Megane petrol sounds like a diesel!

cork sham

hey all,

ive a 2006 renault megane monaco cabrio, its a 1.6 petrol with 60000 kms on the clock and it sounds like a diesel sometimes, once you rev it sounds like a petrol but sometimes when idling it sounds really gruff like a cold diesel. Any ideas????

Plug

Is the engine light on? The coils in these gives trouble maybe a misfire is making it sound like a diesel.

cork sham

nope, no engine light or anything and its another good 25000kms till its next service

Victor Meldrew

cork sham wrote: »

hey all,

ive a 2006 renault megane monaco cabrio, its a 1.6 petrol with 60000 kms on the clock and it sounds like a diesel sometimes, once you rev it sounds like a petrol but sometimes when idling it sounds really gruff like a cold diesel. Any ideas????

It will be worse when you start it from rest and particularly when parked pointing down hill.

You have a Variable valve engine and it is the de-phaser pully that is at fault here. you are due a timing belt and water pump at that age, so get it all done at the same time. It will not be cheap though as it's all labour. If it snaps it will leave you stranded, but it will not kill the engine like a timing belt failure.

I had a 2004 1.6 megane and it did this. Sorry to be bearing bad news. THey were supposed to fix this around 2006, you must be unlucky or it's just being a Renault.


Pity as they are lovely cars if they were build by the Japanese..

cork sham

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

It will be worse when you start it from rest and particularly when parked pointing down hill.

You have a Variable valve engine and it is the de-phaser pully that is at fault here. you are due a timing belt and water pump at that age, so get it all done at the same time. It will not be cheap though as it's all labour. If it snaps it will leave you stranded, but it will not kill the engine like a timing belt failure.

I had a 2004 1.6 megane and it did this. Sorry to be bearing bad news. THey were supposed to fix this around 2006, you must be unlucky or it's just being a Renault.


Pity as they are lovely cars if they were build by the Japanese..

Is it safe enough to drive away for another while before getting them all done??? any idea what it'll cost???

cork sham

cork sham wrote: »

hey all,

ive a 2006 renault megane monaco cabrio, its a 1.6 petrol with 60000 kms on the clock and it sounds like a diesel sometimes, once you rev it sounds like a petrol but sometimes when idling it sounds really gruff like a cold diesel. Any ideas????

Also i noticed a hose hanging from in front of the front passenger wheel, just around the splash guard, its only the diameter of a pencil so wonder would that have anything to do with it???

If its a known fault should they not have been recalled????

Cheers

end a eknny

does the car leak much in the rain. had one of these and the wind and rain made it undrivable. and had to change a few coils

cork sham

end a eknny wrote: »

does the car leak much in the rain. had one of these and the wind and rain made it undrivable. and had to change a few coils

nope thank god!

Victor Meldrew

cork sham wrote: »

Is it safe enough to drive away for another while before getting them all done??? any idea what it'll cost???

Think it was ~ €1,100 in a renault main dealer in Dublin. So that would be a s bad as it should get.

It may leave you stranded....

Nissan doctor

The dephaser pulley is a very common problem on the 1.6 engine and would seem like your description. Assuming that you've checked your oil level of course. From memory a new pulley is in the region on €200-250 and approx €350 for a timing belt and water pump change on top.

I note you say 25 until its next service, when was it last serviced? 30k/2 year service intervals are purely a marketing exercise. At the very least you should be having the oil changed every 15k or every year as good practice.

The dephaser pulley works on oil pressure, and they always give trouble on meganes, very likely due to infrequent oil changes causing built up and wear in the pulley.

cork sham

Nissan doctor wrote: »

The dephaser pulley is a very common problem on the 1.6 engine and would seem like your description. Assuming that you've checked your oil level of course. From memory a new pulley is in the region on €200-250 and approx €350 for a timing belt and water pump change on top.

I note you say 25 until its next service, when was it last serviced? 30k/2 year service intervals are purely a marketing exercise. At the very least you should be having the oil changed every 15k or every year as good practice.

The dephaser pulley works on oil pressure, and they always give trouble on meganes, very likely due to infrequent oil changes causing built up and wear in the pulley.

Last service would of been around the 45 - 50000 kms mark i'd say, so you'd be talking in the region of €700 excluding or including fitting???

Voodoomelon

+2 on dephaser pully, fathers 1.6 Laguna had the same problem last year. He actually had the problem for a good while as I always remembered it sounding like a diesel and not a petrol. Its a common problem and lots of customers in the UK argued with Renault about it and many got a contribution towards repair costs, no such luck here though unfortunately.

Perfectly fine to continue driving, however you will have poor economy and lackluster performance. I do believe it was in the region of €700+ to get it done. Father said it was a "different car" after being repaired.

cork sham

Voodoomelon wrote: »

+2 on dephaser pully, fathers 1.6 Laguna had the same problem last year. He actually had the problem for a good while as I always remembered it sounding like a diesel and not a petrol. Its a common problem and lots of customers in the UK argued with Renault about it and many got a contribution towards repair costs, no such luck here though unfortunately.

Perfectly fine to continue driving, however you will have poor economy and lackluster performance. I do believe it was in the region of €700+ to get it done. Father said it was a "different car" after being repaired.

A friend of my father is a decent mechanic so im gonna throw it into him to check it out and see, he'd be totally straight about whether it genuinely needs to be done or not!

Cheers!

Voodoomelon

Just found out more info for you, father says it was €550 to get done at an independent garage. Thats not including a water pump, etc as mentioned above, that was just the dephaser pulley problem..

Here's the culprit.

Nissan doctor

cork sham wrote: »

Last service would of been around the 45 - 50000 kms mark i'd say, so you'd be talking in the region of €700 excluding or including fitting???

That would be including fitting..

cork sham

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Just found out more info for you, father says it was €550 to get done at an independent garage. Thats not including a water pump, etc as mentioned above, that was just the dephaser pulley problem..

Here's the culprit.

Nice one voodoomelon!

Checked my the mpg on the car there and shes doing aout 39mpg, which the close to renaults quoted 40mpg and performance isn't down i think, are these always symptoms?

Also i mentioned further up the post about a mysterious little black hose, could this be a cause?

Dartz

Maybe.

You might be lucky and it's part of the intake system (Maybe a vacuum hose) that's come loose. I'd bet money that that's it and nothing the more expensive solution.

cork sham

Dartz wrote: »

Maybe.

You might be lucky and it's part of the intake system (Maybe a vacuum hose) that's come loose. I'd bet money that that's it and nothing the more expensive solution.

Heres hoping! it looks quite similar to the hose's shown in the diagram above! better have a proper look at it tomorrow, instead of just pushing back into the engine bay

testicle

cork sham wrote: »

Also i mentioned further up the post about a mysterious little black hose, could this be a cause?

Probably the outlet for the Air Con or something

Voodoomelon

cork sham wrote: »

Nice one voodoomelon!

Checked my the mpg on the car there and shes doing aout 39mpg, which the close to renaults quoted 40mpg and performance isn't down i think, are these always symptoms?

Also i mentioned further up the post about a mysterious little black hose, could this be a cause?

Sorry, im not expert on Renault engines, just relaying what I was told. Hope its a cheap fix for you.

Nissan doctor

If there is a vacuum hose off the inlet manifold on a megane the revs rise right up to the limit so you'd know if that was the case.

Usually in the early stages of failure, the dephaser will be noisy but still functioning. The noise is caused by wear/excess play in the pulley mechanism, eventually the wear will get to the point that it can't hold oil pressure, this is when it will stop working and a loss of power and fuel economy will be noticed.

Plug

Are they on all the 1.6 petrols or just the higher horsepower models? Im fairly sure you need specific timing tools with these if the cam belt has to be removed, you do on the 1.4's anyway and that looks like a similar set up.

Nissan doctor

Plug wrote: »

Are they on all the 1.6 petrols or just the higher horsepower models? Im fairly sure you need specific timing tools with these if the cam belt has to be removed, you do on the 1.4's anyway and that looks like a similar set up.

Its on all the 16v 1.6 engines in the megane/laguna/scenic etc

The same tools fit the 1.4 and 1.6.

BrianD3

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Its on all the 16v 1.6 engines in the megane/laguna/scenic etc

Laguna II phase 1 1.6 16v does not have VVT
Laguna II phase 2 1.6 16v does as do all Megane II 1.6 16vs.

King Krib

BrianD3 wrote: »

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Its on all the 16v 1.6 engines in the megane/laguna/scenic etc

Laguna II phase 1 1.6 16v does not have VVT
Laguna II phase 2 1.6 16v does as do all Megane II 1.6 16vs.

My timing belt needs changing but my mechanic can't do it if the car has vvt. It's an 06 1.6 Laguna. He hasnt the required tool. How can I check for vvt in the car?

Guy:Incognito

King Krib wrote: »

My timing belt needs changing but my mechanic can't do it if the car has vvt. It's an 06 1.6 Laguna. He hasnt the required tool. How can I check for vvt in the car?

Is yours the pre-facelift (shouldnt be as the facelift was in 05, it would have to be a very late reg) with the flat metal plate down at teh nose of the bonnet or the facelifted model (newer look front end with the more prominent diamond and no plate?


EDIT
Phase I is pre facelift like this http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=613243108140660
Phase II post like this http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=713242827881000

King Krib

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

King Krib wrote: »

My timing belt needs changing but my mechanic can't do it if the car has vvt. It's an 06 1.6 Laguna. He hasnt the required tool. How can I check for vvt in the car?

Is yours the pre-facelift (shouldnt be as the facelift was in 05, it would have to be a very late reg) with the flat metal plate down at teh nose of the bonnet or the facelifted model (newer look front end with the more prominent diamond and no plate?


EDIT
Phase I is pre facelift like this http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=613243108140660
Phase II post like this http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=713242827881000

Yeah its a phase II so, not really good news for me. Thanks for your help.