Is the engine on a 1998 Dodge Neon 2.0 SOHC a non-interference engine?

Answer 1

When the car is brand-new, the car is definitely a non-interference engine......however, after the car has been used for many years, carbon will build up causing it to be an interference engine. A non-interference engine is when the pistons don't come in contact with the valves. An interference engine, is just the opposite. If the timing belt is off, it can also affect this 1995-1999 Neon 2liter SOHC 4 cyl engines are Non-Interference engines. This means the vales and pistons do not bang into each other if the timing belt breaks. NOTE: If an engine is non-interference when new, nothing can change that except reconfiguring the way the engine operates.(not possible). If the timing belt breaks, the pistons and the valves do not enter the same space in the cylinder at the same time in non-interference engines. In short, if the belt breaks on a Neon, the valves can bend. (The answer is No---------Not if it is a non-interference engine----You can find out whether or not an engine is interference or non-interference on the Gates drivebelt website www.gates.com and http://www.WikiAnswers.com I am a Dodge mechanic, and I have seen both SOHC and DOHC Neon engine bend valves on a regular basis.