I have a car problem question

I posted it in the automotive group, but it didn't get much traction. Must be quiet over there or something.

Can any mechanically-inclined DUers chime in on it?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=310x846

Thanks in advance!

try posting your question on the Car Talk website. Here's the link:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/community/

Call Click and Clack Saturday Morning. They might not fix your car but you'll have a great time.

Could be the regulator. Could be the rings, but that's pretty low mileage. I suppose it could even be bad spark plugs not burning all the gas being injected. Dunno much about the Neon, so...

Hope you have a mechanic you trust.

..my old car once had a knocking noise from some bad gasoline. When I switched back to premium gasoline, or the gas with higher octane, it stopped. Good luck! :hi:

first off, get it changed immediately! Gas in the oil will dilute the oil and severely affect it's lubricating properties. The knocking could be a lack of (good) oil to the rod bearings.

If it's not smoking (blue smoke) then rings should be ok, but try and see if the car is occasionally hard to start and starts with a little black smoke after sitting a short time.

What could be happening is a fuel injector is leaking down when the engine is shut off. This would dump raw gas down into the cylinder if the engine stopped with the intake valve open. The rings, no matter how "good" they are, have an end gap, and the pooled gas would run right past them into the crankcase, polluting the oil.

Might be as simple of a fix as to run a bottle of Techron Fuel Injector Cleaner (the stuff in the black plastic bottle...this stuff really works) through the tank, followed by an oil change. (I run a bottle through the fuel each oil change just to keep things happy and clean.)

Hope this helps, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.