Started my 2001 Neon SE with the 2.0L this morning to head to work, and unlike the night before when it ran fine, I had very little power and extra engine noise that sounded similar to a PS pump under load (but not feeling anything bad through the steering wheel). Nothing violent during cranking, no squealing, no CEL (yet), no oil light, no shaking or vibration (I resealed the spark tubes a couple years ago after one leaked, and the mounts have never been an issue). It sounded a little grindy, but not violently so.

Turned if off and on again . Same thing, not a startup fluke (out of 1000 starts, maybe one or two are a little rough, and restarting immediately solves the issue). Turned if off, pushed it back to its spot, and took the bus to work like a chump.

Just got home, about to crawl underneath and see what I can see, but I figured I'd get this thread started while I'm down there. It rained today, so it was hard to tell if it was leaking anything. Engine has 190k on it, but it's always been such a trooper!

Thanks!

 

Visual inspection finds no obvious external damage. Plug wires are snug and not fouled. Belts are all intact and in their proper place. Oil is low, but not enough to kick on the light, and that's been typical of this engine for years now, and I hadn't topped it off this month yet.

Gonna top off the oil and start it again with the camera rolling.

EDIT: Aaand now it's hailing.

EDIT: Here's a video with the noise. It's harder to hear inside the car, so there's separate angle from inside the engine bay. There's a bit of "rumble" in the audio, but I think that's because the mic is resting on the airbox.

 

Power steering hose and sensor blew out all the PS fluid, and the noise is the PS pump. Replaced leaking components and fluid and she's good as new!

 

Glad you got it fixed. Thanks for reporting back.