How to Replace the Oil Pan Gasket in a Plymouth Neon

The Plymouth Neon is a popular car because of its reasonable price and sporty appearance. It's normal for the oil pan gasket to wear out eventually, and when it does, you should replace it as soon as possible. Here's how to replace the oil pan gasket on a Neon with a 2.0 L engine. Replacing the oil pan gasket on a 2.4 L engine is more complex and involves removing more engine components.

Instructions

1

Put the Plymouth Neon in park. Raise the front end with a jack and support it safely on a jack stand. Block the rear wheels to keep them from rolling.

2

Crawl under the car and locate the drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan. Use a wrench to remove the plug, and let the old oil drain into a drain pan. Allow enough time for the oil pan to drain completely and replace the oil pan plug.

3

Disconnect the negative battery cable, and remove the old oil filter, the bolts holding the oil filter adapter, and the oil filter adapter. Remove the structural collar, the lateral bending brace and the transaxle lower dust cover. Loosen the screws holding the drain pan in place, take off the bolts with your fingers so they don't drop in the drain pan, and remove the oil pan.

4

Clean off all of the old gasket, and wipe the surface with solvent or engine cleaner. Put a small amount of silicone sealer on the pump to engine parting line.

5

Apply a new oil pan gasket and replace the oil pan, torquing the screws with a torque wrench to 105 ft. lb. Reattach the transaxle lower dust cover, lateral bending brace and structural collar. Put on the oil filter adapter, and torque the bolts to 60 ft. lb. Put on a new oil filter.

6

Jack up the front of the vehicle slightly and slide out the jack stand. Lower the car.

7

Fill the engine with about 4 qt. of motor oil, and check the level with a dipstick. Add more oil if necessary. Plymouth Neon cars require about 4.5 qt. of oil.