1st coil! And few other bits of advice.

[Invexis-]

1. Typical, cars been parked up most winter, been itching to drive it but resisted, however the weather was too good to refuse today, roads were dry, so thought I'd go get some fuel and take it round the outskirts of town. Pulls up at some traffic lights about 0.3 mile from home, goes to pull away and it's a tractor! Oh bollocks. There goes my first coil! Iv always been worried about not recognising what it would sound like, but it's blatantly obvious. Anyway, I nurse it home, any further and I would have stopped. Plugs my computer in and it's 'misfire on cylinder 3'. (I'm assuming/hoping a coil?)
Now I'm fairly handy with my hands and don't mind trying to follow the guide to change them, once I fully read it. (Seems easy enough) but is there an easy way to to identify number 3? Waiting till it cools before I start looking about, so probably tomorrow now.

Luckily I have 3 coils in my glove box. But they don't look very new. Here's 2 photos

How much are these new? If there cheap enough I'll buy new ones.

2. Wheel bearings. Seem to get like a scraping noise coming from drivers side rear wheel, just went to jack it up and someone previously has snapped the handle! So can't investigate further till I get another one. Can these be pressed out like a normal clio? And again how much am I looking at?

3. Thermostat. Temperature doesn't seem to be increasing that well and when it does it doesn't sit in the middle. So I assume my thermostat is stuck open. Again, what are these like to replace myself. And how much?

Funny thing is, I'm not even annoyed, I'm still smiling with the vee


*edit, just seen the thermostat guide. £18 for stat. Happy days

 

[Invexis-]

Regarding the wheel bearing, jacked car up, spun wheel, and it's stiff! Doesn't seem to spin very well, same on other side. I took a video of What it's like if needed.

Maybe rust? But it was still making the noise after my journey.

 

[Lankan]

The easiest way to identify the dead coil is to do the following with the engine at idle:

1. Unplug each lead, one at a time, starting from the bank closest to you when looking through the tailgate
2. If there is no change in the idle (tone and vibration) then you have found the offending coil
3. If the idle gets worse then plug the lead back in and move on to the next (and go back to step 1)

A permanent cure is to have Trophy Coils installed. If you are interested PM me your email address or contact Migny-Courses [[email protected]].

 

[Invexis-]

Oh, I thought with it saying cylinder 3 that would be the one? But I'll do as you say to identify it.

When you say trophy coils, what exactly is the difference? And price wise? Like I say I have 3 spare coils and I'm lead to believe there around £40 each. Which isn't too bad to replace when they go.

 

[Lankan]

Oh, I thought with it saying cylinder 3 that would be the one? But I'll do as you say to identify it.

When you say trophy coils, what exactly is the difference? And price wise? Like I say I have 3 spare coils and I'm lead to believe there around £40 each. Which isn't too bad to replace when they go.

That is another thing, the standard coils are between £30 and £40 each, the Trophy Coils from the above source is Euro 20 each (or Euro 179 shipped from France), at least it was when I bought a set a year ago.

As you can see from the photos below, a Trophy Coil is much beefier so less prone to cracking its casing, which causes the issue. Note however that the connectors are different to the standard coil, and two bolts are required to secure each coil.

 

[PeteH]

Ordered Trophy Coils Today!
Sweet Dulan :approve:

 

[Lankan]

Ordered Trophy Coils Today!
Sweet Dulan :approve:

Great stuff Pete. Was the price the same as I was quoted (i.e. Euro 179 for a set of six including shipping)?

 

[Invexis-]

Ahhh I see. That's something I will certainly keep in mind. My plan for now is to replace the coil with the one I have, and make a little kit up and keep it in the car just incase it happens when I'm out! Surely all the coils can't go lol touch wood.
Thanks for the info

 

[hualpa_jo]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

When doing the "unplug one by one" method, make sure you don't keep each coil disconnected for too long. Otherwise the ECU will detect the "misfire" respectively open circuit and switch off this cylinder's injector to prevent possible cat damage due to unburned fuel.

 

[Lankan]

Yep, that is the alternative, and you may be right in that not all coils will go at the same time.

However, when I suffered my first failure (almost 2 years after purchasing the Vee), I decide I needed a permanent solution. So it had to be Trophy Coils.

 

[PeteH]

Well Email Sent Today, With Ref. To Your Price Paid. Also Had French Speaking Pal Leave A Message To Prompt Email Reply For Payment. Waiting....!

 

[Lankan]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

When doing the "unplug one by one" method, make sure you don't keep each coil disconnected for too long. Otherwise the ECU will detect the "misfire" respectively open circuit and switch off this cylinder's injector to prevent possible cat damage due to unburned fuel.

Great stuff - that was what I wasn't sure about when I suffered the failure, so it may be an idea to have the above info to hand.

 

[Invexis-]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

Next you'll be telling me it's the most awkward one to change! Lol

Is it really as simple as, bolt out, unclip, insert new one, clip new one in, bolt down. Clear fault. Happy days?

 

[Lankan]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

Next you'll be telling me it's the most awkward one to change! Lol

Is it really as simple as, bolt out, unclip, insert new one, clip new one in, bolt down. Clear fault. Happy days?

Mine was Number 2, which I believe is the most awkward to change on a Phase 2, but it is essentially as you describe above. I understand that it is more involved to change a coil on the front bank of a Phase 1 as you have to remove the plenum (I think) first.

 

[Invexis-]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

Next you'll be telling me it's the most awkward one to change! Lol

Is it really as simple as, bolt out, unclip, insert new one, clip new one in, bolt down. Clear fault. Happy days?

Mine was Number 2, which I believe is the most awkward to change on a Phase 2, but it is essentially as you describe above. I understand that it is more involved to change a coil on the front bank of a Phase 1 as you have to remove the plenum (I think) first.

Yeah Iv heard that it's more awkward too. I'll give it a go tomorrow when I finish work. I'm glad it's happened now, and not when I'm 100 mile from home!

Don't suppose you know about the thermostat?

 

[Ollie1]

Well Email Sent Today, With Ref. To Your Price Paid. Also Had French Speaking Pal Leave A Message To Prompt Email Reply For Payment. Waiting....!

im also waiting for a reply regarding payment, seems they are in no rush lol.

 

[Lankan]

Cylinders: Front bank starting left (gearbox side) are number 1-3. Rear bank is 4-6, starting left as well. So your number 3 is the one in the front right, behind the drivers seat.

Next you'll be telling me it's the most awkward one to change! Lol

Is it really as simple as, bolt out, unclip, insert new one, clip new one in, bolt down. Clear fault. Happy days?

Mine was Number 2, which I believe is the most awkward to change on a Phase 2, but it is essentially as you describe above. I understand that it is more involved to change a coil on the front bank of a Phase 1 as you have to remove the plenum (I think) first.

Yeah Iv heard that it's more awkward too. I'll give it a go tomorrow when I finish work. I'm glad it's happened now, and not when I'm 100 mile from home!

Don't suppose you know about the thermostat?

Nope sorry, don't know about the thermostat.

 

[hualpa_jo]

I don't see any awkwardness in changing a coil? Ph2 really is straight forward and when the engine is warm the inlet plenum is almost as comfortable as a warm bed Even removing the ph1 inlet for the coils 4-6 is an easy job compared to the same job in a Espace 3 or Avantime

As for the thermostat, they tend to stay open. To make sure thats the case, you let the engine warm up a bit until the heater works, then you open the bonnet, remove the tray and check the temperature of the hoses. The small ones leading inside the car should be warm where as the thicker ones leading to the radiator should stay cold. If the engine is fully warmed up, the radiator hoses should start warming up as well. This should happen when the temperature is somewhere around 70-80°C. If the radiator hoses are warm already at low engine temps it usually indicates a broken thermostat. I don't think I have to tell you how to replace it? BTW: Warming up this car is kind of a tough job because the cooling system contains around 15l of water which is several times more than a standard FWD engine. To give you a rough idea of the physic relations: When the engine has consumed one liter of petrol it probably isn't fully warmed up yet... What I'm saying is: It takes some time

 

[taipan]

2. Wheel bearings. Seem to get like a scraping noise coming from drivers side rear wheel, just went to jack it up and someone previously has snapped the handle! So can't investigate further till I get another one. Can these be pressed out like a normal clio? And again how much am I looking at?

Rear wheel bearings are £66 a side from RPD - Scott reliably informs me that he;s never seen a wheel bearing go before though. Simple things first then, check to see whether you've got a slightly sticking caliper or a pad/disc build up from leaving the car sitting a while. Takes a good few emergency stop from motorways sppeds to compltely clear the build up in my experience - sometimes it never goes if the pads are old and degraded.

From what you've said it sounds like you're pretty handy with the spanners so sorry if I;m teaching you to suck eggs.

 

[Invexis-]

2. Wheel bearings. Seem to get like a scraping noise coming from drivers side rear wheel, just went to jack it up and someone previously has snapped the handle! So can't investigate further till I get another one. Can these be pressed out like a normal clio? And again how much am I looking at?

Rear wheel bearings are £66 a side from RPD - Scott reliably informs me that he;s never seen a wheel bearing go before though. Simple things first then, check to see whether you've got a slightly sticking caliper or a pad/disc build up from leaving the car sitting a while. Takes a good few emergency stop from motorways sppeds to compltely clear the build up in my experience - sometimes it never goes if the pads are old and degraded.

From what you've said it sounds like you're pretty handy with the spanners so sorry if I;m teaching you to suck eggs.

Thanks for that.

Like i said, i jacked it up and spun the wheel, and it wasnt a bearing noise, more of a scraping and they didnt spin as freely as i thought, so i done the other side and exactly the same. So i'm going to put it down to the pads being sticky / rust etc. I'll be taking the car out once more before the end of next week (tax runs out) for a good run to see if i have any other issues, its then going back in its garage to be cleaned and waxed many times, wheels and pods are coming off to be changed back to silver aswell. Takling it off the road will align where i want the tax to be too. April - September :race: , then sorn the other 6.