2005 Neon SXT 125,000 mi.
Been waiting for cooler weather here in East Texas to install a TB kit and all four motor/trans mounts. The factory shop manual I have downloaded says the drive belt tensioner can be replaced after removing the front engine cover yet shows it held by a hex head bolt. Can that be done later on without removing the cover? If not, how long will the factory pulley last on average and which brand is best to use if 'm better off replacing it when the cover is off?
Also curious to know if the tensioner can be serviced, like shooting MC chain lube inside to keep the spring oiled? I've had a 90's GM and Ford drive belt tensioners freeze up before and loosened them up with a soak in ATF then moving around until the spring action returned. Shot a bunch of MC chain lube inside them and they've been working fine for the past 18 years.

 

I had to replace the wife's 2000 ES belt tensioner Idler Pully Bearing about this time last year. It was OEM with about 140K miles on it. The tensioner Assy is roll rivited to the cast aluminum case cover. The Idler Pully is fastened to the plate with a T-40 torx head bolt, but you'd need a modified L shaped wrench to get at it with the plate in place & then I don't think there would be enough room to fully loosen the bolt to screw it out enough to get the pully, bolt & wrench out.

I had to remove the PS pump, its mounting brackets & supports & front plate to which the tensioner assy is attached, to remove the plate & get at that one T-40 idler pully bearing mounting bolt. The pully bearing had seized & melted the composite pully material & tossed the serp belt but without damage but its now in the trunk serving as a spare. I ordered a new pully & belt from Rock Auto & all has been ok for the past year.

Used up all my best saved up cuss words changing out that puppy but the job just laughed at all my cussing. The Designer / Engr responsible for this FUBAR design should have been sent to all Dealers to work there for 6 mos. just changing out tensioner idler pulleys!!!! lol Take your time removing & replacing the front cover plate, as its Snug in there & not much room to wiggle it loose while wiggling gently & pulling it Straight out, so don't force it past the plastic timing belt shield. If it hangs up, push it back on so all is loose & pull slowly Straight out & it'll pass the cover without cracking it. Once loose the first time, I practiced taking it out & back on to get the Feel. We just don't have much clearance, maybe 1/6"- to 1/32" to clear the plastic cover & we can't pull all the plate mounting bolts out because they're so long they won't clear the frame rail, so remember you have to slip them in the cover when re-installing the plate & trying to align it & slip it past that plastic timing belt cover without cracking it.

I removed the upper radiator hose & loosened the A/C pipe to move it a little to gain under hood work space. I also removed the right front wheel to gain easier work space to remove the front engine mounting bolt that goes into the plate that we are trying to take off. After removing the T-55 engine mounting bolt I also removed the upper engine torque strut & unbolted the lower torque strut to jack the engine up as high as I could to make it easier to get at a couple of the plate mounting bolts.
Make sure you have a jack & piece of wood to support & spread the engine load under the engine oil pan Before you loosen that front engine mounting bolt, as its holding the engine up on the passenger side.
Here are a couple of videos I watched Before going at the job. The first one had some really good shots of mounting plate back side & engine block support bracket hidden bolts that need to be removed or loosened to get that danged plate out. Those bolts are the reason I took the upper radiator hose off & moved the upper A/C metal line. clamp on the passenger side upper radiator support, so I could find & get at those hidden fasteners. What a nightmare this job was, just to get at one T-40 idler pully mounting bolt. I still get PO just thinking about all of it. Have a look at these two videos & any other you can find, as they might have some ideas that'll make your job safer & less frustrating. Just think each step through & take your time & it'll get done, but don't waste all your best cuss words, cause this job won't listen to em, but you'll feel better cause some things just need & deserve a good ole time cussin!!!!
Some thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll see how much clearance there is once I start dismantling this contraption to replace the TB kit. May replace that Torx head bolt with a regular hex head bolt that can be broke loose and spun off using a combination wrench. Ran into similar problems in the mid-70's when trying to access V8 spark plugs in the new compacts and some pickups when helping an older friend at his full service gas station. He used a bi-metal hole saw to make holes in the fender wells that were filled with a neoprene plug when done.

I'll see what our local Dodge dealer will gig me for a factory pulley. Rather spend more for one that'll hold up until the next TB kit replacement is due..

 

If your puppy is in need of a new timing belt, tensioner & pully, or water pump, Seriously consider getting it All done while that plate is off, as you need to have all that out to get to the timing belt, its tensioner & the water pump, so if you have over 100K miles on what's in there now, its way past due for a timing belt change & "Murphys Law" is probably salivating & rubbing his hands together hoping you won't go the extra mile, so he can jump in & screw things up right after you get the serp belt tensioner, or idler pully work done & everything buttoned up, so he can have the pump spring a leak, or the timing belt jump a tooth or two, or its tensioner go belly up, just so you have to take all that loose again & Really loose your religion!!!! More thoughts I forgot to post, for pondering. Let us know what you do & how it goes

 

I bought everything needed in January except for the pulley since I wanted to have that in my hand when buying a new one. The engine made a noisy vibration when my son gave me the car in September of 2020 to become much worse after one year. Was hooked on driving it since it got 3X the mpg's than my '88 Chevy van so replaced the top motor mount without loosening the rest. Had to yank the motor forward several times so the front mounting bolt could be inserted. I guess doing that took up the slack in the other mounts since the vibration was reduced to a reasonable level.
His mother and I bought him the car in 2006 as a high school graduation present so he would have dependable transportation for work and college. Based our decision on buying a Neon due our neighbor that had one of the first year models that had over 250,000 miles by only changing oil, filters, accessory belts, tires and brakes. It was ugly as Sin with white painted that had popped off the primer from much of the car yet fired up and drove away each day while delivering the same mpg's since new. My son was going to drive it until it dropped until finding a new fancy Ram PU in June of 2020 for a bargain basement price. The dealer told him that the Neon was worthless so he gave it to me. I babied it until the vibration went away after replacing the top motor mount. Now I can cruise to town doing 70mph since the reduced vibration goes away after reaching 65mph. My son didn't abuse it by driving crazy and did the scheduled maintenance so figured that the original TB and WP would hold up until I got around to replacing them.

 

This puppy has an Interference engine, so if the timing belt comes unraveled @ 70mph its gonna make a mess of the engine, so get all of the timing work & water pump done before Murphy has his way with you & let us know how it goes.

The old-time service writer at the local 5star Dodge Dealer where the MIL in 2001 bought the 2000 Neon the Wife now owns, told us the Neon was their Most reliable but least expensive model & they rarely had one in for warranty or repair work.
He was right, put good gas & oil in it, do the scheduled maintenance with the specified, or quality after market parts & fluids & it'll work real good & last a looooong time, but won't be very refined or cost too much while doing it!!!! Its just good basic no-frills transportation.

 

I'll start that project soon now that weather has cooled off with fewer skeeters flying around. Need to do a little work on my van first to improve it's gas mileage in case I experience delays completing the work on the Neon. .

 

Ok, keep us posted on how it goes. I'm in the same fix with my rides, gotta finish some driveway scheduled maintenance the Weather, grass mowing & leaf mulching here has delayed. Was in the same quandary this time last year with maintenance & repairs, when Murphey began to mess with me & I laughed at him that I wasn't gonna let him upset & aggravate me having to work out in the weather & I've lived to regret that laugh, as he just Doubled down on messing with me but I'm Slowly getting caught up. At my age Slowly has become the Key word, but Deliberate fits in there too, cause I'm Determined to get it all finished no matter how long it takes. So, sounds like we are in somewhat of the same fix, so if you get stuck on something post & the forums collective mind can probably conjure up something useful to try, as the factory manual didn't say a word about how to find or deal with those hidden bracket & plate mounting bolts in the First video that need to be dealt with & I'd likely still be trying to find them if it weren't for that video, with the fastener sizes too, so that helped a bunch. .

The manual does tell us how to use a jack to roll the engine to get the Top torque strut preload dimension, so the bottom strut bolt lines up. On this job the center Engine mounting bolt also needs to be removed to get that danged plate off & its the first one we need to put back in by maneuvering the jack under the oil pan. SO, we'll need another jack to catch the lobe on the engine / tranny mount to roll the engine a little to get that top torque strut dimension the manual calls for & I had a saved Mechanical bottle jack from my first car, a 36 Plymouth 6 banger with 3 on the floor, running boards, a crank out windshield, pull-up rear window shade for those following that wouldn't dim their brights at night & 4 suicide doors that opened Wide & actually made it easy to get in & out of the vehicle & those rear door windows rolled All the way down.....But don't open one while under way!!!! lol Ahhhhh I digress too much, anyway keep us posted on how it goes with your Neon resurrection!!!!

 

I never paid attention to Murphey's Law and only the adage "Hope for the best while expecting the worse so you'll be pleasantly surprised when everything goes well".