Does a 99 have a fuel filter and where would it be located?

 

No fuel filter on a 99. 95 and some 96's had them and they were right at the tank near the rear passenger tire.

 

The fuel filter on a 1995 model is external to the tank and located beside the rear passenger tire by the fuel tank. Easy to replace.

The fuel filter for 1996 - 1999 is INSIDE the tank. You have to empty the tank as best you can, take out two bolts to drop the tank down, take the entire all in one assembly out of the tank - guage, filter, etc. as a unit.

Now it is possible to find just a filter to replace the stopped up one, but most places just sell the entire assembly, so check around.

 

Just to get another person in on it, the fuel filter is inside the tank like bg1995 says.

 

98 Dodge Neon 2 DR coupe highline - DOHC

I also have become aware that my fuel filter is part of the fuel pump and can not be easily replaced.

I am getting about 14-16 mpg city ..20 all highway to new york.

No codes are being thrown, have used numerous fuel injector cleaners seafoam, techron, lucas, shell, and a few others(not really any help), do you reccomend buying a new pump so that I can get the new filter it runs about 250 at auto part store, and then having someone install it for another 200$? will it make a difference on gas mielage? or would you start somewhere else trying to figure out the prob with gas mielage, any help appreciated, thank you. also in morning there is a "whooshing liquid sounds coming from underneath car as soon as i turn key, even before i start it, it goes away but is weird, no visible leaks.. thank you. one other thing.. when i start up car in morning.. cold morninings here in PA now that winter is here.. very strong gas smell for first 5-10 mins then just turns to steam water and no more smell.. i read somewhere that , it may be running rich that may mean..but why no code to let me know if an o2 sensor is bad?

 

The liquid whooshing sound you hear when you turn on the key is the sound of the fuel pump bringing the fuel pressure up to (hopefully) the nominal level for operation. It lasts about 2-3 seconds in most cases.

If the pump were starving the system, it would run bad and not have much power, not get bad gas mileage. If the filter was clogged, same thing.

The fact that you are getting such awful gas mileage makes me wonder if you have had a compression test and a leakdown test to see if you have some issues with the engine itself (low compression on 1 or more cylinders, bad/bent/clogged valves, etc. How many miles on the engine (which may be different from the car if it has ever been rebuilt) and what work has ever been done on it?

As for no codes being thrown, the CEL light does not come on for all errors, so unless you have had someone put an ODB-II reader on the port, there may be some codes in the system that can at least point to a potential problem area. Have it checked.

A cold engine in a cold environment will run rich until it warms up, as the PCM will "choke" a cold engine much like the old time "automatic choke" closes when cold on a 1967 Dodge Dart with a slant 6 225 engine to give it more gas. So a gas smell is not necessarily a problem and since you say it goes away, it may not be a problem.

 

I have an OBD-2 reader, no codes, and did the key dance the no codes besides everythings in working order code,

How can I have a compression test done? Is that a lot of $?

Should I start with replacing both upstream/downstream sensors?
Then try fuel pump?

Then compression test??

the engine i believe is orginal and has 116 k on it

 

I don't know how much money you care to spend, or what your skill level may be, but you can quickly do a compression test yourself. It is good that you don't have any error codes, but that does not always tell the whole story. A decent mechanic should be able to do both tests for you in under an hour and charge you no more the 1 hour of labor to do it - somewhere between $75 and $100 depending on where you take it and the local area rate for mechanics.

1) Go to an Autozone, Advance, OReilly, or Napa parts store and get yourself the Haynes repair manual - about $25. Best money you'll spend if you plan on keeping the car a long time and doing your own work.

2) Go to someplace like Harbor Freight Tools. They have some fairly decent tools at good prices with good warranties and won't cost you out the ying yang like Craftsman tools at Sears can. I have never had a problem with them not honoring my warranty for my wrenches, and other items I bought from them. A compression tester is $10 and a leakdown tester is $30. Both are excellent tools to diagnose compression and ring issues as well as valve and cylinder head issues.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92697

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94190

3) For the compression test, remove each of the spark plugs (one at a time) and screw the compression tester fitting into its place (takes some doing, but it can be done). Unplug the wire going into the coil pack so it won't crank. Turn the car engine over (try to crank it) for about 3-4 seconds. The readout on the dial should be somewhere in the 150 - 190psi range. I don't remember the service limit on a Neon engine, but I think its 154psi. Write down the cylinder number and reading you get. Repeat for all 4 cylinders. In the end, you don't want to be below the service limit on any cylinder, or have a wide range of readings between the cylinders where it varies more then about 20%. So if you have three cylinders at 175 and one or more at 135, you have a set of bad rings and its rebuild time. If all 4 are at or below the service limit, then you just have a worn out engine and its rebuild time. Since your car may only have 116K on it, you really shouldn't have a worn out ring problem unless the car just hasn't been properly maintained, but it happens.

However, with 116K on your motor, your valves may be gummed up and sticking, wornout oil seals, bad valve seats, bad springs, etc. and could be causing you to burn more gas then normal. The leakdown test takes more time, but is done in basically the same manner as the compression test. If it indicates a problem with maintaining the pressure inside one or more of the cylinders, then you need to yank the head and have it redone.

If you are not getting O2 error readings, then you most likely do not need O2 sensors, but go ahead and check the wires to both sensors because it seems there has been a rash of worn wires that can cause various problems. If you have any worn wires, you can resplice them and move them out of harms way.

On your car, the fuel pump, fuel level sending unit, and fuel filter are all integrated into one package that you replace as a unit and costs about $150 bucks depending on where you buy one - try rockauto.com or partsgeek.com as well as the other local places. Prices vary wildly. Don't replace it unless you do the other checks.

To do it, you have to drain the tank as best you can, undo a couple of bolts on the gas tank holding it up, drop it down and pull out the unit from the top of the tank.

Just as an FYI, if your car has not had a timing belt replaced sometime during the 116K, it is now time to do it - and especially if you need an engine rebuild and or head job.