I am looking at a 98, 5 speed, SOHC. It has 55,000 miles, and has had 1 owner, a girl just getting out of college. I know her dad, he says they have never had any oil leakage.

Question: Should I worry about the head gasket going soon? I have been reading around the web, and seeing all kinds of complaints about them. What is the real failure rate?

Also, if I buy it (for my daughter) should I just chnage the original gasket out as a precaution?

I will probably do all the other precautions on a used car, plugs and plug wires, fuel filter, look at the breaks, and maybe shocks.

Any other thoughts?

 

It's a first-gen Neon.......If they've never changed the Head Gasket....there is a 99% chance you will at some point!

 

Easiest way to tell if the gasket has been changed is look between intake runners (Passenger Side) 1 and 2 if you see a metal tab sticking out between the head and the block with I believe 3 copper rivets in it then the head gasket ahs been changed and you don't have to worry about it.

If you see no tab then the gasket ahs not been changed and you will need to change it.

 

Crazy,

Since I will be paying $3,500 to $4,000 for the car, should I point this out to lower the cost?

I am in the south, so this car has no snow days on it, no salt driving, etc. I haven't checked it out yet, but it is probably in good shape.

Would you do the replacement right away, or wait until it does leak? It sounds like ther is a small chance it wouldn't. I would like to keep the car for my daughter and my son to learn how to drive, which means another 5 to 7 years.

 

As far as I know, it's not the SOHC that has the head gasket problem as much as the DOHC.
The problem is that Dodge installed a paper style headgasket from the factory on the 1st gen.

 

Anything 95-99 & some 00's SOHC or DOHC had paper gasket's installed from the factory.

Like Squee said, the only way to tell is to look.
Chances are if you dont leak now, it was already done.

 

The '98 neon has been rumored to have a great head gasket as compared to 95,96,97. It has been said that they last up to 100k miles.

 

The MLS gasket didn't go into production until late in 98, well into the 99 year build. So the 98's do not come with the MLS HG.

*edit* wow, I didn't realize this post was almost two years old.