I bought a used dodge neon 2000 a couple of months ago .......

i checked it out when i first bought it, the mechanic told me it was ok. the car had 70,000 miles on it

now, the engine is so rough it is rediculous, you open the hood and every thing sounds fine, inside the car is sounds like a diesel engine, when i first bought it, it was smooth, but as if it changed overnight ... could it be gasoline related? i use regular, but the first few days i used premium because i did not have the manual at the time and i thought it should be filled up with premium ......


any ideas ?


believe me, i've had this car for 3 months and i already hate it .......

Do a basic tune-up...oil, filters(air and oil), plugs and spark plug wires. At 70,000, it's pretty much time to do these things, even if someone said it was already done...do it anyway. I'm guessing it may be the plugs and wires, but do it all anyway. The gas shouldn't really matter, as far as octane rating. Your car should run fine on 87 or higher. Unless the gas is contaminated with water or something, it should be ok.

another thing i noticed about my car is that the power steering moans on lower speed, i checked the power steering fluid level, it is ok. sometimes this moaning sound is louder than other times .....

what could be the problem ?

The only time my power steering moans is when the fluid level is low. But since your fluid level is ok, it could be one of only two things...the power steering pump, or the rack-and-pinion. I wonder if this "moaning" from the power steering has something to do with the engine running rough. What's the condition of the belt? If it's worn, you should replace it. If you do, try this. Before installing the new belt, start the engine(with no belt on) and see if it runs smooth. Stop the engine, install the belt, and start it up again. If it runs rough with the belt on, maybe it's the power steering pump...just a thought. Does the car turn left and right evenly...I mean is it harder to turn one way than the other?

Yes the car turns left and right evenly, the thing about the power steering and the engine roughness is that they are not the same every day... sometimes the engine is rough especailly when idle, sometimes it does not sound that rough, also the power steering sometimes makes a loud moaning sound, sometimes you could barely hear it..........

i know it is hard to diagnose such problems without actually inspecting the vehicle ... but any ideas are always helpful ......

thanx