My FF BG 182 [PICTURE HEAVY!]

[chaski]

Thought I'd make a project thread. Possibly more as a log of what I've done/am doing with the car for myself, but I've found so many of the project threads really helpful with tiny snippets of information that I thought I'd give something back and hopefully someone might find a few bits and bobs useful. I've never really been 'into' cars before, especially not fast ones. My two previous wagons were a Peugeot 306, 13 years old when buying, no power steering or any form of creature comfort come to think of it! Second was a 12 year old Astra Van. Possibly the worst vehicle anyone should be subjected to driving! Heater had two modes, full or off, tin rust bucket that was practically rotting away. This one had a CD player though!

Anywho, I came back from doing a winter season in France and the van had died. It needed a new clutch ASAP anyway, so I just decided it was time to spend a bit of cash on something half decent. Originally I wanted a dCI/VVT, but due to price and finding the one I eventually bought for a good price, I ended up with the RS Clio 182 in Black Gold and with both cup packs. FSH 82k on the clock and there was oodles and oodles of receipts for pretty much everything. It certainly hasn't wanted for much mechnically over the years! Paint work needs a little work, but I thought it wasn't anything that couldn't be worked on - so that'll be later in the thread at some point! Friend has just bought a DA, so when I can get to Wales, will see about corrections there. Steering wheel was pretty melted, so that's on the list too. Alloys were all in pretty good shape with only a couple of light scrapes on one rim. I've since fubared that rim even more. Someone in an SUV practically drove me off the road on a village lane, by driving pretty much straight down the middle of the road and I curbed it. I was doing 20mph or there abouts. Nutter clearly didn't care.

I'm sure there's more stuff but I can't remember!

Fallen in love with this Clio already. Had it about 6 weeks now and it's staying with me for as long as I can afford to run it.

I'd like to make it my own (as does everyone!!) but in a more subtle way, as seems to be the theme of a lot of the project threads. Still 'feeling out' what direction I want to take things in.

Mods when I bought it

o Eibach Pro Kit front springs
o Janspeed exhaust

Few pics of the day I picked it up:

Apologies for crap pic quality... only have camera phone at the moment, leant SLR to a friend

And after a quick clean (I'm terrible at detailing, forgive your eyes!! Still learning a LOT! All tips welcome, both product and technique! Currently using autoglym stuff that I either already had, got given or got a deal on)

Since I've had it:

o RSTuner 98RON Map
o White side lights
o Silver vision rear indicators
o All interior bulbs changed to 'ice' white LEDs
o Number plate light 'ice' white LED.
o Pollen filter changed
o Heko wind deflectors
o Battery cover
o Front fogs ice white (may well change these back soon, as I don't drive around with them on unless it's poor visibility and a yellow light is better after all, for when it's actually foggy!)
o Headlights reconditioned - going to polish them even further when i've got access to a DA too!

Stuff ordered/to go on:

o Eibach Pro Kit rear springs to go on.
o K&N Panel filter to go in standard airbox (after reading a lot on here, seems the best option vs IK's)
o Pilot Sport 3's to replace two tyres. (Currently debating which tyres I should get here? Also been looking at Toyo T1-R's & Hankook V12's)
o RS mats (pending order, through a guy on CS)

Things I'd like to do

o Bullets sprayed BG with undecided colour lettering. Anthracite/chrome current thinking.
o All plastics colour coded. Mirrors surrounds/supports, fog surrounds, exhaust surrounds, rear strip, splitter, aerial base.
o Headlight washers blanked
o Rota Grid alloys are tempting...
o Gtechniq window sealant on all windows + mirrors.
o Brake calipers rebuilt/serviced and painted, undecided on colour.
o Inlet mani painted with coloured lettering.
o Engine cover sprayed.
o All oils changed, including brake fluids.

Few pics of 'stuff':

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[chaski]

So... forgot some stuff!

Since I've had it:

o Pioneer front speakers & Tweeters. FLI rears (for now, would like to upgrade the whole lot including head unit one day).
o CS Tax disc & under high level brake light sticker.

Things I'd like to do

o LED Strip in boot, wired from boot light to give better visibility in dark. Mounted discretely at base of parcel shelf
o Sun visor lights changed to ice white
o Boot net
o Speaker grilles front and back to mesh
o Bespoke ashtray replacement with USB charging point. Bit of a pipe dream, but I will never ever use the ashtray. I do realise about the OBD port etc under there though.
o 'Dirt catcher' floor mat for boot.
o Steering wheel retrimmed
o New clips for driver side scuttle panel, front grille (one of the clips is damaged).
o Aero wipers/blades

 

[stephen chadwick]

keep up the good work bud, looking smart

 

[James28]

Looks good, Dog looks cool too!

 

[chaski]

Made an offer & dropped a deposit on these, picking them up this weekend! Will need to sort out the center caps but I think they'll look great.

A little further research and a second look at an old Cliosport thread without information overload going through my mind has confirmed that the two Eibach springs I have are appropriate for the 182. The 1.2 models have a different front spring in the Pro-Kit range due to the lighter engine. But the part number (written on the rear springs) of EW7524002HA is the same in all kits for clios, according to the information in the old CS thread. Always nice!

Today I took out one of the vanity mirror lights. Was hoping to find some LED/white light replacements but can't seem to find anything suitable at all! Bulb has 12V3WPLX on the metal ends. Assuming it's a 12v 3wat bulb, no idea what the PLX stands for though? The only LED thin bulbs I could find had flat metal ends though, which lacked the pointy ends to secure the bulb in place. Anyone know of where I can get some replacements?

More SilverVisions arrived in the post. Going to save bits and bobs up and do it all in one go if possible!

Delving through the cars service history reminded me I forgot to list the KTR Brembo HC front discs. MOT's due in a month and a bit, so will see how the pads are doing but currently thinking of Ferodo DS2500's.

Also thinking about getting some new shocks all round as no sign of any replacement over the years!

 

[Lordman]

Nice Macbook Pro........ ohhh wait

 

[chaski]

Literally 1/4 of the price ;-)

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

Pics with Turini's ?
Looks awesome so far mate

 

[chaski]

Pics with Turini's ?
Looks awesome so far mate

Probably not going to be putting them on until weekend after next! Never know, might drive it to a friends and put them on there if I can't wait!

This went in today after a good price and a lot of reading up on induction kits vs standard airbox. I have to be honest... I do really like the growl from IKs and am considering having a go at my own KTR style IK, pretty much just for the noise. Not really wanting to spend £150 on noise at the moment though, would rather spend that money on new OE shocks front & rear, or a collection of smaller things.

 

[KyleColtherd]

Sounds a daft question but does my 1.2 2005 clio have a pollen filter if so where

 

[chaski]

Sounds a daft question but does my 1.2 2005 clio have a pollen filter if so where

I imagine it's probably in the same place as mine was if it has one. Under the drivers side scuttle panel (platic bit under wipers). You'll find a rectangular looking box there with one screw, take that out and then pull the old filter out. Replace it with the new one which will need to be squished a little to get it in. Not sure if there's a better process but it worked for me. With a little wiggling the filter sat correctly in place/wasn't squished out of shape inside the box.

 

[Lordman]

Pics with Turini's ?
Looks awesome so far mate

He says this to everyone don't be taken back

 

[Lordman]

Hopefully will see you around, I only work in Stonehouse so our paths may cross

 

[chaski]

Hopefully will see you around, I only work in Stonehouse so our paths may cross

Please tell me you're not the Clio in the Renishaw car park I've been considering making a mad dash for and sticking a CS flyer under the window? I'm currently working in Stonehouse too... If you work for Renishaw too, that (today) bird crap covered 182 at the end of your car park is mine! Haha

 

[Lordman]

Not even sure where that is

No thats not me mate, I'm in the new industrial park
Is there another Artic Blue 182 around Stonehouse then?

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

He says this to everyone don't be taken back

Jelly as fuuuuuuuuuuuck

 

[chaski]

Not even sure where that is

No thats not me mate, I'm in the new industrial park
Is there another Artic Blue 182 around Stonehouse then?

I think so. I've seen one driving around the area but it might just be you! Haha. Thought I saw one in the car park across the road but wasn't 100% from that far away.

Minor update. Bought some primer, black & clear lacquer rattle cans from halfrauds. Going to have a go at reconditioning my grill(es) as they're really rather faded. Currently debating getting some touch up pens for the red/white/blue flag as I've seen on some others. Actually already have one of the colours so would only be about £6 for the other two. Quite like it myself, what's peoples thoughts?

Example below borrowed from this thread:

Is it's true, credits due to CS member Banderson

 

[chaski]

Grill respray went badly.

The Grill as a whole, I think was fine. Though I think I'd like to pick up a second hand grill and really take the time between very light layers for a perfect finish at some point. Painting the flag on however, was frankly a nightmare. Couldn't get the masking tape to hold and the paints I had were a nightmare to use. Touch up pen for the white was incredibly 'tacky' after a very short amount of time. Red was rather watery and had a lot of difficulty with the masking tape coming loose. The blue actually worked out relatively well, but upon drying and on reflection, it's too dark from a distance to really notice it in anything but bright direct sunlight. It looks OK from a distance and the blue/white really aren't too bad close up either. The red however massively lets the grill down as it found its way behind the masking tape at the edges.

Never mind! Points for trying?

Went and picked these up earlier! Can't wait to see them on the car in the flesh! Have seen pics of other peoples, but it's not the same!

 

[chaski]

So, they say bad things come in threes. Won't write a Mills & Boon novel about it but:

Some c*** has smacked a dent into my drivers side door, with their door. Obvious as f**k, they knew they did it and they just left it. Dicks. Didn't even leave a note to say sorry, even if without details.

Secondary to that, had a few photos to put in the thread of said dent.. and a Pipercross Viper I picked up really cheap off here that I'm showing some love to and planning to do a little custom work with, just for funs (Keeping my standard box as it and the K&N panel filter in it will probably go back on after I've had my giggle). My phone decided it didn't like having an SD card any more and wiped the most recent photos off it and then refusing to read the card at all forcing a factory reset. I guess I deserve that one for using custom ROMs (customer operating system for those who don't know).

And finally... just to top it all off, gave the car a quick once over yesterday after work, having done a really good clean on the Saturday before. A bird shat all over the boot this morning. Fantastic.

I just hope my tyres turn up Monday as this is the third attempt at buying them online...

 

[chaski]

Turini's went on!

2 x New Michelin PS3's on the rear as well.

 

[supptora]

Those turinis make the car look so perfect!

 

[chaski]

Those turinis make the car look so perfect!

Thanks! I'm pretty keen on them! Drove a 4 1/2 hour round trip to Nottingham to get them but I think it was worth it!

This Pipercross Viper also turned up. Picked it up reasonably cheaply from the for sale section, from a Clio being broken. Hose was pretty knakered for my tastes, so will be picking up a replacement. That also reminds me I forgot to go and pick up the filter cleaning kit I ordered earlier... woopsie. Guess that goes on the list for tomorrow!

Planning to run a cold feed down to the front lower grill. I don't want to remove a fog for the pleasure though. Currently thinking of finding a suitable DIY scoop, some good quality hose and then mounting it discretely behind the lower front grill, next to the fog if it will fit. I've seen pics of other Clios with one mounted actually IN the grill, so I don't see why it's not possible.

Will take some measurements when I fit the SilverVision bulbs to replace the nice orange front indicators.

 

[supptora]

Thanks! I'm pretty keen on them! Drove a 4 1/2 hour round trip to Nottingham to get them but I think it was worth it!

Definitely worth it! Haha no doubt about it

 

[chaski]

Trip to the garage later... cyclist in Bristol caused me to swerve and I'm gutted to say I curbed the n/s front wheel, which knocked the tracking for six and scraped my brand new Turini's! They'd literally only been on the car for less than 24 hours. In the same trip, I folded the o/s mirror in (tight streets where my friend Ems lives) and upon attempting to fold it back out again when it was time to go home it just flopped off and hung by the wire. Gutted even more! Fortunately... the back of it's fine etc.. so can pick one up from renparts for £35 posted.

Whilst the car was in, I asked them to check out a couple of other things - they confirmed the CV boot needed doing, confirmed the rear o/s bearing needs replacing and informed me the exhaust heat shield is loose! Yayyy more s**t! A quick search showed the heat shield is a common enough issue and likely can be resolved with some Water Displacement 40 (only just found this name out!) and some larger washers. Will be giving that a go.

Was supposed to be fitting the rear Eibach springs tomorrow with a little help. Haven't sorted anything out yet though but might just have a go anyway as I'm pretty confident about doing it!

Engine cover is off and has been primered - got a bit trigger happy and now it's dried I'm not 100% happy with the finished result so it's getting sanded back and re-primered tomorrow. This brings me on to the topic of 'theming' cars and whether I like it or not. The guy @ ATS put lime green caps on my valves when he put the Turini's on. When I realised at home I was annoyed at first, but now I actually really like them! It's made me consider a subtle green theme. We're not talking badges of any sort, bullets or lettering. Mostly just very subtle touches like gear knob trim stiching, steering wheel re-trim stiching/center mark etc, green border around the RS logo on the mats (that I haven't even bought yet!!) I guess the theme would mostly be internal/engine bay, perhaps calipers.

Have decided the car deserves a full service of oils etc too. Mostly just for my piece of mind and so I know where I'm at!

 

[chaski]

A quick search showed the heat shield is a common enough issue and likely can be resolved with some Water Displacement 40 (only just found this name out!) and some larger washers. Will be giving that a go.

Tackled this earlier.

Was evident once my head went under the car that a previous owner had already deployed the larger washer fix. Without adding saucers to the arse of my car that's not really a viable option any more! For a short term fix I've loosened one of the bolts off and supported the shield with galvanised gardening wire and tightened it back up. Unfortunately, despite letting the bolts soak in WD40 after repeated spraying throughout the day and wiggling loose/tight etc one of the bolts just clean sheered off, despite being cautious and not applying excessive pressure. The original washer, nut and bolt are all pretty heavily ceased together! Guessing the only option there would be to put it up on a ramp and drill it out?

Have booked the car in for an early MOT on Thursday with a local Renault specialist. Just want to get up to speed/know where I'm at really and the cheapest way seems to be to get it MOT'd, fix any MOT failure issues/advisories and then go from there.

In the meantime, filter cleaning stuff finally arrived (two weeks late) so will be giving that a clean tomorrow and trying to sort out some new in take hose etc.

I also fitted the SilverVisions I bought to the front clusters today. Took pics but I think we all know what they look like! At least they're in and they look the business - bit of a boring job to be honest but they say the devil's in the detail!

 

[chaski]

So, few things to update with.

Had someone look at the N/S front today. Reckoned there was a bit of play on the track rod end and wanted to look at the drive shaft. Getting some other goodies fitted soon anyway, so decided not to pay for him to look at it in detail right now!

In the meantime, I've been driving this tractor with a sponge clutch whilst he's had the car:

1.9 dci. Actually quite a nice drive! Was a bit tatty as it's seen a lot of mileage but thought the car itself would be a nice cruising around car.

Was a long day today, was absolutely knakered by 2pm! 2 people at work instead of three, super busy day with extra jobs on top of just having to cover Mandy. But all that went out the window when I saw my Connects2 unit had arrived from danward on here - well packed & quick delivery - even gave me a chuppa chups! Cheers, Dan! If anyone's looking at getting one I'd say go for it. Works a treat and fits incredibly easily into the space above the cup holders in my 182, secured behind the climate control panel with velcro tabs on each corner. with the cable coming out of the bottom of the panel. Good sound quality, 5 minute install time.

Also got around to cleaning up some KTR top mounts I bought from someone here as well. They were a bit worse condition than the pics seemed to suggest to be honest - they were ceased up and starting to rust a little. There wasn't any movement in either when I started off. I'm pretty sure if I could've got the clips on the bottom section out, that whole mount may have come apart and cleaning them off would've been an easier process. I just couldn't find a way to get the clips out, as they'd gone a little rusty and I didn't want to bend them out of shape. So I opted for the hard way.. First I let them soak for a couple of hours with WD40 and then I scraped off what I could see, used a little fine grit sand paper and left them soaking with more WD40. After that, I used a large socket set bar and my hulk like strength to wiggle them as much as I could into different positions, scraping, sanding and WD40-ing everytime I could get them to move.

Eventually, I could move them about a bit and it got a bit easier. A long time later and they're now much better, moving very easily and freely again and not being all ceased up. Still some work to do on them to get them properly cleaned up, but was happy enough that they're at least freely moving again so called it quits on them for today.

Also spent some time continuing with cleaning the viper filter I bought for a DIY IK. Don't think it was shown much cleaning love before, as all of this came out of it today, despite already having been bathed multiple times and left to dry naturally.

Seems to be in pretty good condition now though! Ironically, I'll probably be selling this on before even using it now! Oh well!

​Box of goodies should turn up tomorrow too.. yay.

 

[chaski]

Some parts turned up from Adam @ Renalut Wolverhampton on Friday as promised! Cracking bloke, very helpful, generous and professional despite being harassed by some sort of she devil whilst I was on the blower! Top bloke for the coffee stain on the invoice too! Haha. Thanks to Renparts as well for the replacement door mirror, which I fitted on Friday. Have pulled the mirror glass and the motor out of my old one (keeping the back myself) in case anyone needs a replacement. PM me and I'll post them to you.

2 x Rear Shocks
2 x Front Shocks
2 x Rear Discs + Pads to go with

Plus new OE oil, oil filter, spark plugs and a few clips to replace broken ones.

Planning to try and fit the rear shocks tomorrow. I've searched the forums and read the relevant guides/threads but have some questions! This thread says you can do this job without even jacking up the car. If I undo the bottom 18mm nut and the top of the strut under the rubber seal in the boot and then remove the shock, the car's not going to slump on one side and potentially crush me is it? Can you change the springs the same way, or with relatively little jacking up? Also wondering how I know I've done the shocks bolts up tight enough/not over tight? Torque measuring stuff seems expensive!

I've nothing against jacking the car up. I have some axle stands and would happily buy a trolley jack tomorrow but my drive is stone chippings and I genuinely can't think of anyone/anywhere locally that has a flat concrete/paved drive I could do the work on. My current best option is to drive to a nearby industrial estate and use one of the massive car parks there, but it's a long walk home and a long walk to work Monday if I somehow **** it up and can't drive the car!!

 

[chaski]

I went for it today and fitted the rear shocks and the Eibach springs that came with the car when I bought it. After reading some old threads/guides and seeking a little advice I decided it was something I could definitely do!

It was all pretty plain sailing and rather pedestrian to those who're more experienced but for me this is probably the biggest job on a car I've done! Trolley jacked the car up on the rear beam and used ale stands on the rear points. I used two bits of plywood under each of the axle stands and bought a fairly substantial trolley jack with a long/wide wheel base, which I then dug holes in the chippings for down to a solid base I knew wasn't going anywhere.

Swapped the old shocks out for the new and then dropped the jack to let the rear beam down and take the springs out. They actually fell out as the rear beam came down quite far I guess! Next bit was a bit fiddly, as had to jack up the rear beam and hold a spring in place with the rubbers to a point where it just held it in. I had to drop the beam a bit to get the otherside in but luckily the first one didn't fall out and stayed in place!

The O/S bottom shock bolt went back in no trouble at all but the N/S bolt was a bit of a mare to be honest! I just couldn't get it to go in past a certain point where it became difficult to turn. I was worried about cross threading particularly.

CS.net members saved the day though after a thread in the faults section here! In the interim there was a lot of brown panting....!! Eventually some vigorous wire brushing of the bolt for a while and some WD40 helped the bolt back in and then both were tightened to 105nm with a torque wrench. Quick check of the top nuts and then I dropped the wheels back to the floor and moved it around on my drive. Gave the corners a bit of a push as well and then checked everything before taking a short, slow test drive a long a rural road. I pulled over after a bit, checked everything was still good and then drove back and gave everything a final check - all seems good!

Happy I decided to give this a go - I didn't really save anything as I bought the trolley jack, but at least I have it for any future jobs now - cheap jack anyway as a result of saved labour! Do need some new underpants now though too I guess!

 

[chaski]

Car's into the garage tomorrow for rear discs & pads to be fitted. Mildly gutted actually - I'd already booked it in, but wanted to have a go at it myself just haven't found the time this week. In the mean time a few other bits and bobs happened.

DIY with Viper filter got scrapped as this came along and I couldn't resist:

Took me longer than I anticipated to fit it, ended up loosening the battery holder off so it could wiggle around and removing the cross bar that the battery cover mounts too so I could get the filter in place. Everything else was pretty plain sailing. Over all still a pretty easy job for a monkey like me with little mechanical experience! Took it for a drive.... erhmerhgerhd! The noise! Sexay! Definitely had me grinning ear to ear with the windows rolled down. Have yet to listen to music in the car since it went on!

Then I picked up a spot last week on a forum group buy for one of these babies, which I fitted yesterday. This was actually a bit of a b**ch to fit IMO. The fitting instructions said to do it either on a ramp or without the car jacked up, so the wheels are at a normal ride height. This meant doing it with just the handbrake on, in gear and the slide under. Getting the rear shock bottom bolts out was fine but as I'm not a twiglet, moving my arms around into a position from which i could compress the rear shocks in and then screw the start of the bolt thread in so it didn't drop down again was a real b**ch. This then coupled with applying pressure whilst tightening in for a bit so it didn't cross thread etc = ruined arms/shoulders today! Everything else about fitting it was pretty straight forward. Sorry for crap pic, took it in work car park quickly during my break when I checked the nuts were all still on securely after the drive to work.

Got some gloves from work too (kitchen) which was a bonus, chef had been sent the wrong type a little while ago and they weren't suitable for food environments so when I asked if he could buy a box for me through his supplier and I'd give him the cash he chucked them at me! They came in handy straight away as greasing the D shape poly bushes was a bit of a messy job and they did slide around a bit whilst I was getting the U bars in place and everything loosely bolted up. I'm not 100% convinced the L brackets are at the right angle, but they're as close as I could get. I re-tightened these bolts about 4-5 times on either side but after a certain point you can't hold the bracket in the spot you want it and do the bolts up to 105nm. This lead to guesstimating where the brackets needed to be positioned so that as the bolts were tightened they came into the right place just as the bolts hit 105nm. It's pretty damn close, anyway.

Some of these arrived today to go on the dogbone. Have read incredibly mixed reviews of these polybushes, with some saying that they made a great improvement and others warning of high levels of vibration (even when correctly fitted the right way up) or even increased wear on their other engine mounts.

Had a quick look earlier to think of a plan of attack for jacking the front end up securely and safely and where to place the axle stands. Want to make sure all the points I use are solid as I@m very wary about getting under the engine as if it falls I'm probably a gonner!

 

[Austin-182]

Good work mate.

Are the turinis 15's or 16's?

 

[chaski]

16's bud, came off a Cup originally IIRC! Wrapped in Michelin PS3's at the back and PE2's at the front.

Car went in the garage today for the new discs & pads. Has cured the squeeling so I'm glad I kept hold of the old rear tyres rather than leaving them with ATS when they changed the wheels over! Definitely gutted now that I didn't have a go at getting them on myself as I'm confident I could've done it!

The good news is.. the N/S driveshaft doesn't need replacing and only needs the new CV boot fitting and regreasing. £21 from Renault - not too bad. With the MOT up in September, I'm hoping that getting this done will see it go through with no fails.

Anyone got any good tips for jacking method? I've located a couple of good spots recommended in other threads, but wondering how you all go about jacking it up so that you can get axle stands either side and then have the jack in the middle. It seems to me that jacking it up onto an axle stand and then jacking the other side is a bit dodgy? Just worried the stand could fall over, even with a leg pointing away from the car body? Want to make sure it's solid as f**k before I even consider getting under it!!

 

[Austin-182]

What size are the tyres? They look larger than the standard size

 

[chaski]

What size are the tyres? They look larger than the standard size

Standard size bud, as far as I know! They're all 205/45/16. Car is on Eibach Pro springs @ rear and I believe so on the front, haven't had the front dampers replaced yet to find out. But I put the rears in myself as seen earlier in the thread. Not sure if that's making a difference to how big the tyres seem, but it's lowered so, maybe. Also, the Turini's stick out a bit more than the standard alloys I think, due to ET size? Could be wrong...

 

[chaski]

Exciting times!

"It's about 7 hours to do.."

Regards Dan

 

[chaski]

Thought I'd update, as a few things have happened and what I want to do with the car has changed a bit too!

I'll start off with what's been done:

o 428 Cams
o Matched Inlets
o Belts & Dephaser
o Plugs
o Oil/Filter

I noticed my dephaser was a bit rattly and in all honesty I was dubious about whether the belts had been done, despite being told they were done at 48kish by the guy before him. All in all, I decided it was probably a good idea to get them done and fit a new dephaser at the same time. I wanted to turn a frown upside down a bit and started looking at cams to see if it was viable to have them put in at the same time as the belts were being done anyway! As luck would have it, Dan@SJM was selling some 428 cams and after a few PM's a deal was struck for me to buy them and drive down to his workshop for fitting!

Was a nice drive, albeit a little slower than I'd have liked. Dan was immensely accommodating and in my experiences so far the level of service you get is second to none! I left as soon as possible from work Friday afternoon (about 12:30) but still managed to arrive a little late! Dan kindly dropped me off at the nearest town so I could catch a bus to Yoevil and take a walk around! I was kept up to speed all afternoon via text - next level communication for a garage! I headed back and Dan's lady picked me up off the bus and dropped me back at the garage. I'd got a text asking who'd previously done the belts as there was some 'dubious' workmanship, so was quite intrigued to see what he meant! When I got back to the garage, Dan showed me where they'd just cut and re-used an expanding bolt and where one of the pulleys had been rubbing against material in the bay! At this point, I was pretty glad I'd decided to get the work done! Hung around and chatted for a while and then I gently made my way back home! Was well worth the trip, even just for peace of mind that it's all been done properly, but fair play to Dan his prices are also very good too!

Next up was:

o Fit new front shocks
o Powerflex dogbone bushes
o New CVJ
o Aero wipers

I decided to get my local garage to fit the new front shocks whilst they were doing the CVJ and I replaced the old OE dogbone bushes for powerflex ones. The car does rattle a LOT more than before, like people say it does but I'm perfectly happy with it! Apparently the bushes do soften a little and settle in a bit, so time will tell, but either way I'll be happy with the out come as it just feels much tighter! After meeting up with another CS member and seeing Aero wipers in the flesh, I decide I did want some after all! I picked a pair of Bosch ones up for £17.99 delivered off FleaBay which I thought was a great price for genuine Bosch! I got the chance to test them out the next day and I do think they wipe better than my previous ones, which had perfectly good condition blades. They also seem to wipe with less effort? Probably a placebo on both counts but I'm happy with them!

Ready and waiting to go in are:

o New original mats
o New headlight washers

Not really a lot to say about either of those, other than we'll see how it goes with the headlight washers! If they break again any time soon, I think I'll bin them off and just blank them over!

Planning to get:

o New OE engine mounts

 

[msremmert]

Was a good read and the car looks lovely.
How are you finding the car with the 428 cams?

 

[chaski]

Time for an update. A lot has happened, life as usual getting in the way. I was intending to do one large one including a lot of pictures and more detailed thoughts, comments and opinons but frankly I've done quite a few bits and bobs with more coming imminently so before it all gets too confused or forgotten I'm just going to list some of the stuff that's occurred and I'll come back to it later maybe.

o Goodridge braided brake hoses & ATE blue fluid fitted by myself.
o Osram Nightbreaker Ultimate Xenarc bulbs
o Osram Nightbreaker Ultimate HIDs
o Osram sidelights (match better and frankly the LEDs I put in before were s**t)
o 10 hour detail, sadly already looking a bit dusty and hammered it home that my paint work leaves some to be desired! Rural locations (Megs Ultimate compound, polish & wax with a drill attachment DA, everything else autoglym)
o Ktec IK silicone pipe swapped for a blue one
o Blue dust caps
o Catalytic converter replaced for second hand part, new spring loaded kit, gasket etc.
o Centre exhaust hanger bodged (revised genuine part has now arrived for fitting, had completely gone)
o Rear powerflex exhaust hangers fitted and split due to extra weight from other hangers/mounts being damaged or non-existant!#
o Headlight washers replaced (ironically, soon to be blanked with some 3D printed blanks from the CS.net group buy)
o Washer jets replaced for Citroen C2/Xsara washers. (If you do this, don't waste time/money. Buy GENUINE Citroen parts and they WILL work. DON'T ebay them, unless they're genuine. I wasted £5. Genuine were £9 posted)
o Restored headlights (again) using 3M kit. Much better results for the same time invested, though did cost twice as much. Was significantly less work.
o Acoustic valve removed (redundant due to Ktec IK, and useless anyway)
o Boot net (some of the best money I've spent on the car!
o Silent coat & blue tac rear panels around speakers
o De-rattling interior with blue tac
o New OE mats
o New N/S driveshaft (free! The local garage I trust c**ked up with a circlip and replaced it for the same price as the CV boot repair they were supposed to be doing and even gave me back the CV boot kit I supplied them with!).
o New O/S driveshaft (was worn)
o 2 x Michelin PS3's to replace worn front tyres. All four corners now wrapped in PS3 rubber.
o VibraTechnics upper & lower engine mounts (feels naice!)
o 2 heat shield fixings repaired. 1 via the washer method, 1 via simply using a large nut.
o New number plates (Secured by velcro)

In the pipeline: (Ideally, I would like to get everything in this list done before CSS, which I hope to attend)

o Refurb the curbing on front turinis. f**k you Bristol.
o Silent coat in front door panels (relatively frugal, not a blanket layer)
o Type D coolant & new coolant bottle (current stuff is orange )
o Blue samco coolant hoses
o New washer pumps
o Fit washer blanks
o Paint calipers (have been scrubbed ready to go) & hub edges
o PMS top mounts & brace (this week coming)
o Rack & front ARB bushes replaced. (by Dan@SJM) (Originally I was planning to powerflex the front end, but after advice from Dan I've opted for OE parts)
o Alternator replaced (dead) for new genuine, with new genuine aux belt even though the current one isn't exactly old! (by Dan@SJM)
o Full dash conversion to blue LED; CC panel, Speedo clocks, general display, CD player, window switches etc. Parts & tools arrived, waiting on spare CC panel/Speedo clocks to practice soldering on.
o Engine cover, dash strips, door pulls, wheel insert and gear insert in Renault black. (Wanted black Gold but frankly, it's too expensive in a can and getting the professionally sprayed is a fair amount more £££ than a DIY job)
o Headlight adjustment
o 4 wheel alignment/Geo @ Aline in Dudley
o Fix heatshield mount holding heatshield over centre section/fuel tank. Currently rattling like s**t. The bolt/thread is completely corroded away. Hatching a solution for this, possibly involving a good under carriage scrub & heat tape/material.

Ideas going forward (not 100%, possibly pipe dreams, just ideas for the moment):

o Paintwork.
o RS2 (If I can find one for sale!)
o PDR tech for 2 parking dings & small dent in bonnet.
o Brembos & appropriate discs if I can find them second hand with appropriate brackets (probably dreaming on this one!)
o Convert ash tray into USB port & Iphone 5 holder/charger/audio connection (my friends dad runs a business manufacturing phone holders predominantly for car applications, planning to have a beer with him soon )
o Wishbones & tracks rod ends.
o Aftermarket head unit & compatible adapter for wheel controls stalk.
o Underseat subwoofer, slimline jobby. Fairly sure I have read somewhere about directly powering these without the need for an amp. I don't want overkill, just a bit more thump so I don't have to turn the music up all that loud to feel it. Combined with the silent coat, I think this will do it.

Comments:

Slowly starting to feel like I've replaced a LOT of this car! Was exceedingly pissed off when I took a multimeter to the battery with engine on/off and came to the realisation the alternator was definitely dead. Honestly felt a bit like taking a bat to the car. I would like to do a lot more work on it myself going forward. I don't really fancy the hassle of doing the ARB/rack bushes on my back under axle stands etc though. I'm sure I could do it if I really wanted to, but frankly for the very reasonable labour charges Dan@SJM charges I'd rather get him to do it.

 

[chaski]

Well, lets try and get some of these photos off my phone and onto a thread!

A few bits and bobs arrived before the car went to Dan@SJM.

Bits and Bobs:

I fitted the Powerflex rear shock top mounts straight away, really nothing to see there.. but here they are sat in the box! Not sure why I took this picture but no others!

After that I swapped my Ktec hose over. I bought a blue one off the forums and sold the orange one. Might seem sad to some but I just hated the orange colour!

The Osram bulbs all went in at the same time, didn't take any pics as it's the same as every other head light change. Quick check that they all worked and popped the bumper back on. Old tatty number plates & screw fixings came out (had to cut heads off two with a dremel!) and new plates got velcro'd on. Looks much better I think! Lubed/regreased the bonnet catch up as it was getting a little 'sticky'.

Windscreen replaced:

Then I got the windscreen replaced through Greenlight - which was an absolute pleasure to do - as it had a big crack develop. The guy who came was a top bloke, had a great chat and I even ended up helping him fit the screen!

Having been experiencing that my rain sensor wasn't 'all that', I asked the guy about gels etc (though obviously new screen has a new sensor etc!) and he kindly gave me the end of tub he was using! Bonus. Probably only enough left in it to reapply once, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth!

Braided Brake Hoses:

I changed the brake hose lines and failed to take a single picture!

I think I was too preoccupied making sure I didn't f**k it up and let air in the system or snap a bleed screw off for photos. Especially when the first one I got to didn't want to move at all and was slightly rounded off. I then made that worse, of course. A lot of reading forums, asking peoples advice and sending pics later, I just attacked it with a hacksaw blade 'gently' to remove corrosion from around the nipples thread, follow by more soaking with swarfega 'duck oil' (only penetrating stuff I had to hand). That still didn't work and I'd had enough so rather than f**king around I went to B&Q and got some vice grips and a blow torch. Vice grips worked a treat and I didn't even need to use the torch! Bugger, there goes £25 unnecessarily!

With the nipple freely moving though, I hooked up my Gunson Eezi Bleed pressure kit from Halfords (£20) and one of the wheels off the car, dropped to 20psi to pressure it. Was really easy to bleed through, very simple. Tightened everything back up and detached the kit, checked the fluid level in the kit and it didn't need topping up, so I did the N/S hose. Didn't mess around, cleared the corrosion straight away and the nipple moved freely with a little 'gentle' persuasion. This hose was probably the quickest!

After eating dinner I attacked the rear hoses. Bit fiddly and got covered in what felt like a s**t load of fluid. Kept checking reservoir though and topped up once. Got both the hoses changed eventually, but it was dark and I had to use both hands for the socket and spanner and hold a torch with my teeth! Got a drop of fluid in my mouth as it was open due to holding the torch and it was absolutely f**king disgusting! Don't recommended it and it certainly can't be good for you/me! Spat it out straight away but taste lasted forever!

Bled things through and left it for the next day to go for a spin and see what it felt like!

Off to see Dan@SJM:

Or not... as the case nearly was!! Went to start the car on Friday afternoon to check out my new brake hoses and lo and behold the battery light and STOP lights just wouldn't go off! A bunch of research later and having previously been worried either my water pump or alternator was going, I stuck a multi meter on the battery with the engine off and on. Yep, worst fears confirmed the alternator is goosed. Just what you want when you've got to drive the car 90+ minutes away on Monday!! At this point I did have a little flap, big sense of humour failure and let it all hang out a bit.

Decided I was best off sourcing a new alternator, so had a quick ring round and sourced one, plus an auxiliary belt that I could pick up the next day as I wanted genuine OEM parts. In the mean time a few people told me all about my own breakdown cover and how it would get the car to Dans for me for free! Winner, never been so glad to have my AA membership! So I picked up the parts the next day, popped them in the boot and got the car otherwise ready to go to Dans.

On the Monday morning I called the AA up, told the guy I thought the alternator was dead, he checked it quickly and then asked me where I wanted to go. He was a little shocked when i said Glastonbury but didn't quibble about it! Drove the car to an open area nearby and got it on the trailer. Turned out to be a top bloke, was really interested in the car and had a good chat with him about all sorts of random stuff whilst he got it on the trailer. And then off it went...

...and there it still is! Having HUGE problems with getting the car remapped after using an RSTuner to put the 98Ron map on. Neither Mike @ MWM where I originally went for a map, nor Dan could get access to the ECU, despite their best efforts. The car is currently still in Glastonbury and Dan has been incredibly helpful with getting this all sorted. Can't wait to get it back and be able to enjoy it again, without the worry or the headache! Don't want to cause drama but as this is my thread for now I'll just say this.. FastChip really should make its customers aware about the ECU encryption they use before they sell them the product. I trawled their website and could only find ONE reference to encryption on the whole damn thing. That reference was actually to do with encrypting calibration files, not ECU software and it was in a change log for the RSTuner program. To the best of my knowledge I can't see where exactly Henk warns anyone about being forced to use the RStuner as a slave device for any future tuning you may require. I'll probably write more about this when it's all sorted.

In the mean time, I've been getting on with whatever I can without having the car.

Brake Caliper Refurb:

When I changed all my hoses over with Goodridge braided lines & ATE Superblue fluid, I notice the calipers looked pretty rough so decided to paint them. Me being me, that led to reading/watching loads of stuff on rebuilding brake calipers, fancying the idea of a big brake conversion, checking my bank balance and compromising on rebuilding my own calipers completely. I didn't take any pictures of changing the hoses, so I'll dive right into the calipers.

I bought some spare calipers off ebay for £35 as the car is currently with Dan@SJM getting the ECU sorted out. It also meant I could take my time with it and not be in a rush to put them back on. All ready to go on a bench.. you might notice a couple of exhaust hangers I had spare waiting to be powerflexed too, as my centre hanger went resulting in undue stress on the other mounts and they've split. Anyway, I got on with the calipers first. Hoses came off and drained what fluid I could. I checked the bleed screws - both freely moving, nice! - and then pulled them apart for cleaning.

As you can see, they were pretty baked in crap with a nice level of corrosion going on. Fortunately the slider bolts all moved nicely: http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/C...8-4237-9196-44C9C69F8BC0_zpsqao36akl.mp4.html . At first I wire brushed them manually to get the really easy stuff off and used a bit of degreaser and some brake cleaner. Mostly just brake cleaner actually. Didn't bother for too long though, stuck a wire wheel on the air drill and removed the big bits of crap/corrosion with that!

Not before fixing my brand new but arrived to me broken compressor though! Only took them 3 weeks to post me replacement parts and a week to deliver it from paying... Not that I'm bitter or anything! So I fixed that first.. making good use of the blow torch I'd bought! Love it when a plan comes together!

Had to blow torch the sealant type stuff they'd put on from the factory, so I could fit it to the new part/head/thing with heat fins on it. Stuck that back on the compressor did some first time start up checks and then got on with cleaning the calipers

At this point I had to call it a day, packed it all away and started again the next day. Not really masses to show so I didn't take any pictures, just finished cleaning them up a bit...

Had to stop again! But managed to have another crack that evening and was fairly happy with how they turned out, but new they needed a little bit more of a scrub for my tastes..

Then, earlier today I had enough time to give them a quick going over with the dremel and sanding wheels in a final prep for painting. I've ended up opting for Hammerite Smooth. Originally I wanted to use specific paint, but the overwhelming amount of people using it both here and at tons of other car forums persuaded me that I really am most likely best off just spending the £9 on a tin at B&Q opposed to the £30 odd for the 'proper' kits. I had planned to go RAL 5002 Ultramarine blue with these originally, but after reading a lot of threads and looking at a lot of pictures, despite how much I like the colour I have to agree with everyone that making your calipers stand out should only be done with nice calipers like 4 pots. It just seems right! They look dirty in the pictures but the metal is odd, if you don't catch it at the right angle they look dull/dirty when in fact they're pretty clean!! Anyway, I cleaned them down with some brake cleaner and got ready to paint..

Then it started raining and getting dark so had to nip indoors sharpish! I got to this point, one full coat on all of them, and this is how they're currently looking, sat in the garage until I get time to do another coat or two tomorrow! Wrapped the brush up in the gloves, hope it's air tight or brush will probably be solid! Probably worth mentioning, I read/saw a tip somewhere about cutting the brush bristles down to about 1.5-2cm before you start painting to give more control and a stiffer brush. I cut mine to 2cm and I do think it worked well/was a good tip. Got a nice, even coat with no excessive paint.

And that's it for now.. plenty more stuff I'm doing/done/have photos for but some of it's not far along enough yet to write about.

 

[chaski]

New seals, bleed nipples, dust covers, slider boots and two shiney new pistons!

Calipers got another lick of paint..

Took the bushes back out of these and gave the brackets a quick scrub. Not overly concerned if the finish on these isn't exception, for obvious reasons.

Then I got rained off... again.

But just before that, these arrived! Top notch service from G172, my first buy from him personally but he's got a sterling reputation and now I can see why! Ordered and paid for over Saturday/Sunday and arrived by Tuesday lunch!

Catalytic Converter:

My cat was nearly falling off due to flange rot (lol, couldn't resist!).

Random pic of the Janspeed..

Didn't get any pictures during as I just needed to get it done. I was due in Cardiff for dinner and had to pick someone else up from Bristol.

The bolts were practically welded on! In the end I used a hacksaw to cut the brackets and bolts off, I did both you can see in the pictures, when in Rome and all that jazz. Careful if you do it, the springs do like to pop off the manifold end! Can get quite exciting if you're under the car on your driveway!. Tapped the ends of the bolts out of the manifold with a hammer - which worked a treat as they came clean out - followed by tapping the bolt cups out, using said bolt ends and the hammer. Very quick little brush of the big bits of corroded crap and started fitting the other one. I used the jack to hold the cat in place whilst I got the bolts in and nuts on, then jacked it up higher to tighten them a bit and get the clamps on for the olive joint etc.

Finished up went for a quick drive, was all solid, blowing but solid. Went to Cardiff and then the next day sealed it up by using some Loctite gasket stuff in the clamp around the olive joint. Went for a gentle drive (half a mile) it smoked a bit, pulled over and let everything cool off. Drove home and everything was good! No more blowing that I've heard, though obviously Dan has the car still!

Dashboard Colour Conversion:

I've seen the blue SMD/LED dash conversion and really liked it. It looks sooo much nicer than the OE orange in my opinion. I started doing a bit of research and (famous last words) decided it 'can't be that hard can it?'. Picked up some cheap soldering supplies off ebay and after a lot of looking around I ended up buying a complete dash/interior kit from CrazyLEDS.co.uk. You can do the kit yourself a bit cheaper if you want to, but I thought £22 quid was a pretty good price and saved the hassle of sourcing everything independently and (should) guarantee I have all the right parts - so far so good!

I've read the climate control panel is the hardest part (pretty much because it has the most SMDs to de-solder and then resolder. I picked one up off ebay for £15 to practice soldering with. I've ended up getting it free as the guy had listed it as in good condition but when I got it all the buttons were heavily worn. Whilst it was fine for my purposes, I wanted to leave him negative feedback as if it was anyone else who actually needed the buttons etc then they'd have been royally peeved. He offered me a full refund if I didn't leave negative feedback! Can't say fairer than that really!

This is before I de-soldered anything. I forgot to take a picture when I finished and for safe keeping I've put it back inside the plastic casing. I'll try and remember to get a picture when i take it out again to fit in the car.

Largely I feel like it went fairly well. The kit came with a couple of spares which was useful as this is really my first time soldering since school. I took my time with each one and was pretty careful. Got a little sweat on the go. Took a break for coffee and then when I came back it hit me!

I had soldered 18 SMDs on... upside down! This meant the Positive/Negatives were in the wrong position and would have to all be redone. f**k! I got on with it though and sooner or later they were all on. Can't wait to get it in the car and see if my soldering skills were good enough and if it all works!

More Bits and Bobs:

Painted the dash strips, engine covers and door pulls. Only have this photo as I haven't pollished the latter two up yet after clear coating. Mainly because I don't think I like it very much for the interior and I don't think I want an engine cover at all. Considering respraying, replacing with OE in good condition (mine were fubarred, especially the door pulls and that horrible sticky crap) or leacing them as is and going the extra mile to change the entirety of the interior plastics colour from the blueish look to a matt/satin black. Undecided! One for the future.

Here's the long dash strip anyway, was fairly pleased with how it came out for my first real effort with rattle cans.

Cleaned the car. It was a right state if I'm honest. Should ahve taken a before but I'm not sure I'd have shown you all even if I did! Haha.

Redid all the plastic trims, scuttle panel etc and polished the exhaust tips back up to a nice gleaming shine! It's also the first time I've ever used a clay bar and I've never felt my paint work so silky smooth!! It was Bilt Hamber and it was definitely worth it! Didn't have time to do the wheels on the same day so that's why the look a bit scruffy and the tyres aren't dressed at all. Though dressing tyres is something I really only do after a proper deep clean. Did the wheels the next day but foolishly didn't take many photos at all.. certainly not that do the car/detail justice!

I also got the dremel out and attacked the inlets.

I was thinking about polishing the 'pipes' up to a mirror finish, but I think I'm going to opt for no engine cover, paint the rocker cover in blue to match the Ktec hose/samco hoses, paint the inlet manifold matt black, sand down the lettering and then possibly paint the 3 stripes in the colours of the french flag. Undecided on that one too!


And that pretty much covers everything so far!

 

[kieren17389]

Great effort with this one! glad its all coming together (from all directions) for you.