renault trafic rimini top speed

I have just taken my new (to me) 1990 renault trafic 1700 rimini on its first longish trip, I didn't expect it to be a racing car but it struggles to hit an indicated 55mph on the motorway and will only touch 60 with the foot to the floor going downhill, although it does feel like it is going a bit faster than the speedo says. I can live with this as long as it is normal for this type of van. Can any other renault owners let me know if this is an indication of a problem or are they all like that? apart from having the performance of a moped there are no obvious signs that anything is wrong so it could be just new vehicle paranoia but it would be nice to know if it needs investigating

Frank (owner of the RTMR) will hopefully be along with something more informative, but I owned a Rapport of a similar age for a while, and though, as a high-top, it had even more brick-like aerodynamics, it had no trouble at all maintaining 60 on the motorway without foot to the floor (though IIRC the steepest of motorway hills required a drop to 4th gear).

If you don't have one, borrow a satnav to check the speed - on the flat a satnav should give better than 1% accuracy.

I had to replace the carb in mine, but my symptoms weren't like yours (I couldn't get it to idle).

If you haven't already I'd take it to a garage that services old cars, as the Trafics of that era were pretty primitive and it may just need a good old-fashioned tune-up. Garages that "service" only modern vehicles probably won't have much of a clue what to do with it.

Has it had a new cambelt recently?
It's been known for them to be fitted a tooth out which slows 'em down summat rotten.
I had an RV50, which was the forerunner to the Rimini. The RV50 had the 1647cc OHV engine which was less powerful than the 1721 OHC which you have, but it would still do well over 80mph (speedo speed).
I'd get the cam timing checked if I were you.

Frank

hi Paul

agree with Frank and Mojo

bearing in mind the age of your vehicle does it have HIGH mileage which may give you very low compression through normal wear and tear ??

I read somewhere that Traffic vans of that era do have carburettor probs (can't remember where I saw it sorry its me age you know )

suggest you keep asking on ASOF for now before splashing out cash (do you know when last serviced and where???)

Cornish Mike

ps
thats odd I have just TODAY left a bid on a 1989 RIMINI with 78k miles!!!

kernowmike wrote:hi Paul

agree with Frank and Mojo

bearing in mind the age of your vehicle does it have HIGH mileage which may give you very low compression through normal wear and tear ??

Nah! tough as old boots Trafic engines, go on forever unless you do something nasty to them 1990 is young for a Trafic

I read somewhere that Traffic vans of that era do have carburettor probs (can't remember where I saw it sorry its me age you know )

The main issue is that the Solex 35 SEIA carb fitted to the 1721 is a bit odd in the way it's adjusted, people fiddle with the wrong screws and mess everything up, then it won't run right, won't idle properly etc.. So they give up and take it to a garage (who haven't a clue about adjusting carbs 'cos everything is injected nowadays) to be told that they need a new carb (which will be set up correctly out of the box ).
Bert Holden, a carb specialist in Preston (closed now, sadly) once told me that a carb has to be very, very worn indeed before it's useless and that in 9 cases out of 10 cleaning and (correct) adjustment are all that's needed, with perhaps a few parts replaced.

Frank

thanks for the suggestions. I intend to service it myself and change the cambelt before doing any serious trips in it anyway as it has 79000 on the clock ( it's not the one you are bidding on cornish mike!) the previous owner said it was serviced regularly but i think that was a porky, Hopefully that is all it needs, the cam timing suggestion is a definite possibility, it doesn't feel right but it doesn't feel like anything is broken.

boxerman wrote:
The main issue is that the Solex 35 SEIA carb fitted to the 1721 is a bit odd in the way it's adjusted, people fiddle with the wrong screws and mess everything up, then it won't run right, won't idle properly etc.. So they give up and take it to a garage (who haven't a clue about adjusting carbs 'cos everything is injected nowadays) to be told that they need a new carb (which will be set up correctly out of the box ).
Bert Holden, a carb specialist in Preston (closed now, sadly) once told me that a carb has to be very, very worn indeed before it's useless and that in 9 cases out of 10 cleaning and (correct) adjustment are all that's needed, with perhaps a few parts replaced.

Frank

In my defence, I didn't fiddle with my carb - the problem with mine was that it literally suddenly stopped working properly. It wasn't a slow process - it ran fine for several months after I bought it and then suddenly it would simply not idle - no fiddling about involved by anyone.

I dismantled and examined it internally and it was completely clean inside. I used a full rebuid kit on it and then took quite a while to understand how to adjust it, and then spent quite a while with my CO meter trying to get it to run properly at idle, but could not. As a last resort I took it to a local garage with little confidence that they had a clue what to do with it. They didn't have a clue what to do with it, but charged me anyway.

I sourced a replacement carb from Italy, fitted it myself, adjusted it myself - it ran perfectly and continued to do so until I sold it.

It's pure conjecture, but I assume that it must have developed a crack somewhere in the body of the carb, but I'll never know for sure.

-mojo- wrote:I sourced a replacement carb from Italy, fitted it myself, adjusted it myself - it ran perfectly and continued to do so until I sold it.

It's pure conjecture, but I assume that it must have developed a crack somewhere in the body of the carb, but I'll never know for sure.

For the fault to come on suddenly like that, it sounds like, as you say, a crack or something developed somewhere.

Frank

paulsc1000 wrote:the previous owner said it was serviced regularly but i think that was a porky

Surely Not

My 82 Trafic is a 1.4 and struggles to hit 50mph , the 4 speed box doesn't help much either. Your 1.7 should be much better, maybe just needs a good old school tune up.

The 1.4s never were regarded as a ball of fire I think 50mph is a bit on the low side though?

Frank

boxerman wrote:The 1.4s never were regarded as a ball of fire I think 50mph is a bit on the low side though?

Frank

I notice you are in Preston Frank, do you know anywhere NW that does carb rebuilds / tuning ? I agree that my Trafic is slow, but could probably benefit from a proper mechanic ( not a keyboard presser like in todays garages ) giving it the once over.

'Fraid not, Bert Houlden, the carb specialist in Cold Bath Street closed down a while ago due to everyone having fuel injection nowadays.
Google came up with: Carburettor - 4 Bowness Avenue - Bromborough, CH63 0EZ Wirral, Merseyside - Telephone: 015133448. Although that appears to be a private address?
If I hear of anyone, I'll let you know.

Frank

Frank Massey is very good at fuelling, mainly injection but he might know a carb perv.

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Frank Massey is brilliant! been to him twice As you say, he might know a carb specialist.
First time when my ECU curled it's toes up.

Frank

My 1987 AS Rapport high top 1721 Trafic will cruise at 60 -65 on the motorway, but it does take some time to get there, as we keep it fully loaded ready to go at the first hint of sunshine!

When I first got it, there was a problem with too much carpet /underlay under the accelerator pedal which prevented th full amount of travel and kept the top speed to 55.

I have also noticed a difference in performance and fuel economy when running on 98 octane petrol (which the 1721 engine was designed to run on). We do a couple of thousand miles in France every year where 98 is widely available at very little more cost than the 95, unlike the UK. I won't say it turns into a racing car, but certainly better acceleration and top speed.

I am sure you will get it sorted out and I hope you enjoy it. As Frank says, they are built like tanks! Its also worth joinin he RTMO and /or the RTMR, both invaluable sources of support and information on the Trafic in all its motorhome conversion guises.

Mark

Its been a while but I thought I would update on the top speed problems on my Rimini in case anyone has the same problem in future. While servicing it I noticed a small metal clip that holds the throttle cable in place had become dislodged, This left quite a bit of slack in the cable so even with my foot to the floor i was only on about 3/4 throttle. put the clip back on and it runs fine. I guess the lesson is check the bleeding obvious first!

Good Result

Frank

I always like the cheap / free fixes the best...

We have a 93 Trafic Rapport - 1700cc petrol engine - which cruises happily at 55/60. It could go faster but that speed helps to maximise petrol consumption - we did average of 30mpg when loaded and going round Germany last automn - and minimise rattles. We are happy with that, not so much with the acceleration, or lack of it! However we do have a problem as while cruising with the engine warmed up, there are times when the engine suddenly starts shaking voilently, which is really irritating and particularly affects the gear stick which of course is long and thin and would be jerking around madly, almost impossible to hold. After a minute or so this would cease. It might not happen again for some days or might recur several times in quick succession. It was as if an extra rich mixture was flooding the engine so perhaps the problem is with the carb. I'm a bit concerned that this could cause long term damage to the engine - it certainly is not doing anything for the gear stick or our peace of mind!

Has anyone else experienced this problem, or got any suggestions as to the cause and possible remedy?

petern

get your front wheel bearings & drive shafts checked.

Frank

Hi Frank, How do those wheel bearings shake the engine ? Would you not just get shaking through the steering Wheel,like a balance problem. and probable a new noise.
regards
Mike

Hi Mike,
The problem sounded familiar.
I remember someone having this problem (but can't remember who) which turned out to be a slightly distorted driveshaft and an iffy wheel bearing. Presumably the distorted shaft had damaged the bearing. He'd tried all sorts to cure it and it wasn't until a mechanic got it up in the air with the engine running in gear that the distorted shaft was noticed.

It could be something entirely different of course

Frank

Hi,
As this is an intermittant fault,its more difficult to fix.
Do you lose power when it happens?
Can you change down a gear and see if anything changes?
I would put money on an electric fault.
Lets see what you get ,i need more to go on.
regards

Mike

Many thanks for the various and prompt responses. To answer the questions: I'm pretty certain its not a balance problem - there is no vibration through the steering wheel; no, there is no loss of power when the shaking starts.

I have not tried changing down to see if that changes things - in fact it would be pretty difficult to grab the gear stick in order to do this!. However, i'll try that and get some more investigations done. Thanks again.

Peter