2001 Renault Clio RSi 1.6
Discussion
It's a long story but I've found myself between cars - I've got one of the cheapy lease Octavia vRS 245s coming for 1st March and I'd got shot of my last car a month or so ago. I'd been borrowing my friends Lexus IS-F, but when a buyer came for that I had to get something. It seemed silly to spend loads on a car as I only need to drive 20 miles a day 4 days a week so I set my search criteria for a petrol £500-£1500 car with 100 mile radius and searched religiously for about a week. There's a lot of dross around at that price level that dealers - driveway or forecourt really shouldn't be retailing. Private sellers of any worth were nowhere to be seen either.
Then this little Clio popped into view - pics were taken at my local common land and it all looked very uptogether.
It's provenance is fantastic - registered 1st March 2001 at the local Renault garage and serviced and MOT'd there every year, transferred to the original owners mother in 2005 who had it till it was part-ex'd back at the same dealer a couple of months ago at 98k miles and over 16 years under it's belt. It last had a cambelt/water pump there in 2015 and 88k.
The price was £600 no offers from a driveway trader who lives 2 miles from me - seemed a very honest guy who just picks up dealer part-exs direct. I have to say I bit his arm off! At that price I could push it in the lake come 1st March.
Once I got it in my garage, I had a good look round - this thing is in fantastic condition. It's got nearly new Michelin tyres all round in 185/60R14 - remember when you had these on your hot hatch in the 90s? Good old main dealer - putting on the most expensive tyres they could find. There's no corrosion anywhere, there's a scratch on the bottom of one rear arch, but looks like an easy PDR style repair. Interestingly there is a stress crack at the same point on each of the plastic front wings, they look a very easy change.
Headlamps are hazy and there's a couple of illumination bulbs gone in the dash but nothing else of note so far. A/C works, electric sunroof works and doesn't leak. The half leather seats have no bolster wear at all.
I stuck £20 of Shell's finest in and went for a blast up and down the ring-road to get to know the car today. What a hoot! The windows are massive and the front pillars small so you can judge where to place the car very easily. It goes very well for it's factory 110hp. I'll have more thoughts about the driving experience after I put more miles on it.
Of course I already have a list of things I want to do over the coming months
An interim oil change with Renault filter and Elf Evolution 900 SXR 5W-40
NGK BKR6E plugs
Air filter
Cabin filter
New hatch struts
Headlamp restoration
Valeo OEM wipers all round
New factory mats
New pre-2001 plates
Discs and pads
It'll probably take me till March to do those, so if you're interested in the basic oily bits of a vaguely sporty Renault from back in the day that isn't an RS then jump in! I will welcome any tips. If the car's any good instead of pushing in the lake I'll keep it and make it concourse...
Sorry about the poor pics. I'm gonna valet and get some proper pics up this week.
Then this little Clio popped into view - pics were taken at my local common land and it all looked very uptogether.
It's provenance is fantastic - registered 1st March 2001 at the local Renault garage and serviced and MOT'd there every year, transferred to the original owners mother in 2005 who had it till it was part-ex'd back at the same dealer a couple of months ago at 98k miles and over 16 years under it's belt. It last had a cambelt/water pump there in 2015 and 88k.
The price was £600 no offers from a driveway trader who lives 2 miles from me - seemed a very honest guy who just picks up dealer part-exs direct. I have to say I bit his arm off! At that price I could push it in the lake come 1st March.
Once I got it in my garage, I had a good look round - this thing is in fantastic condition. It's got nearly new Michelin tyres all round in 185/60R14 - remember when you had these on your hot hatch in the 90s? Good old main dealer - putting on the most expensive tyres they could find. There's no corrosion anywhere, there's a scratch on the bottom of one rear arch, but looks like an easy PDR style repair. Interestingly there is a stress crack at the same point on each of the plastic front wings, they look a very easy change.
Headlamps are hazy and there's a couple of illumination bulbs gone in the dash but nothing else of note so far. A/C works, electric sunroof works and doesn't leak. The half leather seats have no bolster wear at all.
I stuck £20 of Shell's finest in and went for a blast up and down the ring-road to get to know the car today. What a hoot! The windows are massive and the front pillars small so you can judge where to place the car very easily. It goes very well for it's factory 110hp. I'll have more thoughts about the driving experience after I put more miles on it.
Of course I already have a list of things I want to do over the coming months
An interim oil change with Renault filter and Elf Evolution 900 SXR 5W-40
NGK BKR6E plugs
Air filter
Cabin filter
New hatch struts
Headlamp restoration
Valeo OEM wipers all round
New factory mats
New pre-2001 plates
Discs and pads
It'll probably take me till March to do those, so if you're interested in the basic oily bits of a vaguely sporty Renault from back in the day that isn't an RS then jump in! I will welcome any tips. If the car's any good instead of pushing in the lake I'll keep it and make it concourse...
Sorry about the poor pics. I'm gonna valet and get some proper pics up this week.
Edited by court on Monday 13th November 16:55
Looks great, good history, ugly wheels and original number plates. Cheapest place I have found for 'old font' (choice of two) is here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NUMBER-PLATES-100-UK-RO...
I'm sure there must be some easy mods to get a little more umph out of that engine.
Looks like a good buy at that price. Especially with air con working!
I was in a similar situation to yourself a few years back in requiring a small cheap hack for a short period and can also confirm that it was mostly complete dross.
Looks like a good buy at that price. Especially with air con working!
I was in a similar situation to yourself a few years back in requiring a small cheap hack for a short period and can also confirm that it was mostly complete dross.
Good little cars these, and given the size of them, they can be quite fun on smaller roads (we've got a 2002 1.4 16v for town / tip runs).
Keep an eye on the sunroof if it rains - they have a penchant for leaking, usually if the drain tubes get clogged. For a belt & braces approach, I removed and resealed any bits that needed sealing, plus unclogged the tubes at the first sign of a leak - which typically was two days after we bought it.
Other issues are around the airbag system - usually a loose connection under the seat - there are plenty of guides online if this is the case.
The airbag system is an ongoing battle with our one for a different reason though. In Renault's ultimate wisdom, the airbag ECU is directly under the cupholders in the centre console - and is therefore one major drinks spill away from being knackered. At some point in our car's life, someone spilt something that looks like coke and we've got an intermittent ECU issue with our one - just got to wait for the local breakers to have a suitable ECU for it.
Keep an eye on the sunroof if it rains - they have a penchant for leaking, usually if the drain tubes get clogged. For a belt & braces approach, I removed and resealed any bits that needed sealing, plus unclogged the tubes at the first sign of a leak - which typically was two days after we bought it.
Other issues are around the airbag system - usually a loose connection under the seat - there are plenty of guides online if this is the case.
The airbag system is an ongoing battle with our one for a different reason though. In Renault's ultimate wisdom, the airbag ECU is directly under the cupholders in the centre console - and is therefore one major drinks spill away from being knackered. At some point in our car's life, someone spilt something that looks like coke and we've got an intermittent ECU issue with our one - just got to wait for the local breakers to have a suitable ECU for it.
Thanks for the kind words - and the tips If it's still in 1 piece come 1st March I think I'll be keeping it in the garage and then do some proper restoration.
In fact I'm keeping it in the garage of a night currently, I feel it deserves it after nearly 17 years! Looking at the service history it's been done on the 18k/2year schedule. It's definitely going to be done every year while in my tenure.
I can't believe how cheap the parts are - I got the plugs off ebay for £4.79 for 4. Most expensive ECP Bosch discs and pads for the front give change from £60. I like this sort of motoring. I guess there's nothing on the car that wouldn't be on a base model Megane or Laguna of the period.
I picked up one of these FM transmitters off Amazon yesterday https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01K4R8RLM/ - it works a treat. They've really come on in the last few years it seems.
In fact I'm keeping it in the garage of a night currently, I feel it deserves it after nearly 17 years! Looking at the service history it's been done on the 18k/2year schedule. It's definitely going to be done every year while in my tenure.
I can't believe how cheap the parts are - I got the plugs off ebay for £4.79 for 4. Most expensive ECP Bosch discs and pads for the front give change from £60. I like this sort of motoring. I guess there's nothing on the car that wouldn't be on a base model Megane or Laguna of the period.
I picked up one of these FM transmitters off Amazon yesterday https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01K4R8RLM/ - it works a treat. They've really come on in the last few years it seems.
I love the wheels, I wanted some for my old Clio but never got round to sourcing them.
This model of Clio was the last car Renault built properly, before the Laguna 2 came along, and they’re surprisingly decent little things. I ran a 1.4 for about a year when it was 8 years old and it managed to take me all over the UK and France very happily indeed.
This model of Clio was the last car Renault built properly, before the Laguna 2 came along, and they’re surprisingly decent little things. I ran a 1.4 for about a year when it was 8 years old and it managed to take me all over the UK and France very happily indeed.
I really like the whole car actually! Motoring at its purest 
I hadn't done an update since I bought the car as I didn't think I'd done anything worth mentioning to it. But now I look back as it's replacement has arrived it seems that I've done plenty!
Priority was to enable me to see down the country roads I drive to work and back in. The cloudy headlamps were an MOT advisory last year.
I used a Meguiars two step headlight restoration kit which brought them up a treat.
I then installed a wide variety of bulbs to add more light
HB3 Osram Night Breaker Unlimited +110% for the dipped beam
H7 Philips Racing Vision +150% for the main beam
PY21 Philips Silver Vision to get rid of the fried egg indicators - notice difference between N/S replaced, O/S yet to be.
Annoyingly the original foglamps didn't work - a common problem in Clio 2s the stalk has real wires in it that connect to a circuit board hat slots into the steering column. With the indicator movement over the years these wires inevitably break so I modified it with some new wire, solder and heatshrink tubing to make it good again. To celebrate I bought some H1 Bolts Racing Yellow bulbs to French it up a bit
So after all that could I see any better? Main beam definitely, dipped beam inconclusive.
Priority was to enable me to see down the country roads I drive to work and back in. The cloudy headlamps were an MOT advisory last year.
I used a Meguiars two step headlight restoration kit which brought them up a treat.
I then installed a wide variety of bulbs to add more light
HB3 Osram Night Breaker Unlimited +110% for the dipped beam
H7 Philips Racing Vision +150% for the main beam
PY21 Philips Silver Vision to get rid of the fried egg indicators - notice difference between N/S replaced, O/S yet to be.
Annoyingly the original foglamps didn't work - a common problem in Clio 2s the stalk has real wires in it that connect to a circuit board hat slots into the steering column. With the indicator movement over the years these wires inevitably break so I modified it with some new wire, solder and heatshrink tubing to make it good again. To celebrate I bought some H1 Bolts Racing Yellow bulbs to French it up a bit
So after all that could I see any better? Main beam definitely, dipped beam inconclusive.
Edited by court on Thursday 22 February 22:38
One of the wipers was also an advisory last time and after looking they were all past their best so grabbed Valeo Specifics all round from ECP
Battery didn't feel great so bought a Type 79 Exide Excell 50Ah to replace it.
Renault of this vintage have a funny resonator box that sits before the air filter fixed to a flexipipe that starts behind the N/S headlamp. This resonator has to be removed every time the air filter is changed so after a few years the flexi splits. I'd duct taped it up but friend said I shouldn't as it was a fire hazard. Consequently I managed to find an intact one at a breakers for £15. Easy swap.
As you can see from the previous images the number plates were past their best but I really liked their originality. There's a couple of people on ebay that will make you up plates with past dealer logos and the old font. I couldn't resist at £35. I thought I could do better than the original dealer at the time so I designed it myself with the traditional Renault font and a couple of Renault diamonds.
Battery didn't feel great so bought a Type 79 Exide Excell 50Ah to replace it.
Renault of this vintage have a funny resonator box that sits before the air filter fixed to a flexipipe that starts behind the N/S headlamp. This resonator has to be removed every time the air filter is changed so after a few years the flexi splits. I'd duct taped it up but friend said I shouldn't as it was a fire hazard. Consequently I managed to find an intact one at a breakers for £15. Easy swap.
As you can see from the previous images the number plates were past their best but I really liked their originality. There's a couple of people on ebay that will make you up plates with past dealer logos and the old font. I couldn't resist at £35. I thought I could do better than the original dealer at the time so I designed it myself with the traditional Renault font and a couple of Renault diamonds.
Amazingly I was able to still get Clio 2 carpet mats from dealers on ebay £26 delivered, part number 7711219921.
Hatchback struts were a little lazy, new non-Renault were £10 for 2 from an ebay seller.
It was then time to get dirty with some underbonnet goodies...
NGK BKR6E plugs were £4.79(!) delivered from ebay
Draper Renault sump plug tool £4.49
5 litres of Elf Evolution 900 SXR 5 W-40 Engine Oil £27.50 from Amazon
Oil filter and washer £10 from Renault
Mann air filter from ECP £8
Mann pollen filter from ECP £6
Filters and plugs were mostly straightforward, but the bally oil filter was almost inaccessible - at the front of the engine half way up in-between a mass of coolant and A/C pipes. I just managed to get it with my filter pliers. 4.75 litres of oil back in and we were in business.
Hatchback struts were a little lazy, new non-Renault were £10 for 2 from an ebay seller.
It was then time to get dirty with some underbonnet goodies...
NGK BKR6E plugs were £4.79(!) delivered from ebay
Draper Renault sump plug tool £4.49
5 litres of Elf Evolution 900 SXR 5 W-40 Engine Oil £27.50 from Amazon
Oil filter and washer £10 from Renault
Mann air filter from ECP £8
Mann pollen filter from ECP £6
Filters and plugs were mostly straightforward, but the bally oil filter was almost inaccessible - at the front of the engine half way up in-between a mass of coolant and A/C pipes. I just managed to get it with my filter pliers. 4.75 litres of oil back in and we were in business.
I'd noticed going over speed bumps the back end crashing, so had a look underneath to find odd shock absorbers. One side was a cheapy fast fit and the other the original 17 year old one. This fits with the MOT history where there was a fail in 2012 for a serious fluid leak on the n/s. On the Clio this looks to be one of the easiest jobs you can DIY.
The RSi has the sport suspension but a slightly different part number to the Phase 1 172. I requested the proper parts but they're on back order so went with a hunch and ordered 172/182 items from Renault Wolverhampton on ebay with a part number 8200662257 for £74 delivered. I think the green sticker signifies something, I'm just not sure what!
The RSi has the sport suspension but a slightly different part number to the Phase 1 172. I requested the proper parts but they're on back order so went with a hunch and ordered 172/182 items from Renault Wolverhampton on ebay with a part number 8200662257 for £74 delivered. I think the green sticker signifies something, I'm just not sure what!
In the cabin a few bulbs were out in the window switches, heater controls and radio display. This sort of thing constantly itches me the wrong way so had to deal with it.
The window switches were easy to remove, just one bolt on the interior door handle and the switch pops out. I found replacement bulbs on ebay, 10 for £5
The heater and radio display bulbs were less easy. I had to remove the top of the dash and the centre console to replace the T5 286 bulbs
The window switches were easy to remove, just one bolt on the interior door handle and the switch pops out. I found replacement bulbs on ebay, 10 for £5
The heater and radio display bulbs were less easy. I had to remove the top of the dash and the centre console to replace the T5 286 bulbs
Another item on the advisory last year were the front discs getting thin. I waited till ECP spat out a 50% discount on brakes and picked up Brembo aftermarket discs and pads for £47 all in.
I got my breaker out to loosen the wheel bolts. Not even jumping up and down on it would release any bolt on the front. Whilst swearing a lot I went in the boot to get the lock key to find it was nowhere to be seen! This was now more pressing than the bolts I couldn't free up. I called the Renault garage who last changed the tyres and they said to come on down and I can go through their collection of keys. I thought about it, but they wouldn’t really be in the mood to removing the bolts unless I was buying some new plain bolts at Renault prices. Option 2 was to order a new key, around £30 from the parts dept.
Option 3 was to take it to the local tyre bay to have them have hack them off.
Look at them, laughing at me...
In the meantime I picked up 4 plain bolts from ECP and contemplated on a course of action. I don't really know what got into me but I just got up one Saturday morning and delivered the car to the local tyre bay. I picked it up a couple of hours later to be greeted with a £72 bill for an hours labour. Why didn't I check out the likely cost before they started work on it? I paid and drove off in a huff without even mentioning about my other stuck bolts. I gathered my thoughts and popped in my local tyre bay near my office a few days later and mentioned the stuck bolts - he zoomed them off and on in a couple of minutes and didn't charge me a penny, I even tried to tip him a tenner and he wouldn't take it.
Anyway, no time to lose as the MOT is getting near. I got the car up on axle stands, removed the front wheels and got to work on the discs and pads. Absolutely textbook, just had to remove some brake fluid from the reservoir when pushing the calipers back in. A bit of copper slip on the back of the pads and the hub and it was back on the road in no time.
I got my breaker out to loosen the wheel bolts. Not even jumping up and down on it would release any bolt on the front. Whilst swearing a lot I went in the boot to get the lock key to find it was nowhere to be seen! This was now more pressing than the bolts I couldn't free up. I called the Renault garage who last changed the tyres and they said to come on down and I can go through their collection of keys. I thought about it, but they wouldn’t really be in the mood to removing the bolts unless I was buying some new plain bolts at Renault prices. Option 2 was to order a new key, around £30 from the parts dept.
Option 3 was to take it to the local tyre bay to have them have hack them off.
Look at them, laughing at me...
In the meantime I picked up 4 plain bolts from ECP and contemplated on a course of action. I don't really know what got into me but I just got up one Saturday morning and delivered the car to the local tyre bay. I picked it up a couple of hours later to be greeted with a £72 bill for an hours labour. Why didn't I check out the likely cost before they started work on it? I paid and drove off in a huff without even mentioning about my other stuck bolts. I gathered my thoughts and popped in my local tyre bay near my office a few days later and mentioned the stuck bolts - he zoomed them off and on in a couple of minutes and didn't charge me a penny, I even tried to tip him a tenner and he wouldn't take it.
Anyway, no time to lose as the MOT is getting near. I got the car up on axle stands, removed the front wheels and got to work on the discs and pads. Absolutely textbook, just had to remove some brake fluid from the reservoir when pushing the calipers back in. A bit of copper slip on the back of the pads and the hub and it was back on the road in no time.
Since I picked up the car I'd been aware of a high idling issue, it really wouldn't settle down till around half hour of driving. After reading many forums with lots of solutions that weren't quite right I found this post in this thread http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/14-engines/85327-re...
Basically all the inlet seals have turned to brittle plastic over 17 years so were just not sealing until residual engine heat had just softened them enough. I ordered 7 seals at £45 (ouch) - 4 inlet manifold seals, 2 throttle body seals and 1 seal for a breather that returns to the manifold. While the throttle body was off I cleaned the butterfly - cable operated on this badboy. I also cleaned all the mating surfaces to give a good seal. As soon as it started up I knew I'd sorted it. The idle stepper works beautifully, in around 2 mins its gone from cold idle down to 650rpm which is its standard although I think it's a bit slow for a 4 cylinder.
Basically all the inlet seals have turned to brittle plastic over 17 years so were just not sealing until residual engine heat had just softened them enough. I ordered 7 seals at £45 (ouch) - 4 inlet manifold seals, 2 throttle body seals and 1 seal for a breather that returns to the manifold. While the throttle body was off I cleaned the butterfly - cable operated on this badboy. I also cleaned all the mating surfaces to give a good seal. As soon as it started up I knew I'd sorted it. The idle stepper works beautifully, in around 2 mins its gone from cold idle down to 650rpm which is its standard although I think it's a bit slow for a 4 cylinder.
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