Doing a clio 172 cambelt myself, worth the bother?

The 172 is a great car
I had a 172 cup (should of kept it) and I've now got a 197
I've not done the belt on either but I have done them on other late Renaults
And they don't have key ways so looking tools are a must and the crank pin don't lock as such it just stops at a certain point
It's well worth replacing everything "dephaser water pump aux belt idlers" etc
My 172 had the belt and dephaser done as part of the sale and il need to do my 197 on the next service


Being a Renault it will break and parts will fall off "all part of the experience"

This.

There is a caveat though. The correct tools are close to £200 and the people who have them are uneasy about lending them and with good reason ; would you be happy if someone bent your timing tools that you had splashed out on? I wouldn't be ; it still surprises me that people don't have more respect for others generosity but that is another matter . The top half the tools are the same as another Clio (the 1.4s and 1.6s) but the bottom pin is unique to the 172.

You can do it using the Tippex method but the tolerance is pretty close ; a number of cars have come back tapping after a belt change.

If it were me I'd take it to a known specialist for that reason and ensure a few things:
-The correct tools are used
-They do a few in their time
-They use a new bolt for the crank pulley. It is rare but they have been known to slip and Renault themselves recommend using a new bolt every time.

A decent specialist will charge around £400 for the job, going up to £600 if the dephaser needs doing (ideally the garage would suggest that an oil change is also done about now to give the dephaser pulley the best lease of life ; they work off oil pressure once the solenoid has engaged the variable cam timing at high RPM). You will know if the dephaser needs doing as the top of the engine will sound like a skeleton is having a curse word/pleasuring himself as Fred at BTM Performance once said.

As said the job itself is not too hard but the space is tight which makes life difficult, especially on a car with AC.

Diamond Motors in Notts have a great reputation on these. Where in the country are you? I know of a good mechanic who does jobs for mates etc. on the side and has access to the tools but he is Tamworth way and is very busy.

As another thing only use the genuine parts. They are a similar price to the OE pattern stuff anyway and the aux belt is 10x easier to fit due to it being the correct thickness and size. At least it won't need doing for another 5 years.

FWIW I loved mine. I still miss the old girl now and again. I only sold it as someone made me a decent offer on the car (£2k last year for a car on 80k with almost nothing required on it). I wonder if I should have kept it TBH and not got the M3 ; now that makes the Clio look cheap to run everywhere even including the belts!



And mine on Clio Turbine wheels:

With Birchdown the car should be in safe hands .

Your conclusion was the same as mine. However I do these days have access to the tools but I am aware it's a long job.