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Clio My 197/Meglio conversion

Hi,

Bought a clio without an engine or gearbox (previous owner sent it for repair after a meg conversion, the garage stripped it and disappeared) , just picked up a low mileage 225 trophy engine and box package. looking at your thread will be a great help for me to refer to Thank You..
Great build thread, lets hope my car will be as good as yours.
Good luck :)
 
what a great project and amazing thread to read through loved every bit of it, so much useful information for anyone taking on there own meglio project. Thanks for your effort it will be appreciated by many for years to come!
 
Cheers Dave, I've managed to get my car running this weekend with a full R26 package and couldn't have done it without your guide.

For future reference for anyone with a 197 with xenon's, when cutting the smallest connector off the 197 loom, retain the single grey wire that loops back within the wrapping of the 197 loom. this is the 12v feed for the passenger side xenon bulb. Another issue I have ran into is that Megane mk2 driveshafts have been revised with different outer CV's, these do not fit the Clio hub and require either a small spacer or Clio outer CV's fitting to them.
 
Cheers Dave, I've managed to get my car running this weekend with a full R26 package and couldn't have done it without your guide.

For future reference for anyone with a 197 with xenon's, when cutting the smallest connector off the 197 loom, retain the single grey wire that loops back within the wrapping of the 197 loom. this is the 12v feed for the passenger side xenon bulb. Another issue I have ran into is that Megane mk2 driveshafts have been revised with different outer CV's, these do not fit the Clio hub and require either a small spacer or Clio outer CV's fitting to them.
You need the right Cv’s seen some people grind the chamfer into them. Shaftec supply the correct cv’s/shafts. I’ve not tried swapping the 197 outer cv with the Meg one. Could be an alternative if you still have the 197 shafts?
 
You need the right Cv’s seen some people grind the chamfer into them. Shaftec supply the correct cv’s/shafts. I’ve not tried swapping the 197 outer cv with the Meg one. Could be an alternative if you still have the 197 shafts?

I've considered grinding but doesn't sit right with me for a rotating part, balance etc.. It will probably be fine, but on the chance it isn't I'm not willing to commit to that level of fk about find out.

I have read on the Meglio Facebook group that a few people have successfully swapped the outer CV off a 197, others have recommended Shaftec CV1060N is fitted to the OEM shaft. I measured up last night and the squared off CV seems to sit further into the 197 hub than the tapered CV. I've made up a 4mm spacer which I'll try tonight that should hopefully sort the issue using the same measurements as the Megane MK3 shaft spacers for lowered cars. If not I'll bite the bullet and order the Shaftec part.
 
Just following on from my previous post, I installed the 4mm shim I had made up last night and the revised shaft now spins freely when torqued. All gears select correctly and driveshaft plunge appears to be okay - I imagine lowering the car will affect plunge greater than the shim would. I won't know for definite if this is a viable solution until I've finished the car off at the weekend and get it down on all 4 wheels again.
 
I've considered grinding but doesn't sit right with me for a rotating part, balance etc.. It will probably be fine, but on the chance it isn't I'm not willing to commit to that level of fk about find out.

I have read on the Meglio Facebook group that a few people have successfully swapped the outer CV off a 197, others have recommended Shaftec CV1060N is fitted to the OEM shaft. I measured up last night and the squared off CV seems to sit further into the 197 hub than the tapered CV. I've made up a 4mm spacer which I'll try tonight that should hopefully sort the issue using the same measurements as the Megane MK3 shaft spacers for lowered cars. If not I'll bite the bullet and order the Shaftec part.
Grinding doesn’t sit right with me either. I had 2 set of shafts when I did the conversion and both had odd cv’s but was able do built a pair up.

Did my conversion a long time ago now. Lot more info out there now.
 
Drove my car for the first time this weekend with the 4mm spacer on the revised Megane shaft. No issues to report so far on a car lowered on H&R springs. I used the below measurements and had my old man who works at an engineering place turn it down for me.
Outside Diameter: 57mm
Inside Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 4mm

Worth mentioning I've only tried this on the driver side shaft. If someone's reading this in a few years I hope this helps you as some of the threads I've come across have helped me =D
 
Probably worth measuring driveshaft plunge at rideheight with the spacer, although probably be fine as the megs generally have a fair bit when ive checked it.
 
OK so I have picked up my teddy after throwing it out of the pram, and the Meglio is now up and running. Did 40 miles testing over the weekend and just drove it 30 miles to work.

The header tank, I went to the local scrappy and bought the smallest one I could find but that didnt work so I stuck with the Sandero one. I cut the press-fit washer off the rotation mount bolt and only fitted the powerflex washer (bigger) - as the bolt was double washered basically. That got me a couple of mm more space, I also trimmed the plastic wing bit on the car and angled the header tank down. It's a bit of a nasty job and I will come back to this and make a proper bracket instead of the big zip tie. It is retained at the back on a bolt through the turret.

View attachment 143654View attachment 143655View attachment 143656

Also the interim air filter (pending replacement with a proper Megane induction setup) is basically duct taped to the inlet pipe :D so thats also on the list of things to change up.

Reverse still doesnt quite engage right so I need to pull the battery tray out and trim it properly to 100% clear the linkage.

Other than those items, its running and driving lovely. The car is totally transformed. The conversion has fixed *all* of my gripes with the original setup and i'm also getting better MPG. Like 30% better. Cruise works, trip computer works, everything works. I really don't know why Renault didnt fit this engine in the first place, it's fantastic for the car. After 30 miles I stuck my boot down and it's REALLY impressive for standard trim, it's a proper flying machine. Absolutely chuffed to bits, it's exactly what I hoped it would be!

Budget wise to date, I have spent:
£1000 on the conversion package
£90 on the decat downpipe
£15 on the header tank
£80 in fuel viewing and collecting the conversion package
£30-£40 on engine oil, box oil, oil filter. Coolant and brake fluid I had 'in stock'
I bought a Meglio shifter and Meglio engine loom separate but didnt use either in the end so not counting those
£15 eBay cone filter
£70 on having my 197 immobiliser data copied to the Meg ECU, at EFI parts but I didnt pay for that my mate did after I lent him the 197 for a couple of weeks last month.
£5 on a header tank that didnt fit
£5 on a box of rubber gloves
£10 on coolant as I was out of stock

Running spend total - £1260

Sold the box for £100 (Cheap as it had the 3rd gear crunch on downshift)
Sold the engine for £400 (Good money as it was great nick and only 75k miles)

Running total with sold offset - £760 :eek:

Away it goes

View attachment 143657

View attachment 143658

£760 with a bunch of ancillary bits like driveshafts and shifter etc still to put up for sale - absolute bargain! A significant amount less than the belt service, remap and box rebuild the car needed with a significant upgrade to boot.
Hi Guys. I need some help and hope you can assist. I have had the same conversion done on my clio 197, fitting the meg engine, gearbox and drive shafts. But as soon as i drive a bit i have no brakes. The brake pedal is hard and i have to use the handbrake and gears to slow down. The mechanic says i dont get any facuum and no air is going through to the breakbooster. Can anyone assist with what the problem could be? I would appreciate any assistance. Thanks
 
Factory Clio brake booster line has a one way valve in it already, so it sounds like that's knackered. Have you got heat shields in place?
 
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