New to the forum.

I'm on others for other cars, so I'll apologize in advance for asking a question which has probably been asked a thousand times...

I'm thinking about buying a '95 Sport Sedan and am curious about common quirks, issues, failures, etc. Please lay out anything and everything. I don't want to get into something ugly.

Issues I could discern after a 10 minute test drive:
- needs a power steering pump or at least the fluid filled
- a rattle underneath the middle of the car (i think its a loose exhaust hangar or something resulting from a bad pothole hit
- a little bit of rust
- maybe some belt work (is this difficult? a friend mentioned i may have to remove control arms and stuff to get at it and i didn't look at it that hard).

That's it, as far as i can tell.

Thanks in advance.

peace-
Matt

 

Check to make sure the head gasket has been replaced. As for belts you won't have to remove any control arms. Dunno what your friend is driving but I wouldn't trust him too much on certain things.

The rattling is most likely the heat shield either on the exhaust manifold or catalytic converter. It's a common occurance and I've seen it many a time before.

How many miles? is it an automatic or manual?

I know there is some more but I can't seem to remember what else to look for but I'm sure others can help. Welcome to DF!

 

As Crazy Squee mentioned, the headgasket is probably the most common. You should also hope to confirm it was replaced with the MLS version introduced in '98. The problem will likely recur if the original type was used. These generally fail as an external oil leak, so in most cases you can continue to drive it as long as you keep the oil topped up and don't slip and kill yourself on the puddles it will leave in your garage or driveway.

Other common problems include:
* Intermittent gauges - bad solder joints on the gauge cluster circuit board can cause the speedometer, odometer, and other gauges to drop out at random. Not something always easy to detect in a short test drive, but worth asking about. Not difficult or expensive to fix if you DIY.
* Leaking tail light gaskets - These shrink with age and allow moisture into the trunk and cabin. Check the spare tire well for signs of water. Not that serious because it can be fixed with an inexpensive tube of RTV. However, it can lead to other problems if left unrepaired for a long time.
* A/C leaks - both the condenser and evaporator on the early cars are prone to leaks. If it has working A/C, look for signs of compressor oil in the lower corners of the condenser. Ask how long it has been since last
charged.
* Other engine oil leaks - Original cam position sensor gasket frequently leaked. There's a new and improved version available for a few bucks from Dodge. The oil pressure sensor is another leak prone area that can be fixed with teflon tape.

 

106k, stick, didn't find out about the head gasket until after the test drive.

I'll ceratinly look at the other issues brought up, but i'm pretty good underneath the hood, so none of these scare me away.

 

I think your friends confusion about belts might be in regards to the timing belt. To get it off/on you have to support the motor and unbolt the passenger side motor mount. But both the V and ribbed belt are relatively easy to get at though.

Control arms????? (Ya I wonder what he's driving too? Did he mount his altenator under the car??)

 

Dodge calls for new timing belt at 105K

 

I had a timing belt go, luckly I was under warenty. Just for the record the neon has an interferance engine, which means if you lose a timing belt you have a 90% chance of needing a lot more work that a new belt, ie. head work, new valves.

 

that's funny, I thought I'd read the SOHC was non-interferance ("free roller") while the DOHC is not. I know I've broken a belt twice and not done any damage. How do I "know"? I rebuilt the head this past year. No problems but guides and a worn cam. valves were fine. Done the same in my DOHC 16 valve Spirit R/T too--it's fortunately a "free roller" too, even though it's a DOHC. (yup, rebuilt that head too.)

 

I know the sohc is definatlly an interferance engine, i am not sure about the DOHC

 

All engines are interference engines. The only thing that saves you with crushed pistons and bent valves is the speed in which the engine is turning and if the belt jumpped teeth when it snapped. Neons are fairly good at not bending or breaking things when their timing goes bad because of the computer it can and will advance or retard the timing to a certain degree. Which is why you can run a Neon with it being off by one, or two teeth without any issues other than a bad idle.

I have seen Volkswagons that were "non-interferance" engines bend valves and crush pistons. It's just a degree of tolerance each manufactured engine has. A Neon has a great deal of tolerance. Because the computer can relearn.