TOPIC: 1995 Dodge Neon - St. Louis, MO - First Groove

Hello,
Here are the steps I used to groove my 1995 Dodge Neon 2.0L.

General Overview:

1. Cut groove with large bit. Did have some small cut-through.
2. Created flashing patch to cover IAC with 1/8" hole for idle.
3. Sealed an external hose that I'm not even sure what it did. Can anyone tell me what it does and if I was correct in sealing it? Photos below.

A. Started up on first try. Idled a little rough at first but smoothed out after the computer reset was completed.
B. Noticed that the accelerator is a bit more touchy now. A little less smooth from a stop. Reverse needs more accelerator to move.
C. Overall smoother running while regular driving. Very good highway speed pickup.

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Extra Materials Used:

1. New TB gasket
2. Metal Flashing Sheet
3. Hose Caps

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Just a shot of the engine compartment for reference.



PCV and hoses removed.



PCV hoses and caps removed. I connected the whole thing back to the engine side and left the large tube just hanging open.



The PCV hose entrance into the manifold capped.



Disconnected the battery for the computer reset. Cut an X in the old tennis ball to place on the + terminal just to keep things from accidentally touching it.



Removed the Air Intake by loosening the clamps and pulling off each end as well as the tube on the underside. Not sure if this tube on the underside should be capped. I just reconnected in the end.



Here are the items I removed to take the TB off. The two side bolts are hard to get to and were slow to unscrew. On reassembly these were difficult to realign and the main reason I didn't use the new paper gasket along with the metal flashing since it added thickness and made these bolts impossible to realign. Had to tighten the main bolts down first to get it to work.



Here are those two bolts.



Cables Removed. Pretty simple.



Progress Inspection



TB came off easily. You can see the old gasket in place. I was surprised to see that there wasn't an old paper gasket used but looking at the finish of the surface and how this large rubber one works it made sense.




A look at the TB...






Filthy...



OK, now she's just being nosey.



Cleaned Up with Carb Cleaner



I ordered the gaskets ahead of time and it showed both of these for my car. As I mentioned I didn't end up using the paper one but it was handy for use as a template in cutting out the flashing to make the IAC cover. When putting it together I noticed that the paper gasket really didn't fit as well as it should. There was a corner which you can see further down where I could have left some more flashing to keep the contact points of the new rubber gasket consistent.




Used the paper gasket as a template. I recommend cutting the inside of the template first since the scissors really twist the metal. I left the area to seal the IAC on there which you'll see below.




Finished cut. Should have left more in the spot shown. I had a 1/8" hole punch and added a hole to allow for idle.





Here I placed the new gasket on and placed the paper gasket to show where the gap is. My flashing has this same gap.



Flashing placed on the TB with the IAC hole.



I used WD40 for the lube and took my time. It went pretty well I think.





The groove done. I got it as close as I could with keeping to the 20 degree angle. I did have one spot that went through and some strange pit holes that I JB KwikWelded.





Here's the cut through.



Cut through spot.



JB KwikWeld filled




Final Groove after final bit pass to remove the excess JB Weld.




Just for kicks I rounded off the intake tube which I saw on the forums as an extra touch.




The reassembly went well except for the paper gasket issue. The car started on the first try even with no acceleration pedal pushed. It was rough but going through the computer reset smoothed it all out.

It's been a couple of weeks now and it's running well. I haven't noticed much in the way of gas mileage improvement however. Maybe it'll take a few more tanks of gas but I can't image that making a huge difference.

**UPDATE 1/27/13**: I realized I needed to cap the PCV! Did that and reset the computer again. On the last fillup I was getting 25mpg rather than the 22mpg I typically do so there was improvement even with the PCV still connected. Will see how things go now. The car ran great on the computer reset.

If anyone spots something I missed or has suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks!

Mike
St. Louis, MO

Hi Mike,

Nice job overall, really nice job on the groove itself.

One thing you want to check is your manifold vacuum while the engine is running
20 to 21 inches of vacuum would be typical.

Check for any hose leaks or anything connected to the manifold that can be rerouted

sometimes you may have a vacuum line such as the ecg, ie: gas recovery that uses an electronic valve to regulate the flow. Sometimes these will hang open causing a vacuum leak.

That's the type of thing you want to look for.

Then there is the usual, O2 sensors, I was just in the auto parts store and they had an advertisement for the need to replace O2 sensors.

Sometimes its the little things that can have the biggest effect.

Karl Fortner
Tacoma, Washington

Thanks Karl,
I filled up the tank and found I'm getting 25mpg over the 22mpg I was before so there is improvement which was great. I went through the procedures again and realized that I needed to do something with the PCV after all! I'm updating the install to show it. I bet I'll see some changes now!

Hey Mike very nice job very good first Groove!

And an Excellent job of photo documenting the whole process-that's instructional quality.

Just a tactical tip- for a template for the flashing take some cardboard against TB base, tap all around w/ small plastic faced hammer as well as the bore outline. This will after many small taps cut the cardboard into a template matching the TB.

Glad to see gains, good on you!!

TracyG Gadgetman Reno