Hi all,
I'm a newbie here. Been reading a lot about problems with others Neons. I have a question for ya.

I own a 97' Plymouth Neon 2 dr SOHC, w/ about 75000 miles on it.
I think I have all the common problems at once ( water pump, head gasket, valve cover gasket, misfire on two cylinders), and am trying to figure out if it is worth fixing.
I haven't even owned the car 3000 miles since I bought it at a local used car dealer.

It first had the misfire on two cylinders. so I brought it back and bought some wires and plugs. I just got whatever the guy at Autozone reccomended as the best for my car. So I bought 8mm wires, and platinum plugs, and had the local dealer I bought it from fix the car.

Next week I drive it again, and the oil light comes on. I replace some oil time to time.

Then today the water pump dumped all the coolant out of the car, the car overheated and started making strange sounds. I managed to get it home (about 3/4 mile @ 35mph) but it was really hot. The dash starting beeping and smoke was billowing out of the engine bay.

Was there enough time to completely destroy any engine enternals, or should I just try and get everything fixed?

How much total in repair from a mechanic am I looking at?

How long should this car last if I get this done?

Oh yeah, I may need CVs too. I hear a clicking when the wheels are turned.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

 

your best bet is to find a good used engine you should be able to find that for under 500... drop it in and call it good... from what you describe it sound like your engine is done...

 

The motors trashed. And platnum plugs dont work on Neons for future reference.

 

Found this site about a week after I got it back from them changing the plugs and wires , and found that out.

Didn't drive it much cuz my main transport is my motorcycle. Thought it would be fine, just drive it when it rains or gets too cold.

I haven't even put 3K on his thing.

Then boom, your done.




I dunno, after driving this thing, I kinda want to keep it. It handles like crazy. I live in the mountains in TN and it's perfect for the roads around here.

If I had 2K, what could I do to my car besides fix it?

Oh yeah, I'm not interested in power, just suspension, and reliability.

 

Your motor is toast. You are going to need to have the whole motor done. Your best bet is to get a junkyard motor and drop it in. As for upgrades, with $2000 have the motor and trans rebuilt and get a good pair of springs and struts.

 

I guess for handleing that depends on how far you want to go if you want all out handling and don't mind a rough ride buy yourself a full coil over setup (like the kws not that ebay ****), prothane full bushing kit, some strut bars, and the eibach sway bars and you'll be set to carve corners like no other.... if you want a nicer ride with some really decent handling or you don't want to spend as much money run the KYB GR2 Struts and some h&r or mopar performance springs instead of the coilovers...

 

So, I spoke w/ our mechanic. He said $1600 for a low mileage engine, pulled from a junkyard, installed w/ a 90 day warranty for $1600.

1st, is this a good deal for the engine change, and the cost of the engine?

2nd, if I do, go ahead and try to save her, what other preventative maintenance should I do?

I may be able to get 2.5K but that is pushing it.

Oh, FYI there is no possibility of me doing this, I have not the space, the time, nor the tools for this.

If I did I would be all over it!

 

i have a 98 plymouth - its got 135,000 miles on it, the guy we bought it from said he wanted to give up on fixing it for us, but enventually got it all working correctly. we replaced the entire engine in it. it still has common problems like lights going out and crap like that but these cars are totally worth keeping.