warb0's Clio 197

warb0 · Nov 10, 2016

Hey ClioSport.
Picked up a black Clio 197 at the weekend, from @welshname (a really nice bloke). I've wanted to startup a thread, but wanted to take my own photos first, the weather isn't allowing it so I shall use the photos he sent me for now.

My plans are as follows

New Plates... I don't like the screws and one of the covers is missing.
Sort timing belt, it's been due for a couple of months (booked into Engine Dynamics, going to get belt, water pump and dephaser pulley done for peace of mind). I wanted to do it myself but with the weather and lack of time, it makes sense to book it in (and the price is pretty reasonable IMO). Going to pray it lasts until then
Service! Ordered the following from Renault Parts Direct, no air filter as it's got an ITG. Going to try and get this done before it goes to Engine Dynamics on the 21st.
- Oil
- Oil Filter
- Pollen Filter
- Gearbox Oil
- Spark Plugs
Sort out the lights... it's got Xenons and they seem to be messing around with auto adjusting, and end up pointing at the floor. Occasionally they work OK, so I wonder if the connection to the sensor is a bit crappy... need to look at this as it's really irritating.
Proper clean, wax and polish. I've already chucked a bit of trim restorer on the black bits, but would like to give the car a good wax before the really bad weather sets in.

welshname · Nov 10, 2016

Nice to see a thread up.

Look forward to seeing where you go with the car.

Jcs · Nov 10, 2016

Looks clean. Very clean infact. Enjoy!

warb0 · Nov 10, 2016

Just found an opportunity to go and put the plates on. Really pleased with the quality - £14.94 delivered from eBay (hardridden), includes all the required markings to be legal (whilst keeping them small and discreet). Beats paying £38+ for the equivalent from Halfords like I did for my previous car, infact I think the quality of these is better.

Front Before

Front After

Rear Before

Rear After

welshname · Nov 10, 2016

Loads cleaner. Something I wish I'd done myself!

imprezaworks · Nov 10, 2016

Looks a lovely car

warb0 · Nov 11, 2016

A nice delivery arrived this morning, looking forward to getting everything sorted out next weekend!

Stay Puft · Nov 11, 2016

Nice car, I was tempted myself.

Typhoon · Nov 11, 2016

Rhys is a top bloke mate and this car shows his efforts. Hope you enjoy it.

warb0 · Nov 13, 2016

Got the oil and filter service done today. Wanted to get the plugs and gearbox oil done, but wasted a bit of time looking for the locking wheel bolt key, so just run out of time. Pleased the oil and filter is all done now, prior to the new belts and dephaser next week, car has now covered 69264 miles.

warb0 · Nov 15, 2016

Minor setback - looks like myself nor the previous owner can find the locking wheel bolt key lol! Will need to get these removed prior to the timing belt change on Monday. On the bright side, I've bought a 20 TPI bolts to replace the aged ones.

If anyone local to Colchester has a locking wheel bolt key which looks anything like the following, or knows a good place to get them removed, please comment!

warb0 · Nov 16, 2016

Locking wheel bolt dilemma sorted. Replaced with a set of black TPI standard bolts. Much prefer the look of these compared to the aged, rusty silver things!

welshname · Nov 16, 2016

Nice one. Glad to see you got it sorted

warb0 · Nov 18, 2016

Debating on getting an eBay CLIP clone to aid in diagnosing the problem with the Xenons (which I suspect is the rear level sensor). What's everyones thoughts?

warb0 · Nov 20, 2016

Some more progress today, got the spark plugs all sorted, also changed the rear high level brake light bulb, it's W16W for reference. Old plugs looked OK, but good to have changed them for piece of mind. Timing belt tomorrow. Will need to get around to gearbox oil replacement, brake fluid replacement and a general strip down and cleanup of the brakes over the next few weeks.

welshname · Nov 21, 2016

It's in good hands.

warb0 · Nov 21, 2016

Indeed it was! Timing belt, aux belt, water pump and dephaser changed at Engine Dynamics today. Great service, dropped it off early this morning and picked it up just after lunch.

warb0 · Nov 27, 2016

Managed to get a bit more done today, helped a friend change the brake pads on their Transit, a job well done. Then gave the Clio a good wash, and got the gearbox oil changed. Pleased now that's done, it does definitely feel smoother. Wasn't a difficult job, took around an hour I guess, taking my time and giving things a clean as I went along. Then I went and see someone who had a CLIP, it appears the lighting module isn't talking to the ECU, need to take the front bumper off at some point this week and have a proper look.

warb0 · Nov 28, 2016

Some developments on the light issue... yesterday I went to see someone with a CLiP to see if we could see anything, it appears CLiP could not talk to the lighting module - this points to a bad connection or faulty computer. I took the bumper off at lunch time today and honestly the plugs were in great condition, with no corrosion, however the clip on one of the plugs was missing - so I wonder if it caused an unreliable connection - I have cable tied the suspect plug to the module, and will see tonight if things improve. Failing that I will order another module from eBay for £27.99.

welshname · Nov 28, 2016

That's good progress.

warb0 · Nov 28, 2016

Right... after a drive out tonight I believe the lighting issue is fixed for now! Pretty pleased if that's the case, though only time will tell, I'll pick up a plug and re-plug it soon, providing the issue doesn't return.

Plans for the car between now and the new year

Want to get the car properly cleaned and give it a wax over the next few weeks.
Replace track rod ends and inner tie rods on both sides, then get alignment done.
Brake Service - will take everything apart, give it a good clean, replace fluid, hoses (picked a set of braided hoses from ProLine motorsport for £40), bleed nipples and the caliper pins - thinking about using the MrPink ones.

warb0 · Dec 4, 2016

Bit more progress this weekend. No more issues with the lights, so going to assume that's fixed for now.

This weekend it was time to change the brake fluid, and the brake lines too as it happens. I picked up a set of the braided lines from Pro Line Motorsport for £40 on Black Friday!!!

Really happy with them, they look awesome and give a nice consistent feel. Changing was brake fluid is also a good idea regardless, it looked a bit past its best.

For those interested 10mm, 11mm, 13mm and 14mm spanners are all that was needed. I didn't encounter anything too daunting, though one of the bleed nipples seems to have a lot of crap in the thread, or is cross threaded so I went easy with that one, and will look into replacing it soon.

Only a few photos as my bloody phone died, can't wait to get it sorted out next week, bloody Apple! (https://www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone6s-unexpectedshutdown/)

Scrooge · Dec 4, 2016

Glad to see this car going to another member who will look after it, I see it when Rhys first got it and thought it looked excellent!

Stefan. · Dec 4, 2016

Looks great!

warb0 · Dec 4, 2016

Cheers both, I'm doing my best but lack of time, and the crappy weather means progress is slow, I'm hoping by early next year I'll have sorted all the niggles and it'll be ready for a couple of trackdays. I was hoping to do a bit more this weekend however my girlfriend managed to fall down the stairs at work, so I spent the entire day yesterday in A&E, turns out the Clio is not an ideal car to get in/out off with a sprained ankle, lol! I got a good few weeks off over Christmas, so hopefully do a bit then.

warb0 · Dec 6, 2016

The light issue returns, not quite the same as before though... cornering lights remain working, and they adjust up/down when toggling full beam. Front bumper off again tomorrow by the sounds of it.

warb0 · Apr 20, 2017

Time for an update.

Not that much has happened over the winter, a clean every now and again, and lots of fuel. I did however give the wheels a refurb, there was some pretty bad kerbing present on one of the wheels, with a small amount on the others, this has been there since I bought the car so I decided it was time to tackle it. I've never really painted anything before but I thought I'd give it a go, not displeased with the results, it's far from perfect but a big improvement on what was there.

I also ordered quite a bit of stuff this week, planning on tackling quite a few jobs pre MOT this weekend. I'll try my best to take photos as I go. Any tips/tricks/advice welcome.

Genuine track rods
Genuine track rod ends
Brembo High Carbon front discs
Mintex 1144 front pads
Stainless HEL bleed nipples
I'm also hoping a new braided fuel hose will arrive (after the last one split on Easter Sunday!!!).

Images of the wheel refurb below.

Side before refurb

Inside wheel before cleaning

welshname · Apr 20, 2017

Looking good. Do miss this car

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warb0 · Apr 21, 2017

Some goodies arrived today!

Track rods and ends.

Discs, pads and pins.

Discs, pads and pins.

warb0 · Apr 28, 2017

Time for another update. I got the track rods, track rod ends, discs and pads changed in preparation for the MOT tomorrow. I did also replace the clamps on the exhaust. I spent some time tonight sorting out the alignment, running approx 0.8mm toe out on each side for now. Didn't change the bleed nipples/fluid yet - simply haven't had the time. Hoping to get the braided fuel hose I bought fitted on Sunday, possibly the bleed nipples and fluid too depending on time. I also bought some new p clips to sort out the braided line routing, it's very close ATM but not actually rubbing thankfully.

Track rods, track rod ends, discs, and pads

Track rods, track rod ends, discs, and pads

Track rods, track rod ends, discs, and pads

Track rods, track rod ends, discs, and pads

Alignment

warb0 · Jun 27, 2017

Not updated this for a while... a few small bits recently. Lots of pictures below - really really happy with the car. Few small things need doing, going to start to add powerflex mounts etc as they are tired. Flexis on manifold are starting to go, but going to have a think about which way to take it from here (OK, I've already thought quite a bit about a meg engine, maybe late this year). Most importantly I want to take it on more track days and improve my driving. Mintex 1144's held up OK on track but obviously could be better.

Set of Laguna Silverstones and AD08R (thanks Ben Patey) for track.

Stud conversion - no spacers on track (the laguna have a decent ET anyway).

Braided fuel line sorted out (thanks Jade Developments)

Made a heatshield to replace the POS fiber thing which was torn apart. Will make a proper nice one when the engine is out...

Test fit of the alloys

Preparation for Snetterton

Snetterton evening yesterday

imprezaworks · Jun 27, 2017

Looks great

warb0 · Aug 6, 2017

Time for another update - not too much to mention really - service using ELF 5w40, Genuine filter. Bedford track day. Moved flat. Starting a new job on Monday.

Booked on to Blyton for the morning of CS.net Festival - will possibly try and squeeze another track day/evening in this year.

New parking space - warm and underground for the Clio :smiley:

Stuff storage - will need to look for a unit soon, it appears people are not happy with this stuff "being in the way"

Service and inspection prior to trackday.

Obligatory trackday photo.

welshname · Aug 6, 2017

Really miss this car. Didn't give it enough credit for how good it was tbh.

Glad to see it's getting used properly now though.

warb0 · Oct 6, 2017

welshname said:
Really miss this car. Didn't give it enough credit for how good it was tbh.

Glad to see it's getting used properly now though.

Doing my best!

Another trackday booked, Snetterton on the 16th. Replacing the clutch tomorrow morning, got another genuine manifold with decent flexis too which I'm going to put on whilst I'm at it. New fluid and general check over too.

warb0 · Oct 9, 2017

So clutch and manifold all done. A friend who has done a fair few helped (well I helped him). Took around 3-3.5 hours to do both, and that was going fairly steady, and included a break for lunch.

The clutch had some life left, but the cover... it was properly fked, part had broken off, which was evident on the inside of the housing. Luckily - no adverse effects. I suspected something like this had happened a while ago, combined with the judder is why I decided to replace.

The previous owner had to replace the crank sensor as it got damaged, this is quite possibly when it began to happen.

No more pics unfortunately - had other stuff to do afterwards so didn't really stop to take too many pictures.

Regardless, the clutch is quite possibly the best thing I have done to the car, it's so much better. Upgraded the gearbox mount whilst I was there - not really noticed the difference but worth doing anyway IMO, £16 from Euro Car Parts. One other side effect is that there is close to no vibration on idle now, even with inserts in upper, lower and gearbox mounts.

Clio_fool · Oct 9, 2017

I've just read this from the start and you've done a great job freshening the mechanicals up . I think it looked better when the wheels were silver though. The red track wheels suit it well. Keep up the good work!

welshname · Oct 9, 2017

Christ! I thought the crank sensor looked fucked. Just assumed a bit of clutch material had come off

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warb0 · Oct 10, 2017

@OssPoop thanks! I actually preferred the wheels silver too to be honest, will probably get them refurbed when the tyres need replacing (soon!!).
@welshname well, one of them things really, held out ~10k miles so didn't do bad. About 79k miles now. I've seen more than one case of people replacing crank sensor due to it being chewed up - wonder if the cover breaking up is common - they're just getting to the age now.

Booked onto Snetterton Monday 16th, then Bedford on the 4th of November - looking forward to it.

warb0 · Oct 20, 2017

So Snetterton on Monday was brilliant. Really really happy with the car. I think there were 5 sessions which were red flagged whilst I was out, which was unfortunate, but no major delays really.
Got some instruction (free with Opentrack) - got myself 20-30 mins with adamchristo.com - really nice guy. Races, and actually uses a couple of 200's to teach in - which meant he knew the car well. He showed me how much later I could brake and generally pushed me a bit which was great fun. I previously got instruction at Bedford and was left underwhelmed - so this was great! He then took me for a few laps in my own car which was awesome!
Bedford some friends next on the 4th - also a lot of people from the forum going which will be cool! After that it's time to do some tidying up/maintenance. Rough idea of what I want to look/tidy/replace over winter includes: