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I have used the search button and the DIY on replacing the alternator and/or belts seems easy enough but I didn't see any info on how frequently the alternators go bad?

and as per the second part of the statement...
the car is a 2000 chrysler neon lx, with 120, 092 miles on it and it is getting to that point where a lot of little things are creeping up...

1) replaced battery -old one just quit holding a charge
2) replaced shifter bushings with booger ones (big difference)
3) replaced cam shaft sensor (WTH-didn't even know what that was until I had to do it)
4) now the belts/alternator-something isn't working right-battery light and weird noise...but belts still look okay (I am thinking maybe alt bearing were what was starting to sound all dry and rattly)

I know the timing belt and water pump are needing to be done at some point soon (and honestly I don't feel like doing it)

I guess the question is....what else is going to go wrong in the near future and is this car worth putting the effort into it?

the clutch and bakes are good ....it develops enough water in the passenger side floor when it rains that I have phone books turned upside down to try to dry it out...it's paid for...

HELP PLEASE!!! is this car worth keeping or should I get rid of it now while it still runs???? or

greybox wrote:I guess the question is....what else is going to go wrong in the near future and is this car worth putting the effort into it?

the clutch and bakes are good ....it develops enough water in the passenger side floor when it rains that I have phone books turned upside down to try to dry it out...it's paid for...

HELP PLEASE!!! is this car worth keeping or should I get rid of it now while it still runs???? or

I can't tell you what will happen to yours next. If I could do stuff like that I would have retired long ago with a killing on the stock market.

My Neon was a 2001 with about 126,000 miles on it and I can tell you what I did with it:

-replaced cam sensor gasket as old one was leaking
-replaced oil pan gasket as old one was leaking
-did the brakes all around
-replaced the tires
-replaced timing belt
-replaced water pump
-replaced cam & crank seals
-replaced AC/PS idler pulley
-replace upper torque strut
-reseated spark plug tubes
-replaced exhaust pipe from header down
-replaced the head gasket
-replaced several rocker arm assemblies and cam shaft

The above was the repair work done to keep it in operation condition. Below is proactive maintenance work that was done:

-replaced the radiator
-replaced all coolant hoses and pipes
-replaced lines from tranny to rad
-replace t-stat and t-stat housing
-replaced the battery
-replaced the coil pack
-replaced spark plugs
-replaced AC and PS drive belts
-changed oil... several times

What will need to be done with yours to keep it going may be different depending on its current state.

I too wrestled with whether to keep or get rid of it and came to the following conclusion:

-figured if I kept it for another year with no repair that I would have recuperated previous investment into the vehicle

-if something major went wrong during that year I would not fix the issue

The AC going out was not major for me... although most here in Texas would disagree with that.

Water on the floor = easy fix...replace the tail light gaskets. There are many threads about this.

The reason you don't see posts about how long alt last is beacause there is no set live span for them. Many of us have original alts that have 150K or more on them.

Since you are at 120K, you are overdue for the T/B & W/P as it is. It isn't an easy job, but it also isn't something to sell the car over unless you are going to pay a shop to do it ($800 to $1200).

Will there be more things that need to be fixed on the car? Absolutely. How many more really depends on how well the car was maintained through it's life. Whether or not it's worth it to repair/maintain the car is totally up to you. If you like the car, then do the work. If not, don't. Just know that your car isn't worth anything in the terms of re-sale, only in what you feel it's worth.

The tail light gaskets...really! who would have thought!

I am dreading the timing belt/water pump because I live in an apartment so it is the down time as well as the fact that I have to keep it low key and can't lock it up in the garage...figure I will start it on a saturday and try to get it done before mondays commute to work. I got a quote for $675 from AAmco for the whole job with new parts (TB and WP as well as seals and belts).

The other car we have is on payments, 2088 and 50,000 miles so I am definitely aware of the irritating nature of putting $325 into a car every month no matter what.

That isn't a bad price at all for that job.

Thats what I thought for that price...saved me a day and a half of frustration, plus the parts cost and the pulley puller tool as well.

Just wanted to make sure it was good investment in so much as the car isn't on that point where everything starts to go wrong.

Also forgot to mention that my fiance' has owned the car since new and has taken good care of it. I also don't mind doing the work on the easier, regular stuff....like the exhaust, alternator, brakes, belts, etc

greybox wrote:The tail light gaskets...really! who would have thought!

I am dreading the timing belt/water pump because I live in an apartment so it is the down time as well as the fact that I have to keep it low key and can't lock it up in the garage...figure I will start it on a saturday and try to get it done before mondays commute to work. I got a quote for $675 from AAmco for the whole job with new parts (TB and WP as well as seals and belts).

The other car we have is on payments, 2088 and 50,000 miles so I am definitely aware of the irritating nature of putting $325 into a car every month no matter what.

Wow... what are those 2088 models like?

You mentioned water in the floor when it rains. Since you know the history on the car and if it hasn't been wrecked, check the a/c drain on the passenger side firewall in the engine compartment. Make sure it isn't plugged with debris/leaves or the like. The drain tube is a black rubber tube with a roughly 90 degree bend in it. My 2000 ES did the same thing recently and that is what I found the problem to be. The drain is on the passenger side of the firewall down low but above the steering rack. Take something bendable like a pipe cleaner and push it up the drain to clear it. I also took the blower motor out and reached into the hvac plenum to drag out any big stuff (recommended) and was amazed by what was in there. The motor only has one electrical plug and 3 screws holding it in, so it's no big deal pulling and reinstalling it. You will also need to pull back the carpet under the motor, so be careful not to drop a screw or you will have to dig to find it. I saw a how to on here that shows how to stop debris from getting into the plenum, which I plan to do this summer.

Mine leaks when it rains over night and I leave the switch on vent (not the recirculate setting).

so I did the belts..easy enough. Turns out the bottom bolt for the alternator had decided to let the nut fall off somewhere on the side of the road...after 10 years of use..weird! So it had backed out which explains what the odd rattling/worn bearing sound I heard was.

So now all is back together and running...but it made me stop and think...driving it until the timingbelt/water pump explodes or putting the money into it...me and the fiance decided...drive it until it decides not to drive anymore...then sell it for parts...no real interest in the car so the gains of fixing all the little things means little except no return on labor, tears and sweat...

greybox wrote:so I did the belts..easy enough. Turns out the bottom bolt for the alternator had decided to let the nut fall off somewhere on the side of the road...after 10 years of use..weird! So it had backed out which explains what the odd rattling/worn bearing sound I heard was.

So now all is back together and running...but it made me stop and think...driving it until the timingbelt/water pump explodes or putting the money into it...me and the fiance decided...drive it until it decides not to drive anymore...then sell it for parts...no real interest in the car so the gains of fixing all the little things means little except no return on labor, tears and sweat...

I got about 1-year out of my Neon after I decided to not repair anything more on it.

During that time the t-stat housing started seeping small amounts of coolant and the AC stopped working.

I figured after 1-year I had recuperated my previous repair investments into the vehicle and it was time for something new.

I am thinking of going back to air-cooled vws....I miss them and any work I do is an investment...it will be something classic that will reap benefits...even though I will be still working on things...easier things..

So I went looking for a VW...forgot how much I liked them...then realized I have a Neon that has always been in the family (since it was born as my fiance says-she bought it brand new) and started looking at the nest of 'what ifs' i could get into with a different car so we are keeping the Neon, I am biting the bullet and having the timing belt/WP replaced at Aamco ($675) and then just doing the other things to keep it going..and maybe a few little performance/handling things here and there...oh well...Mahalo (means family right???)

greybox wrote:I am biting the bullet and having the timing belt/WP replaced at Aamco ($675) and then just doing the other things to keep it going..and maybe a few little performance/handling things here and there...oh well...Mahalo (means family right???)

Good for you! I'm sure you will squeeze more miles out of it.

While doing the t-belt/water pump consider replacing the...

-cam seal
-crank seal

...while you are in there. Those are cheap parts and considering the labor expense / time for the job it is one of those "might as well do while it is apart" items.

Also while everything is apart check to see if the pulley for the AC/PS rolls smoothly... might want to consider replacing that as well while it is torn down.

my fiance being the awesome girl she is found a family run local chain that will do it for $399 including coolant and seals...that right there just made it all worthwhile...