Unwell Valver

[James Clio 16v]

My 93 Clio 16v, which has done 78k, is going in to my local garage for a fair bit of work within the next few weeks.

I am having the brakes, suspension, engine mounts and oil change done. I am also asking them to check the starter motor (which is a bit lazy), alternator, bearings and power steering (sounds like its dying).

What else can I get them to check/replace?

BTW, gearbox, clutch and cambelt are fine.

Also, my steering seems vague (power steering rack) and there is quite a bit of body roll (new bushes). Can anybody shed any light on this?

Another thing, my Mongoose exhaust sounds like it is knocking, any ideas where this is coming from?

I know that this is a lot, but I would appreciate any help.

Thanks

James

 

[SteveJJH]

Do a search for power steering noises, its a common problem, and the garage may think its more immediate than it is, mines been doing it for at least a year.

Body roll could be a broken anti-roll ber mount.

 

[Ben H]

If the exhaust knocking gets worse under load, it might be because the manifold to downpipe gasket is gone. The bigger bore never fits quite as well as the original, so also check the rear bend mounts as it comes over to the passenger side about 3/4 way along the car.

The vague handling might be due to worn shocks, broken front springs or stuffed top mounts - or all of them! Steering could be the steering rack or steering column (not cheap).

Im afariad that the 16v can be an expensive car to maintain and between 60k and 80k is generally an expensive time. But once youre on top of any negelect itll reward you with some very serious fun.

 

[Colin_S]

James my mongoose knocked for months and months, i fitted it and had it re-fitted 3 times for it to stop knocking for a couple of days then start again. I was using a special AKD (i.e. exhaust rubber between the exhaust and the rear axle) It is the when it goes over the rear axle that it knocks what i finally did was instead of using the holes on the exhaust rubber just before the system goes over the axle i used one of the normal holes on one side and the other side i used the split right down the middle of the rubber. This pulled it so tight that it had no chance of moving and the knocking stopped. It is quite hard to stretch the rubber that much tho.