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New here/Question on my ride

G

GeorgiaR4

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Hi, I have just shipped a 4 to the USA and it is my first Renault. Bought her in London, and she sat for 1.5 years until I got her here. I know I should have drained petrol- but it was not easy where the Renault was to do that-----she had a very small amount in and I put in a few gallons and she incredibly fired up first time===="all hail the Renault" I said at the time====
Got her running for a few miles, but now I find she lacks power, straights are good but a small hill is tough- she is a 782cc (?)== since I am in the USA and cannot just go get parts I would like advise on what to order from UK
I am leaning to replacing points, condensor, rotor arm and cap===.
Any advise will be helpful.
Also where is the best source in UK for parts ?

Spencer
Yellow Renaul4, LHD, 1974
 
A good service with new points, and setting the ignition timing will probably both help a lot. Though the small engined cars are slow. Should be eager though.

The best source for parts in the UK is a Renault dealer called Whitehouse Renault. They have a website: http://www.whitehouserenault.co.uk/ though the parts need to be bought by phone or email. I believe they post overseas.

Which one is the 782cc? Which year is your car, and what are the numbers on the number on the oval shaped plate under the bonnet (the dealer will also ask you for that).
 
Cheers Clementine- the logbook says 782cc, but that may be wrong. I think it is the smallest engine available.
It is a 1974
and the numbers are :
R1126
43 100
0279414

I think the Renault 4 is a brilliant design.
 
That'll explain my unfamiliarity - the R1126 wasn't imported into the UK. It was a model very common in France. Though that's not to say they aren't supported here.

I love the design too. There are a whole load of really clever things in there that most would never notice. That's a lot of what makes them cool to me.
 
If it is a R1126 it has been left the factory with the 782 cc engine. To confirm it your engine number should be 839-01-.... You are right, it feels underpowered (it should have a 26mm carburettor which doesn't help,too) especially if you are used to larger engined cars.
Equipment number 43 100 means French specification TL (or Export). So it will share the majority of parts with the more common R1123, parts that are different are 99% interchangeable between the two models.
Very interesting to hear that a R4 has found its way to the USA, it was never imported, officially or not, or does anyone know of other R4s there?
 
Hey thanks so much for the help, and glad that I found this forum. Happy to know I can order parts same as the R1123. I also would be interested to know of any other R4's in the USA.
My logbook shows engine number as 427151 and VIN is 0497177

What grade of petrol do you all use ?

Thank you all for the help. Spencer
 
Not much use to you in Atlanta but I use Tesco 99 octane when I can get it, it makes a big improvement in performance to my GTl.
Nitro might help
regards
Allan
 
I can get 97, 91, or 89 at the pumps- do you recommend the highest octane then ?
They sell racing fuel a few miles away in Alabama, but its twice the price.
 
If I remember correctly minimum RON for these engines was 86 (leaded petrol). I think 91 RON is safe. Even though 89 octane is within the specifications, with unleaded you get a little higher combustion chamber temperatures and it may cause pinking.
If the ignition timing is set at the factory spec and the compression ratio not altered, the engine will not know if you filled the tank with 95, 99 RON or AVGAS! People think the octane number is a "magic" number that indicates the quality of the fuel in general. The oil companies also maintain this myth claiming that you will get better mpg, cleaner engine internals etc by using their "special" fuel (which happens of course to be pricier...). The truth is, of course, that octane number indicates the fuel's resistance to pinking. So if your car does not pink normally (it shouldn't) you will get absolutely no gains.
Even on modern cars with knock sensors and "intelligent" ignition control, the best gain you will get by using 100 octane (instead of 95) will be around 3 hp. Tests have proven it. I don't know many human beings that will notice the difference on their cars...(if they were not being told that it ran on 100 octane).
 
While agreeing with Angel on fuel I can only report on the performance of my car, on normal 95 its 3rd gear on the hill to my house, on 99 its 4th with a lot less pinking. 97 is not as good as 99 but seems to give less pinking than 95
Allan
 
Remember, Allan, that your R4 is a GTL which is very sensitive to pinking and incorrect ignition advance setting, it really needs to be spot-on. The lean carburettor setting doesn't help, too.
Spencer's R4 has the 3-bearing engine, on which I have found that you can advance the timing another 2-3 degrees, run on 95 RON unleaded and still will not pink unless very hot (40 degrees C) outside.
You just said that your R4 pinks on 97 RON too. Therefore with the 99 octane fuel you simply cure that problem.
One more comment, when burning unleaded, combustion chamber temperatures tend to be higher, therefore pinking will appear a little easier even on the same octane grade. I am talking about old leaded petrol, not modern LRP.
 
One thing I've found is all distributors are not equal. If I get a car that's prone to pinking I've found that changing the distributor sometimes helps. I've only got distributors from one manufacturer (I forget the name but it begins with F) so it's not a model change I'm seeing.

I guess they can wear or the advance springs stretch a bit over time. The 1108 is really sensitive to pinking with that weak mixture which probably highlights the problem. Retarding the ignition sorts out the pinking.

Don't recall a problem with the 850 engines, just the 1108s.
 
The 'F' distributor is a Femsa!! They also fitted Ducellier, Magnetti Marrelli and one beginning with S (San Marchal or something like that)!!
 
Angel- here in the USA the octane is not as high as in UK. With my old Minis I use the highest octane available in the US, cheap petrol gives me running on or pinking.
I have been using the highest octane in my Renault since I have been given good advise here, and I notice it runs so much better.
Sometimes I have filled her up with high octane and she runs on- My Mini tells me if their petrol is good or not as will the Renault.
 
SEV-Marchal is the brand...
Femsa is not so good quality compared to Ducellier or Marchal. I am not surprised to hear that the advance curve has altered with time. Never had this experience with Marchal or Ducellier.
I've never had problems with any fuel I fill, no matter how cheap.And fuel quality in Greece is thought to be among the worst in Europe, not to mention the hot climate that tends to degrade the fuel when left stood for long.
 
Hi. I'm Giovanni from Cosenza (Italy) and I'm new here.
I've a red 1979's R4 TL 845 and I'm happy to have it. It's a fantastic car
and I use it everyday. It has over 300k kms.
I'm sorry for my English, I know that it isn't perfect.

See you soon!
 
I took my GTL to a local tuner who diagnosed a weak diaphragm causing too much advance too early so we disconnected the vacuum, still pinks a bit but better than it was
 
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