tcw's Clio 197

So clutch and manifold all done. A friend who has done a fair few helped (well I helped him). Took around 3-3.5 hours to do both, and that was going fairly steady, and included a break for lunch.

The clutch had some life left, but the cover... it was properly fked, part had broken off, which was evident on the inside of the housing. Luckily - no adverse effects. I suspected something like this had happened a while ago, combined with the judder is why I decided to replace.

The previous owner had to replace the crank sensor as it got damaged, this is quite possibly when it began to happen.

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No more pics unfortunately - had other stuff to do afterwards so didn't really stop to take too many pictures.

Regardless, the clutch is quite possibly the best thing I have done to the car, it's so much better. Upgraded the gearbox mount whilst I was there - not really noticed the difference but worth doing anyway IMO, £16 from Euro Car Parts. One other side effect is that there is close to no vibration on idle now, even with inserts in upper, lower and gearbox mounts.
 
im glad all is done and you can enjoy her again..and think of all the money you have saved that can go towards mods now :thumb:
 
im glad all is done and you can enjoy her again..and think of all the money you have saved that can go towards mods now :thumb:
Thanks! Insurance due soon... hoping it'll be under £1500 this year! I've thought a lot about the megane conversion, but I love the revs. It's been mapped at RSTuning but trying to sort out a date to take it down to Engine Dynamics, it's had timing and few other bits sorted since I've bought it. The flat spot even though it's mapped is absolutely horrendous, even more noticeable now there's no judder on pull away!
 
there shouldn't be any flat spot after a remap!!

Hence why it's going to go over to ED. There is no doubt whatsoever that the flatspot is there, even after a remap. The timing was out when it was mapped, so it could be now it's corrected it's highlighted the problem, though we'll see!

Was considering selling the car, but now set on painting front bumper, and sorting a few other minor issues out.

Booked on Snetterton Monday 16th October, then booked onto Bedford on the 4th.
 
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Hence why it's going to go over to ED. There is no doubt whatsoever that the flatspot is there, even after a remap. The timing was out when it was mapped, so it could be now it's corrected it's highlighted the problem, though we'll see!

Was considering selling the car, but now set on painting front bumper, and sorting a few other minor issues out.

Booked on Snetterton Monday 16th October, then booked onto Bedford on the 4th.
Hopefully ED can solve your running issues.
You doing Bedford 4th Nov? I’ll add you to our list:wink:
 
I really need to find a friend like that, I'd be saving a fortune! I had exactly the same problem with my clutch, as have quite a few other people. Glad to see it's fixed though.
 
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I really need to find a friend like that, I'd be saving a fortune! I had exactly the same problem with my clutch, as have quite a few other people. Glad to see it's fixed though.
You had part of the cover break off? Interesting, if you have any pics I'd like to see them. If I keep the car long enough, I'll be changing it at an interval rather than waiting until it dies.
 
would be a shame to sell..you are getting her into a good nick ..

Indeed it would, if I can get the small bits sorted out, I think I’ll keep hold of it for a bit longer, so some more track-days and so on!

It’s genuinely a good car in all honesty, just all the niggles take time to get sorted :smile:


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You had part of the cover break off? Interesting, if you have any pics I'd like to see them. If I keep the car long enough, I'll be changing it at an interval rather than waiting until it dies.
Yes mate, it even struck the crankshaft sensor killing it completely. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the cover, only the crankshaft sensor after it was replaced. The broken part also made contact inside the box and even made a hole, but the garage said it wasn't worth worrying about.
 
once you have done so much work on it and it is running sweet,it would kill me to sell...
glad you are keeping it
 
So Snetterton on Monday was brilliant. Really really happy with the car. I think there were 5 sessions which were red flagged whilst I was out, which was unfortunate, but no major delays really.

Got some instruction (free with Opentrack) - got myself 20-30 mins with adamchristo.com - really nice guy. Races, and actually uses a couple of 200's to teach in - which meant he knew the car well. He showed me how much later I could brake and generally pushed me a bit which was great fun. I previously got instruction at Bedford and was left underwhelmed - so this was great! He then took me for a few laps in my own car which was awesome!

Bedford some friends next on the 4th - also a lot of people from the forum going which will be cool! After that it's time to do some tidying up/maintenance. Rough idea of what I want to look/tidy/replace over winter includes:
  • Gearbox oil, Redline MTL 75W80 - heard good things.
  • Service, oil & filter - Paul will sort me out here.
  • Clean up calipers, replace rears (and possibly fronts too).
  • Rear discs - they've seen better days.
  • Guess I'll probably get the bumper painted
  • Maybe drivers side bolster retrimmed at some point too.
Any questions, ask away - will add photos below.

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glad you enjoyed your tuition..never had one so im happy to hear positive feedback..
some nice photos too...are you doing all the maintenance before Bedford too??
 
glad you enjoyed your tuition..never had one so im happy to hear positive feedback..
some nice photos too...are you doing all the maintenance before Bedford too??

No, quick look over the car before Bedford. The rest will wait until November/December/January.
 
The car went to Engine Dynamics yesterday. It has been mapped before at RSTuning, before my ownership. Since my ownership it's had the timing corrected, new plugs, couple of services and so on. So after some thought it went over to ED.

Initially at RST it made 178hp, then after mapping made 185hp. Yesterday at ED it made 188hp with no changes, and after some time spent on the map we got 198hp and 158ft lb of torque. Most importantly the delivery is much much smoother, and the gains between 2250rpm and 3500rpm make for a much nicer drive. After 5000rpm it's basically making an extra 10hp all the way up to 7750.

I'm very happy. Off on holiday for a week, Bedford when I'm back.

For anyone considering visiting Engine Dynamics - they come highly recommended from me.
 
The car went to Engine Dynamics yesterday. It has been mapped before at RSTuning, before my ownership. Since my ownership it's had the timing corrected, new plugs, couple of services and so on. So after some thought it went over to ED.

Initially at RST it made 178hp, then after mapping made 185hp. Yesterday at ED it made 188hp with no changes, and after some time spent on the map we got 198hp and 158ft lb of torque. Most importantly the delivery is much much smoother, and the gains between 2250rpm and 3500rpm make for a much nicer drive. After 5000rpm it's basically making an extra 10hp all the way up to 7750.

I'm very happy. Off on holiday for a week, Bedford when I'm back.

For anyone considering visiting Engine Dynamics - they come highly recommended from me.

Thats nearly my figures exactly, and Big Bens too (pre Megging) !! So about what Andy can extract from a healthy 197/200 it seems !

Same as you in respect of the difference - in some places compared to standard the improvements were huge.

Have a great holiday and enjoy Bedford.

*****OFF somewhere nice ?