My Inferno Story...

[t90_lle]

So I appear to have blown all my engine oil through the breather over the block and gearbox. I was just wanting to know potential causes for this to do it as an idea to give my mechanic. I’ve topped the oil back up to see if the is an actual physical leak anywhere as I’ve had no drips on the drive before seeing the rainbows yesterday from the rain. Any guesses or ideas would be appreciated.

So the car has been ok and not lost any more oil that I can see, still getting residual now and then from where I tried to clean it off.
I trying/have booked in with Alex from AWMotorworks who you may know of used to work at Engine Dynamics but went to do his own thing. He’s going to be doing a full health check, compression test and generally giving the car a once over for any faults.
In the back and forth emails he has said…
“If I find the engine health is poor, only real option then in my eyes would be a forged piston engine rebuild. Unfortunately most have damaged, scored or worn cylinder bores, so new pistons/rings don’t help much, whereas with forged pistons we can overbore to a fresh clean bore as new.

To give indication, a forged engine build, as a drive in, drive out package, forged pistons & conrods, all new bearings, oil pump, all gaskets & seals etc, cambelt, dephaser & water pump would be £4,400 inc VAT.

Not only would that be a fresh reliable engine but due to its nature, but also able to cope with more power should you wish to push the envelope”

That was an expensive pill to potentially swallow but definitely got me thinking… Power!!

 

[Clio_fool]

For your wallet I hope its not that fucked, but if it is then yeah you may as well make the most of it and wind the boost up. When's it going to Alex?

 

[t90_lle]

For your wallet I hope its not that fucked, but if it is then yeah you may as well make the most of it and wind the boost up. When's it going to Alex?

Yeah I hope it’s not knackered either!! 😂
I’m taking it down on the 7th of Jan when I get back from my trip.

 

[Clio_fool]

At least you can drive the BG a bit more 😂.

 

[Krarl]

I mean there is an engine sat in the BG👀🤣

 

[t90_lle]

At least you can drive the BG a bit more 😂.

Not taxed or insured atm…

I mean there is an engine sat in the BG👀🤣

I know the potential is there… 😂

 

[Louis]

Just send it until it breaks.

 

[t90_lle]

Just send it until it breaks.

That’s fun until it actually breaks! 😭

 

[Boydie]

Its been a while since I have owned a clio, 15 years lol but always popped back in from time to time but why on earth are people opting for the mk2ph1 rear lights over the ph2?

I couldnt wait to get rid of my ph1 lights for ph2 back in the day!

 

[dann2707]

Its been a while since I have owned a clio, 15 years lol but always popped back in from time to time but why on earth are people opting for the mk2ph1 rear lights over the ph2?

I couldnt wait to get rid of my ph1 lights for ph2 back in the day!

Yeah it works on some cars imo, my Arctic blue for example pulled it off really well.

I don't think it works very well on orange cars

 

[t90_lle]

Its been a while since I have owned a clio, 15 years lol but always popped back in from time to time but why on earth are people opting for the mk2ph1 rear lights over the ph2?

I couldnt wait to get rid of my ph1 lights for ph2 back in the day!

I’ve always preferred the ph1 over the ph2 lights, the chrome blob in the middle does my head in.

Yeah it works on some cars imo, my Arctic blue for example pulled it off really well.

I don't think it works very well on orange cars

It worked well on my Monaco and BG but am not convinced on this inferno as yet tbh.

 

[Boydie]

Then again, I was of the era where lexus lights were the trend thankfully I binned them for the facelift rear lights

 

[t90_lle]

Then again, I was of the era where lexus lights were the trend thankfully I binned them for the facelift rear lights

Yeah i definitely wont be putting lexus lights in and the only other option for rear lights really is the euro FK ones, so tbh the ph1 are the lesser of all evils! haha

 

[t90_lle]

So 5 1/2 hours, 200miles and a mpg of 41.9, I have been there & back to have the Inferno looked at by Alex at AWMotorworks.
He jumped in the car to pull it into the workshop and the engine flashed low oil on the dash, he drove it inside and my car had left a nice rainbow pattern on the floor and it had only been parked for 5mins. He pulled the dip stick and oil was just on the minimum mark, So in the 2hr drive down it had used/blown out most of the engine oil.
Alex pulled the plugs and they were soaked in oil, I mean dripping which definitely wasn’t a good sign to start with after him hearing “piston slap” I think he said.
Compression test gave 3 cylinders on 170psi and number 2 on 150psi. He said if they’d been similar across the 4 it wouldn’t have been such an issue but since one is down what he thinks has happened is one cylinder has got too hot or seen to much pressure which may have caused one of the ringlands to potentially crack thus letting oil into the chamber and/or pressure into the engine hence why it blows its oil out of the breather. Next in was a borescope into the head and the pistons are sooted/carbon up but no real damage or scoring was seen.
We found other issues like it’s got no oil cooler line on the turbo I think he said, fuel lines are mounted wrong side of a heat shields, manifold is just about sitting on the subframe, the turbo I was told was a Garrett isn’t, it’s the ED kit one which is no real problem just annoying being told something is, when it’s not. The turbo blanket isn’t really doing naff all as it’s not mounted properly. And then then the engine had been swapped for a 172 lump!! But I explained that I was told it had a ph1 head for the bigger exhaust ports which may be true. There are other things to but nothing too major like the main issues above. Moving forward with the car the plan will be to rebuild I guess as it wouldn’t be worth much to anyone as it is.
The rebuild would go on an engine build swap basis as he has a few 1*2 engines about. He would get one built up with new forged parts and then pull my lump out, swap all the ancillary’s and turbo kit over rectifying other issues as he went and drop the new freshly rebuilt engine in. I can’t thank Alex enough to be honest, he talked me through the all issues we found and explained what would need to be done to rectify the problems. I must admit it was still a kick in the nuts though!!

Drove the car home like Miss Daisy not going over 3k and I’ve chucked it in the garage until I receive a quote for how much it’s going to cost me to rebuild.

Probably the last picture of the BG also as the new owner is coming on the 13th to collect it.

 

[Djw John]

Well that's a bit s**t really.

 

[Clio_fool]

Yeah that's very s**t. Do you have a back up plan if the turbo rebuild is more than you're willing to put into it?

 

[frayz]

Alex is excellent and won’t steer you wrong. May seem a kick in the spuds now but at least you know it will be 100% once it’s done.

 

[t90_lle]

Well that's a bit s**t really.

Yup… 😭

Yeah that's very s**t. Do you have a back up plan if the turbo rebuild is more than you're willing to put into it?

To be honest I’m thinking I’ll rebuild it whatever the cost as I’d just up spending the same on a different car if I was to get shot of this one.

Alex is excellent and won’t steer you wrong. May seem a kick in the spuds now but at least you know it will be 100% once it’s done.

Yeah totally agree he’s a very knowledgable guy

 

[Krarl]

It's not really s**t, at least you know what the issue is and you have the option of

A) Build a forged engine and go mental
B) Get another Clio engine and use a Mégane headgasket and run 260bhp

It's better than it blowing up 200 miles from home😂

 

[t90_lle]

It's not really s**t, at least you know what the issue is and you have the option of

A) Build a forged engine and go mental
B) Get another Clio engine and use a Mégane headgasket and run 260bhp

It's better than it blowing up 200 miles from home😂

What’s the benefit of the Megane head gasket?

 

[frayz]

What’s the benefit of the Megane head gasket?

Lowers the CR.

 

[t90_lle]

Lowers the CR.

Arrr I seeeeee…

 

[Mr Underhill]

At least you took it down there, which shows you care about your cars, and once it’s sorted you’ll have years of fun from it. I’m surprised that BG took as long as it did to sell. Looked like a bargain to me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[t90_lle]

At least you took it down there, which shows you care about your cars, and once it’s sorted you’ll have years of fun from it. I’m surprised that BG took as long as it did to sell. Looked like a bargain to me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Yeah of course I care, I’ve just bought it haha
Thanks I think it’ll be being rebuilt to be honest as it’s too good just to be broke 😂

 

[Krarl]

You wanna look into just throwing together a standard lump with a Mégane HG. I see no point in forging an engine unless you're wanting more than 260bhp. At which point you'll want to f**k that Taiwan Tornado Trumper off anyway plus a 4puk clutch and a whole host of other supporting mods.

A mate of mine had a forged lump in his Clio and it made about 20bhp more than his standard lump with a couple of Mégane parts thrown at it. Not really worth it in my eyes, not considering he spent a few grand on the engine plus doubling the mapping costs and then he kept roasting clutches at about 280bhp. In the end he was sick of it and just broke it and bought an S3😂

 

[t90_lle]

Saturday the Turinis went for full asking price which even I thought was optimistic.
And today finally saw the BG drive off into the sunset with its new owner up to Durham. Before it left though I took the opportunity to swap over a few more of the “mods” the previous owner had done to the Inferno onto the BG.
1st for the chop was the super bright LED indicators and brake light.

The sides were swapped out as it was a whole unit and the front and rears replaced with the iridium effect ones. I may change these for some silver visions but as yet I am undecided which would look better.

If you follow me on instagram you may have seen a poll regarding the rear lights?
So welcome back the ph2 rears… Don’t know how long they stay for though!

Next in the block was some Pioneer 6x9s and Infinity 5” door speakers. These were put in the BG and my Hertz speakers I’d previously put in it swapped back into the Inferno leaving me with a nice clean parcel shelf

The only problem now was the wiring the previous owner had run into the boot!

I mean I’ve seen some dodgy speaker wiring before but this is up there with the best of them. No use of a bullet/spade connector anywhere in sight.

The extra cabling has been removed and proper spades added to the oe wires.
A quick forum search came good with the + and - for the cable colours and now I have a full Hertz system again.

Whilst the car has been apart today it has shown me how badly the interior needs a deep clean, so while I’m saving for the rebuild, the main focus will be to give everything a damn good clean.

 

[Jekyll]

Alex is a decent guy. Myself and others always recommend him.

He's prices may be decent or a shock depending on what your expecting, but regardless he'll see it done bang on and you'll be kept in the loop along the way.

I think many will agree that aside from his work and knowledge, his communications and customer care has always been well praised.

 

[t90_lle]

So I’ve had my quote email back from Alex and this is what he is planning…

Engine;
Block rebored to 83mm
Wossner forged pistons, 9.5.1CR 83mm.
Wossner forged conrods
ARP conrod bolts
Genuine Renault oil jets
Genuine Renault big end bearings
Genuine Renault main bearings
Genuine Renault thrust washers
Genuine Renault oil pump
Renault/OEM bottom end gasket set
Genuine Renault head gasket set
OEM cylinder head bolts
OEM hydraulic lifters
Cylinder head refurbished
BCR8ES spark plugs
Genuine Renault flywheel bolts
5L 10w/40 running in oil
Purflux OEM oil filter
3L 75w/90 gearbox oil
5L red OAT coolant

Bulkhead heatshiled should be the only part actually required for rectifying the turbo kit, this would be £70.

All prices include VAT.

Warranty would be 12,000 miles or 12months for any build issues.

After completion it would require 1000 miles running in, before being dyno checked/tuned.

Me myself I’m not 100% fully clued up on the engine building side of things but I know mine is too alleged to have ARP head bolts so is it worth reusing these or getting new!?? I have checked the ARP info and it says if they’ve stretched more than .001”, cross threaded or show signs of corrosion they should be replaced.
Any other things I should consider for the rebuild with going to wild? Any advice or guidance is welcomed.

 

[Mr Underhill]

So I’ve had my quote email back from Alex and this is what he is planning…

Engine;
Block rebored to 83mm
Wossner forged pistons, 9.5.1CR 83mm.
Wossner forged conrods
ARP conrod bolts
Genuine Renault oil jets
Genuine Renault big end bearings
Genuine Renault main bearings
Genuine Renault thrust washers
Genuine Renault oil pump
Renault/OEM bottom end gasket set
Genuine Renault head gasket set
OEM cylinder head bolts
OEM hydraulic lifters
Cylinder head refurbished
BCR8ES spark plugs
Genuine Renault flywheel bolts
5L 10w/40 running in oil
Purflux OEM oil filter
3L 75w/90 gearbox oil
5L red OAT coolant

Bulkhead heatshiled should be the only part actually required for rectifying the turbo kit, this would be £70.

All prices include VAT.

Warranty would be 12,000 miles or 12months for any build issues.

After completion it would require 1000 miles running in, before being dyno checked/tuned.

Me myself I’m not 100% fully clued up on the engine building side of things but I know mine is too alleged to have ARP head bolts so is it worth reusing these or getting new!?? I have checked the ARP info and it says if they’ve stretched more than .001”, cross threaded or show signs of corrosion they should be replaced.
Any other things I should consider for the rebuild with going to wild? Any advice or guidance is welcomed.

£70 plus VAT for all that. Bargain!

 

[t90_lle]

£70 plus VAT for all that. Bargain!

I wish!! 😂

 

[t90_lle]

Just because it’s broke doesn’t mean it has to be dirty…

 

[t90_lle]

Made my 1st purchase towards the start of the turbos rebuild today… A pair of Gold AP10 Magnetic sump and gearbox plugs. Nothing major I know but a important little part of the puzzle nevertheless.
I’m also on the look out for Milltek non-resonated pipe if anybody is looking to sell or swap for a resonated one.

 

[t90_lle]

The other day I had the bumper of to remove the upper grille to refresh it along with trying to clean some more of the oil away.
I’ve removed what residue I can but until to goes for the build it’ll be the best it gets.
I thought about getting the grille painted but instead am going to soak it in trim revive to see if it can be brought back to life.

I’ve placed an order for some new bumper fasteners as the previous owner had used some 7mm self tapping bolts 🤦🏻‍♂️
Along with the fasteners I’ve ordered a replacement air filter as the item fitted was in poor condition and rusting. I’ve gone with a proper K&N instead of a aftermarket copy hoping it’ll last a bit longer than a cheap jobbie.

 

[t90_lle]

Deposit paid with Alex so parts can be ordered and finally the new engine can begin to take shape 😁
Had a nice little surprise also today whilst waiting for the new K&N to be delivered.

Two came, all the same info on packing slips except 2 separate order numbers! I only placed one order and only one lot of money has been taken from my account. Called up for a refund as “it didn’t fit” and they’ll be refunding me more than I paid so win win!! 😬
Along with the new filter my bumper screws have arrived. The retainer part is much bigger than the oem part but fits nicely in the recessed area they sit in.

Just waiting on the magnetic plugs to arrive now and a date for the rebuilt engine to go in 😬

 

[t90_lle]

Today I set about putting the front end back together either the newly acquired parts.
I initially tried to get the K&N in the hole the old filter came out of but it soon came apparent that the battery was in the way.

Battery out revealed the alleged K-Tax gearbox mount but to me it looks very oem.

I may be wrong though as it has the K-Tax engine mount and Evol lower gearbox, I’ll have to check the receipts folder.
Even with the battery out I still struggled to get the new filter in as it’s slight wider and taller than the old unit, so out popped the headlight too!

I did abit of cable re-routing whilst it was out as the negative terminal lead was extremely tight under one of the boost pipes.

Space is definitely at more of a premium now in that corner of the engine bay but I’m happy it’s in.
Next up was the new bumper fasteners.

Very happy with these and the new retaining screws with loads of spares left over as they inevitably get lost.
Whilst the bumper was off I took the opportunity to replace both fog bulbs as one was an Osram and the other a Philips.
I now have a matching pair of Halfords 5k H11 bulbs fitted with a slight blue colour to the bulb which matches the iridium indicators well.
With the bumper all back on I offered up my replacement engine cover and Cfab battery cover just to get a look see.
the plan will be to trim the back of the cover and paint it Inferno orange with new decals.
The chrome boost pipe which has the DV fitted I plan to keep now and paint with crackle effect paint so it at least looks like the ED boost pipes. I also want to source some new oem stickers for the grille as it bugs me that they are not there.

Finally… I wanted to address a rubbing noise I’ve been hearing whilst moving the car in and out of the garage.

Turns out the secure clip/bracket has failed at some point allowing the NSR arch liner to fall down and rub on the tire 🤦🏻‍♂️
I was completely unaware of it and am unsure how it was attached in the 1st place as the the hole in the plastic lines up with is a rusty mound in the arch. Any help or pictures of yours would be appreciated… Also anyone selling a rear liner??
Thanks for reading!! 👍🏻

 

[Andy P]

@t90_lle The gearbox Mount looks like the Vibra technics I have fitted.

 

[t90_lle]

These are the ones I purchased from ktec and the same as fitted to my track car.

View attachment 1489792

I have owned my fair share of Clios over the last few years. I have always found if just one of the three main mounts is uprated(especially dog bone on its own), then this seems to cause a lot of interior vibrations. I also think it then causes that one mount to be taking more load than the others and transfer to the car.

I thought originally that by fitting solid(they are not completely solid, not far off though) that the vibrations inside would be unbearable. Completely the opposite. With engine, gearbox and dogbone replaced together it is excellent. I have used my track car as a daily for various periods of time over the years and if the mounts were that bad would have changed them.

With the turbo set up there is too much torque for the standard mounts in my opinion and these are perfect. There are obviously some vibrations, but greatly reduced from the set up I did have.

Hope that makes sense.

I done some digging and it turns out they are in fact K-Tax solid mounts 👍🏻

 

[CFAB]

Cover looks good mate, did we get an ecu repor tab out to you? Noticed yours was broken with a cable tie and I can’t allow this im afraid 😆.

coming together now mate 👌🏼

 

[t90_lle]

Cover looks good mate, did we get an ecu repor tab out to you? Noticed yours was broken with a cable tie and I can’t allow this im afraid 😆.

coming together now mate 👌🏼

No I don’t have one 😭

 

[CFAB]

No I don’t have one 😭

send us a message and we can send one out to you today 👌🏼