Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Thought I'd start a new thread on my recent Clio purchase. I fancied something new to tinker with and with being in between work contracts didn't want to spend a fortune. This Clio popped up locally on eBay for a third time and triggered my sub £400 search so I went for a viewing. It's right on that cusp of being uneconomical to throw at a garage for lots of small repairs, but DIY'able fairly cheap if you don't mind spannering. It's a 2003 Dynamique with the 1.2 16v 75bhp motor, sunroof, electrics windows and mirrors, sporty seats and a sunroof. Oh and 6 weeks MOT when I bought it. Here's how it stood when I bought it: List of jobs to do: - Sunroof leak - ABS light on and a pulsing break pedal on first few presses - Airbag light on - Oil leak from top of engine - Exhaust knocking on body - Nearside anti roll bar link - Deep, thorough clean, especially the interior privatewire, Jack D, MrGTI6 and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 First job was a good clean, the front seats were filthy and the interior stank with the carpets being sodden. The exterior came up pretty well with a good wash and clay, I will wizz over it with a DA at some point. Noticed during cleaning the headlights were really faded, so some cutting compound on the DA on the headlights did the trick: The Moog, Coprolalia, MaxFsa and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 Once the interior was cleaner (another pass still required with wet vac) I set to work on the sunroof. Plenty of videos of sunroof leak fixes, so I bought some 8mm mastik from eBay. Glass out: Interior trim and seal out: Sunroof out: Once it was refitted I left it overnight then tested with a hose the next day, no more leaks! Everything was still sodden though so I left it airing with windows and doors open in the garage for a few days, all good so far. The front footwell carpets took 2 weeks to dry! The Moog, 500tops, privatewire and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 Next on to more mechanical bits. The anti roll bar link was an advisory on the last MOT so thought I'd take a look. Yep, definitely needs doing: It was also immediately apparent which ABS ring was at fault: And why the exhaust was knocking, I added the cable ties as a temp fix: New bits on, I managed to round a ball joint bolt in the process as it was seized so had to cut it off! Noticed during this work that the nearside steering rack boot has fallen apart so I'm currently in the process of changing it. The tie rod end had to be cut off, and I cannot budge the inner tie rod nut or spin the tie rod end, it's all seized solid so that's my current challenge. I've also replaced the airbag ECU twice, but the light persists so need to get it plugged in again and troubleshoot further. I'm glad Renault bits are cheap as everything has fought me so far but it's keeping me occupied 😂 HMC, RayMK, Cookiesouwest and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 I cleaned the oil leak up a couple of weeks ago and have been monitoring, definitely coming from rocker cover area. Popped air filter off and... Nice and oily! I've read about a problem on these D4F engines with the rocker breather failing and oil pooling in the airbox so took the inlet manifold off to clean it all up: From what I can see online the rocker breather is part of the rocker cover itself so you have to replace the lot! Sod that, going to make a catch can with some tube and see how we get on 😂 RayMK, groovylee, crad and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Check the scuttle drain isn't blocked too. Nice and easy to do on a D4F compared to a 1*2! Liggle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 For Airbag read the code. But very likely the wiring for the side airbags or seatbelt pretensioners going to the seat that is at fault. Liggle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 8, 2021 Author Share Posted December 8, 2021 12 minutes ago, SiC said: Check the scuttle drain isn't blocked too. Nice and easy to do on a D4F compared to a 1*2! That is fine luckily 11 minutes ago, SiC said: For Airbag read the code. But very likely the wiring for the side airbags or seatbelt pretensioners going to the seat that is at fault. Yeah, hopefully get it read next week. None of my readers can read the airbag module. I did pop the side impact sensors off today and the drivers side was full of copper oxide green gunk, a spray with contact cleaner and a brush and they've come up well. Once I've got the inlet manifold back on I can see if its made any difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacquer Peel Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 Nice work repairing the sunroof rather than taping it up! skoda_fan and Liggle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 Got the inlet manifold back and on catch can in place: Also managed to get the track rod end off, but had to cut in to it to get it moving so replaced it and the steering rack boot: Just the airbag code to read and sort out and it's MOT ready Matty, djim, Tepper and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 While you are under there check the condition of the earth strap between the gearbox and body. Iirc is on the nearside. Common to corrode and snap, leaving the car dead. The security box over the ECU connectors should have been removed by now. If not then definitely remove it and throw away. Liggle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 So the oil leak is still there, looks to be from the back of the valve cover at the cambelt end. I was still chasing the airbag light after a new module as previously mentioned. It’s all irrelevant now as the clutch went this morning, I noticed when setting off the pedal felt stiffer than usual. A few mins later I pulled out in to a gap in traffic and it slipped and got worse and worse as the journey progressed. Ironically I was on the way to the garage to scan the airbag light and book the MOT! By the time I limped it home I could barely apply any throttle, regardless of gear or speed. It struggled to hold 30mph up a local hill without slipping badly. I have precisely zero desire to replace the clutch in this thing with 4 days MOT left and the remaining faults so its the bridge unfortunately as these are only worth about £500 with a full MOT Car take back are fetching it tomorrow for £234, not bad for a small car! 500tops, Kiltox, Lacquer Peel and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 I assume it's not the clutch cable seizing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 26 minutes ago, SiC said: I assume it's not the clutch cable seizing? I did check that and it appears fine, the bite was very high anyway but it never slipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted December 15, 2021 Share Posted December 15, 2021 I’m surprised that a person who owns an R53 has time to fiddle with anything else. Bad news about the clutch. Liggle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 FIN. Excuse the crap pic, he loaded it up so quickly I couldn't get out in time for a proper picture! Its bad when the scrap man recognises you, that's the 4th time I've used Car Take Back in recent years BeEP, beko1987 and MJK 24 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 At least it went before you ordered a fuck ton of parts to sort it! You didn't already order load sof stuff did you? Liggle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liggle Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 33 minutes ago, beko1987 said: At least it went before you ordered a fuck ton of parts to sort it! You didn't already order load sof stuff did you? I spent about £80 on it ready for the MOT but £30-£40 of that I can resell hopefully. I also kept the head unit so another what £20-£30? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Ah that's not too bad then. Way less of a bastard than doing a full @SiC on it and THEN it shitting the clutch 😂😭 Bullet dodged! tooSavvy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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