[dhassen]

Hi everyone,

Right I've had my clio for 2 and a half years and I've never had it serviced at all, no oil change no nothing. I was worried reading in the manual about how you MUST get the timing belt changed every 75000 (cant remember exactly) miles or so, this breaking meaning your car breaks. I've done about 25000 miles in it and its got about 92,000 on the clock so I suppose it's at the stage where I should do things to keep it going rather than do things when they break. Now 1st of all, what sort of price would I be looking at to get the car serviced, and do I need / should I get it done at renault. I know dealer garages are dear but is it a good idea to get service done there (because they'll know the car better)

Also, my clio randomly cuts out somtimes when I stop, or slow down to <10 mph. It always starts up again, but sometimes i need to rev it to stop it from failing again. This is a pain, especially when slowing for a roundabout! Anyone else had this problem? Or any ideas what it might be? It seems to not like just ticking over. Weird though, because somtimes it does it 5 + times on a drive, and other times it doesnt do it at all for months. I do 300+ miles a week too.

Cheers guys

Dave

 

[chris m]

Do get the cambelt done as if it breaks it will take out the engine. Don't bother going to a dealer unless you can get by on one arm and leg, the Clio 1 is not that complex, as for the cutting out I would suspect the TDC sensor. A lot of the service items can be done at home by anyone with an average mechanical competence, such as oil change, oil and air filter change and the TDC sensor is a doddle if a little fiddley to get to.
Click the link in my sig for the Clio FAQ, there is a good post on the TDC and if you have further questions post back either in this thread or start a specific one in say the engines forum for advice on the oil change.

 

[darth510]

timing belts should be done at 72000miles normally, it can cost between £130-£200, but if it snaps you will be looking at a much larger bill depending on how many valves break too. worth doing!!

If your travelling those sort of miles give your car a chance, get down to your local kwik fit etc and they will do you an oil & filter for about £25, plugs and air filter from most shops would be under £20 and easily be done yourself in minutes, see how the car runs then

 

[dhassen]

cheers fellas... I'll have a look at the stuff you mentioned. I'm glad it seems like I can take it to a local garage then. I remember looking at how to change the cam belt a while ago and think I got scared off by how tricky it looked. I'll probably have to get that done for me. The other bits I'll look into doing myself.

Still not got my headlight fixed either!

Cheers!

 

[chris m]

worth getting the cam done properly if you're unsure as the implications are severe.

 

[dhassen]

update here. My cambelt snapped whilst on the motorway (should've taken your advice sooner!) and cost my £573 for fixing new cam, damage to pistons etc and new sparks. Also got oil change and coolant change.

Just a note about the cutting out though. This seems to be a very common renault problem, that can be fixed by either cleaning or replacing the top dead centre sensor. I had to get a new exahust a couple of months ago, the mid and tail sections needed replacing. I've not changed my tdcs, but I haven't had a single cut out and it's idling great. ATS does a free exhaust check for any cut-out sufferers to think about.

 

[chris m]

I guess the car is running ok now though. When I had my Clio I had a decision on wether to have the auto box repaired or not. I reasoned that the cost of the car and the repair would still be under a grand and did'nt think I would be getting much better if I brought another car, so went for it. I finally replaced it this summer so I reckon I got my monies worth from it overall.

 

[dhassen]

I thought the exact same thing... even though my clio's getting on a bit, I've had it for 3 years, know it well, know what I've had done to it - all new brakes, exhaust and other stuff. I figured £573 was a lot to spend on an 11 year old car, but I couldn't put any more money towards it, so wouldn't get anything as good for that price. If I bought another car for that price, It'd be another gamble. Hopefully mine will last my a good while yet, and now I'm going to save towards a new motor.

 

[bigshow]

hi there glad its all up mand running ok for you now! tdc can be a problem on the clios but its normally the later version of clio 2 and phases 2+3! usually find on the earlier versions the throttle and idle valves gum up which causes them to fail and cause engine to cut out! usually a clean and injection reinitiallization cares the problem!

 

[no3chris]

£573 is alot for that, my camblet went. took all 8 valves..

they replaced all the valves, the belt, waterpump, and 2 other things that i have forgotten about for £300


my car cuts out when i slow down and sto paswell now its really annoying and i have a low idle

 

[dhassen]

ah well if it's a lot it's a lot - nothing I can do about it now! I got quite a bit of feedback from various people saying it was a fair price, if not fair then very fair - you're the first whos said it's a lot! anyway, I had the work done about 2 months ago now, and everything seems fine. Money well spent, even if it was over the odds!

 

[woodall001]

ah well if it's a lot it's a lot - nothing I can do about it now! I got quite a bit of feedback from various people saying it was a fair price, if not fair then very fair - you're the first whos said it's a lot! anyway, I had the work done about 2 months ago now, and everything seems fine. Money well spent, even if it was over the odds!

I don't think you paid a lot, and as you say its running well it was worth the cost. The guy who said you paid a lot also said that although his was cheeper his idle was off so he seems to have also got what he paid for!!

I brought a 1997 Clio last week for £900. with 72k and full service history. The seller was a mechanic who had brought it off a guy who couldnt pay the £1500. that the Puugeot dealer wanted to fix the damage from the snapped cambelt. The mechanic fixed it himself and sold it on. It's a great car. It just goes to show that parts are real cheep but labour at £62.50 an hour (here in Oxford) is a killer. My soliciotor charges £150.00 per hour and I cant think of any other people who can charge such a high hourly rate. Excepting lady's of the night!! But obviously I have never used their services:rofl:

 

[GREAT UNCLE]

You got your head job done at a good price, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. £300 sounds like it was done as a 'side job', while this is cheaper it is always a more risky way of having stuff done, - where is the garantee if some thing goes wrong later on? What quality where the parts?
Certainly no need to go to Renault dealer for a Clio 1, they are a good car with nothing over complicated on - find a local garage that has a good reputation and stick to them, if you do have any problems with anything they have done you can go back to them and they should look after you.

As for that comment about labour rates, have you had a look at the price of property or rental cost for workshops, never mind the cost of employing a 'good' mechanic!
It always amazes me how people will pay loads of money to have a guy come to look at the washing machine and say ooh I dunno guv, cars are far more complex - with several computers on now, you need them to get about, and you depend on them being in good order not to kill or injure you.
Anyway off my soapbox now.

 

[no3chris]

so because a garage decide they dotn want to rip off someone over christmas time theyve used ¤¤¤¤ parts and did it on a bodge?

you guys must be mechanics saying that, money hungry layabouts haha !

i cant comprehend how a grage can charge £300 for a headgasket when parts cost £60 and labour is not hard.. and takes an hour and a half at most

mayeb the problem is the type of garage you people take your cars too

 

[GREAT UNCLE]

Using Unipart prices so not over the top but good quality
Head gasket set £60.00 (bolts might be extra)
Cam belt kit £60.00
Water pump £46.00
Skim cylinder head £35.00
Valves prob. £6 or £7 each.
so now you want the garage to fit them for free?
Then you've got oil and filter, anti freeze, usually have to put fan belt on,
Yes I do work in a garage, and we don't aim to be the cheapest, we do a good job for a fair price and look after our regular cuctomers.

 

[dhassen]

I can see why my work cost me a lot... there was a lot to change / fix.. With everyone's feedback I'm more than happy with what I paid.

UNfortunatley the clio's started cutting out again.. grrrrrr

time to study that 'tdc on scenic with pictures' post again!

Can anyone point me in the right direction of photos of where the tdc sensor is on my clio.... I can't find it..... and I've searched this forum and can't find any pics.

Also what would the heynes manual refer to the tdc sensor as? (TDC sensor doesnt seem to be in there). I know there's a few names for it - that could really help because at least the manual has quite a few good photos

Thanks

 

[madnoel10]

I can see why my work cost me a lot... there was a lot to change / fix.. With everyone's feedback I'm more than happy with what I paid.

UNfortunatley the clio's started cutting out again.. grrrrrr

time to study that 'tdc on scenic with pictures' post again!

Can anyone point me in the right direction of photos of where the tdc sensor is on my clio.... I can't find it..... and I've searched this forum and can't find any pics.

Also what would the heynes manual refer to the tdc sensor as? (TDC sensor doesnt seem to be in there). I know there's a few names for it - that could really help because at least the manual has quite a few good photos

Thanks

Haynes normally refer to the TDC sensor as the Crankshaft Speed/position sensor - it lives on the left hand side of the engine just above the gearbox bell-housing

You didn't look to hard - its under "how to" section of the forum - see link below

http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/how-articles/10062-top-dead-centre-sensor-replacement-pictures.html

 

[dhassen]

ta for that........

I've seen those photos a million times lol that's not a clio though is it...... I am a bit blind btw.... I'll have another look around under the bonnet later....

 

[madnoel10]

ta for that........

I've seen those photos a million times lol that's not a clio though is it...... I am a bit blind btw.... I'll have another look around under the bonnet later....

Whilst it may not be a Clio - the principle applies acrosss the range:steam:

 

[dhassen]

Alright cheers...... lol @ that smiley