Pug_owner2002's blog.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 01 Nov 2009, 21:17

Hello All,

I have been a member of this forum for many years and was also a member of the old andy spares forum.
I have found it a very valuble forum for information in the time that I have been a member, so thought it was time for me to start my own blog.
As can be seen in my signature I have owned 2 306's, prior to these I was a vauxhall man (sorry Jim!) and did own a ford escort for a whole 2 months before seeing the light and getting rid of it.
I thought my days of french car ownership were about to end when the gearbox on my last 306 developed a fault, that and a few other faults resulting in me making the desision to get rid of it. It was purely due to cost and not having much spare time to do the jobs myself.
However a wok colleague of mine happened to mention that he was selling a Reanault Scenic Dynamique + on an 03 plate.
So I checked it over and could only find a misfire (was due to a faulty coil) and it was in need of new tyres and a service. I got it for what I think was a good price of £1950 (not bad as it's only done 52K miles).
Since starting to use it I have found a few minor niggles such as the fuel flap not locking and the brakes are binding, however this will be rectified once I service her.
Any way thats the start of my blog done, I've no doubt I'll have to post with problems that arise (but hopefully not too many

).

Thanks for reading.

Simon.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 07 Nov 2009, 23:15

Well, thats the scenic serviced. Only real problem that could be found was one of the front breaks was sticking on. Sorting that has really improved the MPG.

Definatly think it was a good buy! If all else buying it has made SWMBO'd happy.

Althought she ain't french the leon must be feeling jealous of another car getting the attention as she now seems to want a new window mechanism, ain't looking forwardd to that. Looking on the net they quote it as taking 3 hours

have to see if I can do it quicker

I have one outsatnding job to do on the scenic and that shouldn'ty be too bad, it's just sorting out the fuel filler flap locking solenoid, as the flap doesn't lock.

scenicspares · Post by **scenicspares** » 30 Dec 2009, 15:34

How easy is the solenoid to replace on the fuel flap?

Mines died completely

Any hints.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 31 Dec 2009, 21:58

I've not done the job yet, but it doesn't look to tricky.
The trim panel in the boot needs to be removed to gain access to the solenoid, then it should be a couple of screws and a wiring harnes to unplug to remove it.
I'll do it when the weather warms up a bit.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 08 Jan 2010, 23:35

Don't you just love cars and the cold weather!
After driving about 30 miles in the scenic which has been stood for nearly a week, it decided too loose power and misfire quite badly.
Phoned the RAC and they said that it could take up to 5 hours to get someone to me. So decided to take the chance and drive it home as it was.
I was going to get it diagnosed in the morning but took a flyer on it being one of the coils and it was.
Now have replaced all of them as a precaution.
Got them for a good price too, £31 each for Valeo ones.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 08 Jan 2010, 23:56

Is your Scenic 1.4/1.6/2.0?

Our 2.0 RX4 Scenic developed a misfire, turns out even though renault claim they have long life spark plugs, they dont

Ah a Leon TDi, very good cars those 8)

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 09 Jan 2010, 11:42

Our Scenic is the 1.6 16 valve one. Didn't know the spark plugs were meant to be long life ones, so interesting to know.
I was going to look at the plugs prior to buying the new coils, however neither of my plug sockets would fit. Is there a special one for these engines? or was I just being dumb due to brain freeze

I'm very please with the Leon, however it also requires some attention. It has been getting hard to start in the cold weather so I replaced the glow plugs, whilst doing this I found that only one of them was working

Although it starts better,it still isn't quite right. Upon starting the other morning I looked at the transparent fuel line and could see plenty of air in the fuel. So this is the culprit. Sould be fun trying to find the "leak"

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 27 Mar 2010, 10:22

Yesterday I thought I'd better take a look at the wifes Scenic as the MPG had appeared to drop considerably.
When I purchased the car it had the same problem and when it went in for a service it was found that the brakes were sticking. So they were free'd off. So this was to be the first port of call.
Upon jacking it up I found that the drivers side front brake was sticking, well more like stuck on (could hardly turn the wheel by hand).
Stripped it all down and found the disks and pads to be in a very sorry state (was advised that they would need replacing soon when it was serviced

).
Had a phone round and got the disks and pads for £79. Fitted them (and cleaned up where the pads sit) and all OK now.
Took it for a 35 mile drive last night and am happy to report an improvement of 10 MPG.
Hopefully it should't be at the petrol station as often as it has been over the last few weeks.

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 25 Apr 2010, 19:56

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks car wise.
First of all the Scenic required some attention to the front end, due to the wife running into the back end of a tractor!

The damage wasn't too bad, just a bonnet, bumper, drivers side headlight, drivers side wing and a bit of metal to straighten out.
I managed to find a bonnet and bumper in the correct colour and bought them (over the phone without viewing

) along with a headlight.
To say the parts were in a very poor state was an understatement, but beggers can't be choosers and they were fitted after I'd straightened the metalwork and welded a plate on. Apart from the parts being in not as good condition as I would have hoped the car is looking ok again and drives like it used too. I've got a wing and another bonnet on the way and am still looking for another bumper in good condition, as I would like it to be back to the A1 condition it was pre accident.
The scenic has also had to have a new radiator as water was pouring out of it. Probably due to the accident and repair.

This weekend I have fitted a towbar to my Seat Leon and also fitted one to my dads Vauxhall Meriva.

I've got to admit I've thouroughly enjoyed all this spannering of late, as I don't get chance to do it as much as I used too.

Post by **CitroJim** » 26 Apr 2010, 09:12

pug_owner2002 wrote:I've got to admit I've thouroughly enjoyed all this spannering of late, as I don't get chance to do it as much as I used too.

It's good

Very theraputic after a stressful week I find...

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 26 Apr 2010, 21:46

Your right there Jim! I'm starting to find work a tad stressful, to the point that I'm not really enjoying the job.
I must admit I'm not a fan of feeling stressed, it's not my cup of tea.
However, I did find tatting with the cars a welcome relief. I think I might start doing a bit more with them again instead of throwing them at the mechanic to do.

[/quote]

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 17 Aug 2010, 22:03

Well it's been a while since I updated this!
I've been outside this evening messing with the wifes scenic....
I've never been happy with the replacement bumper that I got from a breakers via the internet, it was well er tatty. Really made the front of the car look bad. I think it would have been better to have left the one on that was damaged when the mr's crashed it

I'm now happy to say I've managed to get one off the bay that is perfect, now fitted and am now very happy.
Whilst at it I've had a quick look at it as SWMBO states that it is becoming a devil to start. It generally starts on the first flick of the key, however every now and then you have to wind it over for quite a while, to the point that I am starting to reach for the RAC card as I don't think it's gona start.
Can't see anything obvious. Any Ideas?
I am wondering if a change of plugs may help as I've heard that these 1.6 16v petrol scenic's really do need good quality plugs. Once started it runs great.
I've also had a tinker with the leon. A friend of mine has given me a tuning box to plug in that he had on his VAG TDi car. I must admit it does make a considerable difference to the acceleration etc..
This tunning box plugs inbetween the fuel pump and ECU. Anyone know how these work? As it does make me wonder if it could cause damage to the engine, pump or ECU. I have removed it for now untill I can find out more about them.

Post by **CitroJim** » 17 Aug 2010, 22:14

Great stuff! I know how a cosmetic thing like that can really jar and stand out like a sore thumb on an otherwise tidy car.

pug_owner2002 wrote:It generally starts on the first flick of the key, however every now and then you have to wind it over for quite a while, to the point that I am starting to reach for the RAC card as I don't think it's gona start.
Can't see anything obvious. Any Ideas?

Must be a Renault thing

I had a 1978 R5 that did just the same thing and never did get to the root of it except that one used to flood and it was a foot to the floor job to blow out the accumulated petrol and wait until the plugs dried and it would fire.

I would be looking at the fuel pump as such a problem can be caused by no or low initial fuel pressure in the rail. Can you hear the pump start and run when the ignition is turned on, priming and building pressure in the rail? The pump may just be lazy and takes a while to get its act together. Normally they're loud enough to be heard easily. If you hear an eerie silence then that'll be it.

Modern electronic ignitions are normally able to fire the mankiest of plugs. It might misfire a bit but bad plugs should not cause this real non-start situation.

That's bourne out by the fact that as soon as it does catch, it runs perfectly.

A relay feeding power to the injection ECU or fuel pump may be suffering bad contacts which occasionally take a while to make a good enough contact to power everything up...

pug_owner2002 · Post by **pug_owner2002** » 17 Aug 2010, 22:21

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply.
I can hear the fuel pump kicking up so think thats ok. I may try a few on/offs of the ignition to prime it.
SWMBO states it seems worse when the engines warm and it's fine first thing in the morning or been stood all day. I think a diagnostic session to check the temperature sensors could be in order. I've found on the net that one common problem for this issue on these engines is a dirty TDC sensor. I can see where it is and should be able to remove it without disturbing too much. I'll give this a clean and see if it improves anything.

KP · Post by KP » 18 Aug 2010, 11:24

Common renault problem was fuel vapour lock though on yours shouldn't be too bad really..
Why not try re-priming the system when it doesn't flick over straight away and see if it helps?