2000 Neon 2.0 SOHC Engine Swap

[occasional demons]

I have to say, that is an interesting motor mount set up. But being a race car, it does the job.

[charlier12]

This is where I am not sure. I rewired (moved spark plug wires) so that the car would fire. I had it wrong at first because the car wouldnt start, then we had it running on 2 cylinders and now know its firing on all 4. With the injectors, I just moved them to copy the firing order. So #1 is now firing on Plug #2 if this makes sense. And Injector #1 connector was moved to #2.

The OBD Port is still connected. I am also thinking the cam magnet may not be correct. Hopefully tomorrow I can mess with it. I want to try and rotating it until the car runs like crap, then go the opposite direction until I get the same result. Then place the magnet in the middle of both these positions. I am affraid to mark the magnet though, as I am not sure it will screw with the sensor.

[charlier12]

Haha... If it was not a racecar, I am not sure how these guys do this motor swap. A lot more work involved then I imagined. Maybe its the year car that makes it difficult.

[occasional demons]

The cam magnet doesn't make a lot of difference. At least with my experience. If you move it far enough, the engine will just not fire. So basically, you can move it in both directions, until it doesn't start, and put it in the middle of that.

What I did the first time, was use a small square, and marked it before removing the locating pins, then at 90º made a mark on the head with a permanent marker. Then rotated it to that mark.

There is also a little dimple on the magnet. you could use that to locate it, if you get a non modified magnet, and use a center punch to make a mark on the head where that dimple is. Then go 90º and make another mark with the punch. The dimple and punch marks will not disappear like the "permanent marker" will.


For 2000 to 2005, to make the swap a bolt in affair, you need the PT Criuser, or SRT motor mount bracket.

You made it work with the 1gn adapter hardware, so no worries at this point. It is doing what you need it to do.

But for future reference, sourcing the PT stuff (more common than SRT) will make the job a lot simpler. The PT and SRT oiling system is also more user friendly in a standard 2gn neon.

[charlier12]

Do you think the computer from the 97 DOHC neon is not communicating with the Stratus motor?
I was thinking that the cam magnet would effect the timing (such as retard or advance the firing), but I guess it really doesnt?

[occasional demons]

The PCM does not know what engine it is controlling. As long as the sensors are compatible, it doesn't care.

The cam magnet only tells the PCM what phase the cam is in, so it will inject fuel in time with the intake valve opening. The crank sensor is what tells the PCM where the pistons are for the spark. The PCM changes the timing independently of the crank signal, depending on inputs from the MAP sensor, coolant sensor, TPS, etc. The crank signal is just a reference point for the spark timing, and a tach signal.

[charlier12]

Okay. Thanks for the information. We are going to try the original injectors tonight to see if the EM gets cherry read. We will also pull the spark plugs to see what they are doing.

[charlier12]

well the upper motor mount bolts broke and the motor dropped breaking the oil lines and siezing up the motor. So months of work for a short period of the racing, lol. We have a 97 neon 2.0L DOHC engine that we will try to put in now. Atleast we already have the computer for it in the car. Now that I have a little bit more experience it should be quicker.