Greetings everyone, I hope everyone's doing great. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read my post. I am writing to ask for your help/opinion on a noise I've been hearing for some time (c. 2 months?) and which is getting worse on my Mégane 2 RS DCI 173hp (M9R-724 engine and PK4 gearbox, probably the PK4013, but I'm not entirely sure). To give you some context, the car has been completely rebuilt (apart from the gearbox, which has c. 218,000 km on it). A few months ago, a strange noise started showing up in 6th gear (and to a lesser extent on 5th gear), between 70 and 95 Km/h. At first, I suspected the wheel hub bearings, but those are new and have been rechecked to eliminate any doubt). Once the car was put on the lift, it was clear that the noise was coming from the gearbox, and only in 5th and 6th gears (well-known problem on the PK4 at the time?). The noise in question is the following: https://youtube.com/shorts/lJkXlC1_4pk?feature=share. I would like to have your opinions on the matter, would it be possible to identify whether this noise is more related to the bearings or to the gears themselves? For the bearings, I have already identified a replacement kit for PK4013, but I can't seem to find anything for the gears/pinions. Additional information: - The transmission oil/fluid was changed every 50,000 km, but I can't say which oils were used. I know Renault recommends the Elf Tranself NFP 75W80 oil. - The engine was tuned in 2019 and currently produces close to 280 hp - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and reverse gear do not exhibit any of the symptoms/do not make any abnormal noise -The car still works absolutely fine other than this, and the changing of gears (including 5th and 6th) are still smooth. Thank you very much for your time. Denver.
Hi Denver I have a DCi 175 as well, I have the same sort of noise with mine, but mine is in 3rd and 4th, I've tracked it loads and the noise doesn't seem to get any worse. I would say it's bearings, maybe worth getting another gearbox, fitted a Mk3 LSD to mine, it's only running about 200hp, how did you get to 280hp ???? A mk3 rs box will fit if you can find one. I also add about 50ml of a product called zx1 to the gearbox oil, it's a friction eliminator.
Greetings ianplymouth, thank you for your answer! I got an SNR kit from ebay for the PK4 (this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/181244291937) and I will try to replace all the bearings in the next few days/weeks. I will update you guys as soon as the swap is done. This is used to be my brother's car, which he sold to me when he went to live abroad. I know it has a hybrid Garrett turbocharger, with uprated injectors (not sure which models, though, sorry) and intercooler. I think both fuel pumps have been upgraded as well, but I can ask him if you'd like some more infos. The car was rebuilt and repainted in Orange (same Renault EQC color as the MK4 RS) in France. Just to give you some context, even fourth gear slips if you floor it above 2500 rpm Happy to provide some more info if requested
Thanks for the info, I also have a Grand espace dci 175 as a works vehicle, more power for bothe would be nice
my pleasure, will come back to you asap =) Regarding the MK3 RS swap (the PK4018 with the LSD, right?), wouldn't that throw off the ratios completely as it's made for a petrol engine? I heard that swapping out the gearbox (or changing the gear ratios whatsoever) would completely mess with the engine ECU and would cause tons of errors/DTCs, as the engine's RPMs and wheel speed would seem abnormal for the ECU?
