I have recently aquired a 97 neon SOHC that runs really well until it gets hot then it will start sputtering all the guages will quit working and then a couple minutes later it dies. It kinda acts like it is running out of gas. I pulled the throttle body and it is really nasty, and the intake seems to be the same. Any idea what causes this. Oh yeah the stuff in the throttle body looks almost like old grease really thick.

 

The greasy stuff is most likely old oil that has come from the valve cover via the emissions hose that runs from it to the air box where there is usually a small square sponge-like filter, saturated with oil from the valve cover. This would not cause your problem. Have you checked for codes yet, using the ignition and check engine light? It sounds most like an electrical problem since the gauges quit working before the engine dies. Something as simple as the alternator going bad could do such things and since the ignition takes most of the electrical energy it might kill everything but the engine before the engine dies, however it's unlikely and that's easy to check.

 

Ok I will check the codes and see what it spits out. thanks

 

i am putting my money on the PCM.