The dealer here in town is about the only place I have been for repairs and it seems everytime I leave there's something else wrong. (strange isn't it?) Anyway, I was hoping that you guys could tell me what the heck is wrong with my car, and if there is a reasonable way to fix it! If there is, I'm sure I can go to a different mechanic and "know" that I'm not getting shafted.

Problem 1:
If I take a left turn at about 50 or so, anything that puts massive G's on the car, I suddenly lose power. This is any turn with enough G's. I did an interstate onramp a little too fast and I lost power for like 20 seconds. The car will idle fine, but the gas pedal does nothing. It kinda makes sounds like I'm almost out of gas. My friend tells me that the mass air sensor may be bad and shorting out. Anyone ever have this problem wtih their old school neon?

Problem 2:
The Tach is way way way off. I idle at about 6k RPM according to my broke Tach. Also, when the car is off? 5k. :P They tell me that the only way to fix it is a $800 dash electronics replacement. Is there another way?

Problem 3:
The gas guage stops at 1/8 tank left. As far as I can tell, I AM out of Gas when it hits that point. So, the guage is off. I can't tell if this is related to the electronics problem or if there is soemthing wrong in the tank. Anyone have this problem?

Problem 4:
Generally the car is just sluggish compared to what it used to be. What kind of oil/gas additives and such do you use to keep your car working properly? What about plugs? What kind of small time improvements can I make to the engine to get it running like a dream again?

Problem 5:
I quit smoking. How do I get rid of the smell? :P

Thanks for the help! If I can get all this fixed, maybe I'll throw some mods on it too!

Doku

 

Does this happen with a full tank of fuel??? sounds like a problem inside the tank
hook up a furl pressure guage with a hose long enough to tape the guage on the windshield
are you loosing fuel pressure when this happens??
Make sure the PCM mounting bolts are tight, a bad PCM ground can cause it... But you'll probably need the tach board ($800. repair)
Chances are you need a sending unit.... Figure out problem #1 first
Go to any auto parts store and get some throttle body cleaner, remove the air cleaner & get that sucker CLEAN, you'll notice a big difference right away
Start smoking again.... I smoke & the smell doesn't bother me at all
...... Fabreeze is what they use in used cars clean-up




Hope that helped!!!

 

Well, it seems to happen all the time, but the 4 occourances I can remember off the top of my head are all when I was getting low on gas. However, this never happened years ago when I got the car. I asked the dealer to replace my fuel pump just in case, a while back. They called me a day later and told me that it was in the tank and that it wouldn't need to be replaced (I don't see how the two are related).

To add fuel the to the fire, I'm having some general "rough idle" problems as well. To put it in girlie terms, the car is just not very happy. I've replaced the plugs and the wires not 3 months ago, and I set the gap properly and used Mopar plugwires, so I can't see how the plugs could be the problem with the idle. Also, last fall, I got the injectors cleaned at the dodge dealership. Wether they were pulling my chain or not, they said they had a machine for cleaning them out. I usually put 87 in the car to save some money and stay off the pedal, but I know the DOHC engine wants some 89. I can't really see this creating a problem for the engine, but I threw some 93 in there just to see if it would run better. I'm going to get an oil change today or tomorrow and put some ProLong in there, since I have always gotten good results out of that in all my dodge vehicles.

JCswm, you seem to be really on top of things: what do I need to do to get the car running like it was brand new? From what my friend tells me, I need belts, O2 sensor, mass air sensor, new lines (if nasty), sounds like new electronics are in my future, a valve check and adjustment, and maybe a new clutch (still the original on it). It's about to hit 90k and I know that there is a lot of stuff I should have done to the car at 60 and 80, but was too poor to actually get it done.

The reason why I need to get all this done is twofold. I decided not to get the SRT-4 since I am so happy with my old neon and I prefer the body style of the 98, and I want to put the Chill Factory Stage II turbo kit on it with the new fuel pump, intercooler, injectors, the works as well as a lowering kit and the most sticky combo of rims and tires I can find. But before I can do that, my car has to be running perfectly. This is all so I won't lust after the SRT-4 and do something stupid (called payments). :P

Thanks for the help! Sorry that my posts are so long.

Doku

 

If your going to put a hairdrier on it.... when you replace the timing belt, pull the head and get a Valve job ...... and get it ported for better flow, Heck, while you've got the head off to a machine shop you might as well pull the oil pan and put in some new bearings...Then the pistons come right out for a Quick Hone and fresh rings...... a few seals and gaskets and she'll be running like new!!!!