[grantnnat]

hi hope sombody has a idea whats causig this i just bought a renault espace for the wife and kids when it idles it sounds like a diesel only when warm from cold it sounds sweet i changed the oil and filter and it sounds a bit better but not 100%the car is a 2000 plate with 45000 miles on clock its not been clocked i checked with dvla apart from the noise its great hope someone can help

 

[Recycled Scenic]

Hello and welcome to the forum

That will be the dephaser pulley on the end of the inlet cam it's part of the VVT system and a well known problem new pulley is only available from Renault will cost some where around £140 and means removing the timing belt so that and the timing belt guide rollers should also be replaced. Service interval for the cam belt is 70,000 or 5 years which ever comes 1st.

So if your Espace has never had a new cam belt you are running on borrowed time and the car should really be on it's second belt kit by now?

Cam belt kit will cost around £100 and the job to change it and the dephaser pulley will take around 4 hours to do if the person is familar with these type of engines.

 

[grantnnat]

hi thanks what does the de-phaser do just curious does the engine need to come out to change timing belt etc

 

[Recycled Scenic]

The dephaser advances the inlet cam shaft timing. There is a locking pin inside it which is why your engine is quite when you 1st start the car but once the engine has warmed up and the locking pin has released then the rattling starts on the 2.0 litre engines when you have a worn pulley. It sounds pretty awful but doesn't usually lead to any long term engine damage.

To be perfectly honest I don't think the improvements in performance are particulary noticeable especialy when the engines are fitted in the likes of Scenics or Espaces.

No I don't belive the engine has to come out for a 2.0 cam belt change but I'm not much up on the Espace. I belive the engine has to come out for a 3.0 cam belt change though

This is a 2.0 16 valve F4R engine in he photo its the same as yours but in a Scenic. The upper engine mounting has been removed and you can see the dephaser pulley which is the one on the right

 

[grantnnat]

thanks mate that solves that i will get that checked youve been very helpful

 

[Recycled Scenic]

More than happy to have been of assistance

 

[grantnnat]

hi does anybody know where to get a dephasor pully as my local car spares center havent even heard of it and wot price ????

 

[Recycled Scenic]

hi does anybody know where to get a dephasor pully as my local car spares center havent even heard of it and wot price ????

LIke I said back in post #2 the dephaser pulleys are only available directly from Renault around £140. If the garage doesn't know what you are talking about then he clearly doesn't know much about these engines IMO.

I have read other posts here on the forum where Renault do sometimes make a contribution to the cost of a new dephaser pulley?

 

[Aquaspark]

Hi Guys
I am another newbie, just bought a grand space 2001 2.0l 16v and have the same problem was getting very worried about noise, but from what. I have read not a. Great problem just have to turn radio up abit. Car done 95k and belt replace at 88k in Oct 2010 .
Any one got a copy of manuals or spec for a race edition space ?cheers Glenn

 

[Recycled Scenic]

Hello Glenn and welcome to the forum

The same engine is also used in the Clio Sport where people are into tunning them up.

 

[donald68]

once the engine has warmed up and the locking pin has released then the rattling starts on the 2.0 litre engines when you have a worn pulley. It sounds pretty awful but doesn't usually lead to any long term engine damage.

Hi, thanks for this post. Should it be completely quiet when it is working normally, or is there some noise from this when typically operating?

I also noticed a 'diesel kind' of noise today at idle after collection of my 'new' 2001 Espace. But, really, like a real quiet diesel! Not what I would describe as 'awful', but not as petrol-ey a noise as I would expect. And, yes, with head-under-bonnet I'd have said that particular engine 'note' was being played at the cam end of the head.

Is that normal, or should the under bonnet noises be no different to start-up?

History says belt was changed within last 10,000 miles. So would there be anything to concern myself about until next belt change, even if it was worn as you say? Presumably it would simply not run so well, or what else can come of a worn dephaser pulley?