Having your Dodge Neon leak transmission fluid on your driveway is not a good thing. If the transmission loses fluid, the parts inside of it can overheat and break. The first thing you should look at is the gasket on the transmission pan to see if that has any leaks. If it doesn't, it means the shift control solenoid is leaking and needs to be replaced. This is something most amateur car mechanics can fix by themselves in an hour or two. If you own a Dodge Neon and you have to replace a leaking shift control solenoid, here is how to do it.

Disconnect the Battery

You need to remove the negative cable going to the car battery to stop the flow of power to the solenoid.

Remove Air Filter Box

There are five screws holding the air filter cover to the air filter box. Remove the screws with a Phillips head screwdriver. Detach the hose line going to the cover and take off the cover from the air box. Take out the air filter and set it aside. Take out the air inlet hose on the right-hand side of the box and place it on the engine. You do not have to disconnect the sensor going into the hose.

You can now access one of the mounting bolts for the air box. Remove the nut on the bolt with a 10mm socket or wrench. There is another 10mm nut located down on the front of the left-hand side of the air box and four more on the inside of the box where it attaches to a large nipple on the throttle box assembly. Remove all the nuts and bolts.

Disconnect the small hose on the outside of the left-hand side of the box and the clip at the front-center of the box. You can now pull the air box out of the engine compartment.

Remove Throttle Body Assembly

The throttle body assembly now has to be removed. Detach the electrical connection from the top of the throttle body and the vacuum hose on the side of the body. On the back end of the throttle body assembly is a large hose that goes to the manifold cover. Loosen the clamp on the hose with a screwdriver and pull it off the nipple on the manifold cover. You can now remove the throttle body assembly.

Clean Shift Control Solenoid

The shift control solenoid is located right under the throttle body assembly. This area will normally collect a lot of dirt and grime. Clean the dirt and grime away with an engine cleaner before you remove the solenoid.

Remove Electrical Lead

The electrical lead cord is connected to the top of the solenoid with an 8mm bolt. Remove the bolt. Disconnect the two electrical connections attached to the cord. Push the cord aside.

Remove Shift Control Solenoid

There are three 10mm bolts connecting the solenoid to the top of the transmission. The middle bolt has to be removed with a box wrench. A box wrench looks like a standard wrench with an open and closed end. The other two bolts can be removed with a 10mm socket and ratchet. You can now remove the solenoid. Remove the old gasket and clean the top of the transmission.

Replace Solenoid

Put the new gasket on top of the transmission and carefully set the new solenoid in place. Bolt the solenoid to the transmission and put everything back together in the opposite order in which you took it apart.

If you feel you cannot do this on your own, visit a transmission repair shop in your area and professionals can do all of this for you.

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