Is the garage taking the p*ss? clutch question

[earthworm]

Clutch cable snapped so rang Renault but they were booked up, but said the Vauxhall garage next door could fit it in.

So... go to pick up today and it won't select reverse at all and crunches away, and selecting any other gear is really hard.

Now the bloke tried to tell me my clutch has had it? But before the cable snapped it was fine, the bite point has been constant for the last year and I've noticed nothing strange with it, I hardly ever dump the clutch. If the clutch has gone surely I'd have noticed signs of wear?

the guy is gonna have a word with the Renault lads tomorrow. Could the clutch just go like that? What should I do if they refuse to sort it, I'm sure that clutch is fine

 

[col172]

sounds like the clutch rachet could be fu++ED if its the same as on a 5 turbo had a sim prob fitted a new rachet and it was fine

 

[col172]

oh if i rember right the rachet came compleat as a pedel assembly .not that expencive tho

 

[donsrno1]

I would put money on either the cable not being fitted properly or they have used an aftermarket cable. It is well know that any clutch cable other than genuine renaults ones are s**t on the mk1 and cause more problems than they solve.

IMO it sounds like total bullshit from the garage.

 

[Jim NM]

When I got my 2nd R5GTT I had to go under the carpet to get a gear, so I change the pedal and rachet assembly and fitted the Correct cable and lo and behold all gears selected no problem. over a period of 14 years owning two 5GTT's I have changed the clutch pedals and cables many times. The pedal assembly is a plastic jig saw puzzle LOL

The cable is probably the wrong one and or it is routed incorrectly. Fookin' dealers and garages are always ready to tan your A*se. :evil:

 

[earthworm]

I'm pretty sure a genuine renault cable was used as the vauxhall and renault garage are in the same building and run by the same people.

so I am right that its just about impossible for the clutch to go t*ts up just like that? It really must be something to do with the pedal assembly or routing. Hope the renault boys fix it I dont like telling people how to do their job. The Loughborough renault dealers have got good feedback so I'll hope for the best...

 

[JAY172]

doubtful its the clutch. if its a gen cable then the pedal rachet is probably faulty. now its a new cable the ratchet will have reset in a different place eg on a section of worn teeth.

 

[earthworm]

The saga continues...

Renault lads say the clutch has had it and that the pedal ratchet is fine. Can you actually tell this from just shoving your head into the footwell? I've told them about all your suggestions but they are still adament its the clutch. and they want £968 to fit a new clutch!!!!!!!

My car is undrivable and stuck at the garage, I've paid £60 for this priviledge and don't know what to do now. I'm thinking of changing the clutch pedal myself, is this easy to do? Is anyone around the Loughborough area that could help me for some cash + KFC?

 

[jprlaw]

i am very interested in this as have to do it on my valver i rekon

I thinkl my ratchet thing is on the way out as sometimes i put my foot on the clutch pedal and it hits the floor (no tension at all) so think the teeth are worn

is it a job a novice can do fairly easily?

 

[donsrno1]

Try asking about this on www.williamsclio.co.uk and www.retro-renault.com to get a better idea from people who know about these cars a bit better than on here, and you may find someone who will go and have a look for you. Personally I would say it's unlikely to be you clutch, and whatever the case don't get it done at renault as that price is rediculous!!!

 

[iarno]

pm'd

 

[White16valver]

earthworm - when I had mine done it struggled to select reverse and occasionally crunched into forward gears.

As I understand it, it's a self adjusting ratchet mechanism thing? (technical term lol)

I reckon that's why mine's fixed itself!

To get round it I just had to switch off, select reverse and then re-start. Is a pain in the arse but ultimately mine ended up alright.

Weird, I know lol

Tell them to sod off about the clutch though, that's a ridiculous cost and I reckon unnecessary.

 

[earthworm]

Replies really appriciated, I needed some reassurance it's prob not the clutch! Checked on williamsclio.co.uk they are thinking the same.

Going to pick it up tommorrow or Monday morning, you've given me hope it may just need time to sort itself out white16valver!! saying that I don't know if it's even drivable in its current state.

Fed up with it and the valver tbh, forever throwing cash at it though I love her whens she's working. The garage in question btw is Archie Moss Vauxhall and Renault in Loughborough, they are in for a major slating or praising when I get to the bottom of this...

 

[heathbrowning]

Hmm. Dealers dealers dealers. Is there such thing as a good one? If it was me I would tow it away from there and find a decent non dealer garage and ask them. Seems strange it was working fine before the cable snapped. In my experience, 99% of dealers are crap, you just cant trust what they say and £968 for a new clutch? Hope you get sorted but get your car out of there asap!

 

[RichRSi]

The bain of old car ownership. Unless your cars under 3 years old garages seem to treat you like crap.
You could look into adjusting it yourself. Does the cable feel like it has some free play or is it very tight (between the adjustment assembly and the Gearbox)? If its slack, there's your problem.

I dont know how to solve this on a clio but I had a Scirocco and when selecting reverse it was grinding and the bite was right at the carpet. That car had a circular disk on the gear box clutch cable assembly (the cable went through it) which was threaded, it was a case of taking as much of the free-play up as possible by giving the cable a tug while you wind the disk around. You are looking to make the cable between the clutch cable assembly and where it enters the 'box tighter.
A small adjustment makes a big difference so dont go mad, I dont know how strong you are but you dont want to have your clutch dissengaged all the time if you yank too hard. There may be be a lock nut to set the adjustment once it's been made.
If you dont feel confident, leave it well alone though.

 

[mach10]

sounds like cowboys to me!

if you seen me post a few threads sorry about the repost but i can get some renault clutches for you which will have 1 years warrenty but not sure which one you want. just find your local dealer to fit it for you, as renault want 1080 to fit one lol

 

[RichRSi]

It seems (to me) like they are trying to convince you to spend money.
Before the cable was replaced;
Was there ever any sign of slipping when gunning the car in a higher gear?
Did the car creep when stationary even with the clutch pedal fully depressed?
Was there ever any judder when the clutch was taking a load (hill start)
Was the bite of the clutch around half to 3 1/4's travel on cluch operation?

The big prob with renault's is that they were never really designed with RHD controls in mind so you get alot of cable probs. My missus had all the cables go in her 5 at some point.

 

[earthworm]

It seems (to me) like they are trying to convince you to spend money.
Before the cable was replaced;
Was there ever any sign of slipping when gunning the car in a higher gear?
Did the car creep when stationary even with the clutch pedal fully depressed?
Was there ever any judder when the clutch was taking a load (hill start)
Was the bite of the clutch around half to 3 1/4's travel on cluch operation?

No signs at all that the clutch was going, no slipping, creeping forward etc. can't remember exact bite point but was certianly OK.

Gonna go pick it up first thing tomorrow morning. I'm praying it's drivable, I hate being towed. I'm really stuck in two minds what to do now, idealy I need the car by Friday:

1. Buy clutch pedal and do it myself. TBH I'm not overly confident at doing this, and I hate doing fidly things I don't have the patience. But i have the tools and some competant mates

2. Go somewhere like MrClutch in Nottingham and pay even more money for them to look at it. I dont like places like this though as I think they just flog you a clutch whatever. Is there any trustworthy, specialist renault garages around the Loughborough way?

So frustrating, can't wait to get a car with a warrenty!

 

[earthworm]

Does anyone know the part number for the clutch pedal? Want to be sure to get the right one if I decide to do it myself

 

[Gumby]

It's wierd how UK renault garages genuinely take the p*ss on prices. When i was living in France, the quotes from the main-dealer (on my frequent trips there!) were all cheaper than the local garages. For example cam belt service time cost me about 350€ for my clio

Would it be worth taking it into a local garage just to have a quick chat with the mechanics? Don't know about Loughborough but there's loads of local car garages here in Leicester.

 

[ChrisR]

It's wierd how UK renault garages genuinely take the p*ss on prices. When i was living in France, the quotes from the main-dealer (on my frequent trips there!) were all cheaper than the local garages. For example cam belt service time cost me about 350€ for my clio

Would it be worth taking it into a local garage just to have a quick chat with the mechanics? Don't know about Loughborough but there's loads of local car garages here in Leicester.

hmm maybe these holidays when you get your car serviced at the same time might be an idea

 

[Scougar]

Wouldn't trust them at all. Take it to a decent garage.

Also on mk1's, it seems that the biggest problem is bad routing of cables. (why oh why didn't they use a hydraulic clutch

Matthew

 

[cliokiz]

Earthworm,

Sounds like absolute b0llocks to me, if your clutch was fine before the cable snapped, it can't all of a sudden be fooked, thats just nonsense!

If they have fitted a new cable, and now you can't select gears properly, then it's gotta be something to do with the cable/pedal!

If you want some help fitting a new pedal then give me a shout (send me a PM)! I've never fitted one before, but am pretty good at fitting fiddly things so i don't mind popping over to take a look.

My hybrid is off the road at the moment, but you could bring it over (if drivable) and compare the route my cable takes to the route your cable takes, as my clutch was absolutely fine.

Hope you get it all sorted out mate, don't loose faith in the valver, they are awesome when they work!

 

[tim124]

yep if its grinding into reverse the clutch just isnt dis=engaging properly. the only reason you can get it into all the forward gears is because they have syncros on them.

The ratchet mechanism on the pedal is self adjusting so that as the cable and clutch get older the ratchet mech. tightens. i seem to remember something in the workshop manul about resetting the mechanism when you've changed the clutch cable. Either they just havnt reset it or them not resetting it has caused it to brake when the pedal has been pushed.

either way they sound like w***ers

**quick and easy way to tell whether its the clutch or the cable**

Get a big bar on the clutch release arm on the gearbox (the bit that the cable pulls on) you might have to remove the air filter housing and other bits and bobs to get a good angle on it.

lever the arm as if the cable is pulling on it...

Have trusted friend in the car, and while you are trying to dis-engage the clutch with bar they can try reverse gear...

if the bar can release the clutch then its the cable/pedal at fault!!!

Maybe you could suggest the vauxhall dealer tried it and stopped being scumbags!!

 

[earthworm]

Picked car up this morning, was JUST drivable, limped home feeling very sorry for the ol' girl!

Get this though, went into Renault to order this pedal and chatting to the mechanic there he said he'd seen my car in the car park but had no idea why it was there! and neither did any of the other mechanics so Vauxhall blatantly hadn't asked the Renault lads at all!! Pack of jokers.

Get the pedal in a day or so.

Tim: Good idea gonna try that!!
Cliokiz: You have a PM my friend!

 

[Scougar]

There is no point and no value in going to a dealership anymore unless your car is still in warranty.

They don't give a damn about service and reputation (which will earn you more custom long term), they only care about trying to make maximum profit for little effort, hence why they don't employ and train mechanics to do a proper job. Dealerships should be setting the standard, not the setting the low point

Matthew

 

[Neil G]

There is no point and no value in going to a dealership anymore unless your car is still in warranty.

They don't give a damn about service and reputation (which will earn you more custom long term), they only care about trying to make maximum profit for little effort, hence why they don't employ and train mechanics to do a proper job. Dealerships should be setting the standard, not the setting the low point

Matthew

I'd have to agree with the dealership/warranty thing.

My car is well out of warranty and I'm almost glad it is so I don't have to deal with the incompetance at Renault dealerships.

 

[Andy_J]

agreed.. the only time i go to reno is if it's reno only parts ma baby needs!

 

[earthworm]

right... the story has finally come to an end!

Took the car to Eurocar in loughborough (V.good btw!!!), asked them to fit the pedal didnt mention anything bout the clutch "supposedly" being faulty. Few hours later car's ready to go! It was the clutch pedal after all!! Working perfectly now. Saved me approx £950

Gonna go mental at Archie Moss dealers tomorrow, see what I can get out of them. Lost all confidence in dealers. Thanks for the replies, i'd have paid for a new clutch otherwise!!!!

 

[Soontobe16v]

Hey mate, glad you got it sorted!

My cable snapped the other day so 1st time doing one I started yesterday and got it finished 5 hours later. It is a really fiddly job but the mechanics at that garage have not routed your cable properly, I found this out after fitting mine and had the same problem you had. Mine would not go in gear at all, so I went back to the pedal and realised that I had not put the cable through the right hole and groove at the top of the pedal where the ratchet mechanism is. After I had fixed that the car went into gear no problem at all and the pedal is now light and smooth.

So they are definitley in the wrong so give them hell, cos they were taking the piss out of you.

 

[donsrno1]

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Thats a big problem with garages, most people don't have a clue about the mechanics of a car so a garage could say it's needing something like a new clutch when it doesn't at all and the vast majority of people would just go with it.

 

[jprlaw]

how much did it cost to have the clutch pedal replaced pls? i need it done on mine!
thanks

 

[earthworm]

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Thats a big problem with garages, most people don't have a clue about the mechanics of a car so a garage could say it's needing something like a new clutch when it doesn't at all and the vast majority of people would just go with it.

Exactly what I think, say my parents or something would have just paid no questions asked. Thats why you need to use somewhere you trust I guess.

jprlaw - clutch pedal cost £26 from Renault, £38 to fit at a backstreet garage. Me and cliokiz were gonna give it a bash ourselves but it turned out I needed the car quick.

Went down to dealers to ask why they had quoted me a new clutch when i had specifically said it was the pedal and they tried to fob me off with allsorts! Honestly the stuff they were saying, trying to worm his way out of it. After a lengthy "debate" ended up getting the labour charge back, he never once apologised, but muttered it was coming out of the mechanics bonus which to me is admitance that they were in the wrong.

Could rant on for ages, but the moral is... ARCHIE MOSS IN LOUGHBOROUGH, STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS!!!!

 

[alexbleubolt]

why didn't u fit the clutch cable yourself, its very easy on the 16v's takes about 30mins. I had to change mine old 16v one twice, cos it kept melting where i didn't put it behind the heatshield, your clutch could be a bit worn, and if the cable has been stretching and wearing out, that could reflect in the crappy clutch. how many miles has the engine done ?

 

[earthworm]

why didn't u fit the clutch cable yourself, its very easy on the 16v's takes about 30mins. I had to change mine old 16v one twice, cos it kept melting where i didn't put it behind the heatshield, your clutch could be a bit worn, and if the cable has been stretching and wearing out, that could reflect in the crappy clutch. how many miles has the engine done ?

From what I could gather its a fidly job, some people say its easy and some say it's hard. I'm sure it does take you 30mins, but I'm stuck at uni with no tools or axel stands having to work on the road! I'm happy to pay that bit more and get it done properly (well that was the plan!) and get service history as well.

The clutch is perfect now and always has been, that's why I didnt believe them it had just died like that. Car's just ticked over 58,000! Still like new