Hello, i have a 2002 Neon with 2.0 engine. It has more or less 72,000 miles.
From some time it is developing a bad noise at start, it sounds to me as a lack of lubrication, the duration if this is during the first minute only. When the car is in operating temperature, it starts and sounds good.
The car weared different types of oil viscosities in the last few years (each tech shop puts a different oil and they say that it is very good...) it has used: 5w40, 10w40 and right now has 10w30.
Do you think this noise can be fixed using other oil viscosity? Should i use thinner or thicker? 5w30? 0w30? 5w20? 0w20? 15w40?

 

No replies yet so will see if I can get things started.

I see your in Spain, so don't know what Dodge specified for your 2.0L engine over there then, but our 2000 Neon owner manual recommended 5W-30 here in the USA, & that's what has always been used year round.
The smoothest & quietest has been on the latest SP/GF-6 recipe of Havoline 5W-30, with the oversized Motorcraft FL-400S oil filter, that stopped the cold start-up rattle it always had with the specified short Mopar oil filter.

SO, a number of things belong on the suspect list, thus it might be helpful to have a more descriptive wording of what the noise sounds like. Is it a tapping, knocking, screeching, squealing, or scraping sound & is it coming from the top, middle or bottom, drivers, or passenger side of the engine & did it come about suddenly after some event, or slowly over time?

Consider using your smart phone to make 2 audio & video recordings, one with & one without the troubling sound & post them up, might be easier to do & we could all hear the sound & see where it seems to be the loudest.
It could be a accessory bearing, or slipping drive belt, or sludge in the engine causing a cold oil flow problem to the engine top end & OHC engines like oil flow to the top end without delay. EDIT: Forgot to say, also add a faulty oil filter anti-drainback valve to the suspect list.

Some beginning thoughts for consideration, let us know what you find.

 

Well EagleScreen, how is the under hood noise trouble shoot going??? Any additional findings, or smart phone recordings you could post up for the forum to read, watch & listen to??? 205 curious minds would like to know!!!

 

Hello, I didn't notice your anwers, sorry.
The sound is like some grinding sound and it happens at the first start of the day. In the summer (warm seasson), the sound only last 1 or 2 seconds, but in the winter (cold seasson) it can last several seconds until it dissapears. Now i put Synthetic 5W-30 oil (Motul brand) and still happens. Note that if i start the engine and inmediately stop it and start it again, the noise does not happen at the second start, it only happens at the first start when the car has been several hours stopped. Ofcourse i will try to record it for you.

 

EDIT: Posted reply to wrong thread, so here is my edited reply to This thread.

Good idea to make a Video with Audio of the engine compartment, so the forum can see & hear as you are.

As asked in my above reply, did this noise problem come about slowly over time, or suddenly after some event, like a oil & filter change, drive cycle, maintenance or repair???

Good clue about being able to prevent the noise from happening by turning the engine off before the noise begins, then re-starting Without the noise happening. And it being ok on restarts as long as it hasn't been setting for a while, then it'll be noisy again.

This is the kind of problem one might expect if the wrong oil filter was installed, (one Without a anti-drain-back valve), or the specified filter was used but its anti-drain-back valve is faulty & is letting oil syphon out of the filter, so after a while you get a "dry" re-start that takes a few seconds for the oil filter to refill & in the meantime the engine gets a slug of Air in its oil galleries that it has to purge itself of, to get quiet again. More thoughts for consideration until you post a video with audio of the noise as it happens.

 

After thinking about the faulty oil filter scenario, what happens if before starting the first time that day, if you first Disable the fuel pump, (pull its power relay or fuse, trip or unplug the inertia switch, whichever is easier), so the engine won't run, then crank the engine to refill the oil filter if its empty & to build some oil pressure until the Oil Pressure light goes Out, then re-enable the fuel-pump & re-start the engine, is it then quiet on the first start of the day??? If so, put the oil filter at the top of the suspect list.

 

My current filter is "MAHLE ORIGINAL OC 501" and i can't remember which was the last one i used before this. I will search for the fuse diagram to try to do that test and also will try to record the noise, but now in summer is difficult because it last only 2 seconds since the instant i turn the engine on. So at least in the summer, the second time i start it on, there isn't noise.

 

I have uploaded a record in OneDrive:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtJRu1bwIpOUpVmM...mLxCp?e=pZ0fuG
Can you appreciate the noise? I know it is hard to appreciate, tomorrow i will try to make another record.
I have some news, it seems that from the engine bay side, the noise lasts or it is appreciable a few more time than 2 seconds but also quickly dissapears being the car in idle. And with the windows down, I was able to appreciate the noise during the first one or may be two minutes of driving only when I accelerate at low speed in 1st gear (4 speed automatic trans here). After 1 or 2 minutes of driving, the noise completely dissapears and the engine sounds good.

 

Rock Auto Parts here in the USA is showing a Mahle OC338 as the oil filter for a 2002 Dodge Neon 2.0L engine,2002 DODGE NEON MAHLE Original OC 338 Mahle Original Oil Filters | Summit Racing . So, I don't know about the OC501 filter you have on it now. If the noise came about right after installing the Mahle OC501 filter, try the OC338 & see if it makes a positive difference.

The Motul synthetic 5W30 oil you have in it now is probably ok. Here in the USA 5W30 is recommended year-round up to 100 deg F / about 38 C & we can use 10W30 for summer temperatures above 100 deg F / 38C.

On the noise file, I think I can hear a random noisy metallic lifter tap sound in the background noise file. If you have some sludge, gum, or varnish deposits in the lifters, they may make more noise in winter when cold & the oil is more vicious until it warms up & gets thinner & flows better.
The synthetic Motul 5W30 depending on its recipe may be able to clean up, dissolve & remove gum or light varnish deposits if not too heavy or on the parts too long such they're baked on & that might help reduce or stop the noise if used long enough for the Motul detergents to clean things up some.

Does the noise seem loudest atop the engine, or lower down, where the crankshaft is???

 

Hello again. I have a new sound record, if you pay atention in seconds 1-3 and 8-10 you might be able to appreciate the noise.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtJRu1bwIpOUpVrZQU-J76aQItTZ
This is not the tipical lifter noise, this is a more strident noise.
Unfortunately i do not know when and how this noise started to happen because the car was driven for 3 years for my parents and they do not know neither.
The oil i am using now is exactly Motul 8100 Eco-Lite 5W-30.
The noise at seconds 1-3 is just after starting the engine and the noise appears again in seconds 8-10 when i push accel pedal in 1st gear at very low speed.
The owner's manual here also recommends oils 5W-30 or 10W-30. There is here a "Castrol GTX Ultraclean" supposedly formulated to clean the engines but it is synthetic blend and only in viscosity 10W-40. The filter is listed as compatible with Neon in many european parts shops, but it is cheap and i am not completely sure if it has the antireturn valve.