Help!

[trophy315]

I have a major problem Not really sure what to do. Driving home form work on Saturday, the emissions warngin light came on and the car sounded oncredibly unhealthy. (i thought it sounded like a steam train...)
Got towed home by the rac, and they have said it has blown a spark plug. The guy who towed it to the garage today said that it needed helicoiling (don't really know what this is.. ) as it is threaded. The garage have today said that as they would have to guarantee the work for 12 months, they are not prepared to do this is it is not really a proper fix. To do it properly at their prices he said it need a new cylinder head which wold cost all in fitted etc £2880 (i think that was before vat too)

I don't really think this is the way to go - just did a quick search on ebay, there is a 182 breaking, and they want £400 for the engine (lower mileage than mine too). Also wondered about an aftermarket cylinder head? (I have never modded any car (aside from the wiper stalk ) so don't really know anything about this sort of thing - had a look at yozzasport and angleworks websites - found cylinder heads on the angelworks site are considerably less than what I have been quoted on by the renault service centre.
Anyone have any advice? Not really sure what to do. Like most people at the moment I don't really feel very well off, the thought of spending £3k to fix my car does not make me feel good - if there is a cheaper and potentially better solution I would be all for it. (though i don't want a less good solution what the garage said about helicoiling (and waht it sounded like to an un - knowledgable me) made me think this is poor quality solution.

 

[George K]

Aren't you still under warranty?

 

[trophy315]

No - done 62k miles.

 

[trophyfan]

Found this on ebay too .........

Cylinder head from a 55 Trophy !!.

I'm fairly sure it's from car 153 that Hoolio won the eBay auction for the front shocks, if it is then that car had done 24k.

Item number: 150263505235

The ad is from CIT-REN based in Norwich TEL : 01508 558655. Might be worth a call to see if he is open to offers.

I guess the 182 and Trophy cylinder heads are the same, can anyone confirm this ??

 

[Hozcat]

The same thing happend to one of my cars around 7 years ago.

Obviously the best course of action will be a new cylinder head but helicoiling is a permanent fix. They basically drill out the damaged threads and tap a helicoil in which has threads on the inside to take the spark-plug. Anyone who's half decent at it should be able to retain the compression of the engine otherwise they haven't carried it out properly (in-fact if you get them to skim the head whilst it's off the car compression should be increased slightly).

I ran the car I had helicoiled for around 12 months without any issues. I then sold it to a family friend who ran it for around another year without issue. When I go back to Dumbria to visit the folks I still see it knocking about; I assume it must be on the same engine as it'd probably be cheaper to buy a new car than swap the engine now.

 

[hoolio]

You really need a second opinion on this before you start forking out any cash. Maybe talk to Ben at Angelworks.
Not sure i would go for a second hand head but the 24k engine could be an option.

 

[Cue]

is it because the Spark plug had been cross threaded? if so - go back to whoever put it in..... if it's reno they should cover the work ( i assume it's on original plugs, still @ 64k it's touch n go)

Failing that Ben @ angelworks is your safest bet - i've used him and would say he's the best i've come across so far for engine work.

As Hozcat says, you may even benefit from him opening up the engine as you could improve compression.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

is it because the Spark plug had been cross threaded? if so - go back to whoever put it in..... if it's reno they should cover the work ( i assume it's on original plugs, still @ 64k it's touch n go)

Beat me to it tbh Cue.
Who ever put the plug in is responsible.

 

[hoolio]

is it because the Spark plug had been cross threaded? if so - go back to whoever put it in..... if it's reno they should cover the work ( i assume it's on original plugs, still @ 64k it's touch n go)

Beat me to it tbh Cue.
Who ever put the plug in is responsible.

Was going to say the same in my earlier post, but on a car with 62k that has been serviced at least three times probably by different dealers and may have had two or three owners how easy is that going to prove?

 

[trophy315]

Thanks for the input - got car back today from an engine reconditioner. The work to fix it was £100 plus the cot of new plugs and leads.
I've owned this car form new, though I don't know whether the spark plugs have been changed since new. I keep all the receipts for servicing, though not in an organised manner..., so couldn't find whether they have been changed in a hurry.

Thought best to do this for now (£100 will have paid for itslef within about a month in savings over my alternative transport - originally bought the trophy as a much more affordable car to run, whilst still fulfilling criteria like being fun, fast and in particular something that is a bit special to those in the know ).

Will track down my receipts for srevicing to see whether the plugs had been changed at any point. I think also I should learn a lot more about this side of cars - I'm sure like pretty much every other trophy owner I would class myself as a petrolhead, but i'm one of those who knows nothing about the practical mechanical side of things.

May look to get the next service done and cambelt change done a lot sooner than the 70k miles it will be due at - this whole experience has got me worried about the thought of expensive damage. Where would anyone recommend to have this done?? I am not really bothered about where they are in the country - basically want the best service for the car. (I am pretty convinced that this would rule out any main dealer...)

 

[Cue]

how far north of leeds are you? RS Murray and sons would be my choice - they know their reno's (the service arm of RS Tuning) and are based on the north side of leeds centre - headingley.

 

[trophy315]

Am about an hour from leeds. Will probably give them a try for the next service/cambelt change I think.