my '97 dodge neon with about 71000 miles, has developed a small oil leak that my mechanic says is from the head gasket. he says to just live with it. As of now, there is no indication of coolant leaking into the oil or visa versa. the oil leak is small; about a cup or less in 2 months. my question is, is there a head gasket replacement in my future, or is this something that one can live with indefinitly. i am not interested in any "mechanic in a can" solutions. thanks for any comments.
Opinions on head gasket leak
- Thread starter frank2009
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Sorry to hear it. My sister's Neon developed the same problem... head gasket replacement followed in rather short order (a few months, maybe?).
Same thing with my Grand Prix, the infamous Quad4 engine
. Unfortunately I was younger and a lot less wise about maintenance. I didn't know there was a problem brewing, so when the head gasket "went", the car no longer did. It ran great for another 50K before it began leaking again, but I caught it early this time and sold the car for $100 (with full disclosure of problem).
I'm no mechanic, but you are probably going to have to make a big ($$$) decision soon. Fix it or get rid of it. Be careful about how long you "live with it". My understanding is that when coolant starts infultrating, it can do some serious damage to internals. More knowledgeable members will give you the grisly details if I'm correct about this.
Same thing with my Grand Prix, the infamous Quad4 engine
I'm no mechanic, but you are probably going to have to make a big ($$$) decision soon. Fix it or get rid of it. Be careful about how long you "live with it". My understanding is that when coolant starts infultrating, it can do some serious damage to internals. More knowledgeable members will give you the grisly details if I'm correct about this.
Kestas
Staff member
I assume you're not a DIYer when it comes to head gaskets. Put up with it as long as you can. Leaking oil to the outside isn't as bad as other leak paths can be. With 71K on the clock, it would be worth repairing.
Head gasket problems on Neons were very common.
Neon performance forums are your best bet for info.
Many engines had water pump design problems, and many had head bolt holes that were not deep enough, resulting in less head/block pressure, even though the bolt was 'tight' enough.
Neon performance forums are your best bet for info.
Many engines had water pump design problems, and many had head bolt holes that were not deep enough, resulting in less head/block pressure, even though the bolt was 'tight' enough.
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