Need some help with an engine (420A?)

All right a friend of mine drives a '98 Dodge Neon with the 2.0 engine. I'm fairly certain that it's the 420A. I'm not for sure but I need to know what engine she has as well as if it's an interference engine (She just snapped the timing belt). I'm going to be working on it tommorrow at work so someone let me know please.

yup its a 420a, not sure of the other thing though

420a was only equiped in the 97-99 neon r/t, all base modles have the a855 motor, same thing as the 420a but its a sohc.

oh yea your right...i missed that when i researched. Good catch

and all are interferrence motors correct? I would assume so

I REALLY hope it's not an interference motor... Anyone know? And if it is I need to know a way to test the valves to see if they're bent.

yes it is an interference engine. Both the 420a and the a588 were.

Well then a way to test the valves without ripping the head off? Anyone?

well if she snapped it while driving theres probably a good chance that some of them are bent. I dont think there is any way to know unless you take off the valve cover and look at them

do a compression check. and if one reads 0 then there it is. well thats what we did on my car.

That's fine and dandy but there will be valves open I'm trying to test for bent valves before doing the timing belt. If the belt is on and whatnot that will work but the belt isn't. Know what I'm trying to say? I want to test it before doing the work to replace it. With the cam stationary I shouldn't see any compression in at least 1 if not more cylinders.

oh yea thats right. I forgot thats what they did on my car when mine went. I remeber them saying there was zero compression on 3 cylinders. , it was bad

I have 30 on the #1 0 on 2 and 3 and 40 on #4 with a stationary camshaft I'm hoping it stopped with them up enough to not hit and bend... Slim chance I'm sure...

yea id say pretty damn slim. Sounds liike your looking at replacing at least a couple valves though.

I'm hoping not... She can't afford the timing belt let alone a valve job. Not to mention the gaskets she'll now need...

I promess a valve is bent. If your just driving at a crusing speed each piston is moving up and down 2500 times a min, thats 41 times a second... at least one valve is bent.

Ya man it is almost impossible to not bend a valve on an interference motor. I bet at least one is if not more. The problem is to make sure they didnt crack any pistons

just go to a pick and pull there are hundreds of eclipses and neons in there.

thats probably your best bet is to buy a head from a junk yard...the same thing happened to my sister and were now in the process of getting a cyilinder head...its eaisier than ripping the whole thing apart

Either my friend got INCREDIBLY lucky or I dunno maybe the SOHC is a non interference motor. I took 7.5 hours Monday to do the timing belt. Turns out the water pump is fine (The belt was old and HADN'T been replaced last year as she thought). After re timing the car 4 times (I'll explain THAT fiasco in a minute here) I finally got her running and she purs like a kitten. The engine makes NO noise whatsoever. So if there IS a bent valve then it's BARELY bent if at all and I told her already that there MAY be one and to tuck some away here and there to do the head job later.

Anyways ON to the story. I'm going by this ultimate timing book we have. This book lists every engine known and how to time each one and all steps to install a new timing belt. So for DiamlerChrysler the 2.0L SOHC after removing the timing belt the book informs me to line the crankshaft up at TDC via the arrows on the crank pulley and the oil pump housing. Done. Now it says to back the crank off 3 notches. Fine... Done. Align the camshaft to TDC. Done. Then it says to back the crankshaft off another 1/2 a notch. So I do that. Now install the timing belt and bring the crankshaft forward by 1/2 a notch to TDC... Now wait a sec... I thought I was 3 1/2 notches away from TDC... So do I go 1/2 or do I go to TDC?... I try both ways... Nothing... I tried another variation of it then decided to go back to the shadetree method. I threw the damn book across the shop, Took out #1 plug, stuck a long @$$ 1/4" extension into the hole and found TDC myself. (Which actually happened to be 1/2 notch AFTER the mark... Hhhhmmmm....) I then proceeded to install the belt, turn the engine twice by hand (That thing had some compression lemme tell you...), and then finally turn the key. And BAM she starts right up. NEVER again will I go by a freakin book... (Not a generic one at least).

HAHA thats funny how it doesnt even agree with what they just said. Its like one step foward, then three steps back and thinking you back where you started

Isn't it great... I mean seriously... If the book was all jacked about THIS one... Though another interesting side note I'm actually surprised I didn't get compression ignition when I had it timed by the book. Obviously the spark was off thus no electronic ignition BUT I had at least 1 cylinder reading a good 170 PSI for a compression test... Oh well... She runs that's all I care