renault trafic rimini top speed

boxerman wrote: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

Frank,I think that was me. Problem was more of an intermittent noisy judder which would come and go, somtimes on braking, somtimes on a change of road surface, sometimes for no apparant reason at all. It would disappear for weeks, then be back again. All 4 wheel bearings were changed, the drive shafts were checked and said to be good (by an MOT inspector), steering rack, ball joints etc all checked out OK. When it was jacked up at the front, put in gear and run,there was a very slight wobble from a driveshaft which turned out to be very small amount of play in a CV joint., which was not apparant when on the ground and stationary.

I also get an occasional whipping back and forward of the gear lever, usually in 3rd, which I am yet to solve. The most likely culprit,the rear mounting, was changed, but this had no effect. So I too am looking for suggestions on this!

Mike, it is unlikely to be electrical, Mk1 Trafics don't have much in the way of electrical assistance!

Mark

Hi Mark, I like these intermittent problems!!
Your engine if i am right ,and assuming its petrol,must have HT electrics to provide a spark at the plugs.
Ht cap,leads and plugs can all break down .Tracking can occur in moist conditions.Water can get into plugs and short out a cylinder.
You may have a condenser in the distributor thats faulty and tracking can occur out of sight. Some say you can see tracking occurring under the bonnet at night.I say i have never seen it.It needs a careful look at all plastic components and cleaned. I would change the plug leads first if you cannot find any other clear fault.
They are cheap and easily changed one at a time so you keep the correct firing order.
These tests are all cheap and good maintenance for the future.
regards
Mike

mikethebike wrote:Hi Mark, I like these intermittent problems!!
Your engine if i am right ,and assuming its petrol,must have HT electrics to provide a spark at the plugs.
Ht cap,leads and plugs can all break down .Tracking can occur in moist conditions.Water can get into plugs and short out a cylinder.
You may have a condenser in the distributor thats faulty and tracking can occur out of sight. Some say you can see tracking occurring under the bonnet at night.I say i have never seen it.It needs a careful look at all plastic components and cleaned. I would change the plug leads first if you cannot find any other clear fault.
They are cheap and easily changed one at a time so you keep the correct firing order.
These tests are all cheap and good maintenance for the future.
regards
Mike

I agree with the above, in the late 70's I had a Rover BP5 coupe, & I became aware of a slight misfire from the V8, changed the plugs, then the leads, still the same, then one night & lifted the bonnet & there was 'lightning tracking down the distributor cap, in daylight it looked perfect, but a replacement cured it.

Hi Mark, I am still thinking even on holiday.
Missed the coil and ht lead to distributor for checking.
Dont know your engine but the items i have mentioned would be similar on all petrol engine in any car/motorhome.
regards
Mike

mgfx wrote:
I also get an occasional whipping back and forward of the gear lever, usually in 3rd, which I am yet to solve. The most likely culprit,the rear mounting, was changed, but this had no effect. So I too am looking for suggestions on this!

I'd be tempted to get underneath ad check the linkage & bushes on the gear lever, it isn't directly connected to the gearbox, it they are OK then praps have a look at the front engine mountings.

Is yours the 1647 or 1721 Mark? if it's the 1721, make sure that the flywheel sensor is not loose/dirty/damaged. 1647, the cam lobes in the dizzy can wear unevenly so the gap is less on one (or two) plug(s) than the others. This should not affect just in 3rd gear though.

Frank

Hi all, thanks for the input.

Mike, you are absolutely right in what you say about faults in the ignition system causing juddering. I remember the days of failing condensers and the juddering progress that followed!

My Trafic has electronic ignition so no points /condenser. New plugs/HT leads last year.

In my case, there is no loss of power, the engine is running well, and it is almost like there is too much power for the gearbox /gear lever in 3rd. There is no juddering in the vans movement, it is simply in the gear lever. Changing up cures it completely.

I dont know if Peters is the same, but I think his is much worse if he cannot get hold of the lever when it is happening. Is your vehicle itself juddering Peter, or is it confined to the gear lever?

Frank, its the 1721 engine. I had a new bush made for the linkage at a local engineering shop last year when we changed the rear mounting. The engine mounts are OK, in fact it went through the new style MOT last week where these were checked (as well as all the door hinges and latches, and even the fuel filler cap!) with no issues. I had a Saab 900 with failing rubbers in the engine mounts, and the movement was obvious in all gears. As you say why just in 3rd? I am putting it down to the Trafic gearbox and its foibles at the moment. The awesome power of the 1721 under acceleration seems to make the earth move for 3rd gear!

Enjoy your holiday Mike!

Mark

Jeez, I am sitting here mindboggled by the technical brilliance and savvy thats pouring out from all directions!

Mine engine is 1721cc and although the juddering of the gear lever is huge I am not really aware of any juddering in the vehicle itself.

The problem is I am now away for several weeks - sadly not in Jemima - so cannot pursue all the research and ideas for the time being.

Will report back in due course.

Peter

Hi MGFX,
As to your judder in 3rd gear only. i cannot think of a simple answer.
Could it be its when accelerating in 3rd and then cruising in 4th. An accel problem?
Can you go straight from 2nd to 4th and all is ok.?
Possible a fault in the gearbox on the 3rd gear cogs.
regards
Mike

Hi Mike,

Yes, I cannot think of a simple solution either. The Trafic 5 speed gearbox is the weakest part of the drivetrain, and is notorious for having to be nursed. I think that my "issue" is just another facet of that weakness, and for now is manageable, particularly considering it is now 27 years old.

Having got through the MOT with no issues, my limited budget is untouched, rather unexpectedly leaving me with a choice of a new gearbox (£500 on ebay, genuine new box) or a power steering installation (£600) which other Trafic owners are raving about. At the moment, the power steering option is more appealing, paticularly as we tend to use small campsites where manouverabilty is important!

Thanks again for your thoughts, I hope you are having good weather.

Mark

Mgfx, I have searched the web without success. Maybe gearbox problems are not so common as we may think.
I would see or search a specialist gearbox man and get a quote. I am sure it could be less. The power steering option is attractive,i cannot remember driving without power steering!!
regards
Mike

Hi all
I have just aquired a 1987 1.7 Trafic which is displaying many of the faults that some of you have described,just on throttle the revs momentarily drop and then pick back up as you throttle on (if I have the choke on there is no issue) at slow cruising the engine may well vibrate violently until I throttle back on and top speed is 55mph (poss 60 if I'm lucky)   The previous owner said that he had fitted new leads,dizzy cap,rotor and plugs of which all do look new,I have stripped and cleaned the carburetor and checked for air leaks,has anyone come across the fault that causes this problem as it seems to be very common as I trawl through the many forums

paulsc1000 wrote: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!

 
Where is the clip located?