Benkay's Titanium PH1 172

[benkay]

So, as some of you may know, I bought Nickson's lovingly cared for Ph1 172 from him a couple of weeks ago. To see her earlier history, check out Nickson's thread :

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?548536-Nickson-s-Titanium-PH1-172

Here she is safely at home with her bigger brother...

Since then I've been enjoying getting used to her, I have to say thus far I've got no regrets :approve:

The car's pretty sorted so, at least in the short term, I've got no major plans. Bodywork needs tidying here and there, airbag light is on, throttle sticks when crawling in traffic, wheels need a desperate refurb. But mainly small niggly tasks.

Anyway, today I made my first change to the car. I love my music and with my work I'm often on the phone so bluetooth is a must. Therefore it was time to get rid of the old headunit and basic aux headphone jack for something a bit more 21st century.

So first this had to go (I did love the retro-ness!) :

Luckily, Nick had put the radio release keys in the main documents folder (thumbs up!)

So out came the original radio, leaving a jumble of cables that anyone who has done this before will recognise. I'm sure whoever designed ISO plugs did it to cause maximum pain when trying to release!

So this was the puppy going in. In the V6, I've got an Alpine X305S, which is great but needs add-on modules for the bluetooth etc. I thought I'd give Parrot's new Asteroid unit a try, it runs on Android software and has some pretty nifty features, but the most exciting thing is that due to the software architecture, new stuff can be added all the time!

First things first, the cage goes in and the provided ISO adaptor harness goes on (even more bloody wires!)

Next up, fit the GPS module/antenna. Yes, my radio has GPS...EPIC :evil: I sited this in the bottom left corner of windscreen and the wires run under the A-Pillar cover, under the door seal strip and then across back of glovebox into the radio cavity.

Next up the dual microphone, I tucked this up by the roof light panel and led the wires under headlining to the same A-Pillar as the GPS, routing it the same way to the radio.

Next up, all the audio input cables. This comes with an ipod dedicated cable, a generic USB cable (can also be used to connect a 3G dongle!!!) plus line-in cable. For now I've just led the other ends of the cable down and out into passenger footwell. Going to drill a hole in glovebox and lead them into there eventually.

First test run, important is that when the unit is turned off it says "goodbye". If it doesn't, the permanent and switched 12V feeds need to be swapped over. Didn't need to this time though...

Pushed all the cables up and behind the head unit and she clicked nicely into place....looks pretty smart I think

....and finally tuned into the normal station (s**t song playing though!). Check out that screen, bloody gorgeous!

So now I'm a happy man, sound quality is improved, got every input I'll ever need. GPS and internet access (when I get a dongle) and a future proof (hopefully) unit in the clio. Happy days!

Tomorrow's jobs....continue the claying and decontamination of the paintwork and have a look at the under seat wiring to try and get rid of the SERV and Airbag lights......

 

[Nickson]

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

I was wondering when you were going to get this up!

I thought to myself as soon as you drove off that I hadn't told you about the radio keys, glad you found them .

Looking good mate . Missing that car!

 

[bncrew]

Must i live my life in complete jealousy??? compare my project report with this and i feel about as good as gaddafi. Looks fantastic mate, and well cared for is an understatement, we dont have a big scene here so seeing this is a treat for me

 

[benkay]

Hehe, yeh took long enough didn't it! Been a hectic few weeks with work, oh and I'm single now, which means......more car tinkering time!! :quiet:

 

[bncrew]

single is great for any renault enthusiast

 

[benkay]

Very true mate!!!

 

[bncrew]

luckily enoug my gf is quite understanding as im not well balanced at the best of times and the one thing that seems to keep me on the straight and narrow is constant maintenance of renaults, also the renault was here first...

 

[Daz.]

That headunit intrigues me

 

[Harpham]

Oh haiii Titanium Fwendd... Looks good man. Will be keeping track of progress on this and possibly stealing ideas

(Im keeping the retro stereo in mine)

 

[benkay]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Daz, so far so good. Powerful bit of kit, has Google Maps and internet radio etc. integrated in it provided you hook it up to a 3G Dongle. Sound quality and hands-free calling are very good as is the ipod control.

Anyways, today the work continued. I wasn't happy with the location of the GPS antenna yesterday as I'd had to rush with the light fading. So today I re-did it properly.

So first, steering column cowls off.... 3 screws on the bottom...

And it all pops off pretty easily :

Right, now I needed to take the dash top off to feed the wires as appropriate. A quick consultation of the Haynes manual and there's 7 screws to tackle. 2 that become visible on the sides once the A pillar covers are removed, 3 along the back edge (where the windscreen demisters are) and two just under the speedo. Some were a pain in the ass to get to, mixture of torx driver and torx bits in a ratchet worked well....

Next question was where to route the cable. I wanted the antenna in the middle of the dash top, so put the usb cable through one of the gaps for the demister and then fed the wire back and down he edge of the passenger airbag into the radio cavity. Whilst I was at it, I also re-routed the microphone cable, which was originally running right down he side of the dash, along top of passenger footwell. Whilst the dash top was off, I also decided to route this under the dash top, so no chance it'll drop down into the cabin.

So happy with the installation now, I also used a big knife to cut a slot in the back of the glovebox for the 3 audio input cables to go through, so they are all tucked away nicely in the glovebox now.

Next up, I've had a sticky throttle issue since buying the car. Lifting the throttle with your foot cured it, so I guessed it was either cable friction, or something in the throttle body itself. I decided to go the whole hog, so first came off the air intake pipe...

Next I disconnected the breather pipe from the main intake pipe, and also the breather that fits directly to the TB.

Followed by the electrical connection, which I guess must be a throttle position sensor??

Four torx bolts later, plus disconnecting the throttle cable (some a bugger to get to, and I dropped one too :s ) and the TB is off. Quite a bit of dirt inside and also quite a lot of grime/dirt on the main spring.

Stuffed a cloth in the intake, don't know if necessary but seemed like a good idea!

So, these were my friends for the clean up operation....

The cleanser pushed a lot of dirt out of the mechanisms. This is post clean...

Followed by liberal lube-ing of the main spring and the spindle/body connection area....

Back in the car, connected everything back up and....hmm not too sure yet. Seemed like something was still sticking but the oil might need some time to penetrate. I'll withhold judgement until tomorrow....

 

[.Stevo.C.]

You might need a new throttle cable it's quite a common fault with ph1's

 

[benkay]

Hi Stevo, I'm pretty sure it had a new cable fairly recently already.

 

[Nickson]

Hi Stevo, I'm pretty sure it had a new cable fairly recently already.

Yep!

Had a brand new cable a few months back

 

[.Stevo.C.]

Ah I see, Another thing to do is check it has been routed correctly sometimes they stick if they're not.

 

[Christopher.]

Looking good matey. you should come up Goodwood tomorrow once iv given my car a clean

 

[benkay]

Nick, only you an answer that one...did you route it properly?? :rasp:

Up for Goodwood tomorrow mate but busy between 11:45 and 14:30 , what's on?

 

[Willliams]

Looking good Ben..!

As Harpham mentioned tho.. I too will be keeping the retro look.. lol That said.. your head unit, is the best I've seen for many years.. I like it!!

 

[.Stevo.C.]

Haha, if it's not that then I'm all out of ideas.

 

[benkay]

Cheers Shaun! Yeh I can see the point of keeping these standard but this 172 is far from standard anyway...headunit is really, really good. Thoroughly impressed.

Plan in near future is to swap everything out for a phase 2 dash.

B

 

[Christopher.]

Dunno if anything is on to be honest mate ! AC owners club sprint on the 5th tho

Il be there tomorrow to grab some photos of mine anyway from 1500 if u fancy it.

 

[benkay]

Yeh, will be up there for the AC owner's sprint. Couple of my friends are entered for it.

I'll pop up mate. V6 or 172? I'll PM you my number.

 

[Christopher.]

Up to you mate i like both. What they entered ?

 

[benkay]

They're VSCC, old Austin 7's and the like. Pretty cool though, they have a class for the 5th.

 

[Christopher.]

Nice.

 

[Jacko90]

The Parrot head unit looks stunning mate, i used to fit them and they were so easy to fit, with great results too! Clear screens with very good quality hands free calling too, theyre only going to get better! The only thing i dont like about the ph1s is the dashboard unfortunately, i would get it flocked personally, or fit a ph2 dash maybe? That would compliment the Parrot no end.

 

[Nickson]

The Parrot head unit looks stunning mate, i used to fit them and they were so easy to fit, with great results too! Clear screens with very good quality hands free calling too, theyre only going to get better! The only thing i dont like about the ph1s is the dashboard unfortunately, i would get it flocked personally, or fit a ph2 dash maybe? That would compliment the Parrot no end.

Cheers Shaun! Yeh I can see the point of keeping these standard but this 172 is far from standard anyway...headunit is really, really good. Thoroughly impressed.

Plan in near future is to swap everything out for a phase 2 dash.

B

Also, in response to the routing of the throttle cable, I feel insulted that you even need to ask that!

Course it was

 

[benkay]

Hehe, how could you take the question seriously with a :rasp: at the end? Everyone knows that's the universal get out of jail card.

Throttle cable shouldn't need replacing again already should it?

 

[Daz.]

Can you change the colour on the parrot to orange?

 

[benkay]

No mate. The buttons are white backlit(very nicely). The screen could be made orange with a background but at the moment the background is fixed. I imagine that will change with a software update.

 

[benkay]

So.....me cleaning out the throttle body and lubing it seems to have made it worse. Sticks almost every time I come off the throttle now!! Seems to be the TB and not the cable.

Anyone got any ideas, or know what the cost is for a new one?

 

[benkay]

So, another weekend and another chance to get stuck into some jobs on the car.

2 things have been bugging me lately. 1st, the throttle is still sticking which is driving me mental. 2nd, when in slow moving traffic and with the cabin blowers on there's a distinct smell of petrol.

As I didn't want the car to go up in flames any time soon, I decided to investigate further.

Popped the bonnet, started the car and after about 2 minutes the smell appeared....along with this leak!

For anyone not familiar, and I don't claim to be an expert either, but that's the fuel line leading into the fuel rail on the "Front" of the engine.

Anyway, engine off. Squeeze the clip and pulled it off to be greeted by....

Well, that explains why it was leaking, the lower o-ring had completely perished...

It's at this point that I really appreciate Halfords being literally 90 seconds walk from my house. Picked up an assorted box of rubber o-rings for £6 (kind of thing that will always come in handy I guess!)

New o-ring on...

Not sure if someone has replaced this in the past already, or whether one orange one and one black one is normal?! Anyhow, the leak is cured. Not sure how long that o-ring will last in a petrol environment, might try and get hold of some Viton® ones which are rated for use with petroleum.

Then I turned my attention to sticky throttle. Pulled the air inlet pipe off and sprayed lube into the throttle body, worked it all in by opening and shutting the valve loads, sprayed oil on the spring. Lubed the cable itself as best I can....and still no improvement!!

Is there anything else it could be which would have the same effects as a sticky throttle??

 

[Nickson]

Never had that petrol problem!

Glad you've sourced and managed to fix it though Ben!

As for the sticky throttle, it just must be the cable again. Which sucks to be honest as that one is new!

 

[Christopher.]

Looked good today mate, Hope you can resolve the problems

 

[benkay]

Think you're right Nick. Seems odd to have to be replaced again, but it's all I've got left to try.

Cheers Chris, good to meet you today. May see you tomorrow!

 

[benkay]

I was supposed to go to Goodwood Breakfast Club today but made the mistake of getting up early to "quickly wash" the car.......I finished at about 14:00

I'm not big into detailing posts, it takes long enough as it is without stopping for photos every 2 minutes.

Here's what I did/used :

1. Quick powerwash
2. Snowfoam with Meguiars Hyperwash, brushing out panel gaps, nooks and crannies etc.
3. Re-rinsed
4. Two bucket method wash with Dodo Juice Born to be Mild and a sheepskin mitt.
5. Re-rinsed
6. Iron-X and Tardis applied to decontaminate the paint.
6. Clayed all over with Meguiars clay bar and Dodo Born Slippy as lube
7. Re-rinsed, re washed with mitt and BTBM
8. Re-rinsed
9. Dried with microfibre towels
10. Machine applied Lime Prime all over
11. Buffed off
12. IPA Wipe Down
13. Applied Zaino Z2 by hand using microfibre applicator
14. Buffed off
15. Went all round with Zaino Z8 detail spray
16. Zaino Z16 to tyres, seals and plastics
17. Mr Muscle to windows (no joke)
18. Rain-X applied to all windows and mirrors.

DONE! Here the results.....

Bloody car park dings!!

Quite impressed with the reflections...and forgot how good Titanium fleck comes up when cleaned!

Then I decided a quick spin up to a better photo location was in order.....only 5 hours late!

So...a long day of washing and polishing but I'd been meaning to do it since I picked her up, so I'm glad it's out of the way now and she should be well protected through the winter. Can't wait until it rains now to see the bead-age!

So, what's still to do?

1. Fix the f**** sticky throttle! Just going to bite the bullet and order a new cable (despite being changed in February this year already!)
2. When accelerating, there's a God almighty rattle from the gear lever. I took the gaiter off today, basically the "ball" has about 1mm of play in its housing. I can lift the stick up and down to mimic the noise. It's got a Yanoo kit on it, but I don't think it has the "stiff shift" lower part or the brass shims etc. I'm in touch with Yanoo (thumbs up man!) to figure out the resolution....

3. Wheels need a refurb urgently...massive lacquer peal!

4. Panel gaps. I've got OCD about panel gaps and there are 2 that I've spotted so far on this car that are annoying. 1st one is at the top of the passenger door, gap is much larger than drivers door and you can push in the top of the door quite a bit. It also squeeks a bit when on a B road blast. See below :

Passenger's Side :

Driver's Side :

Any ideas how to fix?

Second annoying gap is the bumper, again passenger side. Looks like it's not fixed up properly or maybe a clip isn't engaged? I've never taken one of these bumpers off, so again any advice on how to resolve greatly appreciated!!

That's your lot for today. Will likely be a couple of weeks before I can get stuck into any more jobs due to other commitments :dapprove:

 

[benkay]

Quick update :

So, with the help of Nickson, we've concluded that it isn't one of Yanoo's kits on here at the moment, but one of the quickshifts from the SM Groupbuy a while back.

I'm guessing it's a machining tolerance issue causing the rattle and I don't think there's much I can do about it, so I'll be chatting to Yanoo to see what he can sell me to sort it out once and for all

Stay tuned!

 

[benkay]

Busy week, so no work on the Clio since the weekend, but my first batch of goodies turned up today :

Excellent service from potter88 on here for the throttle body. Arrived really quickly and seems to be in good nick. I can only presume Renault Parts Direct don't pay postage by volume, because that behemoth of a box contained :

That's right, 1 cable and 1 gasket (for between the throttle body and the inlet manifold)

Won't get to fit this weekend as parents are down visiting but I'm hoping one (or all) of these will finally fix my sticking throttle!! Oh, and if you're wondering what that exhaust gasket you can just see in the bottom of that photo is for, it's this.....

For the Vee! :clap:

 

[Correy]

That's a really good clean, looks great !

 

[subarufreak]

bumper is dead easy to get off

a torx under the grille on each side. you can see them
a 10mm bolt in the corners, under the, how do you call it, the inner wheel well?
remove the torx screws from that too, 3 on each side

then, 2 or 3 on the underside in de middle 2
and it should slide off

it's a few minutes work, really easy

so 1 bolt each side corner
3 torx screws each side corner
2 torx screws middle under the grille
and 2 or 3 10mm bolts underside devided on the middle section 2

 

[Dan172ph1]

Looks like you have wheel spacers?? If so which are they and do you get any rubbing issues? Looks immaculate btw :approve: