172 Cup
Hi,
So i bought a 172 cup around a month ago from an ex-cliosport member; 50k, full service history, has been running great. I live in the French Alps, and unfortunately garages here are expensive, parts are more so (80 quid for a set of plugs), and my French is not perfect - i'd therefore like to diagnose the problem myself and get a local English speaking mechanic to do the fix.
A couple of weeks ago, i noticed a drop in power (throughout the range), and what i think is increased fuel consumption (although i do drive daily on steep mountain roads, so perhaps this is normal..)
In all, the symptoms are:
-Occasionally struggles to start - not every time and is at random
-When cold, the engine searches for idle - not hugely, but varies between 1000-1800rpm
-When driving whilst the engine is cold, the car will no accelerate smoothly - that is under constant, even acceleration, the revs will dip occasionally - losing/gaining power slightly
-I noticed unburnt fuel spitting from the exhaust
-The car has been 'gargling' increasingly - lift the foot off when accelerating, or very lightly touch the throttle and it gargles (sounds cool yeh, but guessing it isn't normal) - unburnt fuel again?
-Biggest problem: Car seems to have lost considerable power, evenly throughout the range - i just don't seem to have the acceleration i did when i purchased the car (possibly getting used to it, but this is more than that)
On board diagnostics say nothing. I've done a bit of reading on here, and from that believe it could be one/more of:
-Lambda sensors
-Coil pack
-plugs (already on the way in the post)
-leads (already tested - they are ok)
-injectors?
Without spending a load of money at the Renault garage, could anyone think of what else might be causing the problems?
Where should i start? Or should i just go to the garage and get it hooked up to a clip? The problem is i use the car for a 140km daily roundtrip.. so don't want to make things worse by waiting too long.
Thanks!
So i bought a 172 cup around a month ago from an ex-cliosport member; 50k, full service history, has been running great. I live in the French Alps, and unfortunately garages here are expensive, parts are more so (80 quid for a set of plugs), and my French is not perfect - i'd therefore like to diagnose the problem myself and get a local English speaking mechanic to do the fix.
A couple of weeks ago, i noticed a drop in power (throughout the range), and what i think is increased fuel consumption (although i do drive daily on steep mountain roads, so perhaps this is normal..)
In all, the symptoms are:
-Occasionally struggles to start - not every time and is at random
-When cold, the engine searches for idle - not hugely, but varies between 1000-1800rpm
-When driving whilst the engine is cold, the car will no accelerate smoothly - that is under constant, even acceleration, the revs will dip occasionally - losing/gaining power slightly
-I noticed unburnt fuel spitting from the exhaust
-The car has been 'gargling' increasingly - lift the foot off when accelerating, or very lightly touch the throttle and it gargles (sounds cool yeh, but guessing it isn't normal) - unburnt fuel again?
-Biggest problem: Car seems to have lost considerable power, evenly throughout the range - i just don't seem to have the acceleration i did when i purchased the car (possibly getting used to it, but this is more than that)
On board diagnostics say nothing. I've done a bit of reading on here, and from that believe it could be one/more of:
-Lambda sensors
-Coil pack
-plugs (already on the way in the post)
-leads (already tested - they are ok)
-injectors?
Without spending a load of money at the Renault garage, could anyone think of what else might be causing the problems?
Where should i start? Or should i just go to the garage and get it hooked up to a clip? The problem is i use the car for a 140km daily roundtrip.. so don't want to make things worse by waiting too long.
Thanks!
