95 Dodge Neon, probable bent valves? (Page 2/4)
Khw AUG 10, 11:09 PM
It's kind of hard to get good pictures of it since I moved it into the garage, but here's a few. I'll take more as I'm pulling the engine apart to fix it.

In this picture you can see the blue from the original paint and the purple from the body I pulled off the other Neon. The other Neon was a 97 Plymouth Neon Expresso.


In this one you can see that it now has the DOHC hood, but it will be the SOHC engine in it. You can also see where I have to fix a bunch of rust since the owner of the 97 had a bra on it...


These are the 17" Tenzo wheels I have for it with 205/40's. I'm debating on whether to keep these or look for some 16" wheels that I could put 50's on. 40's just look to thin to me.


And this is the interior from the 97 I swapped over. The 95 had a grey interior, so I swapped everything over except for the center dash part, which I kept the slightly lighter grey to make the dash a 2 tone dash. I was going to swap the steering wheel over, but I figured if I did that the 2 tne look wouldn't be consistant as the stripe of lighter grey going across the dash would be interrupted by the darker grey steering wheel. I stripped the interior out all the way down to and including the carpet (even the trunk liner carpet). I was suprised to find that I won't need to Dynamat the car as it already has deadening mat from the factory. It doesn't cover the entire floor, but it does cover most of it. I'll still have to line the trunk walls and trunk lid and I'll probably redo the doors as the factory deadener on them is cracking.


I'm debating on what to do with the SOHC head I pull out of it. The 95 SOHC Neon has a different cam in it then the model years produced after it. It's a different grind that gave more HP but in the following years they went with a less aggressive grind because of the AC. The 95 cams are somewhat sought after just like the aluminum intakes (which this one doesn't have ) so I might pull the cam and try to sell it.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 08-13-2012).]

Khw AUG 18, 04:05 PM
OMG! I can't beleive I got this lucky. I went by a second hand store and found a sub enclosure they had out for $30.00 with two 10" subs in it. I expected some crap subs in it, but when I looked I saw "Boston" in the cast aluminum ring around the sub woofers face showing. I checked to make sure they worked, and they did. Surrounds were in excellent shape and the center domes were not pushed in. I snatched them up. Now I will use the Boston Acoustic 10.4LF subs instead of the Lightning Audio subs I had. I did some checking and found the parameters of these online.


quote


Thiele-Small Parameters for Boston Pro 10.4LF:

Max.Input Power 500watts.
Continious Input Power 250watts.
Sensitivity 98db.
Re 4 ohms.
Fs 33 Hz.
Vas 2.34 cubic feet.
Qts 0.36.
Qes 0.42.
Qms 2.53.
Sd 56 square inches.
Voice coil diameter 2 inches.
Le 0.65 mH.
Xmax (one way) 7.5 mm.
Sealed Enclosure: 1.4 cubic foot.
Ported enclosure 1 cubic foot-port 3"Dia. x 6.5"Lenth.
(all specs. include basket and port displacement so there is no need to build the box larger to compensate).



Yeah, I'm defeniately using these in my build. I've always wanted a set of Boston Acoustic subs to play with! With a 98 db sensetivity, this aught to be fun .



The enclosure is crap, which doesn't really matter anyways as I will build a custom one for the Neon.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 08-18-2012).]

Khw AUG 19, 11:22 PM
New update.
Starting in on taking it apart.


Old head almost out.


Head out.


Here is a pic of cylinder number 4. Kinda hard to see but there are 4 little marks on the piston where it hit the valves.

There are similar marks on some of the other pistons, but only on one side or the other, not both sides like on number 4.

And almost all back together with the replacement head.


Got it all put back together and it started right up. Bonus, it doesn't sound like a lawnmower anymore and I don't have to push the gas pedal to keep it running, it idles fine.

Next up, finish the body work and paint. After that it's time to upgrade the sound system .

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 08-19-2012).]

NSAN1T AUG 22, 12:17 AM
I hate rebuilding those heads. FYI those heads are bad about warping from overheats.. even minor ones. Not as bad as the newer PT cruiser version though. Your better off with the new head, more than likely they would have had to replace all the valves and the valve guides to rebuild that head.

------------------
2005 Saturn ION Redline

Machinist at Texas Engine Machine, Llano, Tx.

Khw AUG 22, 12:25 AM

quote
Originally posted by NSAN1T:

I hate rebuilding those heads. FYI those heads are bad about warping from overheats.. even minor ones. Not as bad as the newer PT cruiser version though. Your better off with the new head, more than likely they would have had to replace all the valves and the valve guides to rebuild that head.




You know the one thing I just don't understand and haven't since the first time I cam across it with a Nissan Z24 engine, why would you make a engine a interference engine? I mean how hard would it be to divet the pistons so they couldn't hit the valves?
NSAN1T AUG 22, 01:00 AM
I don't know.. Its got something to do with compression ratios and timing.. I leave the bottom end stuff to the other two guys I work with.. I'm the one stuck rebuilding heads everyday. lol
jaskispyder AUG 22, 07:43 AM
Yup, interference engines are just .... well.... stupid

"Hey, if this belt breaks you have to replace the head, but we all know this belt will never break", said the engineer.
Khw AUG 25, 09:05 PM
Is there a reason why I have to use these multi layer steel head gaskets instead of a composite head gasket? I see both types available on E-bay, but either I'm doing something wrong or these multi layer steel gaskets are harder to get to seal. I'm sure they are great once they've sealed, but for some reason I just can't seem to get one to seal. I can't imagine a rebuilt head being warped and when I put a straight edge to it it didn't appear to be warped and feeler gauges didn't indicate any warping. I know they originally came with the composite gasket which apparantly had a longevity of about 80k miles and the MLS gasket is suppossed to be around 100k. If that is the only difference then I'll get the composite that I'm used to using.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 08-25-2012).]

NSAN1T AUG 26, 11:05 AM
Make sure your straight edge is machined straight and no burs. I'm assuming its fine. So when you checked did you do it criss cross like an X from corner to corner and straght across in 3 spots? Both sides and the middle?

If yes, then even though the metal llayered gasket is "better" go ahead and try the comp...

Did you get new head bolts? They're supposed to be replaced. If they've been over torqed they might not tighten enough to pull the seal either.

Forgot to say, check the deck of the block also. Especially for any nicks or scratches that affect sealing.

[This message has been edited by NSAN1T (edited 08-26-2012).]

Khw AUG 26, 12:49 PM
Yes I did a x corner to corner and across in each side and center. I checked the block also and didn't notice any nicks. I ordered a comp gasket, so I will check it again to make sure when I pull it back apart. I used a new set of headbolts, but I'll order another, since they are only around $25.00. Maybe it's a problem when I torque them down? In the past I've always had the torque to 20, then 35, then 55, then to so on until I reach the final torque number. This one it's the center 6 to one toruque number and the ouer 4 to another torque number in steps to 50 on centers and 35 on outer. Once there it's an additional 90o turn on each bolt. Is there a specific type of wrench that measures that 90o additional turn 1/4 turn on the bolts? I used my breaker bar but thought that just didn't seem right because all I could do was eye it and guess that was right near a 1/4 turn. If there is a wrench designed for measuring how much of a turn you put on a bolt I'll see if one of the local parts stores has one I can rent.

Another question, is there a heat in time like on the comp gasket? If I remember correctly on the last comp gasket I did, I had to idle the engine for like 1/2 hour after putting it back together, then turn it off and let it cool to seal the gasket in. I did that with the MLS gasket, but it just didn't seal right.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 08-26-2012).]