Supernaut's Cars - 323i / Megane / ShiteLK

[Supernaut]

3 hours ago, Saabnut said:

Renault wheels you say? I have 4 of these in 14" flavour which I had on a Yaris. Tyres are rubbish but the rims are good. Yours for the collecting, bring tyres when I am here and I will fit them for you.

I'll take you up on that offer!

Plenty of 14" tyres for sale, that I can see.

[Saabnut]

I am away on Tuesday for 3-4 weeks offshore, hospital tomorrow, probably visiting @GingerNuttz on Thursday and out for lunch Saturday. Other than that, I have nothing much on!  Drop me a pm when you want to come down, and you are welcome for a natter anytime now you are back local(ish)

[Stanky]

On 9/26/2023 at 3:40 PM, Supernaut said:

But they all use a 56mm centre bore instead. Gah.

£10 and the problem goes away*

https://www.toolstation.com/abracs-holesaw/p76920

 

[Supernaut]

Big thanks to @Saabnut for firing up his tyre machine and giving me cups of tea earlier, plus the Clio wheels!

I started by collecting these:

The tyres then got moved across to these:

The grey wheels were very very cheap. Because, despite all 4 tyres being absolutely perfect, one of the alloys looks like this:

 

Anyway, I now have some winter wheels sorted. Not just any wheels but another design of factory spec alloys for a mk2 Clio!

[Supernaut]

Well, it's still being a wee cunt.

Back to idling far too low when cold, and now it randomly runs like absolute shit and can even stutter under power.

Oh, it also sometimes cuts out when I dip the clutch even when properly warmed up!

I've been reading about the symptoms of a failing TDC sensor, and it seems the most likely thing...

 

The neighbour here is a mechanic who also does homers, so it may be getting chucked at him as I'm just utterly fucked off with the wee French shithead.

 

The BMW, of course, is now on SORN and the insurance has run out. It only has just over a week of MOT left anyway.

 

Alternative transport was serviced earlier instead:

[Supernaut]

May as well use this thread for general stuff.

There are a couple of large sheds here at the farm.

I remember this one having the Land Rover plus a pair of Morris Minors parked across the back wall, with loads of space left to wander around.

For 20+ years, my dad has been hoarding somewhat unchecked.

 

I put this much scrap metal into the 6ft x 10ft twin axle trailer in the space of about half an hour this morning. Ok, a few wee bits are mine...

 

I've spent the afternoon doing this:

It was previously under about two inches of iron filings and wood shavings, and hardly any tools were hung up. Now it's usable!

Just the same amount of workbench to go, plus the rest of the shed!

I reckon a good 80-90% of it is just junk.

I'd like to make it a usable space again, so I can store the BMW and potentially something else in there.

It's going to take a couple of weeks, at least!

[mercedade]

When I've got the time, I bloody love jobs like this. Mentally restorative

[Supernaut]

Just now, mercedade said:

When I've got the time, I bloody love jobs like this. Mentally restorative

Aye, it's nice to do, but also quite disheartening when I turn around from the workbench and realise how much more junk there is to clear.

 

Essentially I'd like to be able to tuck the E36 away over winter in there, plus have the ability to work in there without hurting myself.

 

I've already bruised my shin on a plough that looks about a century old, hiding underneath a load of other stuff!

[Supernaut]

The Clio is officially doing my fucking head in.

Since buying it I have replaced:

- idle control valve

- spark plugs

- throttle position sensor

- manifold pressure sensor

- intake air temperature sensor

- crank sensor

 

I've also cleaned out the throttle body and checked for vacuum leaks, on at least the pipes I could see.

Yet, it still tries to idle at 0rpm when cold. I don't want a car that does this over the winter!

Are there any vacuum hoses on these Renault 16v engines that typically give trouble but are hidden from view?

It's booked into a local shite friendly garage on Friday, but any tips welcome at this point!

 

Otherwise I'm going to put the forks on the tractor and drive into the side of it repeatedly.

[Supernaut]

Despite its behaviour, I took the opportunity to wash and wax it today while the weather allowed.

Still tries to cut out when cold. I can move it around in gear just fine (albeit it's a bit rough) but the moment I dip the clutch it cuts out.

[Supernaut]

Further research (i.e. googling Renault 1.6 16v problems) reveals that the K4M engine had a recall in the mid-2000s for failing to idle when cold!

Something to do with the injection computer needing a reflash.

I noticed that in the paperwork provided with the car, various mechanics have added hand written notes along the lines of "rough idle" etc over the years.

There is a wee independent Renault garage about 15 miles from here...

Worth a try? Might give them a call in the morning.

[Sham]

Certainly worth a try, if it was a recall and hasn't been done they should do it if they're attached to Renault in any way - though you might have to approach a dealer.

[Supernaut]

Well that was a bust.

I phoned the local place (who are an actual Renault dealer) and spoke to the workshop manager on the phone for a while.

No common issues he knows of on these K4M engines, and diagnostics would be eye watering price-wise. He even said himself I'd be better trying an indy garage with a snap-on tablet.

It's the weirdest thing, it just refuses to idle when cold but otherwise runs just fine. No lights, but it's a little rough when stone cold.

 

No ideas now.

Offers? Who wants a tidy Clio RSi with a really irritating mysterious fault?

 

The last thing I can try is the ignition coils, as it's had a couple of moments of power loss the past few weeks, but still no warning lights.

Worth a shot? Would a failing ignition coil cause crap idling when cold, then sort itself out with some heat in it?

[captain_70s]

I'd say a coil usually displays the opposite problem, is alright when cold but fails as it heats up.

Not that the opposite couldn't occur. Because French.

[scdan4]

Just thinking outside the box a bit...

[Dave_Q]

24 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Well that was a bust.

I phoned the local place (who are an actual Renault dealer) and spoke to the workshop manager on the phone for a while.

No common issues he knows of on these K4M engines, and diagnostics would be eye watering price-wise. He even said himself I'd be better trying an indy garage with a snap-on tablet.

It's the weirdest thing, it just refuses to idle when cold but otherwise runs just fine. No lights, but it's a little rough when stone cold.

 

No ideas now.

Offers? Who wants a tidy Clio RSi with a really irritating mysterious fault?

 

The last thing I can try is the ignition coils, as it's had a couple of moments of power loss the past few weeks, but still no warning lights.

Worth a shot? Would a failing ignition coil cause crap idling when cold, then sort itself out with some heat in it?

I'm not sure if a snap-on could do a software update if that's what it needs. 

Instead of diagnostics, can you ask them for a price to just plug in their computer and update the software if needed? Surely they plug it in and either it says it's up to date or does the update - max 1 hour labour and they don't even have to lift the bonnet. 

Can't really see what further diagnostics they could do given you've replaced anything that could affect the air metering in theory.

[Supernaut]

38 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

I'm not sure if a snap-on could do a software update if that's what it needs. 

Instead of diagnostics, can you ask them for a price to just plug in their computer and update the software if needed? Surely they plug it in and either it says it's up to date or does the update - max 1 hour labour and they don't even have to lift the bonnet. 

Can't really see what further diagnostics they could do given you've replaced anything that could affect the air metering in theory.

They said £70+VAT as soon as a diagnostic computer goes near it.

Renault seem a bit steep on things like this.

Like the time the dealership in Stirling quoted me £300+ for a key, whereas the BMW dealership did one for my E36 for £60!

 

According to some Renault forums, both O2 sensors can influence the fuel trim on the K4M too...

[Dave_Q]

That's not terrible for dealer rates but I guess it's quite a bit to rule something out when it might not even need an update. 

If you have some sort of OBD tool that can read what ECU part number it has and SW version you could have a look round the internet to see if a newer version exists?

Or, one thing that came up when I looked was remapping - could a good Renault remapper sort the idle out and give you a couple of extra bhp at the same time, for not much more than the dealer would charge for just plugging it in?

[Supernaut]

1 hour ago, Nyphur said:

This would drive me apeshit. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

It IS driving me apeshit!

 

It's my only road legal car, I'm currently unemployed (admittedly by choice) and I'm living in a rather rural location.

I have no reliable mobility of my own until I sort it.

Yes, I have access to the parents' cars but I feel really guilty using them too much.

[AnnoyingPentium]

3 hours ago, Supernaut said:

According to some Renault forums, both O2 sensors can influence the fuel trim on the K4M too...

I've had this with one of the cars, where a dodgy pre-cat sensor would cut fuelling to engine forcing it to switch off. It also used to send the idle into a mad frenzy hovering between 500 and 1500rpm.

It wasn't a Renault or anything like that, but it's something to consider.

[Supernaut]

Well, that was easy.

You see that little star headed screw there?

That seems to act as a sort of pre tensioner on the throttle body. It was all the way out.

I walked out to the car when it was stone cold (switched off for almost 24hrs) and wound that screw in a fair bit.

Cranked it over and instead of cutting out, it sat at 1100rpm. So I backed it off a tiny bit with the engine running so it idles at just under a grand.

Took it for a drive to get it up to temperature and the idle speed has remained the same, so the expensive idle control valve is doing its job too. Back when I had a cheapy shit ICV on it, the idle speed would creep up as the car got warmer, y'see.

It seems to me like the car relies on having a fair bit of pre tension on the throttle body...

 

Before I go and bash my head against a wall, I also tried one of the winter wheels on it:

I also figured that if I jack it up this high I should just be able to spray my lanolin based underseal under it:

Yes, I did frame it so the BMW snuck into the background.

No, I don't plan on going under it like that. I have a spray gun with a rather long lance on it, and this is a very small car.

[Saabnut]

Nice winter wheels!  Trust they all stayed up, a couple of the rims were past their best near the bead seat.

[Supernaut]

1 minute ago, Saabnut said:

Nice winter wheels!  Trust they all stayed up, a couple of the rims were past their best near the bead seat.

I gave them all a good bounce on the ground when shifting them around earlier.

They all bounced nicely!

[Supernaut]

Who said ignition coils?

I ordered some from autodoc the other evening because I felt I should keep some in stock just in case...

I drove to a town about 20 miles away this morning, no problems.

 

I had to stop 5 times on the way home.

It's only managing a few minutes at a time when warm before it misfires like mad. Stopping for 5 minutes lets me eek another few miles out of it.

I know ignition coils are basically a consumable on Renaults, so it was only a matter of time.

 

I'm away on Wednesday for 5 days, in someone else's car, and I don't need to go anywhere before then either.

 

Silver linings and all that.

[Supernaut]

Winter wheels!

 

I have done some more investigation into the, err, issues this car has.

I tried the original MAP sensor, and the cheap replacement one I had on hand... It runs smoothest with it completely unplugged.

D'oh!

I've ordered a proper Delphi brand one from autodoc which cost actual money, rather than pocket change.

Whenever either sensor decided to do something, it must be providing spurious readings as it would run like it had a massive vacuum leak. Unplug it, and it would go back to normal.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Liked for the wheels but not for the trouble it gives you, must be annoying.

[Supernaut]

Just now, Dyslexic Viking said:

Liked for the wheels but not for the trouble it gives you, must be annoying.

Indeed.

It was running like absolute shit earlier for no apparent reason. I simply touched the MAP sensor and it ran perfectly.

Very odd behaviour, and quite disheartening having my only legal car in such a state I can't even trust it to get me to the local town and back again.

[Supernaut]

In the meantime I decided to throw some of this along the sills and inside the wheel arches.

It's really rather tidy underneath though. The body has many years left in it. At this rate I'll be researching engine swaps, however...

 

Nah. It behaved itself perfectly when being moved around again, now that the MAP sensor is unplugged.

I assume it'd be running on default values, so not as efficient as it could be. I'm intrigued by how efficient it could be when running properly...

[Supernaut]

Well, guess I'll just live with whatever the Clio is playing at.

I replaced the MAP sensor and the intake air temperature sensor yesterday.

No change.

 

It's not terrible, per se. It just requires me to keep the engine going on the throttle for the first 10-20 seconds when cold. Then it idles rather low, and after a tiny bit longer it idles at the correct 750-800 rpm perfectly.

 

It's such a strange issue to get my head around. If it was an old school thing running a carb I could just give it more choke when cold!

 

It otherwise runs absolutely perfectly. The new MAP sensor has definitely helped, it feels slightly quicker and even more responsive.

 

Being up in the wastes of Aberdeenshire means there are no indy specialists to do any tricks with mapping etc either.

[Supernaut]

I fixed* the Clio!

I even got some cash my way too.