Loud noise from hood 96 neon

I have a 1996 neon and just out of the blue when I turned it on today it started making this really really loud noise. I opened the hood to see if I could see something and there's a black plastic thing on top that looked loose. It has words engraved in it. My husband drove the car home but the whole while it was making this very loud noise. That black thing looks like it is suppose to be connected to this other part but it won't stay in. When my husband holds it down however it doesn't make that noise anymore. Anyone know what it might be? Thanks for any help!

Adriana

there is only one way we can help you and it is by getting more info on the problem.
Pleace write what the plastic "thing" says. how does it looks? is the car running good or bad? describe the noise

The black thing says SOHC 2.0L 16 valve. I don't know what it's called though. When you accelerate too fast the sound gets louder and faster. It's just a really loud sound. Its kinda like a thu thu thu thu thu sound. Thats as best as I can describe it. it is also very loud. Hope this helps.

Adriana

That's just basically the snorkel for the air intake. The throttle body, where air is sucked in to mix with the gas, is in the front of the engine, driver side. A long tube goes from there to the air filter box in the back (I guess they put it back there because it was the only place with enough space). However you don't really want to be sucking up air from deep in the engine compartment so they ran that big plastic piece back up front for fresh, cool intake air. It seems to me from what you're describing that either:

1- the engine has something wrong with it, is running crappy which is causing this plastic piece to vibrate or
2 - the piece has come loose on it's own and is vibrating.

If the engine is running OK and you don't have a check engine light on, I would tend to think it's #2. The plastic piece slips into the air filter box in the back and is held down by a wingnut in the front. The wingnut may be loose or missing or the air filter box may have come adrift. Neither is serious and you should be able to drive in this condition with no problems. However loose pieces can and do end up on the highway so you might be well served to throw the plastic piece in the trunk until you can get to a mechanic or a friend or relative with some automotive mechanical aptitude. I can't imagine that a mechanic is going to charge more than $20 for this repair, heck if you're a regular, he'll probably do it for free.

he is right... or better yet get one of the sheap intakes from ebay they run for about 20 bucks and your car will be happier. the after market intakes for neons are a ten minutes installation. All you need is a screw driver.

he is right... or better yet get one of the sheap intakes from ebay they run for about 20 bucks and your car will be happier. the after market intakes for neons are a ten minutes installation. All you need is a screw driver.I wouldn't waste time or money on one of the ebay intakes. Just make sure your snorkel is on tight and everything is where it should be.