ToiletDuck's UR Clio 197

[Benno]

I hate it when I do stupid stuff like that...

But woah, Subway....delivered? I need to move to a populated area I think......

 

[ToiletDuck]

I hate it when I do stupid stuff like that...

But woah, Subway....delivered? I need to move to a populated area I think......

It sounds like a good idea doesn't it! However, it's probably quicker and less stressful to just drive there and order . I'm also itching to move out of the city(apart from Subway delivery I see no enjoyable aspects ), my plans to meg swap was put on hold due to looking at moving house but now that's also on hold due to uncertainty with my job .

 

[Pav]

looks like you had fun :excited:

 

[Benno]

It sounds like a good idea doesn't it! However, it's probably quicker and less stressful to just drive there and order . I'm also itching to move out of the city(apart from Subway delivery I see no enjoyable aspects ), my plans to meg swap was put on hold due to looking at moving house but now that's also on hold due to uncertainty with my job .

Sounds like we're in a similar boat...Spa in April will be my only big trip this year I think, trying to start saving for a deposit but frankly failing miserably...! I'm working 65 hour weeks at the moment which is alright but I wouldn't mind my hourly rate being bumped up a few quid...

 

[Pav]

no one would Ben

 

[ToiletDuck]

Just another update along with more disappointment .

I decided to splash a bit more of the hard earned just after Christmas.



The rear brakes have always bugged me since I bought the car. Who ever "refurbed" the brakes did a bang up job and painted the pads, all bleed nipple covers etc. The discs were also pretty tired so add them to the list . My thermostat is also dead so one of those and some fresh coolant were also ordered(its on the to do list!)

So, I've had the week off work(which was handy sort of) so figured I would get all the car jobs done this week, of course that never worked out. The family bus left some oil on the drive at the weekend so I had to chase that up, I also managed to catch SARS, Foot & Mouth or possibly just Man Flu so motivation was/is low.

Pushed myself this morning to get the rear brakes sorted so I can at least feel some sense of getting somewhere.





Only took 1 of the finished article as we all know what fresh brakes look like .



Put it all back together, did the routine pumping, NO HANDBRAKE! Great, took it for a spin, still nothing. Wheels back off, faffed with the cable mechanism, free'd off the passenger side but the cable on the drivers side is sticking in the outer .

Back on the internet to buy more parts!

Anywho, that's where I'm at again.

 

[Pav]

great job and also sorry about all your complications...never happened to me with the rears..strange...
hope you get to the bottom of it...

 

[ToiletDuck]

great job and also sorry about all your complications...never happened to me with the rears..strange...
hope you get to the bottom of it...

Thanks buddy, it's just one of those things. Judging by the state of them it's just down to poor maintenance on the previous owners behalf. New cables are on there way so I'll just bash them in next week .

 

[trackspec197]

Worth checking the routing of the cables mate and that they are still behind the heat shield. I’ve seen it before now where cables are exposed to heat and weld themselves together. It could also be down to moisture penetration too if the outer shroud has been damaged in the past or the outer seals have failed.

 

[ToiletDuck]

Worth checking the routing of the cables mate and that they are still behind the heat shield. I’ve seen it before now where cables are exposed to heat and weld themselves together. It could also be down to moisture penetration too if the outer shroud has been damaged in the past or the outer seals have failed.

Thanks mate, I'll check them over if I get chance(no way I'm lying on the floor in this weather) however I think its down to moisture ingress, the plastic coating on the cables has come off and I imagine its worse inside the outer too. They move freely when pulled but not freely enough for the return spring .

 

[ToiletDuck]

Well, I guess it turns out I am still terrible at keeping a project thread up to date.

Progress has been a little slow due to several external factors, a few being the "family daily" requiring several billion pounds needing to be spent on it , my better halves 30th & unwanted complications with work.

Anyway, I left this at the point of needing new handbrake cables, replaced those and fitted some of the Megane return springs.

Next was to tackle the front brakes. Again a dodgy refurb and poor maintenance lead to what started off "a minor pull to the left under braking" to "okay, my car wants to kill me!" So, dilemma, get my timing right, refurb the calipers that are on it before it needs to be used again or just buy new ones...



New ones it is then! Coupled these with a set of Mtec J Hook discs, Mintex 1144 Pads & a full fluid refresh.

Grotty old ones before.
r

shiny new ones after.
]

Turns out the fluid was pretty clean, had that super blue squeaky clutch pedal stuff in it. Flushed it out and happy to report my clutch pedal squeak has gone! Also noticed it has braided lines fitted too which is a bonus.

Upon inspection of the left hand caliper, it turned out that the inner pad was completely seized in, I couldn't even shift it with a small leaver bar!



Not a lot really happened then. I just enjoyed driving a problem-ish free car.

I swapped my yellow fog lights with @adam thomas as I wasnt sure I was keen on them with the red, then this happened!



Bugger. New key ordered though so no sweat right? Also gave it a bath and took a couple of photos.



Fast forward to last bank holiday weekend and que a drive out with friends!



Those who follow my Instagram will possibly understand the next photo but for those who don't, last year when I had the 182 I took a similar photo in pretty much the same place looking out onto Snowdon. Either way I think its a pretty cool photo for someone with my lack of skills.



As I mentioned at the start, work has been a bit of a peev for me for the last 6 weeks or so, so I decided to cheer myself up by spending some hard earned . I had originally intended to buy myself an Armster armrest... Out of stock. Ok, what next? My friend had made me aware of a second hand set of B14s with next to no miles on a week-ish before so I inquired... Yup Sold too . So sod it, I've always wanted Cup skirts, Done-ish. My steering wheel has been a typical Renault peely manky thing since I got the car so I ordered a retrimmed one from Royal too .

Skirts arrived, I found some time and managed, with the help of @adam thomas to slap them on yesterday.




We also painted my disc hubs and spacers as I am still awaiting my steering wheel, Adam then left before I roped him into doing something else .



Pretty happy with how the car is coming along now. I still can't decide between the Cup & Sprint spoilers so it may be a while before the rear gets a treat.

I think that has covered everything, forgetting to take pictures and having an awful memory doesn't help .

 

[Benno]

Top work Steve, gotta love a clean UR. Mine is at work broken still with a kaput starter, getting major withdrawal symptoms this weekend...

Personal opinion, get rid of the locking wheel nuts, or get some that have an actual nut rather than a key shape if you know what I mean. Mate of mine had to cut his wheel off of his Focus ST the other day because the nut sheared and a new key wouldn't even grip on, nightmare.

P.S. don't attempt a track day with M1144s, they won't last long, found that out the hard way...

 

[Pav]

wow what an update..lots of things have been happening to your clio..im sure a new suspension kit would be awesome..
very nice mate..

 

[Micah]

Great progress made there. I started higher up the page and thought 'that car needs the side skirts' - very pleased to see you did, they go really well with UR.
Nothing quite like shiny new calipers, too. Must be pretty happy with the overhaul.
As you have black wheels, I'd recommend some TPI bolts that @Benno and I use, and as he says, you have a specific anti theft bolt than a pattern so you don't end up in the same situation. I've looked at eBay but I'm not sure if the adverts are correct from this seller, as I'm sure the Mk3 is an M14 and not M12 like the Mk4. The sets cost £39.99 but I always get mine from these people, and they always confirm the correct size if you call them.

 

[ToiletDuck]

Top work Steve, gotta love a clean UR. Mine is at work broken still with a kaput starter, getting major withdrawal symptoms this weekend...

Personal opinion, get rid of the locking wheel nuts, or get some that have an actual nut rather than a key shape if you know what I mean. Mate of mine had to cut his wheel off of his Focus ST the other day because the nut sheared and a new key wouldn't even grip on, nightmare.

P.S. don't attempt a track day with M1144s, they won't last long, found that out the hard way...

Thanks buddy, it looks good in pictures but its far from clean . Bad news about your's, how long have you been without? I do go for periods without using mine but as soon as I'm back in it I remember why I enjoy it so much .

I have a stud and nut kit still from my 182 but I am unsure how well it would work with the spacers so a bit reluctant to try, I may look at getting a different set of nuts but the key is a brand new one so should last a while before it dies(I hope)

No track days planned yet don't worry , still a while off I think. It's still running the budget tyre's it came with but plans are in the pipeline so maybe next year. It's just nice to have a decent pad for the odd B road blast for now.

wow what an update..lots of things have been happening to your clio..im sure a new suspension kit would be awesome..
very nice mate..

Thanks Pav, I would like a set of B14's, I did love them on my 182 however I can't really fault the CookSport's for now, they were awful on the 182 and felt really crashy but totally different on the 197.

Great progress made there. I started higher up the page and thought 'that car needs the side skirts' - very pleased to see you did, they go really well with UR.
Nothing quite like shiny new calipers, too. Must be pretty happy with the overhaul.
As you have black wheels, I'd recommend some TPI bolts that @Benno and I use, and as he says, you have a specific anti theft bolt than a pattern so you don't end up in the same situation. I've looked at eBay but I'm not sure if the adverts are correct from this seller, as I'm sure the Mk3 is an M14 and not M12 like the Mk4. The sets cost £39.99 but I always get mine from these people, and they always confirm the correct size if you call them.

Thanks Micah, I've always wanted one with skirts but kept putting it off due to the price of damn things. I'm defo happier when I look out the window and see it with them on now . Brake overhaul is also a winner, comes as a bit of a shock when coming from driving the mondeo all week!

I'll have a look at the TPI bolts but as I mentioned above the key shouldn't break anytime soon .

 

[ToiletDuck]

As I have a spare 10 mins I'll update this.

My steering wheel finally arrived from Royal and it is perfect as usual from them.




Washed & Vacc'd both cars this afternoon so naturally had to fit it



The RenSport trim is a little tight and doesn't fit perfectly which is a shame but hopefully it will compress the foam overtime and I'll be able to get it to sit properly

Another nuisance, which I made worse by trying to refit the clip was my Sill trim having detached itself.



I spent a good while on ebay looking for the right clips and hopefully I have ordered the right one.

Not all annoyances though, went on a bit of a Road Trip yesterday afternoon to collect something.





















R26 Engine & Box W/ 82k
TTV SMF
R26.R Clutch
Engine Loom
Ecu & all associated modules
Rad W/ Fan
Driveshafts
Gear linkage
Pipercross Filter
Link Pipe for exhaust
Huge folder of receipts etc for the history of the engine

Pretty excited but I told myself I wouldn't start the swap until I had moved house. I still have a fair amount to source and work out(I'd like to keep aircon etc) so expect a few questions to be asked in due course.

 

[Pav]

happy days..another N/A bites the dust..you will be fine regarding keeping your A/C..i've kept mine even with an upgraded/thicker radiator..
any questions just ask..many members have done it by now..

 

[ToiletDuck]

happy days..another N/A bites the dust..you will be fine regarding keeping your A/C..i've kept mine even with an upgraded/thicker radiator..
any questions just ask..many members have done it by now..

Thanks Pav, my plan was always to go Meg lump, even before I owned the car .

Just need to compile a parts list now, I've stuck a few questions up in the FI section too.

 

[ToiletDuck]

Soooooooo, it turns out I'm not that great at keeping this thread up to date after all .

I'll try and pick up from where I left off and start with a shiney(ish) picture.



Going back to the sagging passenger side sill turns out my problems were a lot worse than I first had hoped.




Yep, its broke broke and also the hole for the clip has been enlarged by some nice so and so before me . Never mind, a little(or ALOT) of epoxy goes a long way .

Or so I thought.

Yup, it fell off again... Time for major surgery.



That's how far I got before I knew I was onto another winner...

Turns out someone(I'm guessing the same misery maker as the one who did the rear) has self taper'd and filled the front where it attaches to the wing.



BOOM! Nice crack now .

Anyway, I bodged it back up with more glue's, tigerseal and whatever else I could find .







Also gave these grotbag seat belts a soak and pressure wash .




Also did some stuff to @adam thomas ' 197 but whatever it was escapes me now .





I've always wanted a Sprint spoiler to finish the back off as I don't like the way the Cup one looks with the red. Took the plunge and bought one off a guy on the book of face for cheaper than normal.





Fitment is spot on, I just need to get it painted. I also purchased another set of side skirts which I want to get painted before fitting .

 

[ToiletDuck]

Fast forward some time and I popped out for a drive with a couple of friends again so que the pictures .








Again, Spin forward a bit and I'd just been collecting bits I needed for the Meg swap. Add in a layoff at work, a crazy idea and a willing host(@adam thomas) and the plan to do the swap is born .










It's been about a month since we started, but waiting on my loom stopped play for around 2 weeks of that, combined with working different shifts Mon-Fri leaving only Saturdays free . It's up and running now with a couple of jobs left to sort (exhaust being the main one) but hopefully within the next couple of weeks we should be done .