After having no end of issues with my MK5 GTi, I sent it to the auction and purchased an Ultra Red Megane 2 R26 in late September 2021. This photo is from the day i collected it
From here on i will update more regularly and with photos if i remember, Sorry in advance for the essay. From my purchase date i have: Replaced the thermostat as the car was running about 5-10 degrees cooler than it should have. Changed oil and filter and installed magnetic plug Soldered on the correct number plate light plug and installed LED units Removed door handle and badge caps that looked worse for wear Sourced a new (to me) boot floor parcel shelf and centr console trim as these were missing Changed the interior lights to LEDs Replaced the gearbox oil with Motul Restored the headlights Replaced the drivers side fog light as this had been smashed. Cleared the scuttle drains as i was getting wet passenger floor, replaced scuttle with a replacement from a scrapyard as mine had been cut. Replaced the window module and regulator, soundproofed the door skin whilst it was apart. I still do not have the ability to raise windows in go so suspect i may need to replace the controller plug.
Over the last few days i have replaced the steering wheel cover on the car, i am not a fan of the original, it was looking quite tired and it hadn't been installed particularly well. i opted for full black Alcantara with no 12'o clock stripe and used red thread. it took quite a few hours but i am very happy with the outcome. Original Cover Retrim Front Retrim Rear
welcome along and nice work, where did you get the LED plate lights as i need to change mine but not sure which one to take, so many foreign rubbish!
Welcome to the club Matt! Looking forward to your updates. Have you got a link for the LED interior bulbs ? Keep meaning to change mine but unsure which ones I need.
I used these bulbs in white: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32861963336.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.4c5a4c4dk0hxg9 This covers every interior bulb aside from the glove box which is different. they are decently bright with no flickering or weirdness Here is a pic of how they look on:
I went for these without much research as I was ordering parts from the site and they were a good price: https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/abakus/14123902 The build quality isn't amazing (not sure others will be much better though), but the light output is pretty good, pic for reference
I finished work earlier today so managed to find time to give her a wash and fit the key barrel cover to get rid of the horrible yellow? one that was on there. nice to have the handles one colour despite it being different shades. I plan to get some painted body colour when I get the R26R wing I bought on black friday painted. Old key barrel cover New key barrel cover
This week i made a start at replacing all the engine mounts, i managed the RH mount and added a powerflex black series insert and the top mount. Both have definitely seen better days, gear shifts are much better now. lower and gearbox mount still to be replaced Old RH mount New RH mount Old and New Top Mounts
This week I finally got round to putting my plate on including about an hour of removing old plate adhesive. and also replaced the mount on top of the gearbox which had a bit of wear but nothing like the others (probably due to the reduced strain due to the mount style) I did a bit of tidying whilst there, cleaned the chassis legs and brake fluid reservoir and replaced some bolts for the intake shroud that were incorrect. Finally I replaced the cabin filter that looked like it had been in the car for a while
Focussed my attention on the interior this week. the previous owner bonded some acrylic recaro logos on the seat bases that I wasn't a fan of. The drivers side had already broken and removing the acrylic removes the paint and leaves glue residue. I sanded both mounts down, etch primed, painted, applied the decal ( I went for the R26 #xxxx style as I think they look the smartest) and laquered over the top, Finished result: not perfect but a definite improvement!
I noticed recently that the lower rivets on my clutch pedal plate had broken so the metal cover was not secure and made a hideous noise if my foot rubbed against the side of it. drilled the rivets out and removed the plate. the paint flaked off of the pedal so sanded primed and painted Before After And the dimples on the pedal plate had been worn completely flat so I used a countersunk bolt, a matching countersunk washer, and a hammer to re-add the dimples to the plate. This picture was after I had dimpled the middle row: Finally a quick clean up and rivet back on:
after a few weeks without working on the car i decided to get my car ready for its MOT at the end of the month, I got a new set of Michelin PS4 for the front as i was just above the wear bars and finally replaced the rear headlight level sensor arm with a universal metal replacement as the original one kept detaching, the new one has a spring retainer as well as a locking pin so is much more secure. was a very easy install, it only required long nose pliers to remove the old parts and 2 10mm spanners to install the new parts. (hopefully my headlights will be a better height now)
This is the one that i used: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112241843105?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
Been a while since my last post; Purchased some Gtechniq C4 trim restorer in an attempt to have a decent finish on the plastic trims that lasts. have done all except rear bumper inserts. i will probably wait till i have to have the rear bumper off to do it propoerly. will update on the longevity in due course A picture of some of the trims post treatment A before and after of B pillar trims I also previously attempted to replace the subframe cheeks as mine were a bit crusty but discovered that a lot of the riv-nuts on the lower radiator support were spinning. So i purchased another lower rad support and it came also with spinning riv-nuts so i drilled them out and refitted new ones with a dab of Loctite, i also gave the cheeks a few coats of lacquer in an attempt to stop them going crusty as quickly Old bits. New bits. Installed. And with the sub frame cheeks sorted i took her in to get a new cam belt, water pump and aux belt I also replaced the bulbs in the headlight to get rid of the very yellow side light bulb and improve the performance of my high beams and get rid of the orange indicator bulbs. i polished the lenses whilst the lights were out to get the spots i missed by previously doing it with them installed old bulbs vs new bulbs Hard to capture in the photographs but the light color matches the xenon much closer and light output is increased massively. plus the silver indicator bulbs reduce the orange visible in the headlight housing Will try to post more regularly again in the future to avoid mega posts
Not really kept to my promise of updating regularly, so small spam inbound. Recently got a few bits painted on the Meg, this included the Ktec R26.r spoiler I bought in the black Friday sale (body colour) a set of door handles I got painted body colour. two rims with curbing were sprayed and finally the chipping behind the passenger door and on the rear arch were rectified. i will be going back to get the driver side done in the future Drivers side rear arch still to paint and before handles changed After: Body matched door handles, painted rear arch and wheels + painted r26.R spoiler fitted
when previously replacing my lower rad support I noticed the AC condenser had fallen apart and that my radiator was also weeping from the lower passenger side corner new condenser from ECP for £21 some new seals and bolts Old vs new condenser As well as a new Valeo radiator. Old vs new radiator whilst doing this I flushed the coolant and replaced with Renault stuff as was last filled with pink coolant. I also replaced all of the intercooler hose clamps as the existing ones looked a bit tired (no pics, sorry) Aircon got re-gassed and is now blowing ice cold
**Penultimate post of spam** Finally got round to fitting some universal car mat clips to stop the ktec mats working up under the pedals. This involved working out where the posts would work in the floor before marking and cutting a hole in the mats. assembling the clips and screwing in the post. pretty painless and im chuffed with the results Cut Holes Assembled Clip Installed posts Final Result
** Final spam post** since ownership drivers headlight has had the projector shroud loose inside the headlight and a broken bottom mount causing a saggy bumper. A grey insert OS xenon came up on ebay so i took the plunge. when it arrived it turned out it had been used without the dust cover on so had a lot of insects and dust inside the unit as well as needing a refurb. :After just a wipe over After a lens refurb, various methods of insect and dust removal+ new bulbs looking pretty good fitted and looking much better than previous
