I have an 1995 Plymouth Neon.. it has many many problems.. to start off my insrument cluster is not working. well only the speedometer, but i think im going to just buy a whole new one.. But to what is majorly wrong. It's all with the engine. IT burns oil, there's oil leaking from almost everywhere it seems, there is oil in where the spark plugs go. the spark plugs are like brown, burnt and orangeish.... the coolant lookes muddly or like there's oil in it.. i dont know what to do, what to fix how to fix it i just dont know what to do.. THe engine has well over 250,000miles on it and has never really been routinly serviced (its my G/f's cars, her moms old) and she didnt do much to it never changed oil, coolant just added more.. There a lot wrong... She cant even drive far becuase she only can get between 8-12 mpg. it's really bad and she doesnt a lot of money to fix it. Im using everything i have to fix what i can N i just want her to have something reliable and safe to drive. If ANYONE, i mean ANYONE can help me/us i'd REALLY appreiate it it'd mean a lot.... I dont know if i should just buy gaskets and seals N stuff or juss buy a used engine from an 95-99Neon PLEASE HELP PLEASE PLEASE

P.S: I dont know if this will help but someone said it could be the fuel filter, but someone told me its in the gas tank, then someone said you can rreplace it which is it? and could that be a problem too? the car smells liek rotten eggs when u stand buy it.. N the exhaust is always a smoky gray color N when u really step on it (it takes forever) but black N liek a blueish smoke bursts out..

PLease someone help me/help her , so she has something safe to drive in...

 

Wow, sounds like neglect is evident. Personally, for what its worth, I would get another engine from a junkyard or something. From your description it sounds like it would cheaper to just get a used engine from the junkyard.

Click HEre for how to fix the cluster.

Goodluck Sean

 

for starters dont go buying an instrument cluster just yet, there is a tutoral in forum about how to fix the cluster issue so read that and save some money, and if it doesnt work then head to the yard and get a used one. The oil where the sparks go could be that the seals are bad and can just be replaced along with a new valve cover gasket. before buying any other gaskets ( Headgasket ) you need to do some bad headgasket checking, like the oil in the antifreeze is a sign, and the smoke from the exhuast is another one, but there are many other checks as well, does it over heat? does the air go from cold to warm to cold again, and do you go through oil rather quickly, those are just some more checks, now the gas mileage issue, you stated that the car really hasnt had routine maintance, that could be the problem it's self, new sparks. plugs, air filter, oil change, fluid flush, new O2 sensors and other things would be a great start, and since you mentioned that the car had a lot of miles on it then it would also would be a good time to replace the timing belt, water pump, Head gasket ( if its not already the problem which your head would need to be milled to insure the proper seating of the new gasket,checked for cracks and the valves polish for proper seating) and probably a new radiator and new hoses as well. because they might be very brittle right about now with all of the miles on it and the maintance neglect a lot more stuff would need to be checked like suspension if it is the headgasket and your worried about money then you have an important choice to make, most likely if the headgasket is bad it will cost you about the same amount as a used engine then add anything else that might be wrong with it and you could be looking at a pretty penny, but this is only if you have a mechanic fix it instead of someone that you know will do a good job and knows what they are doing and wont charge as much, next the used engine can cost 350 and up and seeing how the car has well over 250,000 miles on it, a used engine swap would sound a lot better to go with, you can find one with less miles, and a good warrenty. and if you know someone that can put one in for you that would be even better. or go performance and get a better engine in that bad boy like a srt 4 and go buck crazy wild on the fun but that will take more work then putting in another 95 neon engine, that egg smell could be a clogged cat, and the fuel pump would cause some of the problems you stated, especially in combination with bad gas. thats a lot to read there and im sorry about that, those are just some possible answers and suggestions that could help, hope some of it can get you on the right track and good luck !!

 

I'm no expert, but couldn't you just start by updating the missing maintenence? New fluids, new plugs, new filters? It seems to me that this would be the cheapest place to start, and would be easier than replacing an engine.

Forgive me if you have already done all of this.

 

dude, i would just start looking at getting another neon. To do stuff like changing the water pump and timing belt as well as the head gasket you have to pretty damn good with a wrench. It is possible to do it yourself but if you end up having to take it to a shop your gonna be paying more to get the work done then you would for another newer neon. You could end up changing all the gaskets and then lose the oil pump, like you said it has over 250,000 hard neglected miles on it, its served its purpose.

Sorry its probably not what you want to hear, but that is my opinion.

 

Dogdaysunrise makes a good point. A car with 250k abusive miles is probably not worth puting any money into, unless you have an emotional connection with that particular car. For what it costs to make it safe and efficient, you could probably buy a newer, bigger, more reliable car.

 

i think that everyone is missing the point, he said they dont have very much money, so how could they go get a newer car, just go to a junk yard and spend a couple hundred dollars on a lower miles motor...i think that would be the cheapest and easiest way to go... and if you get a new motor you should change all the gaskets befor you put the motor in, that way you wont have a bad problem later, just make sure to change the head gasket, intake, water pump gaskets, timing belt, and rear main seal....then you wont have to worry about them later and those are the main ones

 

if it was me i'd do the following:
hose the eng off with some degreaser to see where the oil is comming from. if it's just the oil pan and valve cover you can live with it. change the plugs, air filter, and o2 sensor. drain the coolant and run a hose at full blast through the block and rad untill the water runs clear, fill it up with just plain water. start it up and let it run for a while(it WILL smoke because of the oil in your spark plug tubes). once the smoke goes away drive it around the block to see if that helped. look at the water in the rad and see if you find anything that souldn't be there. at this point you need to decide if you want a new motor or really fix what you have. with all the miles you NEED a new T-belt, water pump, and complete tune up. the above is the cheapest way to find out if the motor you have is worth anything. don't forget to put anti-freeze back in you car as just plain water WILL mess up your car some more if left too long. hope this helps, good luck.

 

exactly spud, just what i was talking about when I said that important choice, a newer car is gona cost you some money even a good used car acould cost you from ( depending on the situation ) 100 to 3,000 grand. and thats a used car not even new. the engine would cost less then the head gasket job, plus like you said while its out you can go through it and change gaskets and other things to avoid future problems, hope everything works out, good luck !!

 

There's more to consider here than just the engine. It has 250k and a poor service history. What is the condition of the suspension, brakes, transmission, body, tires, interior, etc. The engine may be drawing the most attention, but what happens when you drop the couple hundred on the part that is demanding immediate attention, just to find out "Oops, the transmission is trashed too." It could be a long and expensive journey.

I think it would be prudent to do the lowest cost maintenence possible (i.e. Tom's post), then look at the car as a whole. Decide if it is really worth the money and effort to bring it back from life support.