2008 Clio 16v 1.2

[Richie Daniels]

Hi guys , I’m new to this forum and I’m after a little help.
A few weeks ago I purchased this lovely little Clio for my daughter, it’s a 46000 mile genuine good condition car . I purchased it privately from a woman who has owned it from new.
However , it has , I now believe, very little power.
I am aware it’s only 75 hp but it won’t do any more than 80 mph, sorry mr plod ! It is really slow to accelerate and awful on hills , bit of a downside in n Wales . I’m not overly familiar with modern cars so I’m struggling here. Here are some points...
It feels like it’s running weak , or retarded ign timing , I’m aware it’s run off a crank sensor . There are no engine management lights , it idles ok and is smooth running , engine is quiet and crisp , this is why I bought it . It’s a lovely car but has no power .
Before I go down the replacing everything road ,is there a check procedure? A Clio common thing ?
I’m baffled as I have no obvious symptoms ie firing on three cylinders etc
It’s all very clean and above board .
I await your replies with optimism.
Kind regards
Richie .
Ps I’m very clued up with old Bsa motorcycles so I’m halfway there

[NewcastleFalcon]

Richie, you dont suppose it could be the problem you identified for a poster on another thread? Or maybe a decent oil change, or rocker covers off and a bit lube of the lifters could be a zero cost bit of investigation. Probably a little bit comforting that there are no "computa" faults being reported. The crank position sensor, while obviously functioning is magnetic could have picked up a bit of crud from the flywheel and a bit of a clean up wouldnt do any harm. Test the Battery/Alternator has the required amount of poke too.

Hi , ok so if you’ve done a compression test and it’s down on one and two the head will have to come off for inspection . I doubt it’s lifters . My guess would be blown head gasket between 1 and 2 on the compression ring .

I liked this comment from you
"Ps I’m very clued up with old Bsa motorcycles so I’m halfway there "

I have a particular affection for the superb naming of BSA motorcycles. Always a joy to see a Thunderbolt and Lightning parked next to each other!

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59357&start=30#p578798

Regards Neil

[Richie Daniels]

How do these lifters work ? Hydraulic ?
So what you’re saying is they ain’t opening the valves fully and it’s not breathing right ?
Would an oil flush , new lube and filter help ?
I was under the impression they rattled when sticking ? As you can gather I’m not conversant with these.

[Richie Daniels]

Just to note , I had an old Peugeot years ago that had similar issues and that ended up being the timing belt a tooth out . Took me weeks to find that one .
That was the days of carbs and dissy.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Ritchie,
I have a couple of Clio II's 1.2 16v in my "stable" of maintenance responsibility a 54 plate and 03 plate. Without doing anything active the italian tune up certainly doesnt do them much harm. The ECU may just need to learn a bit of higher revving use. Your quote " it idles ok and is smooth running , engine is quiet and crisp" would steer away from a noisy tappety sound from gummed up hydraulic lifters. If the car has had a history of short journeys, and infrequent oil changes, or low quality/wrong grade oil a decent flush and fresh oil can only help.

Heres a comment from cliosport forum

Q.Right so I have a 1.2 16v but seemed to be losing power until about 3000 revs like a flat spot any ideas??
A.There’s no guts in them. As long as it’s moving without smoking or spluttering I wouldn’t worry about it.

and another comment

"I’ve currently got a 16v 1.2 as a courtesy car from Birchdown.
It drives well but won’t pull up hills under about 2500rpm in the higher gears. But there’s no flat spot, it’s just not very fast. It’s remarkably good on the motorway for a little 1.2 though at motorway speeds you are above 3000rpm anyway."

Again if you have recently bought the car you may not know when the timing belt was done. Maybe this is a preventitive maintenance item which needs doing in any case, and would (if its done right of course) sort the timing out should it be slightly out

REgards Neil

[moizeau]

Have you got any service history with it? If not, I'd check the air and cabin filter condition. It will give you a good idea of how it's been maintained. 46000 in 11 years, not done much work then, and certainly not motorways. Probably a 'nip to the shops' car.
Let whoever in the family has got the heaviest right foot drive it for a month.

[Richie Daniels]

Ok cheers guys
So the next plan is to brim it with some redex in and drive to work with it for a week that’ll cover 600 miles of motorway driving
Then I’ll stick 1/2 litre of diesel in the engine oil and let it fast idle for 20 mins drain and put some decent lube in
The diesel is an old trick that used to fix ford cvh rattles . No harm done it’s a lubricant anyhow .
I’ll report when done .
The cambelt is a must anyway when you have no history and on this age has priority over mileage

[moizeau]

First couple of ideas are fine. I wouldn't do the old diesel trick though. It was fine on an old mini that was full of sludge with build tolerances of a Briggs and Stratton. These days engines are somewhat more refined.
Is the oil thick and gloopy? It probably is very thin like water. If so do an oil and filter change.
If you're particularly concerned about the oil put a cheaper oil in (cheaper but same spec) with a new filter, run it for 2 weeks up the motorway then do the same again with a better quality oil.