini came back to Chrysler with a bonus: All
of
this flow data exchange has resulted in a radical new camshaft profile
and a
new cylinder head for the 1995 Chrysler 7200-rpm 2-liter engine, a head
design that actually flows more air than the 3.5-liter V12 Formula 1
head
and uses a very similar flat-chamber shape with narrow included angles
on
the valves and a narrow port approach angle...
The 7200 RPM engine referred to in the article is, of course, the DOHC
2.0
engine.
-------------------------------------------
Join us over at www.neons.org
The neon is really under rated because of a couple of nasty problems that were notaddressed well by Chrysler.
1. Pre-99 composite headgaskets were crap. Once you installed the new MLS (multi layered steel) gasket, it was near permanent.
2. The frameless windows....bad idea.
My 98 DOHC 5 speed Neon has just hit 175000 kms and it has never left me stranded.
I beat the snot out of it and it still pulls hard.
Either the sohc or the dohc coupled to the five speed manual is very peppy and responds very well to minimal modifications.
The DOHC head is a work of art. Here's an interesting clip from a magazine that I keep hanging on my office wall at work:
--------------------------------------------------
McCraw, Jim. "The Chrysler/Lamborghini Formula 1 V12: Revs R US!". High
Performance Mopar November 1993: 50-55.
Relevent Neon related information is on p.55, partially excerpted here:
HPM Nov.1993 p.55 wrote:
What Chrysler Offers The flipside is what Chrysler can bring to
Lamborghini
Engineering's staff of fewer than 70 people. It includes all the
engineering
manpower, ultra-modern computing, CAD/CAM, finite element analysis...
Early
in the information exchange program, a small team of Chrysler cylinder
head
flow experts ran the Lambo F1 V12 head on the flowbench, reshaped the
ports,
and improved intake flow seven percent and exhaust flow 21 percent!...
This
engine research for Lamborghini came back to Chrysler with a bonus: All
of
this flow data exchange has resulted in a radical new camshaft profile
and a
new cylinder head for the 1995 Chrysler 7200-rpm 2-liter engine, a head
design that actually flows more air than the 3.5-liter V12 Formula 1
head
and uses a very similar flat-chamber shape with narrow included angles
on
the valves and a narrow port approach angle...
The 7200 RPM engine referred to in the article is, of course, the DOHC
2.0
engine.
-------------------------------------------
Join us over at www.neons.org
My 2004 SRT4 is factory rated 230hp at the wheels, but it dynoed 238hp at the wheels bone stock. If I find time to install all the parts I have lying around and get it tuned, it should be somewhere around 370hp to the wheels this spring.There are quite a few running around with that much and more, alot more.
The SRT4 is an awesome machine.
Trouble with it is there have been one helluva lot of 17-25 year olds killed in them.
Their fault none the less in many cases.
Trouble with it is there have been one helluva lot of 17-25 year olds killed in them.
Their fault none the less in many cases.
You're right there, a real pia to get and keep tight.
My daughter bought a Neon back in the summer, a '95 2.0L SOHC, leaking oil like a tanker so we got it for a good price thinking it was the infamous head gasket.
Ended up being the rear main seal, I think the head gasket would have been an easier fix although more costly. Cost me $20.00 for the seal and two of us and a hoist 5± hours to replace. Just something to check as both leaks at first glance seem to come from the same place.....Mike
That rear main seal is a pain.
20 bucks for the part, but you have to drop the tranny to get to it…lol.
20 bucks for the part, but you have to drop the tranny to get to it…lol.
I had a '99 Highline Coupe with the DOHC and 5 speed. I ended up trading it with around 70k miles (bought with about 40k) because it was beginning to have alot of problems.
My '99 was near the eng of that chassis build (built in March '99) yet despite that there were alot of engineering problems. My rear main seal began leaking, my rockers cracked (common on DOHC due to poor lash adjuster design), and the frameless windows made me want to kill myself. The passenger side got to the point that whenever the pass door was opened and closed you would have to roll the window down a crack then back up to get it to seal (PITA with manual windows). When I took the car to the dealership and asked to get the windows adjusted they had no clue what I was talking about.
Its no suprise you hardly see a first generation Neon on the road anymore. I still do miss mine on occasion because it was still a hoot to drive.
My '99 was near the eng of that chassis build (built in March '99) yet despite that there were alot of engineering problems. My rear main seal began leaking, my rockers cracked (common on DOHC due to poor lash adjuster design), and the frameless windows made me want to kill myself. The passenger side got to the point that whenever the pass door was opened and closed you would have to roll the window down a crack then back up to get it to seal (PITA with manual windows). When I took the car to the dealership and asked to get the windows adjusted they had no clue what I was talking about.
Its no suprise you hardly see a first generation Neon on the road anymore. I still do miss mine on occasion because it was still a hoot to drive.
- Status
Similar threads
