Sounds very much like the mounting has gone. If bolts have snapped it either has been in a bad for some time or had a hard life
Time for a new mounting me thinks and a duff mount is likely to cause exhaust damage.

 

You engine shouldn't move by hand like that. Was the car in the garage/dealers for work recently? I wonder if they've had to rock the engine for access for some work and haven't secured it properly??

If your engine is moving to far you will end up with strain on the exhaust system which could account for the blow.

 

wow, thanks for the speedy replies!

It's been in today for the resistor pack (dash out, took them all day) and was in just before Christmas to have both front suspension top caps? replaced - this cured a 'twanging' noise when turning the steering wheel.

would the suspension work have involved loosening the mount?

 

The suspension system can be repaired without touching the engine mounts

 

ok, so it could be broken and could have happened a while ago?

can you confirm there is a mounting bolt in that position?

cheers

 

The top engine mount is a rubber bonded unit which may have give way. The only sure way of finding out exactly what has failed is to take it out for inspection.

 

Went into my local renault dealer today (Tates @ brighton) and managed to look at another scenic's engine. It had pretty much no movement, unlike mine which moves a lot!

The Renault mechanic reckoned it sounded just like the engine top mounting bolt had sheared/broken, so it's going in on Monday.

Also while i was there (getting the code for my radio) the guy pointed out my car was flagged for a 'red' recall. Apparently the rear seatbelts (not the middle one) need modifying and re-glueing, so its booked in for that too - no charge.

My car is a 54 plate 1.4 16V Scenic II - might be worth checking with renault if you have a similiar age scenic?

 

Thanks for the info tightscot the seatbelt info could help other scenic owners

 

just to update my original post, the top engine mounting bolt is indeed broken. This has caused the engine to vibrate, which in turn has broken the air box mounting bracket.

the air box had then worked loose (as the fixing bracket had snapped) causing the 'blowing exhaust' noise.

It's awaiting parts but should be done in the next day or so.


I'm hoping this may also fix the other problem i have, whereby the car stalls when you restart it after driving for about 5 minutes (before the car has fully warmed up)

Thanks all for the info, i'll update this post once its sorted!

 

Nice to hear that your getting close to sorting your problem,thanks very much for the update.

 

anopther update.

The garage have replaced the engine mount bolt and the air box. This has improved my MPG from about 24 to 34mpg (round town) so thats good.

However the engine still rocks back and forward with the lightest of touches, is it supposed to do that ?

i'm trying to make time to visit a renault dealer and lift a bonnet or two, but in the meantime thought i'd check here!

Oh and it still fails to tickover when the car has run for 5 - 10 minutes - ie when it isn't fully warmed up. Have to give it loads of revs for about 10 secs otherwise she stalls.

 

It could be another engine mount has suffered due to having to take all the extra load whiulst the top one was broken. It may well be worth checking out the one at the rear towars the gearshift.
Does the idle problem ony occur when the engine is cold

 

i'll have a poke under the bonnet tonight and check the other mount(s) although the movement is the same as in my first post ^ (see the pictures above for more info) ^

As for the idle issue, when car is either cold or fully warmed up, there is no problem at all.

When it's halfway between, then it has the problem whereby it will start, but then die unless you give it revs / slip clutch for a bit.

No faults on ECU etc etc, Garage can find nothing wrong blah blah?

 

Could be a duff TDC sensor or coolant temp sensor - time to change your garage me thinks

 

how would a garage check these 2 sensors?

 

Sensors could be checked visually or electrically using suitable equipment

 

Just an update:

On friday had the check emissions error on dash, had to replace coils on cylinders 1 and 4. this sorted the error, but not the stalling issue.

Car is currently in a different garage, and they reckon TDC sensor is faulty. They're replacing it as i type this!

they're also going to check engine mounts.

Will post an update later.

Thanks for help & advice so far

 

OK, update time again!

TDC sensor has been replaced, but now instead of stalling, the car runs very rough, and all rev counter bars go off, then after say 10 seconds, the car splutters a bit and then starts revving at normal idle speed.

Again, at normal operating temp, or when starting from dead cold, the car starts and runs fine. It only plays up when its temp is mid range.

So you could say its better, but still not correct in my opinion.

I'm going to look at changing the 4 spark plugs just to rule them out (should be cheap) and then if still bad i suppose i'll have to take it back.... again!

Someone mentioned a coolant temp sensor, does anyone know where this is located? (1.4 16V)

 

The coolant temp sensor is usually around the thermostat housing area on most models - no guarantee it there on yours but it may be worth a look.
The idle problem could aslo be down to an air leak in the inlet system or possibly a dirty throttle body or duff throttle position sensor

 

final update - all fixed.

I've changed all 4 plugs and coils, made no difference, so in it went to another Renault dealer.

They cleaned the throttle body and injectors, and then re-programmed the injection system. Starts first time, every time now, am finally a happy bunny!

Thanks all for the help and advice.