I'm looking at a 97 DOHC/MTX neon today and the owner has no idea if the head gasket or timing belt has ever been done. Is there any tell-tale sign showing that the newer head gasket is there?

Anything else I should look for specific to 1st gen Neons?

Thanks!
GOY

(Yes, searched )

 

is the car running? how many miles does it have on it? the neons are notorious for oil leaks at the rear main seal(gasket between the tranny and engine)

my timing belt/waterpump died at around 120-130k miles

 

130k. Runs great. Good to know about the rear main leak, I'm going to have to pay special attention to that. Is the 420 an interference engine? (If the timing belt goes, do the valve and pistons "Meet" in a thunderous destruction of aluminum?)

Thanks again,
GOY

 

yes and its not really considered a 420a

 

yep my valves got bent in the process. so i got another head as well. And yes i would say that our neons are interference engines.

 

oops, I thought it was a 420a since most of the articles I've gone over refer to it that way. I think Hahn Racecraft did as well.

Just out of curiosity, what is dodge's internal code for the engine?

 

"Neon 2.0 DOHC (Engine code: ECC) and Avenger/Sebring/Eclipse/Talon2.0 DOHC (Engine code: 420a) are different. Similar, but different. In other words your neon does not have a 420a engine. This is a common misconception among new 1st gen DOHC owners. The 420a head is unique and has reversed flow; The exhaust manifold sits in front of the car and wraps down in front of, then under the engineblock.The air intake is routed behind the engine towards the rear of the compartment to enter the head. Many bottom end parts for a 420a will work for the ECC such as pistons, rods, timing components, bearings, head gasket, etc. Another common swap is for neon owners touse the valve cover from the 420a (which is has raised lettering that reads: "DOHC 2.0L 16 VALVE."[Also note that the neon DOHC (ECC) shares only its cylinder head in common with one other engine: theChrysler 2.4 DOHC engine found in the 1st gen stratus, caravan, etc. They are the exact same casting number. If you look at the back of the cam gears on the ECC's head, they read "2.4 front." This is because the gears are flippedwhen used on the 2.4 DOHC. The camshafts, however, are different. Thebottom endon the 2.4 is also different. It has a longer stroke and produces more torque. It is also popular to swap the 2.4 DOHC into 1st gen neons."

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-neon/154570-information-for-a-2-0-engine-swap-sohc-to-dohc.html

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-neon/68965-1st-gen-faq-s.html

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/eb80234.htm

 

if you can see some of the gasket sticking out, the new gasket is a MLS type and it has metal in it. but that just tells you if the head gasket was changed, it doesnt indicate if the timing belt was. you should just change the timing belt, tensioner and the water pump to be safe.