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Daily dci
- Thread starter Brigsy
- Start date
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Cleaned up both dci's on Sunday. Rained straight after as expected!!
Mileage just clicked over 176k on the blue clio on a site visit today. Been keeping an eye on tyres on it as they can go from legal to bald in no time with the mileage racking up fast. Ive done 16k on the front michelin crossclimates and still got around 5mm on them. Wear rate is class! Rears still as new tread.
Nothing else to report really just drive and fill up with diesel. Only thing that happened is some scruff in Milton Keynes nicked my passenger side blind spot mirror when parked outside the gym i was using. Ordered one next day on amazon prime and got it delivered to site!
Thanks for reading!!
Mileage just clicked over 176k on the blue clio on a site visit today. Been keeping an eye on tyres on it as they can go from legal to bald in no time with the mileage racking up fast. Ive done 16k on the front michelin crossclimates and still got around 5mm on them. Wear rate is class! Rears still as new tread.
Nothing else to report really just drive and fill up with diesel. Only thing that happened is some scruff in Milton Keynes nicked my passenger side blind spot mirror when parked outside the gym i was using. Ordered one next day on amazon prime and got it delivered to site!
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Wipers on the blue dci started making a right racket in use banging with every sweep. As its rainy season they are getting plenty of use so needed looking at pronto.
Witness marks noted so assumed a lot of play on the arm.
Removed today and lots of wear inside and play in the pivots.
Bit floppy. To be expected at 177k i guess.
Noted middle wiper spindle had loads of in and out movement so stripped down to investigate. Retaining clip had popped off the shaft for whatever reason. Greased the shaft, nipped clip up with a pair of pliers and refitted.
Seems ok now and no more play and clip stays on solid as ran the wipers with arms fitted for a few mins to keep an eye on it. Fitted new wiper off ebay which turned out to be spot on with no play.
Drivers side wiper actually cleans the screen better now and does not skip like it used to so not a bad fix.
Thanks for reading!!
Wipers on the blue dci started making a right racket in use banging with every sweep. As its rainy season they are getting plenty of use so needed looking at pronto.
Witness marks noted so assumed a lot of play on the arm.
Removed today and lots of wear inside and play in the pivots.
Bit floppy. To be expected at 177k i guess.
Noted middle wiper spindle had loads of in and out movement so stripped down to investigate. Retaining clip had popped off the shaft for whatever reason. Greased the shaft, nipped clip up with a pair of pliers and refitted.
Seems ok now and no more play and clip stays on solid as ran the wipers with arms fitted for a few mins to keep an eye on it. Fitted new wiper off ebay which turned out to be spot on with no play.
Drivers side wiper actually cleans the screen better now and does not skip like it used to so not a bad fix.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Indeed, a nice cheap fix. I had visions of the wiper departing on the m1 in torrential rain so thought id best get it fixed pronto
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
The long crank is back on the blue dci.
To set the scenario. Car is in regular use and if driven daily, starts first crank on a morning and after running never fails to start.
But, if you start it up, and move it a short distance i.e. to the front of the drive and shut it down and start it up later in the day or next day, 50% of the time it will take a long crank or 2x cranks to start.
Usually goes on the 2nd crank no bother. I thought this was fixed when i changed the fuel lines in engine bay approx 10k ago but its back.
Yesterday i moved it on the morning. It had been stood a day, started first crank and shuffled it out of the way. Went to start a few hours later and no start on first attempt. 2nd attempt starts and conks out. 3rd attempt just cranking until eml comes on. I was about to give it a bit of sniff to get it fired but pumped the diesel primer a load of times as looked to be a load of air in the fuel lines and it cranks and eventually fires and runs as normal.
Still a lot of air in the fuel lines so not fully convinced its not an air leak on a pipe, but have heard the air might be injector on its way i.e. high leakoff. Ill have to do a leakoff test to see how bad they are and make a decision which route to go..may pull sender out of tank to see if any shite.
Current mileage
Low fuel pressure logged as expected
Injectors will never crack at 21bar but again if it does have a minor air leak on a diesel pipe it wont be happy. Batt voltage looks a little low however it was cranking fast and strong no sign of going flat.
After carry on, its starting first time every time as usual.
Cant whinge too much at 179k on what looks to be original injectors.
Any advice welcome as usual all.
The long crank is back on the blue dci.
To set the scenario. Car is in regular use and if driven daily, starts first crank on a morning and after running never fails to start.
But, if you start it up, and move it a short distance i.e. to the front of the drive and shut it down and start it up later in the day or next day, 50% of the time it will take a long crank or 2x cranks to start.
Usually goes on the 2nd crank no bother. I thought this was fixed when i changed the fuel lines in engine bay approx 10k ago but its back.
Yesterday i moved it on the morning. It had been stood a day, started first crank and shuffled it out of the way. Went to start a few hours later and no start on first attempt. 2nd attempt starts and conks out. 3rd attempt just cranking until eml comes on. I was about to give it a bit of sniff to get it fired but pumped the diesel primer a load of times as looked to be a load of air in the fuel lines and it cranks and eventually fires and runs as normal.
Still a lot of air in the fuel lines so not fully convinced its not an air leak on a pipe, but have heard the air might be injector on its way i.e. high leakoff. Ill have to do a leakoff test to see how bad they are and make a decision which route to go..may pull sender out of tank to see if any shite.
Current mileage
Low fuel pressure logged as expected
Injectors will never crack at 21bar but again if it does have a minor air leak on a diesel pipe it wont be happy. Batt voltage looks a little low however it was cranking fast and strong no sign of going flat.
After carry on, its starting first time every time as usual.
Cant whinge too much at 179k on what looks to be original injectors.
Any advice welcome as usual all.
Touring_Rob
ClioSport Club Member
You should drop @Brigsy a message mate, if he can't fix it you should probably cut your losses and set fire to it right this moment.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Box of swan vestas sounds appealing
Ill have a good look round as it does seem much like an air leak to me as it usually starts first crank. Was it a leakoff pipe?
botfch
ClioSport Club Member
Clio 182
Box of swan vestas sounds appealing
Ill have a good look round as it does seem much like an air leak to me as it usually starts first crank. Was it a leakoff pipe?
Yeah to look at it you couldn’t see the leak at all it was so small I found it by accident wiping the dirt off with some kitchen roll.
JamesBryan
ClioSport Club Member
Sounds a little similar to my brother's 2.0 diesel C Max.
Turned out to be the fuel filter on his. The housing had an o-ring and the previous owner/garage must have pinched it when changing as it was flattened on one side and must have been letting air in and fuel to drain back.
Changed and been fine every since.
Turned out to be the fuel filter on his. The housing had an o-ring and the previous owner/garage must have pinched it when changing as it was flattened on one side and must have been letting air in and fuel to drain back.
Changed and been fine every since.
R5gtt, 182, volvo...
My volvo was getting tons of air in the diesel lines, you could see as they were clear at the pump. It was a suck system, so I went all over the filter housing hunting for an entry point and chucked a new one in... Because £40.. Nope.
In the end mine was the o rings on the joint from metal (under the car) to the plastic ones in the engine bay. It went to the filter.
I specifically said, it won't be that one as I'd tested it filter side.
It really does get in anywhere..
I used a bucket of diesel direct on the pump to prove my problem needed investigating.. Took said bucket to the tank pick up lines to prove the problem was in the engine bay..
If only I sprayed wd40 on that joint.
Doh.
In the end mine was the o rings on the joint from metal (under the car) to the plastic ones in the engine bay. It went to the filter.
I specifically said, it won't be that one as I'd tested it filter side.
It really does get in anywhere..
I used a bucket of diesel direct on the pump to prove my problem needed investigating.. Took said bucket to the tank pick up lines to prove the problem was in the engine bay..
If only I sprayed wd40 on that joint.
Doh.
Mcaff
ClioSport Club Member
Glad I’m not the only one, having similar issues with the van. Have done leak off and changed the dodgy injectors, seemed better but after a load of work I’m now having intermittent misfire on cylinder 4. Can’t offer any advice other than f**k motors 🥲 mine has always been terrible for a long crank in the colder weather.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Derv primer on them is known for leaking.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Blue dci has not failed to start since, goes first crank from cold and no problems aslong as its driven. Not done any diagnostics yet but had a quick look round and fuel lines look OK..prob bang a diesel filter on it soon and leakoff test.
Due a service so give it a quick oil and filter change as weather was good. Its had a weep of oil from the oil filter support and bolt area which looked to be getting worse so changed the seals as had them in stock for ages. Old ones were lile plastic and snapped off on removal.
New seals fitted.
Refitted and torqued bolt to 28nm. New purflux filter and elf 5-40.
Air filter and pollen filter had seen better days.
Nothing to see here just dirty dci.
Mot has expired on the orange dci. Ive give it a check over and looks ok, will book it in next week.
Thanks for reading!!
Blue dci has not failed to start since, goes first crank from cold and no problems aslong as its driven. Not done any diagnostics yet but had a quick look round and fuel lines look OK..prob bang a diesel filter on it soon and leakoff test.
Due a service so give it a quick oil and filter change as weather was good. Its had a weep of oil from the oil filter support and bolt area which looked to be getting worse so changed the seals as had them in stock for ages. Old ones were lile plastic and snapped off on removal.
New seals fitted.
Refitted and torqued bolt to 28nm. New purflux filter and elf 5-40.
Air filter and pollen filter had seen better days.
Nothing to see here just dirty dci.
Mot has expired on the orange dci. Ive give it a check over and looks ok, will book it in next week.
Thanks for reading!!
Last edited:
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Winter wash and interior clean. Rained straight after and continues to piss down.
Clean for ten mins
Number plate light has been going on and off recently and wiggling the wiring plug or bulb got it going for a day or so, but not permanent fix as terminals and bulb holder super corroded. Had a new connector and new numberplate light in stock so spent ten mins fitting it.
Crimp
Dual wall heatshrink
New and shiney
Its still doing the long crank in certain circumstances but started first crank in -5deg conditions the other day. Ive got a fuel filter en route to stick on and will look at the connections when filter is off to see if any air leaks.
Thanks for reading!!
Winter wash and interior clean. Rained straight after and continues to piss down.
Clean for ten mins
Number plate light has been going on and off recently and wiggling the wiring plug or bulb got it going for a day or so, but not permanent fix as terminals and bulb holder super corroded. Had a new connector and new numberplate light in stock so spent ten mins fitting it.
Crimp
Dual wall heatshrink
New and shiney
Its still doing the long crank in certain circumstances but started first crank in -5deg conditions the other day. Ive got a fuel filter en route to stick on and will look at the connections when filter is off to see if any air leaks.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Half day fixing a few issues on the dci's today.
Orange dci had a sticky caliper on drivers side. I resucitated this caliper a few years back when it was sticking after 2020 covid layup, but it was pretty tight this time and mega rusty so opted for a new one. £35 for febi bilstein, parts are still mega cheap if you shop round.
All went smoothly. Had to undo the flexi pipe at the join as it was slightly twisted when attatched to new caliper. Renewed the clip that holds the flexi to the bracket as pretty rotten, and as old paint had fell off slapped some bilt hamber hydrate 80 on a quick top coat of chassis black. Pressure bled all 4 corners with typ200.
Tools all over.
Shiney.
Quick coat of black to match passenger side.
Passenger caliper was a little sticky but not bad, probably acceptable for most people. Its easy to fix them when slightly sticky though and with 65hp a bit of resistance kills the economy and little power it has.
Popped piston out as far as i dared and peeled rubber back. This revealed slight surface rust on the piston, which simply needs a drop of wd40 and a bit of 1500 wet and dry to polish. Cleaned it up, red rubber grease and worked it in and out and moves great. Brake pedal feels great, happy little clio again.
Onto Blue clio next.
Doing a few miles again and rear drums needed adjusting as the brake pedal was a bit long, and handbrake was crap. This was quite annoying in Sheffield the other day as its all hills. I must have done this 10x on this over the last few years, the self adjuster mech is crap and does not take the slack up. Theres nothing wrong with it, all renault drum brakes are the same and require regular maintenance.
15min job to do anyway. As usual set adjuster as tight as poss so drums go on tight ish. Loads of brake dust as usual so cleaned that up.
Shoes a little low but not worn out.
Very dusty as usual.
Rear shoes are about 50% worn. Ill stick a new set in next time. Rear cylinders seem ok, and brake pedal and handbrake travel restored.
Next job was time clock bulbs. One bulb popped about a year ago and the remaining one popped Friday. I have tons of bulbs in stock so easy fix.
Dash top off.
Testing before refitting dash top.
Working again.
Also wired in a hardwire kit for my dash cam whilst in the area. No pics of that as was up against the light at this point. All back together and boxed off.
Not a bad shift for 12pm-4:30pm.
Thanks for reading!!
Half day fixing a few issues on the dci's today.
Orange dci had a sticky caliper on drivers side. I resucitated this caliper a few years back when it was sticking after 2020 covid layup, but it was pretty tight this time and mega rusty so opted for a new one. £35 for febi bilstein, parts are still mega cheap if you shop round.
All went smoothly. Had to undo the flexi pipe at the join as it was slightly twisted when attatched to new caliper. Renewed the clip that holds the flexi to the bracket as pretty rotten, and as old paint had fell off slapped some bilt hamber hydrate 80 on a quick top coat of chassis black. Pressure bled all 4 corners with typ200.
Tools all over.
Shiney.
Quick coat of black to match passenger side.
Passenger caliper was a little sticky but not bad, probably acceptable for most people. Its easy to fix them when slightly sticky though and with 65hp a bit of resistance kills the economy and little power it has.
Popped piston out as far as i dared and peeled rubber back. This revealed slight surface rust on the piston, which simply needs a drop of wd40 and a bit of 1500 wet and dry to polish. Cleaned it up, red rubber grease and worked it in and out and moves great. Brake pedal feels great, happy little clio again.
Onto Blue clio next.
Doing a few miles again and rear drums needed adjusting as the brake pedal was a bit long, and handbrake was crap. This was quite annoying in Sheffield the other day as its all hills. I must have done this 10x on this over the last few years, the self adjuster mech is crap and does not take the slack up. Theres nothing wrong with it, all renault drum brakes are the same and require regular maintenance.
15min job to do anyway. As usual set adjuster as tight as poss so drums go on tight ish. Loads of brake dust as usual so cleaned that up.
Shoes a little low but not worn out.
Very dusty as usual.
Rear shoes are about 50% worn. Ill stick a new set in next time. Rear cylinders seem ok, and brake pedal and handbrake travel restored.
Next job was time clock bulbs. One bulb popped about a year ago and the remaining one popped Friday. I have tons of bulbs in stock so easy fix.
Dash top off.
Testing before refitting dash top.
Working again.
Also wired in a hardwire kit for my dash cam whilst in the area. No pics of that as was up against the light at this point. All back together and boxed off.
Not a bad shift for 12pm-4:30pm.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
It is indeed jacked up in the middle of the beam. I think it says do not jack there but it causes no damage.
R5gtt, 182, volvo...
Are you familiar with the back yard solution to De-lip them brake drums?
Bolt a 1/2 extention in a vice, slightly up at an angle, spin the drum on it and gently insert angle grinder with flapper wheel or grinding wheel. 4.8million rpm later and the lip is gone.
Take 60 seconds.
Bolt a 1/2 extention in a vice, slightly up at an angle, spin the drum on it and gently insert angle grinder with flapper wheel or grinding wheel. 4.8million rpm later and the lip is gone.
Take 60 seconds.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Ive not tried the spinny version but always de lip. Ill remember that for next time 😁
I had the flapper wheel on them today as i couldnt be arsed getting the die grinder out.
Useful to know.
My previous runabout ('97 Civic) had central jacking points front and rear - so much easier to place the axle stands under the reinforced parts of the sill.
Really enjoyed reading this thread. Cheers
Martin_172
ClioSport Club Member
i hate taking the dash top off them, but i always smile when i get in one with fresh clock bulbs, nice and bright haha
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Orange dci was well overdue a cambelt and aux kit. 8 years since last one so dropped into the 24-25 cyclical maintenance program as urgent job.
I ordered the parts January last year from autodoc but failed to fit them. Gates cambelt kit including water pump, febi aux belt (no tensioner as manual), febi crank pulley, elring cam/crank seals & elring oil pump gasket. Was not expensive from memory around £140.
Goodies.
Got to business. I knew it needed a bit of work and had a nice trail of oil down the sump.from cambelt area. Covers off and noted cam seal leaking quite bad.
Belt getting there, aux belt was cracked too.
Chinese seal kit ftw.
Makes fitting easy.
Refit cam pulley and torque to spec, moving onto crank area. Cleaned off surrounding area around oil pump cover as gasket is leaking and crank seal is also leaking. Remove oil pump cover and a load of s**t falls into the sump from behind the plate (Of course it fcucking does making job longer now sump needs to come off to clean).
Anyway crack on and all sump etorx bolts fly out which is good, unlike previous sump job on the r26.
Gasket offered up.
Cleaned up and gasket fitted, new water pump fitted.
Oil pump cover fitted and torqued - ptfe seal fitted dry and left to 'set' as per instructions.
Had to order a sump gasket so left it a few days with sump temp fitted. Gasket arrived, and today was the day to fully remove the sump. Dropped drivers side of subframe down and got it out, bit of a ballache on these to be fair. Sump gasket was leaking a little so not wasted job though.
Was quite a bit of s**t and sludge in sump to be expected at 160k. Baffle is fixed in place with some one use fixings so got a full can of brake cleaner and high pressure rinse.
Clean.
That takes a little time to refit but get it back on and subframe etc back in place. Onto the main job, cambelt fitting. These k9k are a doddle, even though its floating crank as its an old one. Simply pin crank and cam pulleys, set tensioner and fit crank pulley and torque, reset tensioner after 2 revolutions.
30 mins job, easy. Note diesel pump mark lined up with bolt as per workshop manual.
New crank pulley on and aux belt fitted.
Aux tensioner is a bit of a carry on to set as cant get a lever on the tensioner. I made a tool up to pull the tensioner years ago to replicate the oem ren tool, stuck that on and had it set it 2 mins.
Orange dci was well overdue a cambelt and aux kit. 8 years since last one so dropped into the 24-25 cyclical maintenance program as urgent job.
I ordered the parts January last year from autodoc but failed to fit them. Gates cambelt kit including water pump, febi aux belt (no tensioner as manual), febi crank pulley, elring cam/crank seals & elring oil pump gasket. Was not expensive from memory around £140.
Goodies.
Got to business. I knew it needed a bit of work and had a nice trail of oil down the sump.from cambelt area. Covers off and noted cam seal leaking quite bad.
Belt getting there, aux belt was cracked too.
Chinese seal kit ftw.
Refit cam pulley and torque to spec, moving onto crank area. Cleaned off surrounding area around oil pump cover as gasket is leaking and crank seal is also leaking. Remove oil pump cover and a load of s**t falls into the sump from behind the plate (Of course it fcucking does making job longer now sump needs to come off to clean).
Anyway crack on and all sump etorx bolts fly out which is good, unlike previous sump job on the r26.
Gasket offered up.
Cleaned up and gasket fitted, new water pump fitted.
Oil pump cover fitted and torqued - ptfe seal fitted dry and left to 'set' as per instructions.
Had to order a sump gasket so left it a few days with sump temp fitted. Gasket arrived, and today was the day to fully remove the sump. Dropped drivers side of subframe down and got it out, bit of a ballache on these to be fair. Sump gasket was leaking a little so not wasted job though.
Was quite a bit of s**t and sludge in sump to be expected at 160k. Baffle is fixed in place with some one use fixings so got a full can of brake cleaner and high pressure rinse.
Clean.
That takes a little time to refit but get it back on and subframe etc back in place. Onto the main job, cambelt fitting. These k9k are a doddle, even though its floating crank as its an old one. Simply pin crank and cam pulleys, set tensioner and fit crank pulley and torque, reset tensioner after 2 revolutions.
30 mins job, easy. Note diesel pump mark lined up with bolt as per workshop manual.
New crank pulley on and aux belt fitted.
Aux tensioner is a bit of a carry on to set as cant get a lever on the tensioner. I made a tool up to pull the tensioner years ago to replicate the oem ren tool, stuck that on and had it set it 2 mins.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Next job was radiator replacement whilst coolant was out. Rad had seen better days and damp in a few places/smelling of coolant after last use. Pull old rad out, bolts snap on top mounting brackets as expected, however was not expecting the oem spring type hose clips snap due to rust! Basically no tension at all, suprised not popped a hose off.
Not the best
Nrf radiator was £35 new so was worth doing as coolant is a fortune now so nice to keep it all in. Changed all the hose clips as all on last legs, some had lost spring and generally rotten.
Neww
Brackets i refurbed ages ago.
Changed air filter and diesel filter. Filled it up with fresh type d, elf sxr900 5/40 oil.
Dirty d
Airfilter seen better days.
Hit the switch and it fires right up. Same old chuggy diesel from cold..been the same forever. No chirping aux belt from cold so improvements.
Appears to be leak free, just a few daft bits to refit and done. Should be good for a few miles again and most importantly reliable. The mrs might be doing a bit of commuting for work so wont be sat about as much.
Thanks for reading!!
Not the best
Nrf radiator was £35 new so was worth doing as coolant is a fortune now so nice to keep it all in. Changed all the hose clips as all on last legs, some had lost spring and generally rotten.
Neww
Brackets i refurbed ages ago.
Changed air filter and diesel filter. Filled it up with fresh type d, elf sxr900 5/40 oil.
Dirty d
Airfilter seen better days.
Hit the switch and it fires right up. Same old chuggy diesel from cold..been the same forever. No chirping aux belt from cold so improvements.
Appears to be leak free, just a few daft bits to refit and done. Should be good for a few miles again and most importantly reliable. The mrs might be doing a bit of commuting for work so wont be sat about as much.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Its mega, only cost £35 too. Ive knacked a few seals with a socket in the past so was worth buying
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Sunday update.
Orange dci back together and done a few miles in it, all seems fine no issues so job jobbed.
Blue clio needed some tlc next. Brakes have been making an annoying ticking due to rust and discs were worn on inside quite bad with pads down to 30%. I was given a new set of discs and pads ages ago for free, discs had surface rust on from sitting but unworn. I dumped the discs in a weak citric acid mix which cleaned the rust off fast and washed them down/give the centres a blast in silver to keep the flash rust off.
Assume position
Clean it well
Done ish
Daft 45 mins. Lower passenger slider was seized so spun it out with the impact and wire brushed it clean and regreased. Always sesms to be this one that gives issues for some reason!?
Took it out for test run discs cleaned up in no time and all good again.
Thanks for reading!!
Orange dci back together and done a few miles in it, all seems fine no issues so job jobbed.
Blue clio needed some tlc next. Brakes have been making an annoying ticking due to rust and discs were worn on inside quite bad with pads down to 30%. I was given a new set of discs and pads ages ago for free, discs had surface rust on from sitting but unworn. I dumped the discs in a weak citric acid mix which cleaned the rust off fast and washed them down/give the centres a blast in silver to keep the flash rust off.
Assume position
Daft 45 mins. Lower passenger slider was seized so spun it out with the impact and wire brushed it clean and regreased. Always sesms to be this one that gives issues for some reason!?
Took it out for test run discs cleaned up in no time and all good again.
Thanks for reading!!
Same for me on the Clio's predecessor. Had to use heat to free.
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Done a load of miles over last few weeks in the blue dci. Ive been getting a whiff of coolant inside occasionally and slight coolant loss. Over a thousand miles or so it changed from slight whiff to stinking of coolant so figured heater matrix was starting to leak bad.
Retired it from duties briefly so have been using the orange dci which is running great.
Ordered a heater matrix so today was the day.
Stripped in 2.5 hours
Leaking as expected
Id say its been leaking a while as coolant has been dropping a little over time
Original Valeo vs replacement NRF matrix.
Worn out foam replaced.
All was going well. Bit too well - reconnected the heater hoses and topped up the coolant. Top heater connector dripping like a gooden.
Done a bit of digging and it appears people have had issues with aftermarket heater matrix leaking on the connector - supposed to be differences in the heater core stub size.
Grabbed the vernier calipers to check pipe dimension and Nrf ones are within a fanny hair of valeo so non issue. The issue is the knackered flat o rings in the connector, now disturbed/184,000 miles are shot.
Typically they are non standard sized o rings -the generic o ring sets only have 20mm x 2mm in where they are 20mm x 2.5mm ish thick. Luckily my mate had some viton o rings in the correct size so fitted them to the connector and its popped in place with good resistance so should be ok.
Ill pressure test it in the morning before rebuilding to be sure.
Thanks for reading!!
Done a load of miles over last few weeks in the blue dci. Ive been getting a whiff of coolant inside occasionally and slight coolant loss. Over a thousand miles or so it changed from slight whiff to stinking of coolant so figured heater matrix was starting to leak bad.
Retired it from duties briefly so have been using the orange dci which is running great.
Ordered a heater matrix so today was the day.
Stripped in 2.5 hours
Leaking as expected
Id say its been leaking a while as coolant has been dropping a little over time
Original Valeo vs replacement NRF matrix.
Worn out foam replaced.
All was going well. Bit too well - reconnected the heater hoses and topped up the coolant. Top heater connector dripping like a gooden.
Done a bit of digging and it appears people have had issues with aftermarket heater matrix leaking on the connector - supposed to be differences in the heater core stub size.
Grabbed the vernier calipers to check pipe dimension and Nrf ones are within a fanny hair of valeo so non issue. The issue is the knackered flat o rings in the connector, now disturbed/184,000 miles are shot.
Typically they are non standard sized o rings -the generic o ring sets only have 20mm x 2mm in where they are 20mm x 2.5mm ish thick. Luckily my mate had some viton o rings in the correct size so fitted them to the connector and its popped in place with good resistance so should be ok.
Ill pressure test it in the morning before rebuilding to be sure.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Sunday update
Cooling system tested and passed with no leaks with new o rings so was good to rebuild.
Twin viton o rings to replace knackered originals.
All back together a few hours later.
Whilst dash was off took the opportunity to fit the Alpine swe-1200 underseat sub that i bought off @Louis a while back.
Fits decent.
Sounds decent for a small 8" sub, well worth fitting. Might upgrade door speakers next as a bit tired at 184k.
As still early ish give it and the orange clio a quick wash as both were up to their eyes in shite.
Clean ish.
Took the blue clio out for a test drive and all good so filled it up with diesel ready for a trip to Nottingham tomorrow am.
Thanks for reading!!
Cooling system tested and passed with no leaks with new o rings so was good to rebuild.
Twin viton o rings to replace knackered originals.
All back together a few hours later.
Whilst dash was off took the opportunity to fit the Alpine swe-1200 underseat sub that i bought off @Louis a while back.
Fits decent.
Sounds decent for a small 8" sub, well worth fitting. Might upgrade door speakers next as a bit tired at 184k.
As still early ish give it and the orange clio a quick wash as both were up to their eyes in shite.
Clean ish.
Took the blue clio out for a test drive and all good so filled it up with diesel ready for a trip to Nottingham tomorrow am.
Thanks for reading!!
Brigsy
ClioSport Club Member
T.Turbo
Updates.
Orange dci has been treated to a retrimmed steering wheel from Ottoretrims in nappa leather, with perforated grips, red band and grey stitching. Massive upgrade over old melted wheel, its a much nicer place to be.
Neww and posh wheel.
Still a great little car. Give it a run out today as its been sat for a couple of weeks, fired up like it was used yesterday.
Usual antisocial parking.
Blue dci still plowing the miles on. 185k now and rising. Coolant level has not budged since heater matrix replacement.
Thanks for reading!!
Orange dci has been treated to a retrimmed steering wheel from Ottoretrims in nappa leather, with perforated grips, red band and grey stitching. Massive upgrade over old melted wheel, its a much nicer place to be.
Neww and posh wheel.
Still a great little car. Give it a run out today as its been sat for a couple of weeks, fired up like it was used yesterday.
Usual antisocial parking.
Blue dci still plowing the miles on. 185k now and rising. Coolant level has not budged since heater matrix replacement.
Thanks for reading!!
