100k refresh

[SteveH]

Hi all,

So my car has ticket over 100k now and even since I've owned it (which hasn't been long) I've noticed things getting a bit sloppier on the handling side of things, and it has just developed a slight knock when reversing out my drive. The steering also feels a bit notchy when on full lock in reverse, but tight the rest of the time, so I guess that is normal?

I am thinking to Powerflex all the engine and gearbox mounts to stiffen them up a bit (unless advised otherwise). But will stick to OE on everything else as the roads aren't getting any better, I'm not getting any younger, and with the car being renowned for it's handling anyway, why mess with what Renault intended the car to handle like. Plus I like my spine the size and shape it is

So this in mind I'm trying to build up a shopping list of required parts for a full refresh of everything. I got as far as the engine and gearbox Powerflex stuff as that's relatively easy to find (as below), but any assistance in other bushes, joints, assemblies etc would be great.

• Powerflex Lower Torque Mount (Road) - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-8025
• Powerflex Upper Engine Mount insert - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-821
• Powerflex Gearbox Mounting Bushes Insert - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-525
• Powerflex Upper Engine Mount Torque Arm Bushes - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-822

Also if anyone might happen to know approx costs for this being done, as I'm sure some of you would have had to do this by now that would be great. I don't mind tackling most mechanical stuff, but bushes etc I just don't have the space/kit to sort, and with 2 kids it would appear now my garage is full of cr*p as well, and I'm not doing this sort of stuff on my drive haha.

Previously (a long time ago actually thinking about it) I had an E30 325i BMW and that thing used to eat rear axle beam bushes, so I was wondering if there is anything like that which is weaker on the Clio I should be looking at doing first?

Thanks

Steve

 

[jasonlovesfrench]

I can’t help with all the bushings but I do know the steering shouldn’t be clunking, this could be the nut loose? Worth checking as steering racks are about a grand I think.

 

[suj]

I can’t help with all the bushings but I do know the steering shouldn’t be clunking, this could be the nut loose? Worth checking as steering racks are about a grand I think.

They're not a grand, no where near.

Renault Clio 200 Cup Steering Rack 8200824576 - Renault Parts Direct

Renault Clio 200 Cup Steering Rack 8200824576 - Renault Parts Direct - Renault Parts Direct is a web based service from our authorised Renault dealer.

renaultpartsdirect.co.uk

This is the desired 200 Cup (quicker steering) and from memory includes track rod inners and outers.

 

[SteveH]

I can’t help with all the bushings but I do know the steering shouldn’t be clunking, this could be the nut loose? Worth checking as steering racks are about a grand I think.

I'm pretty confident it's NOT the steering rack. It's not a clunk as such, it doesn't really make any noise. Its more like you can just feel something back through the wheel on full lock in reverse. I'm guessing it is probably something else a bit worn or soft. I'm only reversing at real low speed off the drive, so not overly worried about the steering rack.

Thanks though.

Steve

 

[burrellbloke]

Track rod ends? Ball joints?

 

[LiamP]

Could be lower swivel, I know my NS is starting to go and feels notchy on full lock.

I personally wouldn’t add the upper engine mount insert if you are using it daily, you can fit your current list on the driveway with just a jack.

 

[bedoef]

Hi all,

So my car has ticket over 100k now and even since I've owned it (which hasn't been long) I've noticed things getting a bit sloppier on the handling side of things, and it has just developed a slight knock when reversing out my drive. The steering also feels a bit notchy when on full lock in reverse, but tight the rest of the time, so I guess that is normal?

I am thinking to Powerflex all the engine and gearbox mounts to stiffen them up a bit (unless advised otherwise). But will stick to OE on everything else as the roads aren't getting any better, I'm not getting any younger, and with the car being renowned for it's handling anyway, why mess with what Renault intended the car to handle like. Plus I like my spine the size and shape it is

So this in mind I'm trying to build up a shopping list of required parts for a full refresh of everything. I got as far as the engine and gearbox Powerflex stuff as that's relatively easy to find (as below), but any assistance in other bushes, joints, assemblies etc would be great.

• Powerflex Lower Torque Mount (Road) - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-8025
• Powerflex Upper Engine Mount insert - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-821
• Powerflex Gearbox Mounting Bushes Insert - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-525
• Powerflex Upper Engine Mount Torque Arm Bushes - Clio III Sport 197/200 (2005 - 2012) - PFF60-822

Also if anyone might happen to know approx costs for this being done, as I'm sure some of you would have had to do this by now that would be great. I don't mind tackling most mechanical stuff, but bushes etc I just don't have the space/kit to sort, and with 2 kids it would appear now my garage is full of cr*p as well, and I'm not doing this sort of stuff on my drive haha.

Previously (a long time ago actually thinking about it) I had an E30 325i BMW and that thing used to eat rear axle beam bushes, so I was wondering if there is anything like that which is weaker on the Clio I should be looking at doing first?

Thanks

Steve

Apologies in advance if this is common knowledge, but its always worth repeating.

The real question here is when was everything done last time? I found through daily driving my 200 over 6 years that the mounts had 2-3 years of good life before they got really soft. You know the engine and transmission mounts are toast when you do a hard 2-3 shift and you practically just need to blow on the shift lever and it will find 3rd my itself. That means the mounts are mostly gone and the whole drivetrain is rocking hard under the shift.

Powerflex inserts extended the life by 1-2 years (I drive the car spiritedly often, and did a couple of track days a year as well with this setup), but keep in mind you are merely filling the voids on soft OEM rubber mounts that will degrade, collapse and crack over time. Doing the full kit (torque link, upper and lower engine mounts and dogbone) will greatly increase vibrations at idle, esp if you run the AC often.

As for the suspension, you basically need to assess when the last time anything was changed in the setup. I found that the OEM parts have a useful life or around 80k miles with hard use. You then need a garage to do a proper check on the shock mounts, ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, control arm bushes, and the droplinks and stabilizer links. They should be looking for signs of collapse, cracks, play, noise etc. There are some standard checks they should do which you can find online on Youtube for balljoint weakness, tierod play, stuff like that.

From what I have seen on the forum, pinpointing exactly which one of these is causing knock is pretty hard to do - balljoints are the main culprit but there are many threads where people keep chasing knocks even after refreshing the balljoints. Keep in mind, many of these parts will require disassembly of the front end, so theres overlap in labor charges to do them piecemeal.

From what I recall doing mine:
- Upper / lower / swivel joints: GBP 450 ish
- Full powerflex insert kit: GBP300 ish
- Shock mounts: GBP 200 ish?? (check RPD, I dont recall the cost here)
- Tie rods: GBP200 for inner and outer I believe
- Drop links / stabilizer links: GBP 50 ish for OEM

You can find most of these parts on renaultpartsdirect, k-tech, kamracing, or puremotorsports, not to mention Rofag (facebook only). Its worth shopping around for the best deal.

Good luck with the refresh!

 

[SteveH]

Apologies in advance if this is common knowledge, but its always worth repeating.

The real question here is when was everything done last time? I found through daily driving my 200 over 6 years that the mounts had 2-3 years of good life before they got really soft. You know the engine and transmission mounts are toast when you do a hard 2-3 shift and you practically just need to blow on the shift lever and it will find 3rd my itself. That means the mounts are mostly gone and the whole drivetrain is rocking hard under the shift.

Powerflex inserts extended the life by 1-2 years (I drive the car spiritedly often, and did a couple of track days a year as well with this setup), but keep in mind you are merely filling the voids on soft OEM rubber mounts that will degrade, collapse and crack over time. Doing the full kit (torque link, upper and lower engine mounts and dogbone) will greatly increase vibrations at idle, esp if you run the AC often.

As for the suspension, you basically need to assess when the last time anything was changed in the setup. I found that the OEM parts have a useful life or around 80k miles with hard use. You then need a garage to do a proper check on the shock mounts, ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, control arm bushes, and the droplinks and stabilizer links. They should be looking for signs of collapse, cracks, play, noise etc. There are some standard checks they should do which you can find online on Youtube for balljoint weakness, tierod play, stuff like that.

From what I have seen on the forum, pinpointing exactly which one of these is causing knock is pretty hard to do - balljoints are the main culprit but there are many threads where people keep chasing knocks even after refreshing the balljoints. Keep in mind, many of these parts will require disassembly of the front end, so theres overlap in labor charges to do them piecemeal.

From what I recall doing mine:
- Upper / lower / swivel joints: GBP 450 ish
- Full powerflex insert kit: GBP300 ish
- Shock mounts: GBP 200 ish?? (check RPD, I dont recall the cost here)
- Tie rods: GBP200 for inner and outer I believe
- Drop links / stabilizer links: GBP 50 ish for OEM

You can find most of these parts on renaultpartsdirect, k-tech, kamracing, or puremotorsports, not to mention Rofag (facebook only). Its worth shopping around for the best deal.

Good luck with the refresh!

Thats great info, thank you.

My car is a daily, and TBH will never see a racetrack (I have a Caterham for that). Looking back through the vehicle history all I can see related to this is,

2016 - O/S front hub & carrier replaced
2019 - N/S track rod end
2021 - 2 x front lower wishbones replaced (assume both sides)

But other than that nothing, so by the sounds of it I'm going to have to go through the whole lot.

The car has climate control which I assume automatically turns the aircon on and off like in pretty much every other car I've owned. So maybe just going full OE would be better for me.

Most of my driving is small, bumpy back roads of Oxfordshire, so having a rock hard chassis and suspension will just bounce me into a hedge/tree. I just thought the Powerflex kit around the engine would at least hold things all tight under there, and then using OE on the rest of the chassis would give me the suppleness I need for the roads round here.

RPD are only down the road from me in Swindon. perhaps best course of action is to give them a shout for all the parts. I'm sure they should be able to whack together a shopping basket of everything I would need.

Cheers

Steve

 

[bedoef]

Powerflex mix and match might be worthwhile. I have read if you do the upper and lower engine mounts, the vibration will be minimal and settles a bit after some time - I can't comment bc I went full hog and it rattles the car in idle and introduces some buzz at highway speeds.

They will help extend the OE mounts life, so probably work considering. Best bet will be to research what combinations people have done on their cars and try to figure out what works best for you.