Clio 3 RS 200 cylinder head overhaul

[Foxspeed]

its a mls head gasket...once torqued down its not re-usable...bin it

 

[Pipp]

One of the Joy's of living at the bottom of Africa is an import takes 3 weeks...
Looks like I cannot catch a break * sigh*

But thanks , I'll make sure its replaced !

 

[duck.co.za]

Also thought maybe a core plug .

 

[Pipp]

Im sure you are all as tired of reading about this as I am of dealing with it.
So further information has come my way and they say the engine bearings are also damaged.
They were suuposed to have done a compression test yesterday to find out about the water leak....i dont know what the outcome of that was , but i asked them if I have to wait another 3 weeks because they would need to replace the head gasket again. they said that they diddnt torque down the head fully so wouldnt need to replace the gasket....so I told them they are full of crap.
am I right in saying that ? how can they do a compression test if the havent torqued down the head ?

My conclusion is that this car is effed....
let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

 

[duck.co.za]

Sounds like nonsense to me !! It had a water leak because they hadn't torqued the head !!The bearings are something completely different ? That's oil pressure related most lightly .
Only way to build these motors is replacing a lot of stuff while you are in there and it get's expensive .

 

[Pipp]

what im trying to establish is if I should let them continue with the repair and take a car back in the next couple of weeks that has had extensive work and potentially very problematic or if I should tell them to stick it.
I am still within my rights to get a refund on the purchase....

 

[duck.co.za]

Does sound like it has been abused . May I ask what you paid ? They are only going to do a patch job , I mean it is a dealer we are talking about .
If you really like the car I would negotiate a big discount and then get someone else to build the motor properly . That , is going to cost a minimum of R30K in parts . Depending on how far you want to go . I priced the basic parts from Renault and it was way over R20K for not much . You could bring them in from the Uk , but there is shipping , duty and vat .
Other option is get your money back and keep looking . There is a white 20th anniversary down here with just over 100000km on it for R130k .

 

[Dumdum]

I’d be getting your money back! What they’ve said makes no sense, now that may be down to service advisors who don’t completely know what’s going off... and pass on a little mis information, but tbh it sounds like they are guessing and don’t really know what they are doing overall

 

[Pipp]

@duck
I paid 110k for it....2010 with 82000km on the clock. I have since then put in an additional 30k on various mechanical items - 90k service, o2 sensor, fuel pump, rear brake pads . Non mechanical is new tyres and roof wrap.

@Dumdum
I think I might just push for the refund.
Another option would be to get a discount and ask for a 2 or 3 year guarantee on the workmanship and parts. (Currently only a 6 month guarantee)
All the current repair costs are at the dealers expense but they are not filling me with confidence

 

[Dumdum]

You won’t get the 30k back I reckon so it may be worth keeping it at that, that’s an awkward one, the extra warranty sounds good... but ask yourself if it went again would you want it back realistically?

 

[duck.co.za]

@duck
I paid 110k for it....2010 with 82000km on the clock. I have since then put in an additional 30k on various mechanical items - 90k service, o2 sensor, fuel pump, rear brake pads . Non mechanical is new tyres and roof wrap.

Sounds like without the engine drama it was a good buy , low mileage . You are in quite deep . If you do decide to let them or someone else fix it just make double sure it's done properly.

 

[Pipp]

So it's been quite a week of fighting and frustration.
This is the last update from the mechanic,
"As suspected the block had to be skimmed and the main and big end bearings replaced with new bearings as suggested by...."

What would cause these bearings to go ? Loss of oil ?

 

[Foxspeed]

what was the crank like - did they check/measure it? also the rods - any shells spun - if they did the rods are potentially scrap!

block skimmed!!!! crikey what was wrong with it for that to be done - not sure if theres enough metal for the block to be skimmed - one thing the c/r will be a good one

ask them to keep all the old parts - that way you can see how bad they are

 

[Dumdum]

I’d be binning the car off and getting my money back and offering them a day in court for the costs incurred as it’s not your fault the car needs a new engine, tbh I’d be insisting on a new engine with all the stuff that’s up... only way I’d keep it being honest

 

[Pipp]

Ya , I have proposed a fairly mutual conclusion. Ie. I'll buy a new car from the dealer with the money I've already put in as a deposit....or I'm going to go into a legal dispute with them...
It's a shitty thing any way I look at it but hopefully it gets sorted out quickly and positively.

So frustrating and tiring.

Thank though...I'll let you all know the result

 

[Dumdum]

At least if you can find another Clio you like you can have your tyres etc swapped over

 

[Pipp]

Ok guys , after almost 5 months I got my Clio back.
There were some hiccups towards the end and I wanted to ask opinions on the run in.....
So after the original cylinder head overhaul the vehicle was run in for 1000km. She was returned to me and lo and behold the engine light came back on and made a noise when I put the clutch in.
We then sent it to our local ktec mechanic , Ronney. He fixed the software for the emissions but the car needed to have its thrust washer replaced.
So apparently they also needed to replace the main and big end bearings , again, which they say they went through the sump to do.
3 weeks later I get the car back and they have advised I run in again for 1000km at low rpm.
I do not have a great mechanical knowledge but wanted to find out if the low rpm run in period is necessary after changing the bearings ?
I was under the impressions that only the pistons need to bed after a rebuild.
Any insight would be much appreciated.

 

[Dumdum]

Ok guys , after almost 5 months I got my Clio back.
There were some hiccups towards the end and I wanted to ask opinions on the run in.....
So after the original cylinder head overhaul the vehicle was run in for 1000km. She was returned to me and lo and behold the engine light came back on and made a noise when I put the clutch in.
We then sent it to our local ktec mechanic , Ronney. He fixed the software for the emissions but the car needed to have its thrust washer replaced.
So apparently they also needed to replace the main and big end bearings , again, which they say they went through the sump to do.
3 weeks later I get the car back and they have advised I run in again for 1000km at low rpm.
I do not have a great mechanical knowledge but wanted to find out if the low rpm run in period is necessary after changing the bearings ?
I was under the impressions that only the pistons need to bed after a rebuild.
Any insight would be much appreciated.

Yes shells work harden during heat cycles, see posts in the thread in the other thread... didn’t realise it was this one, I’d be following exactly what they say to the letter and warming up/cooling down the engine a lot