Bargain Basement Motoring

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myglaren
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by myglaren »

Have you considered the cleaning/restoring kits Neil?
There's quite a number of options.
The 3M kit pleases most who have used it.
I tried the Autosol/toothpaste option but got nowhere, there was some kind of algal bloom on the inside. Replacements from eBay, fifty quid.







Apologies for shouty mercans.
There are hundreds of them.
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

Thanks for that Steve, I am half thinking of getting the ones out of that car I saw at the scrappy yesterday, they were better than mine and may respond to a clean up better than mine. Like yours I suspect mine have a bit of cloudiness on the inside too.

The scrapyard guy said they pretty much just crush the Clio's of my vintage straight away. The yard was full of more "modern" stuff (relatively) and they dont sell many parts off the older ones.

Really I should just get the new ones, they aren't that expensive, and job done, and a tick on the MOT check list, and no revisiting of the same problem, and clearer visibility at night, no driving round half the north east, no taking off the bumper to remove the lights in a scrapyard, no forking out for wet and dry, rubbing compound, microfibre cloths, polisher attachments for the drill or whatever to get a bit of machine assistance for a decent job.

Then again this is bargain basement motoring, maybe a set of scrappy lights for £10, and a tin of brasso are all I need... :-D

REgards Neil
Last edited by NewcastleFalcon on 05 Feb 2022, 23:10, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: 05 Feb 2022, 10:59
.........., and no revisiting of the same problem, and clearer visibility at night, no driving round half the north east, no taking of the bumper to remove the lights in a scrapyard, no forking out for wet and dry, rubbing compound, microfibre cloths, polisher attachments for the drill or whatever to get a bit of machine assistance for a decent job.

REgards Neil
No brainer!!! :-D
I have restored headlights on 5 of my cars to date, 3 with great success 1 with an MOT pass, just, and one complete failure!! I won't be doing it again, if I ever shake off this lurg, as the overall time and effort isn't worth the value of replacements nowadays!! :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 05 Feb 2022, 11:25
NewcastleFalcon wrote: 05 Feb 2022, 10:59
.........., and no revisiting of the same problem, and clearer visibility at night, no driving round half the north east, no taking of the bumper to remove the lights in a scrapyard, no forking out for wet and dry, rubbing compound, microfibre cloths, polisher attachments for the drill or whatever to get a bit of machine assistance for a decent job.

REgards Neil
No brainer!!! :-D
I have restored headlights on 5 of my cars to date, 3 with great success 1 with an MOT pass, just, and one complete failure!! I won't be doing it again, if I ever shake off this lurg, as the overall time and effort isn't worth the value of replacements nowadays!! :-D
Image

Real pleasure to see the avatar and your post this morning Mick. Welcome back, and I wish you well with your recovery :-D

Regards Neil
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

Thanks Neil, I appreciate that, it is very slow going and this is the first day I have felt up to typing although I have been following all the threads as usual. Not been outside since 19th January so I will be able to add January mileages etc to keep things up to date but not for another day or two I guess!! :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 05 Feb 2022, 11:25 I have restored headlights on 5 of my cars to date, 3 with great success 1 with an MOT pass, just, and one complete failure!! I won't be doing it again, as the overall time and effort isn't worth the value of replacements nowadays!! :-D
Taken the advice Mick, new headlights ordered, via carparts4less website, available to pick up from my selected local ECP store on Monday morning all being well, and £26 cheaper than ordering the same headlights through the ECP wing of the operation.

REgards Neil
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

Got the lights and obviously even in the fairly ancient days of 2003, new cars had evolved into a headlight replacement job involving removing the front end of the car, formerly known as the bumper.

Clio Net has a piece on how to do it, plastic clips, rusty self tappers, and the odd rusty bolt to negotiate :-D

https://cliosport.net/content/guides/fu ... _guide.pdf

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

I replaced the headlamp on my friend's 2004 Megane Convertible which involved removal of the front bumper but I was able to simply remove the screws on the side I did and pull the bunper away sufficiently to replace the headlight. So you may not need to remove the whole bumper, just release it side by side!! Good luck :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

I had already metaphorically rolled my sleeves up when your advice came in :-D
DSC01224.JPG
DSC01225.JPG
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

As well as moving the various bulbs to the new headlight, also have to move this thing. The ball joint on the end fits into a white plastic slot inside the lamp. Some kind of headlight adjuster.
temp2.png
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

Out on a headlight alignment test tonight, the BB Clio's Orange dials are very pleasing, more so if you take a decent picture of them.

The new lights threw a decent light onto the road ahead nearside and offside and straight ahead, and didn't look oddly out of line, and in general passed the flash test from other road users, although not a perfect performance on that score as I was coming uphill someone coming over the brow may have flashed, so maybe they are a touch high.
temp2.jpg
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

Well done Neil, I remember the cabin of my Clio RT was a very pleasant place to be at night, something I've found Renault are pretty good at across their range! In particular the cabin of my Espace Mk1 TXE was like being in a spaceship in 1990! :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

MOT Time, is the time when Bargain Basement motoring can turn into just motoring, and just normal running expenses.

BB Clio went off to Council testing station today, and here's the list
DSC01233.JPG
Pretty normal stuff.

Apart from
The overzealousness of the orangeness of the bulbs, they looked orange enough to me last night;

the MOT day I'm a French Hazard light switch, even though I was working fine last night, I'm going to play up on MOT day;

the barely noticeable "flashing" of the rear "side-light" bulb when the indicator light flashes, again peculiarly Clio, and a speciality of the model;

the normal mechanical wearings out ARB links, and a simple tighten up job on the top strut mounting;

the thing that most concerns me is the emissions fail, and what action if any I can take to remedy it, without making it uneconomic to resolve. Given a fair wind the annoying electrics and the mechanical faults are solvable.

The emissions failures were on the Lambda at fast idle max allowed 1.030 actual 1.060. Same result on 1st and second test.

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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

My first move there Neil would be to use an injector cleaner which you add to the fuel tank and then drive 30-40 miles and it will clean out the fuel system. There are quite a few options on the market and I can say I used the Redex product on my petrol C5 and it did a good job:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373525182614 ... SwDUBgZ8qF
As for the oddities with the indicators I'd check the earthing points at each lamp and the flasher unit mounting. Good luck! :-D
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Re: Bargain Basement Motoring

Unread post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 10 Feb 2022, 14:52 My first move there Neil would be to use an injector cleaner which you add to the fuel tank and then drive 30-40 miles and it will clean out the fuel system. There are quite a few options on the market and I can say I used the Redex product on my petrol C5 and it did a good job:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373525182614 ... SwDUBgZ8qF
As for the oddities with the indicators I'd check the earthing points at each lamp and the flasher unit mounting. Good luck! :-D
Thanks Mick. The car has an 18 year old catalytic converter, but when the exhaust downstream of the Cat was renewed I got them to renew the 2 oxygen sensors. Apart from what you suggest the only 2 escalations I could see affecting the result would be a new cat and/or new sensors.

A 2003 Clio whatever they say about compatibility with E10 fuel, was probably set up to run best on fuel with no alcohol additive. What would you expect as far as that Lambda test is concerned if I put Esso Synergy Supreme+ 99 Unleaded fuel effectively E0 into the tank?

Regards Neil
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