6th Dec 2010, 13:04
This is great advice... and 90 Oldsmobiles are also decent with jumping railroad tracks!
7th Jan 2011, 11:25
Another add-on to my NGC rant above. Still have the car, and did a little tinkering and actually have track times now.
Well, for starters I gutted the entire car down to the sheet metal. (Seats, console, carpet, insulation, etc...) Basically it's a drivers seat, some pedals, a shifter, and a steering wheel.
I kicked the exhaust out to the driver's side rear of the car before the axle, added a Kirk race header (no cat), O2 sensor defoulers, open air intake (no filter, but a sock), MSD coil and wires, new Champion plugs (stock is the way to go, NGK foul too quickly), motor mount insert, trans shifter bushings, under drive pulley, and a 35 shot dry nitrous kit. Stock internals, stock drivetrain, new tires (Falken Z rated 205/50/15). Still has NGC with no standalone, stock tune.
Well, the car is louder and revs a little quicker. Holds power up in the low 6k range, and doesn't wheel hop as bad anymore. I did do some 1/4 mile runs at Byron and she pulled a 15.03 first run, and a 14.90 second run, then back in the 15's before the clutch got hot. The only reason I pulled a 14 was the massive weight reduction. I eliminated well over 200 lbs. of interior comforts, radio delight, and possible structural steel.
Also, the passenger air bag was taken out, and was used as a wake-up call to the girlfriend who is no longer with me.
All in all, these cars suck for performance. As you can see, I dropped quite a bit of money and a lot of time into her for a low 15 second car. For the money I have in her, I could have easily bought a pre-owned Mustang with some nice goodies. 2003-2005 NGC Neons are a joke; if you want a performance Neon, go for an SRT-4 or late 90's DOHC ACR or R/T.
17th Jun 2011, 12:13
I know you posted this several years ago, but did you ever find an answer? The same thing happens to my car, and I have an '04.
5th Dec 2011, 18:28
On Youtube there's a video on how to fix it. It cost me 40 dollars for a used part, and 60 for trans fluid.
14th Jan 2013, 12:16
I have a 2003 Dodge Neon. At around 110,000 miles the engine blew up. I take very good care of my vehicles oil changes when needed etc. When I got the new engine put in, the problems have just started again. Always something going wrong. My suggestion is don't buy any Dodge vehicles; they are junk.
10th Nov 2010, 19:01
"If your Neon has a tape player, don't play Whitesnake tapes... It will eat them and never give them back..."
Well then there is one good thing about these cars!