hey everyone i have a 96 dodge neon sohc and i can get a dohc for 100 bucks from a friend. does the head just swap on ? i know i will need the ecu but thats not a problem . can the heads swap out ? what is need for it to swap out . thanks for any help .

 

Hey man I have a SOHC 95 neon and am having the head gasket replaced. The mechanic told me it is a good thing it is not a DOHC or the parts would be twice the price and labor so I doubt it would work but that is just my experience.
good luck

 

Leave it B. Not a good Idea in my opion.

 

ok i'll let it be . i was thinkin bout the twice the price thing . the motor it self is torn down to the bare block . i ned to bring it to the machone shop to get it cleaned and bored . anything else i should do to it while its there?

 

As far as the block is concerned, they are the same. However the pistons might be a lil different compression ratio. for some reason the SOHC and DOHC have different comp. ratios. It might just be cause of the shape of the head though. If you've got all the parts, I'd say go for it. but if your having to buy new cams, then forget. Besides, for a stock application, the SOHC is a lot more durable than the DOHC. The SOHC takes a beating and keeps on ticking, the DOHC's are prone to valvetrain wear. Mine dropped a valve at 19,000 miles, due to a bad rocker arm, and thats not the only one I've seen do that. It just depends on what you plan on doing with the motor.... Power? or durability?

 

Easy swap. YOu need the DOHC timing covers, and the extra belt pulley (the stationary one). You need a cam sensor for a DOHC, and you have to lengthen the wires to the water temp sensor, since it is on the other side of the engine. I have done a lot of them. Of course you need the intake and exhaust as they are different. YOu don't really have to change the computer if you don't want to but it is recommended.

Here is a photo of a 2nd generation DOHC swap.

 

Don't forget, a DOHC head on an otherwise stock SOHC block is going to drop compression a good half point...

 

Fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its a great thing if you are trying to put a turbo on a SOHC

 

other than that it just sucks

 

<--- Planning on a SOHC block, DOHC head turbo project for later this summer...