Renault Clio crankshaft sensor - the straw that broke the camel's back?!

kittykitten

My 53 reg renault clio mark II conked out today less than 50 yards from my front door. RAC man said the crankshaft sensor was the cause, he cleaned it and car is working, but he advised it needs to go to a garage for replacement of the part.

My problem now is this is the latest in 3 problems with this car this year. I'm starting to wonder if it's trying to tell me something! Ended up paying £700 for a second-hand engine last time, although that was including fitting, so not bad cost considering.

I guess what I'm asking for advice on is 2 things - is this likely to be expensive to replace, and is it something that could have happened to any car at any time, or should I be taking it as a sign?! Maybe it's time to think about a new car!

Thanks in advance.

Notmyrealname

Crankshaft sensors are cheap, labour is minimal as you've seen by the fact he cleaned it at the roadside.

TBH I'd stick with what you've got. Unless you've got £4k or more to spend on a replacement, the one you get is likely to be no better than the one you have. At least on this one you know what has been done.

wealdroam

kittykitten wrote: »

...RAC man said the crankshaft sensor was the cause, he cleaned it and car is working, but he advised it needs to go to a garage for replacement of the part.

I had a similar problem with my 2003 Clio a couple of weeks ago and an RAC man performed the same remedy.

He marked the sheet as a 'temporary repair' and also explained that he had to advise me to get the sensor replaced.
We did agree though that the existing sensor would continue to do it's job and may well last many years before needing replacing or cleaning again.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

hey kitty, you dont know when the crank sensor was replaced on your salvage engine so it could have been there from new. at points in a cars life something will go down on it.

the crank sensor and the labour wont be as much as you think and you could do it yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NOrcxaxoZY its a scenic in this vid but the location and process is the same! buy the part, 2 10mm bolts discon from wire plug and reverse the process, 15 mins should see a novice do it.

s_b

buy quality part from factor
do not buy via internet

Imp

I cleaned my crank shaft sensor on my 03 Clio at about 50k miles. I'm now on 144k miles. The Clio is a lovely little car to start to do your own work on. The problems seem completely predictable and are well documented on the internet, along with instructions for correcting them. In nearly 150k the only problems have been:

Ignition coils failing - Parts £20 and 5 minutes labour
Crank shaft sensor - Parts £0, and 20 minutes labour
Bad earth connecting in rear lighting unit - Parts £0 and about 2 hours labour finding the fault
Fraid wire near engine - Parts £2 (electrical tape) and about 5 minutes labour.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Imp wrote: »

I cleaned my crank shaft sensor on my 03 Clio at about 50k miles. I'm now on 144k miles. The Clio is a lovely little car to start to do your own work on. The problems seem completely predictable and are well documented on the internet, along with instructions for correcting them. In nearly 150k the only problems have been:

Ignition coils failing - Parts £20 and 5 minutes labour
Crank shaft sensor - Parts £0, and 20 minutes labour
Bad earth connecting in rear lighting unit - Parts £0 and about 2 hours labour finding the fault

Fraid wire near engine - Parts £2 (electrical tape) and about 5 minutes labour.

the valeo (greentop) coil packs or the (lucas) upgrades last longer, bought as a pack of four works out cheaper and replace all four at the same time (keep any that are working form you replacements as back ups in the boot).

crankshaft sensors can cake up in clutch dust, sometimes a clean with carb or brake cleaner can eliminate the problem sometime its a genuin fault with it.

fried wire near engine, there is an upgraded wire pack for this cause. simuarly get the correct gauge wire cut out the fired bit and give a bit of extra lengh on the replacement to eliminate the chaffing that causes this, protect with a platstic cable protector wrapped in insulating tape.