Ok, I bought a 1997 Dodge Neon. What it needs is pretty much a new engine. It's a 2.0L SOHC and I was wondering if there is any way I can get an engine from a 2000 Neon into my car. I've found a really cheap one and thats why I'm asking. And infomation would be a HUGE help! Thanks

 

Well i'm not quite sure if you could or not. but i can tell ya that i have a 2001 Dodge Neon and it is a 2.0L SOHC...if that helps any! You may want to call up one of your local mechanics and find out for sure...good luck to ya!

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I wish I could give you a solid answer to your question. I can tell you that many improvements were supposedly made to the engine since 1997. If you havent heard, they were pretty bad on head gaskets. I wouldnt suspect that would cause much differences as far as bolting them up. the tranny and clutch assembly has always remained the same, as well as the block, so the motor mounts should not be a problem. The only differences I could see would be computer/emissions/wiring, and quite possibly cooling. I am almost positive it's the same engine, however your best option would be to look at some of the technical information on www.neons.org. They have a lot of info on the differences over the years.

 

Thanks for the help! What the story is, is that I bought this neon off of someone for $300 because it overheated real bad. And that it does. I can drive it about a mile and a half then the alarm goes of because of it overheating. I drove it to my friend's garage and opened up the radiator cap and found that oil was leaking into it and almost all of the coolant has been boiled away. So we were going to get lazy and just replace the engine. But I have been reading up and I've seen that there have been MANY problems with the head gaskets. So I'm probably going to just try to replace that (and all of the dry-rotted hoses). Are there any good places to get a walkthrough on how I should go about this the RIGHT way? Any suggestions on what I should get/do?

 

It will bolt in perfectly, but the electronics and wiring are probably different.

 

My opinion on the matter varies. First off, how easy could you get the new engine? While a head gasket is cheap to fix on your own (given the know how), it's gonna cost you about 700 bucks to get someone else to do it. But set the money, or the time issue aside a second. How much driving has tried to be done to this engine with a bad head gasket? Do you really want to do all that work tearing down a SOHC engine, replacing a head gasket, so you can have an engine that has suffered damage, and may forever have cooling problems? Back in the day of my 85 ranger, I'd tackle a head gasket with no question. But now you're talking about a SOHC engine, with very tricky timing issues and such. But at the same time, consider all the work involving changing the engine. You simply have to consider all your options and decide what is best. If you and your buddy are gonna do the work and have the time, heck, it might be a fun learning experience. Just about anything is possible with a mechanical mindset, and a comprehensive enough manual.