I have an '04 2.0L Neon 5-spd SXT... and I have a noisey lifter. It happens more when it is colder... on a hot day, you might not here it at all. On a cold day better chance of it, maybe even 3/4 of the time. But once the motor starts heating up (or it gets in the revs for 5-10 secs) it quiets down.

I read in a recent post that the 2.4 in the SRT4 had an oiling prob across the head and made #1 cyl valvetrain tick... can I expect the same in my 2.0? I know that the 2.0 and 2.4 don't share many internals, but are designed similar with the ones that they do share. Is this a common problem with the 2.0? Should I worry much? I only run pure synthetic and change my oil religiously.... BTW the car has 19k miles on it.

i have never heard that problem wiht the 2.0s. it is pretty common, ok very common, in the 2.4s though. we have a dohc as opposed to the 2.0 sohc. the head is totally differnt. no, i would get ahold of the dealership and talk to them about it. or try neons.org. i just dont know enough about the 2.0s. let me know though, my girl has on 05 SE.

What kind of gas is in there? 87 or 94. sometime cheep gas can make a "knocking" sound. put a higher oct in and see what happens

What kind of gas is in there? 87 or 94. sometime cheep gas can make a "knocking" sound. put a higher oct in and see what happens

I can count on one hand how many times I EVER put 87 in it... I usually run 89, and I am VERY picky about where I get my gas... for instance, I will never fill up at Speedway (most of their underground tanks have large inverted pumps, so they always pump water first). I like Mobil; their 87 and 93 is good, but their 89 is watered-down. BP/Amaco is good fuel, as well as Shell and Marathon...

Anyway, I usually run 89 like I said. And it's not a knock, as in detonation or piston-slap... it sounds like a rocker with a little play in it. Like I said, idling off a cold start, it's pretty significant. But after warm-up, or even a few revs, or normal driving, there is no more tick. I was wondering if I did a cam swap and did the lifters too, if I could expect my problem to be solved, and stay solved.

i have never heard that problem wiht the 2.0s. it is pretty common, ok very common, in the 2.4s though. we have a dohc as opposed to the 2.0 sohc. the head is totally differnt. no, i would get ahold of the dealership and talk to them about it. or try neons.org. i just dont know enough about the 2.0s. let me know though, my girl has on 05 SE.

I did some research and saw the differences in the head between the 2.0 and the 2.4 (besides the obvious SOHC/DOHC difference), but the jackets in the block and head and dimensions are very much similar... which made me think of oiling and cooling problems with the head. I know the oil pump in the SRT4 motor is supposedly more "reliable" than the 2.0 as far as flow is concerned, but nonetheless cooling is also a must-have issue... anyway, food for thought maybe, but I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I hear a lot of 2.0's and 2.4's around here with the same annoying tick, but the dealership seems oblivious to acknowledge what I am asking them about this.

OK, i use sonoco 93-94 oct with my car and it runs great. it has 129,050Mi on it and its a 3.4. good engine.

OK, i use sonoco 93-94 oct with my car and it runs great. it has 129,050Mi on it and its a 3.4. good engine.

A 3.4? Goddamn man! That's a great swap! lol j/k... ok I got your point in the quote, but yeah I float between 89 and 93 and like I said this is purely a top-end mechanical flaw and not compression-dependant due to timing.

Not a swap, i ran it this long, and i will runn it till it needs to be towed to the junk yard. lol.

Not a swap, i ran it this long, and i will runn it till it needs to be towed to the junk yard. lol.

well that's the philosophy with my car too... it'll go until it can't go anymore... hell it's an '04 and already been hit twice but no matter, I'll drive it into the ground if I have to!