Hey all,

I have been doing a lot of research on this site lately and I must say it has been a big help. Lots of good info.

Anyways, this is my story. I have a 97 neon highline with an automatic and the SOHC 2 litre. The motor leaks all its fluids and has a wicked clack coming from the head. I decided to go after a vehicle at the local scrap yard auction and won a 95 neon with the same motor and the 5 speed manual. I have just finished pulling the motor and transaxle out of the 97 and am in the process of slowly preping the 95 for the same procedure. The motor and transaxle work great on the 95 (and it came with new brakes and tie-rods as a bonus) and I plan on putting it in my 97. Here is my concern. The PCM on the 95 looks nothing like the PCM on the 97 and has diffrent connections. Will the PCM from the 97 still work happily with the motor from the 95? or should I be searching for adapters to get the 95 into the 97?

Sorry for the long post. This is the first time I have worked on a newer motor like this, let alone a fwd.

Regards,

Mike

 

they have different connectors....you either have to change the wiring harness or all the sensors....they wont interchange or have an adapter

 

damn, not the answer I wanted to hear.

I guess it would be easiest to change the pcm and the sensors, seeing as how everything is coming from that car. I will have to take a deeper look into it this week ahead.

Thanks

 

95 PCM for 95's, 96 PCM for 96's and 97-99's interchange. You could do alt of splicing, but it isn't worth it. Why not get a Mopar performance PCM while you are at it?

 

To answer your question:

Yes, the PCM from the '97 will run the '95 motor. However, since the '97 PCM is for an auto, and it appears you are putting in a 5-speed, then you will get a Check Engine Light for the "missing" torque converter. This is easily fixed by using any '97-'99 5-speed PCM, which can be found for under $30 most of the time (PM me for links to try), or the above mentioned Mopar unit for $150ish used. You really don't need to go through the hassle of either swapping out a wiring harness or cutting and splicing for a different PCM. Yuck...

Many of the sensors/componenets (like fuel injectors) on the '95 will have different connectors. You can either cut and splice pigtails, or just swap out sensors/components. Minor issue.

I don't know why everyone thinks the '95 engine is so different... Just because the PCM is shaped differently doesn't mean it's a completely bastardized engine setup. The '95 SOHC head has a more aggressive cam, provisions for the catch-can style PCV setup, and the valve cover has the oil inlet on the opposite side (and no extra nipple for the PCV). The block is the same, except the main bearing tang slots are different (have to grind new ones if it comes to replacing them, they don't make the old style bearing anymore). That's it. Oh, steel oil pan instead of aluminum... Umm, coilpack mounting is on a bracket instead of the valve cover. Pretty sure that's it... Nothing that would make any other 1st gen PCM blink.

Best of luck!

 

Because it is different...different connections, seperate IAT and MAP sensors, not to mention the stuff you pointed out. I'm not saying it can't work, but if you don't know these things then it's easier to get the correct PCM. Not everyone has the same knowledge as you Radar [8D]

 

Like I said this car doesnt have a carb, so its new to me. If I found a 97-99 5 speed pcm would I still have to cut and splice all the sensor connections from my motor to fit the new PCM? Im not sure which way to go here.

 

if u get the 97-99 5 speed pcm you will have to just change all the sensors from the 95 with the sensors from your 97....not too much work..just time

 

or if I used my exsiting 97 pcm and swapped out the sensors I will have the same output just a SES light because of the missing TC?

 

yea that would work, but it might cause problems with starting and running the car