Avenger-same engine as Neon??

[dhughes3]

I just bought a '96 Avenger, 4 cyl. 5 speed, from my son. Great little car. I got 39 mpg on my first tank (mostly freeway), and it has plenty of zip.
Now to the question. This is a 2.0 L DOHC 16 valve engine. My son swears it's the standard 132 horsepower engine, but I thought all of them were SOHC. Do I have the 150 HP engine, or this this a totally different engine from the Neon?

[340Duster]

its the same engine that are in the neons. dont know if it is a sohc or dohc.

[2Sweet Neon]

340 is right 2.0 in avengers are the same as in neons, now to tell if its a dohc or sohc it should say on the valve cover, either 16valve sohc or dohc. also what does the valve cover look like, is it kinda flat with no indentations or does it have a high spot then gets lower where the spark plugs go into and then go back up?, the best way to find out is in the vin#, at least on a neon you can tell which one it is by like the 6 or digit but i dont know if its like that for the avenger. hope that helps

[dhughes3]

It is definitely a DOHC 16 valve; says so right on the valve cover, as well as on the side of the car. So my thinking is that it's the 150HP engine, am I right?

[dhughes3]

The name "nockin' Neon" on one post made me think of this question too. This engine has a loud tapping noise when it is cold, at the frequency of a valve. It continues for several miles, the actual time being dependent on the outside temperature, i.e., how long it takes to get the engine fully warmed up. I note the owner's manual says to ignore a tapping noise on a cold engine, but should it continue this long? My son said it started it in earnest at about 50K.

[2Sweet Neon]

yes your are right the dohc is the 150 hp, about the noise i think its the rocker arms, my neon make the noise to and it goes away, i think that you can adjust them but i am not sure

[dhughes3]

Well, I finally got some firm info on the 2.0 DOHC in the Avenger. It is Chrysler built (Neon heritage), but for some reason it is rated at only 140 HP in the Avenger instead of the 150 HP in the Neon. From what I've read in enthusiast mags, the 150 HP Neon is soft on low RPM torque. I've never driven the Neon version, but this Avenger engine has a lot of torque. It pulls decently from 1500 RPM and strongly from 2500 up. My only complaints are the tapping I asked about earlier and the coarseness. I can hardly believe the gas mileage. I'm getting upper 30's to 40 mpg in mixed driving (maybe 75% freeway).

[Dakster]

Check out the new Mopar Now magazine, there's a section where someone wrote in an asked the same question. MN said it's the same engine, but installed oppasite of the Neon's. Because the Avenger is made by DSM (a Mitsu. owned Co.) for the Japanese market, thus less H.P. But all the "go fast" goodies for the DOHC 2.0 will fit w/ a few exceptions. I hope this helps

Dakster

[dhughes3]

I don't think it's installed differently; the transmission is on the driver's side, just like a Daytona I previously owned was. I haven't looked under the hood of a Neon, but I think the layout is the same.
As for the car being built by Diamond Star Motors, that has its plusses & minuses. The body is as tight as new after 108K miles, something that you wouldn't expect if MoPar put it together. The MoPar drivetrain is a plus, though. That 3.0 that Mitsu made for Chrysler was an oil burner deluxe, and I see a lot of Eclipses and their clones with the 4 cyl. Mitsu engine that are oil burners too.

[HondaThis]

You must be thinking of a talon or laser, They did have mitsu 4G63 engines on the turbo and early N/A models.

BTW, DSM is not officially around anymore, but DC does own a 33% controlling share in Mitsubishi.

Originally posted by Dakster
Check out the new Mopar Now magazine, there's a section where someone wrote in an asked the same question. MN said it's the same engine, but installed oppasite of the Neon's. Because the Avenger is made by DSM (a Mitsu. owned Co.) for the Japanese market, thus less H.P. But all the "go fast" goodies for the DOHC 2.0 will fit w/ a few exceptions. I hope this helps

Dakster