BG Clio 182 - Amos

[Amos91]

Well Bedford on Saturday was an interesting one, absolutely soaking wet in the morning, caterham dumping loads of oil on the track. Stuck with the pilot sports 3s in the morning then switched to R888s in the afternoon.

There were some interesting moments out on track, this by far the best one:

 

[Amos91]

Thought I'd go for a big thread bump, 7.5 years of ownership with this Clio 182 and its certainly seen plenty of action plus attention!

Its now retired from daily duties and really is a weekend summer / track day car. I don't want to really start stripping it for track as its just a slippy slope I'm trying to avoid for now!

Over the last year or so its seen a few tracks, ideally want to tick Brands Hatch off asap. Been to Snetterton, Bedford, Donnington & Cadwell with varying levels of success lol, and a few tow trucks but its always been a blast on track.

Few highlights I guess of bits I've done, maybe I'll try and keep this a bit more updated in future...

Changed the PI lowering springs for Eibach Sportlines - much better ride and you can just how the different spring shape makes it more progressive -

As I said, in terms of track days, Snetterton was probably the most costly repair bill in a while. The high pressure PAS hose gave up on the hottest day of the year right above the gearbox. Towed back to Beaniepsort and a brand new replacement hose installed, think the cost alone for the hose was £220 plus fitting so definitely an expensive day out, especially as it ended by 11am!

Front calipers were also refurbed (although they are a bit ragged again now due to temps on track (even with VHT paint).

How they started -

Soaked in Deox Gel -

Fully cleaned up and any internal corrosion removed -

And here are the pair just before being reinstalled, brand new seals, pistons and nipples -

 

[Amos91]

Other bits of general maintenance to keep on top of it before failures creep in, the rear brake line across the beam was looking a bit tired corroded where it sits in one of the clips. I guess the paint gets rubbed off and it just degrades from there. Replaced with genuine pipe -

Also checked the inner sills for rust, not bad for about 130k miles at the time. Since been treated and Bilt Hamber S50 very liberally applied -

The Scorpion RS192 was also unfortunately starting to show its age, albeit after about 6 years and 90k miles, so could be worse. I've had the centre silencer welded up, the rear beam mount cracked off and then the last straw the rear hangers snapped off.

To be fair to Scorpion, they did uphold the lifetime warranty and sent me more bits for rear exhaust and a new backbox etc, but by this point I fancied a change, so the fix was only temp -

A K-Tec Super Sport system was purchased with the hope that the quality would be greater, plus it has a straight centre section hoping the noise would be better -

At the same time, I replaced the front suspension with new genuine items, including lower arms, inner tie rods, tie rod ends, rack bushes & arb bushes plus eibach camber bolts.

Felt great after a alignment and make everything so much tighter to drive -

 

[Amos91]

After Cadwell, I had the car sat on the drive and noticed a bolt head on the floor, closer inspection turned out to be the head of the Eibach camber bolt! Somewhat dangerous and worrying as it was properly torqued to spec. Got a replacement set and all has been good so far -

A quick pic of the K-Tec exhaust after I fitted it -

Over Summer, its been used for a number of track days and also a long weekend in Anglesey to watch my mate racing in the MX-5 series. A quick shot at the entrance -

Otherwise it now spends a lot of its time in the garage on trickle charge

Much more recently, the aircon pump siezed and threw the aux belt off and with the cambelt nearly being due I decided to get it every done. So in the last 100 miles its had replacement AC pump, regas, cambelt, dephaser, aux belt kit & waterpump. This is officially the car's third belt change! Completed by Beaniesport.

After that was complete, I got the car ready to put away for winter, arches and underside all cleaned up -

And here are the wheels cleaned up, last refurbed when I bought the car 100k miles ago -

 

[Amos91]

Last month I decided to try and tidy the engine bay up a little bit. First up was the upper engine mount, functionally fine but started to look a bit rusty so thought I'd just replace for the sake of a few quid -

Here is pretty much how the engine bay is look, bonnet hinge was also stripped, treated with deox to remove some minor surface rust and painted silver -

As a bit of a winter project I decided I wanted to get the PMS rear anti roll bar which then spiralled into a mini restoration -

First up, rear beam removed (by dropping the fuel tank, lots easier than the pesky captive bolts through the floor). As you can see, looks like it has done many miles.

Brake lines capped off with some nice brass fixings off ebay -

With the beam off I decided to tackle a few bits of corrosion on the rear end, absolutely filthy job but quite theraputic with the wire wheel cutting through everything so easily!

 

[Amos91]

A few other crusty bits which needed some attention -

Plus the standard fuel door rust which hides itself very well behind the hinge!

Sanded and then treated with Hydrate 80 to make sure everything was gone (both sides), then primed and painted -

Back on -

On the rear side it was coated in Bilt Hamber UB -

w

Plus randomly one of the rear strut mounts had some surface corrosion, so that was wire wheeled treated with hydrate 80 then UB.

 

[Amos91]

And finally for this update, the rear beam back from the powder coaters looking 100 times better -

And the various bits of the rear of the car undersealed -

New Whiteline bushes into the beam, this was the final bush that was original, so great to get the final piece ticked off -

And the PMS bar fitted -

And closing with a pic of the car while it waits for the weather to improve!

Although it will have to come out for an MOT next month, aiming for a clean pass again so fingers crossed.

 

[Stefan.]

Awesome updates!!!

 

[Clio_fool]

Wow what a beautifully looked after example. Hopefully it repays you with trouble free fun motoring for many years to come.

 

[Amos91]

Wow what a beautifully looked after example. Hopefully it repays you with trouble free fun motoring for many years to come.

I was actually reading your project thread which inspired me to get updated mine a bit! Lots missed out as I end up spending so much on it lol!

Yours looks great too so will keep an eye on it!

 

[Clio_fool]

I was actually reading your project thread which inspired me to get updated mine a bit! Lots missed out as I end up spending so much on it lol!

Yours looks great too so will keep an eye on it!

Cheers mate 👍. I need to do an update too, I think next year I'll have to address some rust on the usual places. After that I dunno🤔.

 

[MLB]

Indeed a very well looked after car, great updates with good pictures!

Those 'polished' pictures look awesome!

 

[Amos91]

Indeed a very well looked after car, great updates with good pictures!

Those 'polished' pictures look awesome!

Cheers! It does brush up okay for an old car!

Forgot about this video but thought I’d share to all - end of the day at Caldwell decided to follow the Beaniesport Twingo with a Clio 200 engine. One of the best days and definitely my favourite track.

 

[Euan94]

Looks far too good to take on track
I was in at Beaniesport when Chris was tackling your AC pump, he wasn’t having fun!

 

[Amos91]

Looks far too good to take on track
I was in at Beaniesport when Chris was tackling your AC pump, he wasn’t having fun!

Chris is far too familiar with my aux belt area after changing everything at least twice in the past 😂. It’s his pet peeve with this car.

 

[Amos91]

New wheel is now on, of course retrimmed by Snappy -

Leather with a hint of alcantara at the bottom, matches up nicely with the Recaros!

 

[D4w5on]

Just read through your post . Cracking job , need to get my ass in too gear and crack on with mine


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stu8v]

Steering wheel looks awesome.

 

[Usr117063]

They look good but I always thought the airbag cover sticks out like a sore thumb, especially the ph1 wheel

 

[Amos91]

They look good but I always thought the airbag cover sticks out like a sore thumb, especially the ph1 wheel

You don’t notice it in person, but even the standard wheel doesn’t exactly match.

 

[Usr117063]

You don’t notice it in person, but even the standard wheel doesn’t exactly match.

I havnt seen one in person but I would have one over standard anyway, refines the interior a lot

 

[Amos91]

I havnt seen one in person but I would have one over standard anyway, refines the interior a lot

I’ve not driven with it on yet but it feels really good in the hand - definitely recommended.

 

[Amos91]

Only a few little bits to update. With the front wheels off I noticed those lower arm/wishbone to body support bars were looking rusty. So whipped those off and attacked with the wire wheel (before on the right)

Since been treated with Deox over night and now sprayed with Zinc primer -

I've since put down two coats of satin black but currently waiting for that to dry.

And while the wheels are off, the front calipers were given a quick refresh with silver paint -

This weekend I'm going to give all the brakes a bleed with new ATE fluid to make sure they are tip top after various track days. Then remove the wheel weights from the front pair as they are going to be getting a fresh set of PS3s later this month. There is currently about 2.5mm of tread on them but want a clean MOT again with no advisories. 🙈

 

[Mr Underhill]

Cracking job!

 

[Amos91]

Bit of a mixed bag this weekend with the usual Renault annoyance.

Firstly brakes all successfully bled up with Type 200 fluid and then it was pulled out the garage for a wash. As its due the MOT next month I thought I would test the windscreen and headlight washers. Well...

WIndscreen washers were just trickling out and the headight washers were working fine. Not the end of the world I thought until I noticed the OSF headlight washer is now constantly leaking, quite annoying bearing in mind both washers are 12 months old!

The washers and pumps have always been the bane of my life with this car and I've always had issues with ECP pumps etc not switching between front and rear correctly.

Anyway I quickly ordered a new headlight washer jet from RPD and then focussed on seeing if I could salvage the pump... So wiper mechanism removed and bottle out -

I've had these pumps apart before so wasn't too challenging -

And then split the front/rear outlet valve housing to get the floating valve out -

As you can see, I've been in here before to trim the swollen rubber piece on the left side which got the pump working again for a few years. The right side is clearly swollen so I originally thought the issue was that it was swollen width wide and sticking against the valve body. So tried a rough trim around the edge whilst trying to keep the mating face clear to block the relevant outlet hole. Image of that below -

However it still didn't work, front was trickling, rear was working fine. So went a bit more drastic and cut the length down -

And voila! Front and rears working perfectly again so that's a little result! I had the same issue with the headlight pump about a year ago, so for that one I just completely removed the valve so that both outlets run at the same time. It gives the headlights a double spray as a result but loads better than having to faff around with pumps.

Also gave the bottle a quick run through the dishwasher while the girlfriend was out

I'll update when the headlight washer arrives from RPD, also ordered an new positive battery terminal cover to finish that off (broke the old one off).

 

[frayz]

Some lovely updates on this dude. Personally a massive fan of all the Bilt Hamber products, so great to see this being preserved as long as possible.
I've noticed some micro cracking in the paint where there rear bumper rubs the rear arch. Not wanting that to manifest itself into anything im going to get those areas painted straight away.

 

[Amos91]

Some lovely updates on this dude. Personally a massive fan of all the Bilt Hamber products, so great to see this being preserved as long as possible.
I've noticed some micro cracking in the paint where there rear bumper rubs the rear arch. Not wanting that to manifest itself into anything im going to get those areas painted straight away.

Cheers mate, yes definitely worth keeping on top of it. The underseal is getting old on these now and are starting to get a bit crusty. Slippery slope Jess caught early!

 

[Amos91]

A few more bits on the Clio, MOT booked for Friday so will see how that goes! Only thing that worries me is the longevity of these aftermarket sports cat but will cross that hurdle when it comes.

Firstly got the headlight washer switched over, just pulled the bumper on one side gave enough room to whip the washer off -

Filled the tank back up, no leaks and everything working nicely which is a good start!

And a new positive battery terminal but no after photos -

Also pop[ed down to my local tyre place got a pair of new PS3s for the rear tyres. They had about 2mm of tread left so thought I'd buy these and avoid the MOT advisory!

I also had some spare time today so went over the car with the DAS6 Pro. From all the work underneath and in the fuel cap area there were a few marks in the paint which I got out with some Menzerna polishes. Then my go to quick fix of CarPro Essence to get the metallic flake popping again. Took about a day to do -

Moving the car around to do the otherside, so a quick outside show -

And the view as you walk into the garage - that gold fleck!

 

[Stefan.]

Damn that looks awesome!!!

😍

 

[Optimista]

Lovely!!

 

[Amos91]

Cheers all - it does come up nicely, makes me not want to drive it and get it dirty 😂😂

 

[Amos91]

MOT tomorrow and the most annoying bit is that it's going to be raining 😂😂. See how bad it looks after that drive tomorrow!

Roll on spring...

 

[Amos91]

Bag of s**t failed the MOT

And as I guessed on emissions... What do we reckon, knackered magnaflow sports cat or lambda?

 

[frayz]

Bugger, mine had the same this year too, my guess is lambda sensor. At least theyre the same so you can try it in one location and if not try in the other. Mine was pre cat.

 

[botfch]

If its the 200 cell magnaflow? that should be fine so I guess lambda too.

 

[Stefan.]

Oh s**t after going through all that, tyres etc.

Hopefully simple fix, annoying though on your part.

 

[Amos91]

Bugger, mine had the same this year too, my guess is lambda sensor. At least theyre the same so you can try it in one location and if not try in the other. Mine was pre cat.

Yeah hopefully something like that. Changed the lambda about 5 years ago but the emissions were even higher than this!

If its the 200 cell magnaflow? that should be fine so I guess lambda too.

Yeah that's the one! Breezed through the MOT last year with it so if it has degraded its by about 90% lol!

Oh s**t after going through all that, tyres etc.

Hopefully simple fix, annoying though on your part.

Indeed, knew that would be the only stumbling block, its one of those ones you often don't know about until its put on the machine.

 

[Amos91]

Well interesting results with the MOT, but on to that later.

I decided to get a few parts swapped out as the likely causes of the emissions issue before retesting. The following parts were last changed as a full set as such in:

Lambda - Jan 2015
Spark Plugs - June 2016

So decided to get these changed, the spark plugs would give an idea on engine health too. Old ones removed -

Cylinder 4 looks oily but that was most likely due to the VVT solenoid leak I had about a year ago. So think its actually fine in those regards
Cylinder 3 - looks different to the others but this one was actually replaced temporarily in summer as I think my underside of the bonnet pressure washing caused water ingress and killed the plug!

So overall, nothing dramatic there...

New bits ordered anyway including a Bosch lambda -

Plugs switch over and even treated it to a new inlet manifold gasket!

And then the new lambda, what a pain in the arse that connector is to plug in, my hands are far too large for the space!!

And the result? Well it all looked a bit gloomy to start with, took the car for a hard drive lasting about 30 mins to warm it up and then got it on the emissions tester. Could see the screen across the garage and plenty of red was on display, so thought a fail was inbound! At this point I'm contemplating why I bother with it haha!

However even though the first fast idle struggled, during the second one the emissions came right down and scraped a pass!

In reality, not quite sure what caused the stark difference but it survives for another year.

Also surprised nobody has picked up on the garage name yet!!

 

[JamesBryan]

Titty Ho Motor Co 😂

 

[frayz]

Titty Ho motor co

Glad it was just a lambda as suspected though dude. May even get some better fuel economy from it now