2003 Dodge Neon - Tips and Tricks for a Newbie
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2003 Dodge Neon - Tips and Tricks for a Newbie
Hi all,
I just bought a 2003 Dodge Neon (It says SX 2.0 on the manual). It needs a few repairs, some I'm pretty confident that I can fix myself (with instructions) and some I am sure I will need to go to a mechanic. Problems I know it's having,
- The engine has a problem with oil somewhere. I test drove it and it was running fine, drove it for about 20 mins. We checked the dip stick after the test run and it was just a min so we put about half a little container of oil in it. On the drive home (highway - 90 km) about halfway through the drive home I noticed it running rough, it was still switching gears fine but it was shaking slightly and the engine was louder (that could be the muffler since it is falling off and has a crack). I got it home around 7 pm and since it was dark I didn't look at the oil until the next morning and at that point it wasn't showing on the dip stick. I put more oil in to just about min (if it is leaking I didn't want to waste a bunch of oil) I just went out and checked it (about 24 hours after I put the oil in) and it is in the same spot as yesterday, I have not run the vehicle since I was told that I can blow my engine. My uncle says that I am burning off oil really quick, not necessarily that I am leaking oil. On the right back side of the engine underneath is really dirty with oil, it's over a lot of the cables and a little pooling in this metal catching thing ( i don't know how to describe it, its part of some other part of the engine that makes a dip and the oil collected there), I don't know if that is connected to the problem or just something that happens. I know I am probably going to have to take this to a mechanic, I just want to know the things that they are doing to try and sell me on being a girl that doesn't know all that much about cars.
- My friend plugged in one of those diagnostic things and it threw 3 codes, Cam shaft position sensor A bank 1 - Circuit malfunction and CKT intermittent and Coolant temp below thermostat regulating temp, which my uncle told me that I have to replace the thermostat and he said I could do that myself (it also goes through a lot of coolant, could that be the problem?).
- my uncle said to check the tranny fluid and see if it smelled burnt, i smelled it and it stunk but i don't think it was burnt, it wasn't a bright red, more of a orangey red. also it is a little low (I know to check it while warm) but I don't know how to put more in, also don't know if that is something I should do myself (the grand am's dip stick was in the cap of the fluid)
- my dad said to check the PVC valve and I knew how to do that on my grand am but I don't know where everything is on this engine, if you guys have any links to pictures of the engine that you trust that would be great (I know the internet is resourceful but it can also be too much information and I want something from a source that can be trusted as I am going to try and fix some of these things myself)
- the car pulls to the right when the brakes are applied, my uncle said that could be the calliper, which I did help my dad replace on my room mates car (she drove it from west coast of BC to Calgary over the rockys with little to no brake pads, by the time it got to calgary it had no pads (almost no metal left) the routers on both sides were worn down, one only had about a quarter of an inch left and that side the calliper was almost completely done, the 'claws' were just down to little slivers of metal. Thankfully I learned that lesson not on my car lol)
I am quite a handy person in all other aspects of my life but cars have freaked me out for the longest time (when I first got my grand am I didn't want to stand near a running engine with the hood popped, i thought it was going to explode, i've gotten over that but I still get freaked out when it makes a weird noise while the hood is open.) I want to learn how to maintain my cars myself as much as I can, I learned a few things with my grand am but I had people who walked me through what everything was in that engine and I don't really have that luxury here.
The problem with the oil was not apparent when I test drove it and I'm not happy that it showed its cards after I paid for it (I did only pay $500 for it so I knew I was going to have to put some money into it)
Any help you guys could give me would be so great, I don't mind reading up on things or running out to my car and taking pictures, I am willing to learn, I just need to know where to start!
I just bought a 2003 Dodge Neon (It says SX 2.0 on the manual). It needs a few repairs, some I'm pretty confident that I can fix myself (with instructions) and some I am sure I will need to go to a mechanic. Problems I know it's having,
- The engine has a problem with oil somewhere. I test drove it and it was running fine, drove it for about 20 mins. We checked the dip stick after the test run and it was just a min so we put about half a little container of oil in it. On the drive home (highway - 90 km) about halfway through the drive home I noticed it running rough, it was still switching gears fine but it was shaking slightly and the engine was louder (that could be the muffler since it is falling off and has a crack). I got it home around 7 pm and since it was dark I didn't look at the oil until the next morning and at that point it wasn't showing on the dip stick. I put more oil in to just about min (if it is leaking I didn't want to waste a bunch of oil) I just went out and checked it (about 24 hours after I put the oil in) and it is in the same spot as yesterday, I have not run the vehicle since I was told that I can blow my engine. My uncle says that I am burning off oil really quick, not necessarily that I am leaking oil. On the right back side of the engine underneath is really dirty with oil, it's over a lot of the cables and a little pooling in this metal catching thing ( i don't know how to describe it, its part of some other part of the engine that makes a dip and the oil collected there), I don't know if that is connected to the problem or just something that happens. I know I am probably going to have to take this to a mechanic, I just want to know the things that they are doing to try and sell me on being a girl that doesn't know all that much about cars.
- My friend plugged in one of those diagnostic things and it threw 3 codes, Cam shaft position sensor A bank 1 - Circuit malfunction and CKT intermittent and Coolant temp below thermostat regulating temp, which my uncle told me that I have to replace the thermostat and he said I could do that myself (it also goes through a lot of coolant, could that be the problem?).
- my uncle said to check the tranny fluid and see if it smelled burnt, i smelled it and it stunk but i don't think it was burnt, it wasn't a bright red, more of a orangey red. also it is a little low (I know to check it while warm) but I don't know how to put more in, also don't know if that is something I should do myself (the grand am's dip stick was in the cap of the fluid)
- my dad said to check the PVC valve and I knew how to do that on my grand am but I don't know where everything is on this engine, if you guys have any links to pictures of the engine that you trust that would be great (I know the internet is resourceful but it can also be too much information and I want something from a source that can be trusted as I am going to try and fix some of these things myself)
- the car pulls to the right when the brakes are applied, my uncle said that could be the calliper, which I did help my dad replace on my room mates car (she drove it from west coast of BC to Calgary over the rockys with little to no brake pads, by the time it got to calgary it had no pads (almost no metal left) the routers on both sides were worn down, one only had about a quarter of an inch left and that side the calliper was almost completely done, the 'claws' were just down to little slivers of metal. Thankfully I learned that lesson not on my car lol)
I am quite a handy person in all other aspects of my life but cars have freaked me out for the longest time (when I first got my grand am I didn't want to stand near a running engine with the hood popped, i thought it was going to explode, i've gotten over that but I still get freaked out when it makes a weird noise while the hood is open.) I want to learn how to maintain my cars myself as much as I can, I learned a few things with my grand am but I had people who walked me through what everything was in that engine and I don't really have that luxury here.
The problem with the oil was not apparent when I test drove it and I'm not happy that it showed its cards after I paid for it (I did only pay $500 for it so I knew I was going to have to put some money into it)
Any help you guys could give me would be so great, I don't mind reading up on things or running out to my car and taking pictures, I am willing to learn, I just need to know where to start!