When I let off the gas in my 97 neon, the motor surges in the engine bay pretty violently. It is a surge like you get when you are first learning to drive a stick. I have also noticed a decrease in power recently and at idle my fuel injectors are making quite a bit of racket. I have replaced the front and passenger side motor mounts as well as the torque strut in the back. I have yet to replace the tranny mount. The check engine light has not gone off and I just did maintenance on the car 231 miles ago (oil, plugs, wires, air filter, brakes, motor mounts.) The car has 100,231 miles on it and the timing belt was changed at 79k. This is a newer problem that I thought motor mounts would cure.....to no avail. I have also noticed that the clutch is grabbing alot closer to the top of the pedal as well. Could this be the issue? Any words of wisdom on this would be great. Thanks

 

100k miles is a decent amount of miles on the clutch. They can make it to 150-175k (my first one did), but that's not the standard.

I use the old "5th gear" method to determine if the clutch is slipping. Sit in the driveway with the parking brake on, push in the clutch pedal, put the car in 5th gear, and slooooowwwwwlllly let off the clutch pedal. If your foot comes off the rubber and the car is running, it's time for a new clutch...

The neon has a self-adjusting clutch cable. It adjusts a small amount to compensate for clutch wear. Because of this design, the Neon's clutch pedal has a pretty high release point. Most people don't notice. Usually when there are problems with the cable it's the opposite, where the cable isn't adjusting properly and the release point is too low. Don't think it's that, but you can try "resetting" the cable. You'll have to find something to slip over the clutch cable at the pedal end (I use one of those plastic 3-way electrical connectors with the metal part pulled out), slip it between the firewall and the pedal, and put the pedal back towards the firewall (released position). You may hear a good "pop" if it's really, really tight... Technically, the cable is supposed to release tension every time you let the pedal out... Anywho... Now that the cable is completely loose, remove the makeshift insert, and you should have the pedal go all the way to the floor without ever grabbing the clutch. Try it a few times to make sure. If it does grab, then the cable is working properly. If not, go under the hood and give the clutch cable a good tug away from the firewall (grab on the tranny side of that big spring), and you should hear a few clicks. Try the pedal again, and keep going one click at a time until you're comfortable with the pedal height.

Lurching and jerking can also be caused by a faulty crankshaft position sensor, and may never throw a code. What happens is the sensor will lose its place for a rotation or two, which will trip off the ASD relay, which shuts off the fuel pump, injectors, O2 sensors, and coilpack. Usually it will shut off the car completely... sometimes not, if the sensor finds itself again fast enough. The sensor isn't remarkable expensive, but I'd wait on this until you've eliminated everything else. Drove us batty 4-5 years ago when it first happened (not to me though). Still hard to diagnose...

So, I'd try the clutch cable first, then decide if it's worth replacing the clutch (even if it isn't completely worn). If the new clutch is in and it's still jerking around, then I'd try the crank sensor.

If your car uses a modular clutch, you can usually get the PT Cruiser (non-turbo) clutch for less money - under $250 from www.dodgeparts.com or other discount dealerships.

Best of luck!

 

Thanks for the insight, and not the Honda kind. I will try the clutch cable thing first and take it from there. And of course, if anyone else has any suggestions, any and all are appreciated!! Thanks!

 

My car does have a modular clutch setup and I have been toying with the idea of switching to a standard setup when the time comes. I wouldn't mind having a lightened flywheelAre there any ill effects or problems with putting a 95 neon clutch/flywheel (standard) into a 97 (modular)? I think it is odd that Chrysler would change in mid run to the modular setup, and then change back to standard for the 2nd gen cars....wierd.

 

All the clutches I've seen in the 2nd gens are the same modular one-piece style. Last I knew, all of the 2nd gens were modular.

Converting to a regular clutch wouldn't be all that hard. You'd just take off the flexplate from the crank (modular clutch attaches to it), and install the flywheel instead, and the rest of the clutch assembly on top of that (using that silly alignment tool). You could probably find someone willing to buy the old flexpate and attachment bolts for a swap in the other direction on ebay ($15-20, but hey...).