my boss has a '98 Dodge Neon R/T. the transmission needs to be replaced and he offered to pay me to do it. i have swapped many transmissions and clutch jobs in old school Turbo Mopars and some FWD GM vehicles, but never a Neon. would it be best to pull the engine/trans together out the top (this is how i have always done it) or is there a "better" way with the Neon? i guess on some cars it is easier to lower everything out on the subframe but i don't know if the Neon falls into this category. i don't know anything about Neons; i've never worked on one. does the 1st GEN Neon have a hydraulic clutch or cable actuated?
i found a 2.0L DOHC 5-speed 1st GEN Neon at a local j/y but it's not an R/T. i am not sure what year it is. would this car have the right transmission? this would be an A578 correct? would it have the right FDR and/or speedo gear? what can i do to try to verify that the j/y transmission would be "good"?
i am thinking this should be a pretty straightforward job - pull the engine/trans, pull trans off, get flywheel resurfaced and replace clutch (probably Luk RepSet?), then bolt up the new trans, drop it in and put everything back together. besides the clutch and possibly rear main seal, is there anything else that should be replaced or looked at while i'm doing everything?
any tips, insight etc would be appreciated, thanks!
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Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS