1975 Renault 6TL

[vulgalour]

The old cap is worse. I'm pretty sure it's a timing issue in all honesty

[xantia_v6]

To get backfiring through the carb, there has to be an ignition event on a cylinder with an open inlet valve. For the timing to be that far out, the engine would never run at all. So it is (in my experience always caused by ignition crossfire (spark being delivered to the wrong plug), or a leaky inlet valve (insufficient clearance, damaged valve or seat).

[vulgalour]

1 in 4 makes a poof through the carb, I've probably got two plug leads the wrong way around. My brother and I are going to just go back to basics, unplug it all and put it back together as per the workshop manual and then it'll probably work. We've had strange problems with this car before related to ignition and timing, it likes to present a challenge.

Think we figured out how the Renault's spun bearing shell happened now. We were quite tired putting the last few bolts in so theory is that I didn't tighten this one up enough so after a couple of slow hand turns it slipped and moved. Photographs make the damage look far worse than it is, as the macro setting always does. Clear head tomorrow I'll go in and inspect and clean everything and get new pictures. Looks like a rookie error. I don't recall there being any difficulty refitting any of the bearing shells and that they'd only go in one way, so I don't think it's a reversed shell that's the issue. This is probably a salvageable situation. I'm getting lots of "don't panic" messages about this, which is reassuring.

[vulgalour]

So good news first then. The bearing shell cleaned up well enough to be reused, most of the damage was where oil had been displaced rather than an actual stamping on the metal. The crankshaft had no damage at all. Everything that should be round still was. Second opinion agreed and a decision was made to put things together, torque it up and hand crank to see how it went. Everything was fine, no untoward noises or stickiness. We carried on and bolted things up. It has been decided that if, upon running the car, there are bad things we will haul it all out and replace the bearings. I'm told it's likely there will be no issues as the engine is crude enough to get away with it, especially since I'm unlikely to do more than 2000 miles a year in it off motorway.

The bad news is that the camera was entirely forgotten about until packing up time. Got a bit carried away and now appear to have an engine.

Here we are, end of day pictures. This is the business end. New gaskets for the water pump, plate and pump cleaned up as best I could, it's a difficult shape to work with. The pump turns freely with no play. Alternator bracket bolted on but not adjusted. Belt tensioner loosely bolted in place, not adjusted. Crankshaft pulley just plonked in place, also not adjusted. A new crankshaft end seal was fitted too.


Timing gear and distributor fitted with new gasket as per static timing instructions. Ignition timing not yet set. Still has the old plug leads, rotor arm, points and distributor cap fitted here, I'm finding out what's missing so I can order the consumables in one go. Vacuum hose still good as is the solid part of the fuel line, the rubber ends of the fuel line need replacing. Fuel pump fitted with new gaskets. Oil pressure switch fitted (old one, not yet tested). Dipstick put back in tube.


Cam chain cover and sump repainted, and fitted with new cork gaskets. Air filter box fitted with old air filter still inside which will be replaced.


The less interesting side of the engine.



Next big job is to clean up the gearbox and fit the new clutch kit. I've already got new points and rotor arm, I need to acquire a new air filter, oil filter, spark plugs, spark leads, possibly a distributor cap (though the one fitted does look quite healthy), at least one drive belt and a bunch of rubber fuel hoses. May need some coolant hoses too, I need to check through those properly.

[Stickyfinger]

Like .....gj so far

[vulgalour]

gj?

Bit of a flat day today. Ages ago I bought what should have been the correct clutch, on inspection it appeared to check out. However, on attempting to fit it today it is not correct. I bought it so long ago I can't even return it now and funds are too far depleted to go and buy the correct one. That's another problem I'm now having too, I can't seem to find a clutch kit listed anywhere for this engine just more like the one I bought that I know is wrong.

The big difference is that the spline shaft hole on the friction plate is too small. Superficially in every other way the kit is the same as that fitted to the car. This has really annoyed me. The old clutch is, realistically, far too worn to be of much use but without a clutch fitted I can't put the engine and gearbox back in the car where it belongs. Any help locating the correct clutch for this car would be most welcome.

We did other jobs too, but nothing of enough significance to report.

[Stickyfinger]

gj = good job

[vulgalour]

Ah, I understand now It'd be a better job if it weren't so annoyingly FRENCH.

Got some trusted advice from a man who knows his stuff, Mr Reno 139 over on another forum. He understands the vagaries of these engines and that French habit of making otherwise identical cars have three or four non-interchangable options for things like brake calipers and clutches. He managed to point me in the direction of the correct clutch kit for my car and that should be arriving sometime next week.

Typically, I didn't get his message until after buying another clutch plate that turned out to be the wrong type but different to both the type I'd already bought that doesn't fit and the one Mr Reno pointed me to.

So I'm fully expecting the brake discs I bought based on what was on the car and what was on offer to also be incorrect when I get around to sorting those. Miraculously, the handbrake and rear drums are still functional so perhaps I shan't have to fettle those too much.

[vulgalour]

New clutch fitted, gearbox on surprisingly easily with the assistance of the engine crane, starter motor bolted on and then a decision made to do this:


It isn't running yet, there's still a few more things to button up. You see, the weather decided to come over all Welsh, probably to celebrate the momentous occasion of this little car finally being reunited with its mechanical heart.


It was raining so heavily there was no point even putting the cover back on so when things are dry again I'll have to bail out the interior. Not far off coming off the axle stands now though and that means it's not far off coming home either.

[CitroJim]

Excellent work! She's coming along a treat

Reminds me of doing clutches in an R4. Looks hard but is a nice, easy job in the end...

[vulgalour]

Bit more progress done today. Been trying to get as many things connected as possible and use up as many of the fixings as I have in packets from when everything was taken apart. Today I got the choke and throttle cable/assembly reconnected. Speedo cable also connected. Clutch cable couldn't be connected, I'd forgotten the end was broken when we removed the engine so that needs replacing. Importantly, put the requisite amount of oil in the engine and fitted the new oil filter which is adorably tiny.


Figure out the routes for some of the coolant hoses and even some of the electrical bits and pieces so they were connected up. Steering rack also reinstated. Haven't yet fitted the new points, rotor arm or distributor cap.


I did make one mistake which was to put the gear lever brace in before connecting the gear lever up so I'll have to remove that and refit in the correct order. New air filter fitted too.


Not sure if I mentioned it before, the steering wheel wrap was one of the first things I removed after getting the car back from Wales and revealed a perfect condition steering wheel.


The green repaint hasn't faired particularly well and in places is rubbing off. I'm okay with this. Accelerated a little on the rear quarters because what I expected to be temporary duct tape covers ended up rather more permanent. Again, I have no problem with this.


What I am sad about is that even though the car has been covered the stickers in the tailgate are all disintegrating. There's very little of the original dealer sticker left and even the P&O one is flaking off. Replacing them all with new ones just won't look right so I have to accept this as just the ravages of time.


The keen observer will notice that the car is no longer outside. I put the driveshafts back in today and was going to roll it in on it's wheels, the upper ball joints were still able to be used so this shouldn't have been a problem. Then I remembered we had to cut off the lower ball joints and there's nothing to hold them together. Cue much faffing with my brother being gaffer and Mike and I pushing the car with the front end resting on two wheel trolleys across the uneven yard.

The reason for the car going indoors is to make the next few jobs easier. I need to order a pair of lower ball joints to get the wheels on properly. I've got brake discs that, as far as I can tell, are correct but I need to order some pads too because I'm not using the old pads on brand new discs. If I have indoor space for long enough I'll also tackle the gutters and eliminate all the rot, holes and sharp edges at the same time, that job is fairly important.

[vulgalour]

Cor, another update! We're making good progress on this little car. Engine bay is filling up nicely.




It's amusing how many wrong parts I've managed to buy for this car. The new distributor and rotor arm are on and the new spark plugs in (had to remove the alternator to fit one of them). Here's the incorrect distributor cap I bought in its box next the correct new one fitted.


Couldn't fit the points either because, guess what, wrong parts again. I have the old ones on my desk so I can compare with other sets and make sure I get the correct ones this time. Old on the left, incorrect new on the right.


There's an ever diminishing selection of parts. I found these two rather substantial looking brackets and I can't for the life of me figure out where they go. The book wasn't helpful (as usual) and neither were the pictures I'd taken. I'm sure they're out of the engine bay, they have the right kind of look about them and oil on them. I suspect they're to do with the engine mounts but I can't figure out how. Also shown here are the front hub caps and the front brake dust shields.


This bracket, on top of my new brake discs which look to be the correct type, I believe attaches to the gear lever brace, I just haven't figured out how yet even with my photos for reference.


Another thing that happened was Crapaud's face was put back on and the bonnet refitted. Since getting the car the bonnet has always scraped the grille and the latch hasn't worked. A liberal dose of carb cleaner followed by lithium grease got the latch working beautifully and careful adjustment of the hinges and washer thicknesses got the bonnet to clear the grille.


One problem I do have is the headlights. I have been sent 2 right hand drive units, which is excellent. Trouble is the headlight fixings on the front are handed so I now have 3 drivers side headlights and one passenger side with no lens and almost no silvering. At the moment, my plan is to split the right hand drive lenses off the old backs and buy a new set of left hand drive lights (which are much easier to find) to bond them back on to so I have a good set. The headlights are one of the most difficult things to source for this car.


John Deere sent me the old spotlights from the ex-Dollywobbler Prelude (Autoshite forum members) so I could get them working and use them on the Renault. My guess was actually even better than expected when they were mocked up on the front of the car. They look in keeping with everything else too so shouldn't look like a new addition while giving me some better lighting on the front to see by.


Another present was this Bettaware sun visor extension. It is terrible. The vision through it is distorted and the filter not at all appealing. Of course it's staying with the car, it's too terrible not to.


So, we're looking a bit better. There's some wiring connector repairs to do before we can connect a battery and test things, I just ran out of time to do that today. Perhaps over the weekend we'll get that far. Here's an overview of where we're at.

[CitroJim]

Great progress I love the sun visor to bits!!!

[daviemck2006]

There was one exactly like that on my 205 when I bought it. I think I chucked it in the wheelie bin! There's a wreck spoiling the last picture [emoji13] [emoji23] [emoji23]

[CitroJim]

There's a wreck spoiling the last picture [emoji13] [emoji23] [emoji23]

Isn't it amazing how Vauxhalls manage to creep into picture of French cars

And chickens...