Shed money Clio 172
Discussion
Lockdown has been strange. I'd been hoping to get a few jobs done, clean the engine bay, sort some bits of rattling trim, possibly treat the rear beam and sills to some bilt hamber to keep the rust gremlins at bay.
But I've been hugely busy with work and really struggled for motivation at the weekends.
Anyway, enough moaning.
I've had a word with myself and changed the spark plugs. It's a nice job, probably a 2 spanner on the old haynes scale.
Disconnect a few plugs, some tubing and the inlet pipe then prop up the inlet.
New vs old comparison. Good to see the old versions were the correct NGK and in good condition.
However the old versions were barely in finger tight. I know they don't need much torque, but they offered no resistance to the plug socket at all.
There a small oil seep from somewhere around the oil cap, although it may just be some spill from the last change, but I've cleaned the area and I'll keep and eye on it.
But I've been hugely busy with work and really struggled for motivation at the weekends.
Anyway, enough moaning.
I've had a word with myself and changed the spark plugs. It's a nice job, probably a 2 spanner on the old haynes scale.
Disconnect a few plugs, some tubing and the inlet pipe then prop up the inlet.
New vs old comparison. Good to see the old versions were the correct NGK and in good condition.
However the old versions were barely in finger tight. I know they don't need much torque, but they offered no resistance to the plug socket at all.
There a small oil seep from somewhere around the oil cap, although it may just be some spill from the last change, but I've cleaned the area and I'll keep and eye on it.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Tuesday 21st July 11:01
nice progress, I'm a self confessed Clio nut so nice to see other pistonheaders with them.
the oil leak on the filler area could just be over spill or a common issue is the VVT solenoid oil seal, cheap enough from Renault Parts Direct for a genuine seal and not hard to fit, just be careful not to damage the sealing face on the alloy cam cover when you prise the old seal out. All 3 of my F4R engines I have had to change that seal, even the 60k low miler
the oil leak on the filler area could just be over spill or a common issue is the VVT solenoid oil seal, cheap enough from Renault Parts Direct for a genuine seal and not hard to fit, just be careful not to damage the sealing face on the alloy cam cover when you prise the old seal out. All 3 of my F4R engines I have had to change that seal, even the 60k low miler
Coops-Clio-F4R said:
nice progress, I'm a self confessed Clio nut so nice to see other pistonheaders with them.
the oil leak on the filler area could just be over spill or a common issue is the VVT solenoid oil seal, cheap enough from Renault Parts Direct for a genuine seal and not hard to fit, just be careful not to damage the sealing face on the alloy cam cover when you prise the old seal out. All 3 of my F4R engines I have had to change that seal, even the 60k low miler
Thanks for the advice, i hadn't thought of that. Now it's clean hopefully i can trace it. the oil leak on the filler area could just be over spill or a common issue is the VVT solenoid oil seal, cheap enough from Renault Parts Direct for a genuine seal and not hard to fit, just be careful not to damage the sealing face on the alloy cam cover when you prise the old seal out. All 3 of my F4R engines I have had to change that seal, even the 60k low miler
Had another track day at a very, very wet bedford.
The little clio aquitted itself faultlessly again. This little motor is rapidly becoming my favourite car I've owned.
It'll need a bit of TLC now. Oil change, check brakes and as @Coops-Clio-F4R suggested, i think the solenoid seal probably need replacement. After cleaning it up there is definitely fresh dampness in the area.
7 sessions on the track has not helped the rattling interior trim so that might get a bit of attention as well.
The little clio aquitted itself faultlessly again. This little motor is rapidly becoming my favourite car I've owned.
It'll need a bit of TLC now. Oil change, check brakes and as @Coops-Clio-F4R suggested, i think the solenoid seal probably need replacement. After cleaning it up there is definitely fresh dampness in the area.
7 sessions on the track has not helped the rattling interior trim so that might get a bit of attention as well.
Some time for a bit of maintenance on the clio.
I thought the brakes must need replacement, but the disks were still in tolerance:
And the pads have a chunk of life left, so they can wait.
I suspected the solenoid seat was weeping, thank to the tip above.
So, inlet off again, clean up the area, a 10mm bolt and slide the solenoid out. Then pry the old seal out being careful not to drop any gunge into the engine and also being careful not to mark the sealing face.
Then i dropped the old oil. It was only a thousand miles and six months old, but in that thousand miles there were two track days.
After 20 minutes of sweating and swearing i promised myself to never over tighten an oil filter ever again.
Then everything back together and 5l of Renault parts direct finest synthetic and we're good to go.
The current to do list is looking ok.
A good clean and polish.
Re-do the headlights.
Yanoo shifter bush (this looks harder than i thought. Access is behind the cat and some heat shields)
I might do the gearbox oil if i do another track day.
Slap some bilt hamber on anything that looks crusty.
Sort out some interior rattles.
And that's about it...
Looking at how many left i feel i should be looking after this little car...
(I know it's not a cup, but how many left doesn't differentiate).
I thought the brakes must need replacement, but the disks were still in tolerance:
And the pads have a chunk of life left, so they can wait.
I suspected the solenoid seat was weeping, thank to the tip above.
So, inlet off again, clean up the area, a 10mm bolt and slide the solenoid out. Then pry the old seal out being careful not to drop any gunge into the engine and also being careful not to mark the sealing face.
Then i dropped the old oil. It was only a thousand miles and six months old, but in that thousand miles there were two track days.
After 20 minutes of sweating and swearing i promised myself to never over tighten an oil filter ever again.
Then everything back together and 5l of Renault parts direct finest synthetic and we're good to go.
The current to do list is looking ok.
A good clean and polish.
Re-do the headlights.
Yanoo shifter bush (this looks harder than i thought. Access is behind the cat and some heat shields)
I might do the gearbox oil if i do another track day.
Slap some bilt hamber on anything that looks crusty.
Sort out some interior rattles.
And that's about it...
Looking at how many left i feel i should be looking after this little car...
(I know it's not a cup, but how many left doesn't differentiate).
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Saturday 8th August 16:15
I've done nothing on the to do list, instead I bought an unused upper engine mount insert from another member of cliosport.net as this car definitely needs more vibration and noise.
The dephaser solenoid seal seems to have fixed the oil leak, which is nice.
The dephaser solenoid seal seems to have fixed the oil leak, which is nice.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Saturday 5th September 17:30
So a couple of months have passed and the little clio continues to be my go to car for the occasional journeys I'm doing.
Since the last update I've had another utterly fantastic time at bedford in the pouring rain. I'm beginning to think wet track days are the best kind.
Apart from that, until today I had done nothing with it apart from drive it and accumulate parts from cliosport.net.
So, one bargain i found was a set of injectors with less than a thousand miles on them. The clio did come with a recent receipt for ultrasonic cleaning of injectors, but they looked pretty crusty.
The injectors are really easy to swap, especially if the replaments are already on a rail. Remove the fuel rail guard, unplug the 4 injectors, unclip the petrol pipe, clean up the petrol that gushes out, undo 2 x 10mm bolts and out they come.
Bingo.
There's still more bits and pieces to do. Geabox oil change, rattling trim, rustproofing etc but I'm really getting fond of this old cheap car and have suprised myself how much I've enjoyed tinkering with it.
Since the last update I've had another utterly fantastic time at bedford in the pouring rain. I'm beginning to think wet track days are the best kind.
Apart from that, until today I had done nothing with it apart from drive it and accumulate parts from cliosport.net.
So, one bargain i found was a set of injectors with less than a thousand miles on them. The clio did come with a recent receipt for ultrasonic cleaning of injectors, but they looked pretty crusty.
The injectors are really easy to swap, especially if the replaments are already on a rail. Remove the fuel rail guard, unplug the 4 injectors, unclip the petrol pipe, clean up the petrol that gushes out, undo 2 x 10mm bolts and out they come.
Bingo.
There's still more bits and pieces to do. Geabox oil change, rattling trim, rustproofing etc but I'm really getting fond of this old cheap car and have suprised myself how much I've enjoyed tinkering with it.
Might be a placebo effect, or might be the fact it was really cold this morning but it certainly feel crisper and revs more freely in the mid range.
There wasn't anything wrong with the old injectors, but they are almost a consumable on these 1*2s so i couldn't resist an almost new set for less than half price.
Edit. It definitely picks up better from low revs.
There wasn't anything wrong with the old injectors, but they are almost a consumable on these 1*2s so i couldn't resist an almost new set for less than half price.
Edit. It definitely picks up better from low revs.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Monday 23 November 10:10
I thought I'd tackle the brakes today. While there is some life left in the old pads, I've got another trackday booked in December and didn't fancy swapping pads in the car park.
Driver's side went fine, but the passenger's side was a mess. Bleed nipple was completely rounded off, the slide pins weren't sliding and the caliper piston boot is split. Occasionally I'd heard a faint sound of brake binding, but I'd assumed it was the rears. Although the pads were worn completely evenly...?
So i think this years Christmas present to myself will be some new calipers.
Driver's side went fine, but the passenger's side was a mess. Bleed nipple was completely rounded off, the slide pins weren't sliding and the caliper piston boot is split. Occasionally I'd heard a faint sound of brake binding, but I'd assumed it was the rears. Although the pads were worn completely evenly...?
So i think this years Christmas present to myself will be some new calipers.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Tuesday 8th December 13:51
FNG said:
Great thread, excellent tips on these OP. All the more important as I bought one last month!
Now need to read the whole thing to see if there’s any preventative maintenance I need to get going on...
Thanks. To be honest, they're fairly simple things to work on. I even enjoy spending time on the jobs that don't got entirely according to plan. Now need to read the whole thing to see if there’s any preventative maintenance I need to get going on...
Of normal maintenance jobs (not the belts and dephaser), rusty bolts not withstanding, only the inner ARB and steering rack bushes are particularly tricky to do. There are also some excellent specialists out there that can help, and the community on cliosport.net is really helpful.
And they're on, complete with PFC 097 compound pads. Frankly, they're making the rest of the car look scruffy. I really need to give it a clean, just don't fancy doing it when it's this cold.
Credit for fitting goes to Jody Watorowski, who also changed the gearbox oil when the car was up on ramps.
Credit for fitting goes to Jody Watorowski, who also changed the gearbox oil when the car was up on ramps.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Tuesday 8th December 13:32
Awesome progress on this little 172. I went out to the ring back in 2012/13 a few times. There was a huge presence of the 172 and 182 out there and they really were holding their own which surprised me a bit, foolishly Id under rated them for some reason.
I looked at a few, I specifically wanted a 172 Cup But never bought one for numerous reasons. Mostly the ones in my budget were dogs and potential money pits.
It’s nice to see A DIY approach with this. I will continue to follow with interest!
I looked at a few, I specifically wanted a 172 Cup But never bought one for numerous reasons. Mostly the ones in my budget were dogs and potential money pits.
It’s nice to see A DIY approach with this. I will continue to follow with interest!
Big Tomm said:
Awesome progress on this little 172. I went out to the ring back in 2012/13 a few times. There was a huge presence of the 172 and 182 out there and they really were holding their own which surprised me a bit, foolishly Id under rated them for some reason.
I looked at a few, I specifically wanted a 172 Cup But never bought one for numerous reasons. Mostly the ones in my budget were dogs and potential money pits.
It’s nice to see A DIY approach with this. I will continue to follow with interest!
I'm also suprised at how quick something can be with only 169 ish hp. The speed they can carry is great. And they are just engaging little effervescent things to chuck about. I looked at a few, I specifically wanted a 172 Cup But never bought one for numerous reasons. Mostly the ones in my budget were dogs and potential money pits.
It’s nice to see A DIY approach with this. I will continue to follow with interest!
I went for a drive this lunchtime to bed in the PFC 097 pads and came back with a huge smile on my face.
So, another lesson in buy cheap, buy twice. I wanted a second set of track wheels, so hunted through facebook, gumtree and cliosport for a set. I found a set of 15" OZ F1's from a Ph1 172, in the correct 60.1mm centre bore size for a bargain price of £175. Chucked them on and they didn't feel right, so took them to be balanced (£40). One turned out to be buckled and needed straightening (£50). I then got a used set of NS2Rs (£120) which needed fitting and the wheels re-balancing (£70). The wheels still didn't feel right so took then back to my local friendly centre. They were condemned, out of shape and cracking inbetween the treads. So I ended up buying a new set of AD08's (£300).
So 175+40+50+120+70+300= £755. Or about 3/4 of the purchase price of the car.
Which seems like a lot for some heavy, ugly wheels. The AD08's are great though.
I need to stop being so tight and just cough up for "good" parts.
So 175+40+50+120+70+300= £755. Or about 3/4 of the purchase price of the car.
Which seems like a lot for some heavy, ugly wheels. The AD08's are great though.
I need to stop being so tight and just cough up for "good" parts.
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Thursday 17th December 13:44
Just a quick update.
The headlights were starting to get cloudy again, so it was time to break out the masking tape, wool pad and meguires gunk.
While i was waiting for the anti hazing/uv protector stuff to dry i had a go with some simoniz back to black bumper and trim. It was really satisfying, and did the job on the wing mirror plastics, fog light surrounds and scuttle panel.
About 30 minutes well spent. Hopefully it'll be warm enough soon to start doing some more involved stuff.
On the immediate to do list: I need to have a look at the rear pads and possibly discs. I really need to get on with some rust prevention on the rear beam.
More expensively, I've got a trip to AW motorworks at the end if the month for a new set of belts and a dephaser. Looking at the history in more detail, back in 2018 only the aux belt was done so it's 5 years (but only 20,000 miles) since it was all changed.
The headlights were starting to get cloudy again, so it was time to break out the masking tape, wool pad and meguires gunk.
While i was waiting for the anti hazing/uv protector stuff to dry i had a go with some simoniz back to black bumper and trim. It was really satisfying, and did the job on the wing mirror plastics, fog light surrounds and scuttle panel.
About 30 minutes well spent. Hopefully it'll be warm enough soon to start doing some more involved stuff.
On the immediate to do list: I need to have a look at the rear pads and possibly discs. I really need to get on with some rust prevention on the rear beam.
More expensively, I've got a trip to AW motorworks at the end if the month for a new set of belts and a dephaser. Looking at the history in more detail, back in 2018 only the aux belt was done so it's 5 years (but only 20,000 miles) since it was all changed.
I've done almost nothing with the clio apart from an almost blemish free fresh MOT (there's a chip in the windscreen) and an occasional blast to the shops.
I gave it a good wash before it's date with AW motorworks and noticed the number plate light was a bit manky. I had one in my box of spares and swapped it over.
Looking forward to the drive to see Alex tomorrow!
I gave it a good wash before it's date with AW motorworks and noticed the number plate light was a bit manky. I had one in my box of spares and swapped it over.
Looking forward to the drive to see Alex tomorrow!
Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Sunday 28th March 17:48
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