Bargain Basement Motoring

[bobins]

I'm guessing the wheel trims would have impeded their inspections of the brake discs and pads and maybe even wheel condition.

[Rp0thejester]

Note to self, must add wheel trims to my alloys with cable ties when it's MOT time....

[NewcastleFalcon]

During the course of getting the car ready for the retest, I came across some particularly helpful service from an expected source in the local car parts shop, and also from possibly an unexpected source....Kwikfit.

Has to be a case of speak as you find, and the people are much more important than whatever opinion you have of the brand in general. I needed some reassurance that the joint I made between the new Cat and the centre pipe of the exhaust was gas tight. My efforts in the awful weather on Saturday I wasn't satisfied with so I remade the joint on Sunday morning took it for a test drive but still wasn't satisfied it was good enough.

Looked up on the internet and found Kwikfit were open 10-4pm on Sundays, so called in just to see if they could help by putting the car up on the lift, and checking the joint out. I expected it to be a 5 minute job for them even if they had to re-make the joint again, and I would get an assurance that the MOT retest would be passed,

Turns out the brand new clamp I had, (correct part number listed by Klarius) was just too small to make a proper seal which the Kwikfit mechanic discovered for himself. It needed adaption of a bigger clamp to make that seal which they did and fitted...exhaust joint sealed with no leak and ready for the re-test today.

...and the good service the manager of the Ashington Branch refused to take any payment from us for what must have been 40 minutes or more of work, and a new clamp, on a Sunday afternoon from a random walk-in with no booked appointment.

On this occasion we really couldn't have got better than a Kwikfit fitter

Neil

[CitroJim]

Interesting advisory for wheeltrims Why?

No idea Jim unless they were regarded as being not aesthetically pleasing enough on the testers eye Never seen it before, possibly because they aren't allowed to remove stuff for the test and the wheel trims somehow hampered their inspection.

Neil

Yes, that's most likely Neil, hard to fully assess brake pad and disc wear through wheeltrims...

I'm sure yours are very aesthetically pleasing

[myglaren]

I have had two similarly pleasing encounters with KwikFit, two different branches too.
And heard lots of the usual horror stories.

[Paul-R]

In a similar vein, my brother has taken a few steel wheels to ATS to have them balanced (he changes the tyres himself) and they have refused to take payment for the service. They had to charge for an alloy wheel of mine as they used self-adhesive weights so I suppose that's fair.

[NewcastleFalcon]

For the 666th reply on the thread, an appropriate picture of an evil substance...used engine oil, disgorged from millions of sumps every day collected and poured into temporary tanks, at best, for someone else to take away and deal with leaving behind contaminated hands, clothes, rags. The latter went into the goods which cant be recycled and the evil black liquid into the tank at the recycling centre. Hideous process but a bit of an annual reward for the 6-bottles-of-wine Clio passing another MOT.

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Following on from the present of the oil change, preparation for another present possibly long overdue.

I have no evidence of whether a new timing belt has ever been fitted to the Clio. One thing i do know is the previous owner would not have fitted one himself. In 2017 when we acquired it it had done 38,000 miles and was 14 years old, and had stood surplus to requirements for a number of years. I don't think the previous owner would have been pro-active in ensuring that a new timing belt was fitted and Renaults recommended change is at 72,000 miles or 5 years whichever comes sooner.

The time is now ish so I have got this gates belt/tensioner/water pump kit...

The job is well within my skill and toolset having done many such jobs before but may well get someone just to do it. Mobile mechanic maybe, or just put it in a garage. One garage highly recommended quoted £200 with me supplying the parts. If that sort of price is the norm it's at the bit too much scale of value for saving the hassle of doing it myself. Last Saturday's of working in a muddy puddle escapade colours my judgement though.

The "job" in its entirety courtesy of youtube. Makes a bit of a meal of the crankshaft pulley bolt removal but the rest is good stuff.

Spoiler: show

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Asked at the parts shop if they knew a good mobile mechanic who would be able to fit the timing belt/tensioner/water pump kit, they gave me a business card of one to contact.

Exchanged e-mails and quite happy with the price of £100 (with me supplying the parts) which is more in the ball park of the value of saved hassle having to reluctantly do the job myself.

Bit off topic for the proper Bargain Basement tight-fisted, DIY mechanicing, ordering the parts off the internet because you can get them slightly cheaper approach. Gone the local car parts shop, convenient, reasonably priced, get the parts in your hand the same day and get a mobile mechanic to do the job route.

Neil

[myglaren]

The exhaust fell off my R11. Priced the parts but then called in to KwikFit on my way home.
Price for fitting including parts was less that the cost of the parts, that came form the same factory a mile from KF.

[CitroJim]

£100 is a very reasonable sum indeed Neil I'd have charged a lot more

[mickthemaverick]

At that price I might even bring my MX3 up to you Neil, to get him to save me the hassle of changing my belt, but as it has a chain, I won't have to bother!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

The BB Micra also has a timing chain zero maintenance and no plans to renew that anytime soon, but still runs as quiet as a little sewing machine, and has a surprising amount of poke. I find it really is an excellent car and from the sedate pootling in the Leaf when I drive the Micra I tend to give it a bit of a rev through the gears just for fun.

Previous Vaux Corsa's had notoriously noisy and rattly timing chains as they aged, and I replaced one which required an awful amount of dismantling.

Neil

[CitroJim]

My (Sian's) little Pixo has a morse timing chain. Again, as quiet as a mouse and (I presume) zero maintenance...

[NewcastleFalcon]

More decent assistance.

Having booked the mobile mechanic and got the timing belt/tensioner/water pump kit, i have begun to have doubts that this water pump with the Gates kit is the right one.

"telephone dial" Clio Water Pump

That's because videos of stripdown/ timing belt change of the D4F712 engine (as per the BB clio) always show a water pump with a "cone" end. Like this

"cone" water pump

Used the old fashioned method and phoned Lookers Renault in Newcastle, and got the official part no by giving the VIN to a helpful chap in the parts section, 210101832R valuable piece of info.

Had a look at Autodoc and shoved the official Renault Part No. in the search, and up came examples of both the "Cone" and the "Telephone dial" water pump from various manufacturers listing compatibility with the Renault number.

Belt and braces phoned BG Motors at Broadstairs the independent Renault specialist I had got the side-impact sensors from a couple of weeks ago, and just asked the question about compatibility of the two types. A friendly exchange and another confirmation of compatibility.

BG motors

I think I have done all I can apart from buying a cone water pump just in case. If I was doing the job myself it wouldn't matter, but when someone is booked to do the job, they need the right parts to fit there and then

Neil