Welshname's Deep Black 197

[The Russian.]

Paul would be happy with the increase, you payed him. Lol

Question is, are you happy with it? That's all that matters really.

 

[Euan94]

No no no! You can't do that.

Belts need doing first, but then it's going full shopping trolley.

 

[Knuckles]

Belts need doing first, but then it's going full shopping trolley.

Don't listen to the bad man. Your plan is hero

 

[welshname]

Paul would be happy with the increase, you payed him. Lol

Question is, are you happy with it? That's all that matters really.

I meant happy as in he wasn't expecting it to increase that much lol!

And yeah, over the moon with it, didn't go for the power gain because quite frankly it's not noticeable and never would expect it to be, went to make it nicer to drive which it is. Much nicer.

 

[welshname]

So I figured that after hearing a knocking from the exhaust towards the rear of the car on overrun I'd have a look today, seeing as I also wanted to set the exhaust clamps so they weren't hanging down and catching on speedbumps.

Car jacked up:

High Enough? by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Got under the car to be greeted by this:

Exhaust Knock Found by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Bit of forcing with the rear end of my ratchet resulted in this:

Exhaust Knock Fixed by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Rotated the clamps so they no longer stick down. They were pointing down by about an inch which meant they caught on everything!

No More Low Clamps by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Next on the agenda was to figure out what was causing my rear brake to bind. Span both wheels and the drivers rear spun freely, but the passenger one needed some force. So took it all apart. Turns out the piston was pretty much stuck and wouldn't go back in any further. So after a lot of force I finally got the piston to push back all the way and it seems to move freely in and out now, but I'll look to refurbing them when we have some slightly more consistent weather.

Rear Piston by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Then adjusted the handbrake also as it needed doing after I'd free'd the piston.

I think I mentioned this earlier in the thread but I was really unhappy with the quality of the gearknob I purchased. It looked like the insert had been wrapped in plastic whilst the gel was still wet, and I didn't really like the painted finish either. So I got in touch with the seller on eBay and they offered to send me a replacement with no painting.

Old one:

Old RenaultSpot Knob by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

New one:

Shiny New RenaultSport Knob by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Then back down on all fours. Got it cleaned by the albanians yesterday, not too fussed as they use 2 buckets and proper wash mits. Also I haven't corrected the paint yet so it makes little to no difference.

Shitty dark and attempted to fix it phone picture:

Clean 197 by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Really happy with the car at present. Just want to make it nice and tidy. Belts due in June so I'll be doing that along with a service.

Cheers.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Didn't manage to knock the wanky spoiler off yet then ?

 

[welshname]

Didn't manage to knock the wanky spoiler off yet then ?

Not yet. Will be going once I've sorted everything else first. Not shelling out loads of money for a spoiler until the belts are done.

 

[welshname]

Very quick update, more for my reference than anything.

The Monaco used to average 25-26 MPG on the daily commute.
197 averaged 21-23 MPG pre-map
197 averaging 25 MPG so far post map.

Pretty happy with that tbh.

 

[welshname]

Plan today:

Clean car, drive car, doss at a friends unit for the afternoon.

This unfortunately turned into clean car. Drive to dovestones. Do 5 minutes of the journey in 25 minutes, do 25 minutes back to the start, then get pissed off and go to the unit. Exhaust is still rattling on something when it's hot too. It's driving me nuts so need to have another proper look over easter weekend.

Does scrub up well though.


197 clean by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

 

[welshname]

Nothing too interesting to report. MOT is due early in May and I need 2 new tyres, inner tie rods and MAYBE a windscreen, need to check if the crack is going to fail or not.

As the weather was hot recently I discovered that although my AC says it's working, it's not. It's got the common "cold loop" problem. I figured it would be the pressure switch originally so I set about changing it.

First off was removing the bumper. I don't know why everyone has said it's a nightmare on the Mk3 as it's really not. Probably easier than Mk2.

Bumper Off by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr


Bumper Off 2 by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Old one out


Old Pressure Switch by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

And new one in. Stupidly easy job.


New Pressure Switch by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

I also noticed the wiring to the compressor has been crimped and it was looking very corroded in there so I replaced the crimps and heat shrunk it.


Corroded Connectors by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr


Re crimped and heat shrunk by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Unfortunately to no avail. Turns out it's probably the connector on the compressor and Renault have a recall for it. Checked my blue sticker under the bonnet and looks like mine hasn't had it yet. Going to ring them and see what's what. Hopefully get it working again.

Thanks.

 

[welshname]

Having serious issues with the car. It's been off the road for 2 weeks now. Any help appreciated in the thread below

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/clio-197-wont-start.794043/

 

[welshname]

So...to update.

First off the issue was actually corroded CAN wires down behind the back of the fuse box. These eventually broke and this is why the car wouldn't start again. All these were fixed on Thursday. So Thursday evening I collect the car. No issues and even my aircon had started to work again...result!

10 minutes later I get "LOW BATTERY" on the dash. Give the guy a message and he said it must be the alternator he gave me when I thought my alternator was at fault. This was explained because I did only get the low battery warning after swapping it.

Quick voltage check showed the battery was getting 13.6V. Not LOW but not the correct reading. The low battery warning was coming on because every now and again the voltage would dip to 12.3V. So today I went up and the alternator was swapped over for a 15k mile old R26R alternator. All bolted back on and perfect 14.5V.

So glad to have the car back on the road.

 

[welshname]

Car went in for its MOT today. It's failed on low handbrake force and rear passenger caliper binding along with seriously corroded inside of the same disc and inside pad down to metal.

So that's 2 new discs and pads for the rear, 4 new conti 5's plus fitting to add to my bill this month.

So far it's over £1000 the car has needed in the last 2 weeks. To say I'm unimpressed is an understatement.


And to add insult to injury my MOT runs out tomorrow (couldn't get it in the garage earlier as it's been off the road elsewhere for 2 weeks) so I'm having to leave it with them for discs and pads plus sorting the caliper.

 

[Euan94]

I have to say I thought I was having bad luck with my car, and having to shell out a fair amount of money, but you seem to be well ahead of me in those stakes.

At least there's light at the end of the tunnel now!

 

[Knuckles]

Car went in for its MOT today. It's failed on low handbrake force and rear passenger caliper binding along with seriously corroded inside of the same disc and inside pad down to metal.

So that's 2 new discs and pads for the rear, 4 new conti 5's plus fitting to add to my bill this month.

So far it's over £1000 the car has needed in the last 2 weeks. To say I'm unimpressed is an understatement.


And to add insult to injury my MOT runs out tomorrow (couldn't get it in the garage earlier as it's been off the road elsewhere for 2 weeks) so I'm having to leave it with them for discs and pads plus sorting the caliper.

Have you bought the tyres yet? I've got 2/3 spare conti 3s you can have cheap if you need them, So you'll only need one or two to make a full set

Are the garage shafting you for the brakes?

 

[welshname]

Bought the tyres at £75 a corner. Rear discs are £7X a corner, can't remember the price, whatever the price is for pads plus labour. He estimated about £250 iirc. Then whatever he needs to do with the rear caliper. He is going to try and free it up to get it through the MOT and see how I get on. Just a bit fucked off with it all tbh.

£90 Alternator
£60 battery
£12 aux belt
£370ish for wiring
£380 Inc fitting for tyres
£40 MOT
£250ish for rear brakes + whatever else the caliper is.

Not to mention having no car for the last two weeks and only having it 100% working again on Saturday.

On the plus side I had a star crack in the windscreen that was deffo an MOT fail. £9.99 rain x windscreen repair kit later and it's passed on that. So there's some good news at least...

Did I mention it's belts due next month btw?

 

[Knuckles]

Chin up. On the bright side, it shouldn't need anything for a long time after this.

 

[welshname]

Final bill from the garage doing my tyres and MOT

£820

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Rob]

Final bill from the garage doing my tyres and MOT

£820

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Did your car recently develop 8 wheels? How much ffs?

Glad you've found the issue finally. What a pain in the c**k.

 

[welshname]

Did your car recently develop 8 wheels? How much ffs?

Glad you've found the issue finally. What a pain in the c**k.

It was ~400 for tyres, 40 MOT and then it needed new rear discs, pads and some work on the caliper. Paying for someone to fix your car sucks.

 

[welshname]

So good news for 197 owners with the s**t CD changer fitted that want to have an OEM stereo but get handsfree and music streaming without having to get a Parrot kit with a second screen.

Since I got the car it's been something that's annoyed me and I've tried it a few times but never managed it. However when I was getting the electrical fault fixed I noticed that the standard ISO plugs are actually hidden in the dash and the amp unit under the seat is fed on an extension from them. Bonus!


ISO Extension by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Then I went looking for the stalk control plugs which it turns out is completely un-used by the CD changer setup and is plugged into a plastic blank in the top of the dash behind the climate panel seen here.


Stalk Plug Blank by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

So with that all I had to do was extend the aerial (badly) and wire everything in along with the xcarlink bluetooth handsfree adapter I purchased just before I bought the car.

Took the driver seat out and started to try and hide all the extra wiring as all that was now needed there was the airbag plug and the aerial. As you can see there are a LOT of extra cables now I've removed the CD changer setup, luckily they all fit under the carpet where they come up from as there's a large void there.


Extra wiring by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

I ran the aerial extension under the carpet where the join is, along the centre console area and up into the dash and back out where the stereo is.

All back together again


Seat Back In by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

So everything works and all you need is the non CD changer stereo and an xcarlink adapter. Stalk controls work and everything which I'm pretty impressed about. Only issue I've got is that I could do with sorting the connections properly as I've butchered them so far with adapter I've got from when I routed the sky aerial but they are too loose and I get a lot of crackling. I'll order them in the week and get those sorted, really simple job tbh.

So yeah this is it all finished


Non CD Changer Stereo Installed by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Cheers for reading.

 

[welshname]

The saga continues

http://www.cliosport.net/index.php?threads/795466/

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[welshname]

So turns out it was the TDC sensor. Really easy to do on the MK3. Given it a clean up and all is well. Got a replacement ordered so I'll swap that out at some point. Starts better than it did before the issue too.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[dann2707]

Sorry to hear you're having so many issues mate. One question though. Can you explain this pic??

How is the rear being lifted when the jack is at the front and the axle stand isn't even touching the car? I'm baffled.

 

[welshname]

Sorry to hear you're having so many issues mate. One question though. Can you explain this pic??

How is the rear being lifted when the jack is at the front and the axle stand isn't even touching the car? I'm baffled.

The jack is at the rear jacking point lol. But the chassis is very stiff. The drivers front wheel is almost off the ground at that point too.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[imprezaworks]

@welshname

How you finding this? Been looking at these again recently.

 

[welshname]

Well after all the issues I've had with it and the love hate relationship with it I'm starting to really enjoy it again.

It's a lot less tin car like than the 1*2's, it feels more grown up, it feels a lot more planted and the gearbox is a million miles better than them too.

It has its down sides like mpg etc but it's not that bad at all. They do really need a proper map on them to get rid of the terrible flat spot, especially with an aftermarket exhaust but it's great fun.

For the price you can find them you should really give one a try. Recaros are a must though!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[imprezaworks]

Which model is the one to have?

 

[welshname]

Which model is the one to have?

Depends on what you're after.

197 without cup packs is the softest one
197 with cup packs is firmer suspension
197 Cup is the bog spec and no different from cup pack firmness wise
R27 is a cup packed 197 with a different rack and recaros iirc.

Mine is none cup packed but has H&R springs so it's basically no different at this point. The quicker rack is much of a muchness.

Getting a good spec is hard. I searched for ages and drove down south to get mine.

Knuckles is your man for spec differences. I'd tag him but Tapatalk doesn't work.

 

[imprezaworks]

Cheers mate. Yeah I spoke to him a while back when I was interested and came to the conclusion it may not be the car for me. I still like them and yours looks great.

 

[Knuckles]

Cheers mate. Yeah I spoke to him a while back when I was interested and came to the conclusion it may not be the car for me. I still like them and yours looks great.

You're still welcome to come see if they're for you. It's a shame you weren't at csf. The r27 was on point on the track.


Speaking of which... @welshname the ds2500s were pretty epic. Solid feel and didn't fade/overheat all day

 

[imprezaworks]

Yeah had to work sadly. Cheers for the replies chaps

 

[welshname]

Nice. I'll have to take a look at them for mine if I can stop myself looking at black Golf R's with prets. Really want one at the minute

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Knuckles]

Once you go black lol.

I do appreciate a golf r.

 

[welshname]

Car said "Check emissions"
Fault code said "camshaft position sensor"
Car had no VVT and drove like a 1.2
Sensor changed
Car back together
Realised inlet gasket wasn't put back on
Car back apart
Dropped a spanner in the under tray
Swore a lot
Spanner retrieved
Car back together
Car working again.

I'm going through another love hate phase at the moment to the point that 90% of the time I could be driving an absolute shed with sub 80bhp and it wouldn't be any different.

Think I'm just bored of bumpy loud cars for a daily.

 

[imprezaworks]

I go through stages of hate. Just a car/Clio thing lol

 

[matthewson]

So good news for 197 owners with the s**t CD changer fitted that want to have an OEM stereo but get handsfree and music streaming without having to get a Parrot kit with a second screen.

Since I got the car it's been something that's annoyed me and I've tried it a few times but never managed it. However when I was getting the electrical fault fixed I noticed that the standard ISO plugs are actually hidden in the dash and the amp unit under the seat is fed on an extension from them. Bonus!


ISO Extension by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Then I went looking for the stalk control plugs which it turns out is completely un-used by the CD changer setup and is plugged into a plastic blank in the top of the dash behind the climate panel seen here.


Stalk Plug Blank by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

So with that all I had to do was extend the aerial (badly) and wire everything in along with the xcarlink bluetooth handsfree adapter I purchased just before I bought the car.

Took the driver seat out and started to try and hide all the extra wiring as all that was now needed there was the airbag plug and the aerial. As you can see there are a LOT of extra cables now I've removed the CD changer setup, luckily they all fit under the carpet where they come up from as there's a large void there.


Extra wiring by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

I ran the aerial extension under the carpet where the join is, along the centre console area and up into the dash and back out where the stereo is.

All back together again


Seat Back In by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

So everything works and all you need is the non CD changer stereo and an xcarlink adapter. Stalk controls work and everything which I'm pretty impressed about. Only issue I've got is that I could do with sorting the connections properly as I've butchered them so far with adapter I've got from when I routed the sky aerial but they are too loose and I get a lot of crackling. I'll order them in the week and get those sorted, really simple job tbh.

So yeah this is it all finished


Non CD Changer Stereo Installed by Rhys Bartley, on Flickr

Cheers for reading.

Hi bud,

This is some great work, I'm wanting to remove the cabasse from mine but fit my Pioneer radio instead. I assume the normal connects2 stalk adaptor etc would work and just the aerial would need extending as per yours?

Did you purchase an aerial extension lead or make one up?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[welshname]

Hi bud,

This is some great work, I'm wanting to remove the cabasse from mine but fit my Pioneer radio instead. I assume the normal connects2 stalk adaptor etc would work and just the aerial would need extending as per yours?

Did you purchase an aerial extension lead or make one up?

Thanks,
Matt

Yeah it would. The yellow plug is for the stalk controls as far as I'm aware and it's the same as what you'd get in a non CD changer setup.

As for the aerial I've bodged mine and it's come loose. I'm going to get a proper one fitted and made up at some point.

 

[imprezaworks]

How's the car been, certainly looks the part

 

[welshname]

How's the car been, certainly looks the part

To be honest with you I'm bored of it. I go away the first week in October and I'll be looking to replace it with a mk5 golf gti when I get back.

The car is so so much fun, it's more planted than a 1*2, sounds better, is comfier, looks better but I just don't get to enjoy it like I want to.

Although it's much better to commute in than the 172 was it's not good enough at it like I wanted it to be. I'm also tempted by a golf R with DSG so I figured I'd go for a mk5 first as the cost difference isn't much between this and a mk5 so I can see how I feel about DSG with no strings attached.

It's due it's belts too so that'll get done when I'm back, not sure I can be bothered with doing it myself this time though. Lost my enthusiasm.