have a 2000 neon, SOHC I took the engine out 2 yrs ago due to poor maintenance from previous owner.. oil light kept coming on, turned out the return hole in the block was plugged completely,had to use a 12 in. drill bit & drill to remove clog once dismantled... I installed a crank kit, rings,high volume oil pump, gaskets & head bolts, also removed valves from head one at a time and replaced valve seals, new timing components, ran great, but now I hear 2-3 ticking valves now, have 13,000 miles on rebuild and still have the same ticking noise,no difference in sound, engine still runs great,I run full synthetic oil in it every oil change,tried 2 sets of rockers off newer neons that were totaled at the from salvage yard, same tick... no difference, tried marvel mystery oil, no difference, removed drive belts,no difference, any ideas before I decide to keep living with it?? also Im running solid mounts on it now, how much for all 4 OEM mounts from dealer?? anyone bought any of these?? ticks all the time,not just at idle

 

turns out the oil light problem is the oil pressure switch, I replaced it twice and it will last bout 3-4 months and start all over again.. so, I bought a oil pressure switch for a 1975 camaro w/a 350 ci. in it and went to a local hydraulic repair shop and bought a 1/8 npt female x 3/8 npt male reducing bushing for $2 bucks and installed the GM switch in my neon, the wire plugged right on to it.. the OP switch also has a 3 lb cut in same as the dodge switch, it has been a year & a half now and no more OP light problems.. it cured the oil light problem, however the ticking noise has turned out to be a broke & poor rebuild job.. the noise is not the valves, it is a piston slap, I wish I could have afford at the time to have the block bored and new pistons, but it has not got any worse, it gets 80 miles a-day on it 7 days a aweek, only uses 1/2 qt oil between oil changes.. Im satisfied, I am looking for another neon a 2000 to 2005, but in great shape with good paint.. I will be parking my 93 saturn SL2 for a while..

 

also the ticking noise is still here,never got any worse over all this time since the original post,it's a piston slap, shoulda had the block bored, cylinders are a little worn but no scratches or pittings