teach me DD's, mostly about neons

i need a new daily for my new job. the requirements were lockable trunk, aftermarket support, and good gas milage. found a 1998 neon RT, 2 door, black, 160K on it, 5 speed. according to the interweb, it should get about 35MPG with my commute, or better.

what problems other than the obvious should i be looking for? what are their common trouble spots? anything that makes them incredibly better with gas milage or comfort? any reason i should run?

the goal is a good MPG, cheap, reliable daily that is somewhat fun to drive. i was also considering 94-97 accords, crx, ef civic hatch, and mazda 6.

thanks michael

If you need reliable, not sure the Neon should be your first choice. Not sure what the budget is, but I'd be looking at Civic hatch, Protege, Accord, etc... From your requirements, the Miata would work too. It does have a lockable trunk, albeit very small.

If Chrysler had installed a multi layer steel headgasket, slightly longer pistons, spent an extra $25 per car on interior appointments, built doors with window frames, made the suspension witth another inch of travel, and not had the typical waterbourn paint issues, they would have been a fine little car.

They are actually pretty good little cheap cars. Change the timing belt and water pump with good quality parts. Glue all the broken plastic interior bits back together. Lube the window tracks while trying to adjust the windows so they both seal and close, and you are good to go. The head gasket has probably been changed already. Install a new crankshaft position sensor, camshaft position sensor, plugs and wires. a 98 will have the updated electrical connectors. The oil pressure switches leak sometimes.

The RT will usually have the ACR transmission in it. That gives you a 3.94 final drive instead of 3.55, and a shorter O/D ratio. If you are doing highway miles, find a trans out of a sohc car. You will pick up 5-10 mpg, plus you can sell the ACR box to me, or some other fool like me.

Most of the issues I complain about were solved with the 2000 and up models. I compare them very favorably with my wifes 2002 Accord.

Not a bad cheap car, a few things first is change the timing belt and tensioner as the DOHC is an interference engine, the head gasket could be a weak link if it needs to be repalced go with a MLS gasket worth every penny.

As for fuel milage my sister's car (1999) gets 40-42 driving on the interstate.

Not a bad cheap car

I like them - for the money, they're great cars: I've had 4 over the years. All were high mileage, reliable and CHEAP to run. They were also a pretty capable auto-xer. That said, it's since become impossible to find one here that hasn't been completely abused and/or neglected.
The headgasket issue's have almost certainly been resolved on all remaining neons. The windows can be adjusted, and work ok when correctly adjusted - don't push/pull on the window to open/close the door.

While I'd rather have the other cars you listed as daily drivers, I'd expect to pay more for them.

In reply to Streetwiseguy:

Most headgaskest have been replaced with the improved version already.

The R/T gets the ACR transmission, but with a higher overdirve. I have gotten about 38 MPG with mine.

Other than the head gasket, the Neon is rock solid and, in my opinion, the best domestic small car of the period. Also in my opinion, only the Civic was better.

The biggest downside is that aftermarket support is declining rapidly. No more good autocross springs (progressive Eibachs do not count). No more Konis. The bets strut available is the KYB GR2 (just a little better than OEM, maybe).

Once Chrysler ended its contingency program, the Neon lost much SCCA support. Once the Fast and Furious crowd lost interest in slapping body kits on them, the rest of the aftermarkt collapsed.

In reply to njansenv:

The will autocrass as well as any FWD McPherson stut car other than the mini.

Moparman wrote: The R/T gets the ACR transmission, but with a higher overdirve. I have gotten about 38 MPG with mine.

I get about half that mileage in my '99 R/T. Poly bushings and motor mount inserts were still available a year ago. It did take me 4 months to track down a set of new Konis. I would assume they are all gone now.

The R/T is way more comfortable than my CRX ever was but the CRX was killing it in gas mileage.

By 98 the headgasket issue was solved MLS gaskets were put on the production line in mid 97

Use saddle soap on the weather striping around the doors and windows helps get rid of leaks and noise.

Paint issues were mostly solved by 98 as well if its not pealing by now it isnt going to.

Get a poly bushing set I prefer Energy Suspension but their control arm bushing are harder to install than Prothane.

Put Booger Bushings in the shifter.

R/Ts got the performance B transmission same as all other DOHC engined cars it has a 3.94 final drive and 0.72 fifth gear, acr transmission was 3.94 final drive with 0.81 fifth gear. At 65 you should be around 3000rpm with the RT trans

Doooo eeeettttttt.

The ATX cars have some problems with the kickdown lever on the trans sticking, but that is about an hours worth of work and the MTX cars do have an issue with the shift cable bushings wearing out, but ploy bushings are available for cheap ($20 for the set).

Other problem issues that I've run into are.. figuring out why the rad fans don't work,( caused by a junk relay or the wire harnesses are wrapped tight around head, block causing chaffing due to engine movement) carbon build up in EGR valve/tube, and previous owners that install the wrong spark plugs.

Despite those problems, the cars are great. I have a '97 currently and for a while I was commuting 50 miles round trip to work and got 33-35 mpg while doing 75-80 down the highway.

One bonus is that no matter what parts store you go to, they will have just about all the common maintenance parts you need for this car.

I've owned 2 1st gens and just picked up a 2002 sxt 5-spd.They are my favorites right now.

I had a 99 Neon which I bought new. It was a two door 5-speed Expresso (Plymouth) edition. Great little car fun to drive and got 38 MPG when fed mid grade gas (35 on regular). My boss had a 99 RT that got the exact same mileage with his. It was a great little car, fun to drive and was reliable for my family for 180K until it got wrecked. I miss that car. The only thing that bugged me about it was it had alot of squeeks and rattles over its life.

so, from what y'all are saying, it should fit my bill respectably. expect head gasket problems, window trouble, and crappy interior. aftermarket is declining. but is it still there enough to get good replacement and mild DD worthy performance parts?

Michael

I'd DD the E36 M3 out of one, no questions asked.

I wouldn't expect 36mpg out of an R/T, though.

om hoping for 30+ mixed. ifg i can get that, id giggle like a schoolgirl.

My 98 R/T had the head gasket problem so it really wasnt fixed by 98. But by now, any running 1st gen neon has had the gasket replaced. Plus check the usual timing belt and tensioner of any high mileage car equipped with such things.

My 98 never got over 30mpg your mileage may vary.

Get it. I'm in a '98 R/T sedan, after having a '98 Sport coupe.

Milage, 30-32 mixed, lots of hills and driven in a "Spirited" manner. 40 strait highway.

Moparman wrote: In reply to njansenv: The will autocrass as well as any FWD McPherson stut car other than the mini.

I think we're agreeing: I auto-xed the E36 M3 out of mine, especially the ACR, and loved it. It was even more fun to auto-x with the SRT-4 swap....

ZX2. Just as cheap, cheap parts, good aftermarket (Mazda BG protege chassis), good MPG and arguably more reliable.

ST_ZX2 wrote: ZX2. Just as cheap, cheap parts, good aftermarket (Mazda BG protege chassis), good MPG and arguably more reliable.

As we've spoken about before - very bad memories of mine, 1-3-5 shifts and pushing it backwards because that's all of the gears that I had left... I know others have had better experiences.

The G25 trans isn't exactly known for being strong... but as long as you aren't flat-shifting like a boss or trying to push eleventy billion horsies through it, it'll do fine.

That said... mine WAS trashed on my EGT when i bought it, only had 1st, 2nd, 5th, and reverse. But the car also had like... 250k miles.

I bought a used replacement from CGHStang on the cheap, slapped it in, and beat the everliving E36 M3 out of the car for another almost 50k miles without a problem.

ooohhhh.... focus hatch.....

if the neon is junk, thatll be what i look at next.

In reply to Johnboyjjb:

Why such poor mileage? I still can get over 30 MPG in FSP form.

In reply to njansenv:

We are agreeing.

My dads 95 sohc got 37 mpg freeway with the acr box. It was pretty reliable, in 365k miles it only had 2 rides on a tow truck, once when the water pump failed and broke the timing belt(before they realized they had to be replaced everytime the timing belt was done), and the other time the fuel pump died. The only other big problem it had was the wiring harness, but that's a 95 only problem. It will be back on the road eventually, the engine locked up and we didn't figure out until after we got a new engine from pick and pull and pulled the old one that the only problem was a part of a clutch cable that had broken years ago stuck between the flywheel and starter.

You may also consider a Saturn SC2 97-02. Freeway mileage in the high 30's ( I get 38), no t-belt to worry about (chain drive) and plastic panels - no rust!