[blake_mcguire]

Hey guys, guess who just bought a Neon?

I've had a 97 Neon now for about a week (the sport DOHC with a 5 speed) and I'm pretty impressed with the car! My brother's 95 Neon with an auto transmission is just gutless, and since I'm used to my 88 Daytona Shelby I like to have a bit of power

Anyway, I'm going over the car making sure everything is up to snuff, but I can't find where I'm supposed to check the transmission fluid! It's probably a silly question, but I don't have any kind of reference for it yet. Additionally, what kind of fluid does this transmission take? Is it normal motor oil like my Daytona?

Sorry again for the stupid question. I did try searching the forum and google, but I couldn't really find anything.



PS:
Aside from oil change/tune up/whatnot, is there anything you guys would recommend checking on for a car of this age? It's got 130xxx kms on it and like I said, I just got it recently, so its history is mostly unknown.

 

[valiant67]

The big thing is the timing belt. It's supposed to have a 105k mile life but if it hasn't been changed yet I'd consider changing it based on age. If the belt breaks it's very likely you'll bend valves.
I'm not sure how you check it, but this is listed for the manual transmission: Mopar MTX lubricant, p/n 4773167

 

[AJ_Schreiber]

Any Oreilly Autoparts store can pull up what fluid you need in our database, I know my parents PT with the same transmission uses ATF4 but Im not sure if it was different for the 90s cars.

 

[blake_mcguire]

I'm actually in Canada. The bigger issue is how to check the fluid that's in it, if it's full or not and if it needs to be changed.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The rubber fill plug is next to the left axle output seal. Grasp the rubber nub with pliers and pull. The drain plug is at the bottom.
If it has never been changed, it may be a good idea to.
Mopar has specific T-350 fluid in quart bottles. It may take just over 2 quarts.
Any fluid that meets the Chrysler MS-spec (material standard) should be OK to use.

 

[blake_mcguire]

Is it like my Daytona where it gets filled to the bottom of the fill hole?

 

[ImperialCrown]

Yes.

 

[blake_mcguire]

OK, last question, how do I find fluid that meets Chrysler's spec? Do you guys know of any that are good?

 

[ImperialCrown]

Mopar does market a specific T-350 fluid which meets the important MS-9417 spec recommended for these transaxles. Some transaxles run with ATF+4 and that is MS-9602.
Any fluid that meets the spec recommended for your application would be OK. I believe that you only need 3 quart bottles as the transaxle only needs a tad over 2 quarts.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/5speed.html