My 1996 Neon runs like crap

[Tucket80107]

Ok heres what my car does. When I start it up it will run for 5 secs ok then start to sputter. When driving it up hills it losses power big time and backfires. After about a week of running it I cheak the oil and every week i have to add like 3 quarts of oil! It also gets bad gas milage.

If you have any clue of whats wrong with my car please right it in the forum even if its only an idea!
~Tucket80107

[Tucket80107]

I mean write sorry

[xs29l]

Personally, I'd say it's the head gasket. Look in your antifreeze, if it's full of oil, then you have a problem. If that's what it is, I'd upgrade to a 2000 or newer 2 liter engine. I can buy them at a nearby junk yard for $300 (less than 10,000 miles on it). Keep us posted

[FuriousMachine95]

[Tucket80107]

Ok I checked the anti-freeze and there is no oil in it. I was woundering if it could be the spark-plugs or the timing belt going?

[xs29l]

Well that's a relief! Plugs are cheap, try that first? I have a 2000 and the coil pack went out on it. It sputtered alot with little power (paid $35 for a low milage used one and it runs like new!) Strange that you're losing so much oil? If it's not leaking, then it's burning..... Rear main?? I still think it could be a head gasket, but hope not. Good luck and keep us posted!

[KatWoman]

Originally Posted by Tucket80107

Ok heres what my car does. When I start it up it will run for 5 secs ok then start to sputter. When driving it up hills it losses power big time and backfires. After about a week of running it I cheak the oil and every week i have to add like 3 quarts of oil! It also gets bad gas milage.

If you have any clue of whats wrong with my car please right it in the forum even if its only an idea!
~Tucket80107

If you are not leaking oil, and there is no oil/coolant mixing going on, you might be burning oil, which is no good. You COULD possibly have a piston ring going out on you, causing blowby (oil getting into combustion chamber) and could be losing compression, hence your sputtering and lack of power. CHeck your oil and smell it. If it has any hints of fuel odor to it, I would get the car checked out ASAP.

My Neon died that way. I lost compression pretty bad in all 4 cylinders (one totally died) and my pistons were caked with oil.


EDIT: You know you have oil/coolant mixture if you pull off your radiator cap and this is what you see

[Bertone_lover]

Originally Posted by Tucket80107

Ok heres what my car does. When I start it up it will run for 5 secs ok then start to sputter. When driving it up hills it losses power big time and backfires. After about a week of running it I cheak the oil and every week i have to add like 3 quarts of oil! It also gets bad gas milage.
~Tucket80107

I had a '96 once. I believe they have the the spark plug tubes that were held down by the valve cover. Over time these can either lose their seal or actually crack. That's what happened to mine. It caused a combination of plug fowling and spark grounding. It gave similar symptoms to what your car is doing. I would start the engine, and let it do it's "cough and sputter" routine. Right afterwards I'd pull out the plug wires to see if there's any oil on them or the plugs.


B.J.R.

[MStout]

...Thats sick!

[Tucket80107]

Ok I was cheaking the oil to see if I needed to add any and it seems that a gasket somehow was never put on. It was sitting in a puddle of oil on my mannafold and when I start the car it doesn't drip from anywhere that I can see I still have not took off the sparkplugs. Also I don't know where this gasket goes. ~Tucket80107

[Tucket80107]

Ok I smelled the oil and it is fine. But really interseting when I disconnect the battery for like ten mins. and replace the plug. The car won't studder for 5 mins. Does this mean that maybe the PCM is gone?

[drag1320neon]

if the neon burns oil its usually the valve stem seals, not rings. the spark plugs could be an issue, make sure that you have champion sparkplugs in your car too, bosches are the worst thing in the world

[Dawkins20]

the backfire problem is most likely coming from your spark plugs and the stuttering is probably coming from one or more of your valves being bad and allowing oil to leak to your spark plugs....I had the same problem with my 95...I took my head off and one of my valves was completely destroyed....if you decide to redo your head your probably going to have to replace a lot of your hoses....when you continue to drive with the problem you have, oil gets into some of your hoses and rots them

[9neon5]

Blowby or you are burning oil. And your starting problem. I think you may have a vaccum leak.