engine life of a 1997 dodge neon
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
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engine life of a 1997 dodge neon
I know noone can predict the future, and considering small things keep going out on this car,
i'm expecting the engine to go next. I figure the speedometer is counting down for me. The 0-35 backlight went out a few months ago,
the 35-70 speedometer light just went out, I figure by the time I have no idea how fast i'm going at night, the engine will be die.
Anyhow,
I take this 1997 neon dohc w/manual trans. 80 miles a day to/from work. One headgasket, one exhaust manifold, rough idle, and 189,000 miles later its still going. I was wondering how the hell has this thing lasted so long, and should I expect it to reach 200,000?
(i'm already planning on either buying a rebuilt engine, buying a broken engine and rebuilding it, or screaming very loudly in despair when I find out I have no idea how to drop in a new engine!)
Has anyonee else had a stock engine with minimal repairs done to it last this long?
Oh yeah, the kicker... I just replaced the radiator after 2 years of random overheating. Yes, about 5 overheats, nothing too bad, but on this engine that can't be good! (took me 2 years and a few thermostats to figure out the damned radiator was jammed up. Me the same person who wants to rebuild an engine...)
The rough idle would probably either be my bosch-4 platinum plugs [:-] or my ignition coil, but thats for another day.
i'm expecting the engine to go next. I figure the speedometer is counting down for me. The 0-35 backlight went out a few months ago,
the 35-70 speedometer light just went out, I figure by the time I have no idea how fast i'm going at night, the engine will be die.
Anyhow,
I take this 1997 neon dohc w/manual trans. 80 miles a day to/from work. One headgasket, one exhaust manifold, rough idle, and 189,000 miles later its still going. I was wondering how the hell has this thing lasted so long, and should I expect it to reach 200,000?
(i'm already planning on either buying a rebuilt engine, buying a broken engine and rebuilding it, or screaming very loudly in despair when I find out I have no idea how to drop in a new engine!)
Has anyonee else had a stock engine with minimal repairs done to it last this long?
Oh yeah, the kicker... I just replaced the radiator after 2 years of random overheating. Yes, about 5 overheats, nothing too bad, but on this engine that can't be good! (took me 2 years and a few thermostats to figure out the damned radiator was jammed up. Me the same person who wants to rebuild an engine...)
The rough idle would probably either be my bosch-4 platinum plugs [:-] or my ignition coil, but thats for another day.
Record Breaker
Joined: Mar 2005
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From:
RE: engine life of a 1997 dodge neon
Check the sticky on the main Neon forum on why you shouldn't run platinum plugs on the neon (or any other DIS car). I've been using Bosch's copper plugs at a buck a piece for quite a while now.
I'm coming up on 239k miles with plenty of stock parts, including the coilpack, fuel pump, rear drums, one of the axles
... The original engine didn't survive being stolen... the current one I'm sure is at least past 125k miles and runs like a champ. With regular maintenance and fixing problems promptly, the engine can last a very long time. Longest I know of personally is a delivery driver in NYC, passed the 500k mile mark last I talked to him 8 months ago or so.
You can pick up a spare long block pretty cheap. neons.org and www.car-parts.com are usually the best places to find them. Any thought given to building the engine up a little bit? Turbo maybe? Swapping in the bigger 2.4L?
The bulbs are pretty easy to replace. To get the instrument cluster out, just push up hard on the dash to pop it loose, then there's 4 screws holding it in. Slides right out. Bulbs are easy to get to on the back of the cluster. Dealer probably carries the bulbs, but will charge more. You can get the bulb holders and spare bulbs (194?) at a parts store, but the orientation of the leads on the bulb holders are off a tad from what is installed from the factory... bit of an annoyance until you get it in the right place...
The problem with overheating is the cast iron block/aluminum head combo. But if you've already done the head gasket and it's the multi-layer steel (MLS) style, then a couple of overheats won't matter much. You didn't mention if the timing belt had been done though... Recommended at 105k miles, I'd be very surprised to see one last 190k miles. water pump and tensioner parts should be replaced at the same time.
Best of luck!
I'm coming up on 239k miles with plenty of stock parts, including the coilpack, fuel pump, rear drums, one of the axles
... The original engine didn't survive being stolen... the current one I'm sure is at least past 125k miles and runs like a champ. With regular maintenance and fixing problems promptly, the engine can last a very long time. Longest I know of personally is a delivery driver in NYC, passed the 500k mile mark last I talked to him 8 months ago or so.You can pick up a spare long block pretty cheap. neons.org and www.car-parts.com are usually the best places to find them. Any thought given to building the engine up a little bit? Turbo maybe? Swapping in the bigger 2.4L?
The bulbs are pretty easy to replace. To get the instrument cluster out, just push up hard on the dash to pop it loose, then there's 4 screws holding it in. Slides right out. Bulbs are easy to get to on the back of the cluster. Dealer probably carries the bulbs, but will charge more. You can get the bulb holders and spare bulbs (194?) at a parts store, but the orientation of the leads on the bulb holders are off a tad from what is installed from the factory... bit of an annoyance until you get it in the right place...
The problem with overheating is the cast iron block/aluminum head combo. But if you've already done the head gasket and it's the multi-layer steel (MLS) style, then a couple of overheats won't matter much. You didn't mention if the timing belt had been done though... Recommended at 105k miles, I'd be very surprised to see one last 190k miles. water pump and tensioner parts should be replaced at the same time.
Best of luck!
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3
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RE: engine life of a 1997 dodge neon
Wow, that was one hell of a response, thank you.
I'm on my 3rd timing belt, second water pump. I can't say i've been perfect with the maintenance, but oil changes between 3 and 6k miles.
With close to 0$ left over at the end of every month, im paranoid this car will ruin my day someday soon.
I have to replace the antifreeze this weekend since the mixture is off significantly, I might as well pull the plugs too.
Glad to hear that one car is up to 500k. Did you say that was the original engine? no rebuild? or with rebuild? Its the rebuild part that scares me. If I don't have to remove the engine from the car, I can definitely pull pieces out and replace them, i'm not sure about removing the engine and everything that goes along with that though.
I can change brakes, pads, calipers, radiators, thermostats (when I don't rip the head off the thermostat housing bolt!)
i'm just totally unsure about the engine.
I'm just a computer programmer who's never taken any official course on engines, and only has the service manual to go by. (hanes, chiltons And chryslers)
Laugh..original drums, yep, here too..I was starting to wonder about those.
Forgot i'm also eating oil at about 2 quarts between oil changes. I keep forgetting the little nuances of this car that remind me its nowhere near new anymore. But thats probably for another post, on another day.
I'm on my 3rd timing belt, second water pump. I can't say i've been perfect with the maintenance, but oil changes between 3 and 6k miles.
With close to 0$ left over at the end of every month, im paranoid this car will ruin my day someday soon.
I have to replace the antifreeze this weekend since the mixture is off significantly, I might as well pull the plugs too.
Glad to hear that one car is up to 500k. Did you say that was the original engine? no rebuild? or with rebuild? Its the rebuild part that scares me. If I don't have to remove the engine from the car, I can definitely pull pieces out and replace them, i'm not sure about removing the engine and everything that goes along with that though.
I can change brakes, pads, calipers, radiators, thermostats (when I don't rip the head off the thermostat housing bolt!)
i'm just totally unsure about the engine.
I'm just a computer programmer who's never taken any official course on engines, and only has the service manual to go by. (hanes, chiltons And chryslers)
Laugh..original drums, yep, here too..I was starting to wonder about those.
Forgot i'm also eating oil at about 2 quarts between oil changes. I keep forgetting the little nuances of this car that remind me its nowhere near new anymore. But thats probably for another post, on another day.
Record Breaker
Joined: Mar 2005
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From:
RE: engine life of a 1997 dodge neon
I know the guy had the head gasket go, as most cars from that year did... Pretty sure it never had a rebuild. Abused the heck out of it too. Think his oil/filter change frequency was once a year or so...
Pulling the engine isn't really that much of a deal. Takes longer to remove the intake/exhaust manifolds, all the hoses and electrical stuff than it does to pull and put back in. With a cherry picker and a friend to help out, an entire engine swap can be done in a weekend, probably less time than a head gasket.
2 quarts is quite a bit. So many things it could be though... piston rings, valve seals, rear main seal, etc. None of which are particularly fun jobs... Oddly, all can be done without having to pull the engine.
I'm not really a mechanic either, even though I used to play one in the Navy... Now I make microchips
Pulling the engine isn't really that much of a deal. Takes longer to remove the intake/exhaust manifolds, all the hoses and electrical stuff than it does to pull and put back in. With a cherry picker and a friend to help out, an entire engine swap can be done in a weekend, probably less time than a head gasket.
2 quarts is quite a bit. So many things it could be though... piston rings, valve seals, rear main seal, etc. None of which are particularly fun jobs... Oddly, all can be done without having to pull the engine.
I'm not really a mechanic either, even though I used to play one in the Navy... Now I make microchips