Leaking scuttle panel

The scuttle panel is the trim panel infront of the windscreen, which has the wiper spindles coming up through it. The scuttle is in two parts, one being fixed( UK drivers side) and the other section sitting over the top of the fixed piece. I have found that water can leak through the joint where the two sections overlap in the center of the car.

A while back, Karl had problems with his spark plugs and coils being corroded which required replacements to be fitted as it was preventing a decent run to be made whilst getting his engine remaped, due to gasses leaking past the plug threads and sealing ring which was rusted.

The other day, after washing my car, I noticed that water was leaking through the joint in the center of the scuttle panel and drips were landing around the spark plug / coil area. There was also evidence of water having previously landed on the coil and dried, leaving a watermark.



The joint in the center of the scuttle panel, with water in the gap


Here, the water can be seen better with the rubber seal removed


The circular water mark on the coil which made me investigate


This time, the water had missed the coil and landed behind the coil, sitting next to the spark plug/coil recess. I suppose it depends where the car is parked as to wether water leaks through and where it lands

Cheers for posting this up Neil. Think I may have noticed something like this (though was dark when I was looking) going to have by coils/plugs checked when it's next in for service.

I have posted on Renaultsport forum, to see if Renault would produce a cover for the engine, or redesign the scuttle panel. But the first reply was this is an isolated case. https://www.renaultsport.co.uk/comm...5/Rusty-sparkplugs--Engine-cover/Default.aspx

As Ollie has now mentioned, his car gets stored off the road over winter and is normaly a fair weather motor, yet his plugs have corrosion on them. Karls plugs and coils were in poor condition when Mulgari looked at them. The plugs from my spare cylinder head were very rusty so this isn't just an isolated case.

The plugs which came out of my spare head



Karls plugs and coils


So, if you have an RS133, have a good look around the coil area for any sign of water having collected and post here. Dubs also mentioned that his throttle body had been affected by water on the 1.2 engined model which also has the same scuttle.

Now you're making me scared.. I was even thinking of making a hoodlift for my car so the heat could be ventilated much easier but yotah advised me from doing that.

Just a heads up my throttle body broke due to water in the system from the loose scuttle panel

Hmm I'll have to check mine as the car is usually in a period of sitting about in rain doing nothing or getting driven and washed frequently.

I just checked mine and it's leaked and put bad water marks round the coils packs what shall I do take it to Reno??

I've just washed Twiglet, which is a 1.2 facelift (aww bless) and theres a drip of water hanging from the center of the scuttle... which as Dubs mentions it just above the throttle body on the 1.2, so depending on how the car is parked, they could easily fall onto the stepper motor of the TB. Theres a slight mark, within the dips of the throttle body, but, as yet nothing enough to show on a photo as it's only a coupe of months old



Poll now added and I've allowed re-voting so you can change your selection if you vote no, but then need to change to yes. Just enabled the poll to have two votes, for those of us with a 1.6 and 1.2 in the family

Interesting read, will have a look on my sisters 133 tomorrow.

Just checked mine, no leaks to speak of when I drenched the area with a hose. Just out of interest is the screw that closes the gap on your scuttles tight? a possible at home fix to save all you 133 owners loosing your cars for a day or two to renault.

Now that this has been highlighted, I think I might just undo mine, lift one side to put bathroom sealant between the two parts before screwing back down.

As has been said, prevention means I don't have the hassle of losing the car for a day or two.

why should you have to rectify a design fault tho? More people that bring this up with Renault etc better chance of the problem being rectified.

Ollie133cup":313yqbc3 said:

why should you have to rectify a design fault tho? More people that bring this up with Renault etc better chance of the problem being rectified.

Click to expand...

Because it's 5 minutes work, and saves me a couple of hours at a minimum for one, and I'm not of the opinion that Renault have to do anything about it. They could easily say that in most cases the problem won't appear until it's out of warranty, so there's no reason for them to fix it.

Just because something has a warranty, doesn't give an owner carte blanche to throw a car back at a manufacturer for every little niggle, and then to say that the manufacturer is rubbish when they don't agree to fix.

I have no problem with writing to Renault about it, but will not be wasting any more of my life over something that can be fixed for a few pence in next to no time.

Will have a look tomorrow.
Thanks to Neil for pointing this out, could be a big bill saver for those whose car is just about out of warranty.

Araf - agreed, home fix if possible is the way to go, thats as long as the damage has not already been done.
My Renault garage is 39miles each way. :-(

JMR":2mjuj7jw said:

Will have a look tomorrow.
Thanks to Neil for pointing this out, could be a big bill saver for those whose car is just about out of warranty.

Araf - agreed, home fix if possible is the way to go, thats as long as the damage has not already been done.
My Renault garage is 39miles each way. :-(

Click to expand...

Yes, sealant would probably resolve the leak, but any prolonged leak may have already caused damage to the coils/plugs. Enjoy getting the joint area clean and dry for the sealant to stick to properly as the scuttle is fiddly to remove without breaking any clips.

Checked mine and it has very obvious watermarks on the coil pack, and signs that water has been presant in the surronding area for a very long time. Another nail in the coffin.

How much does a new coilpack and a set of plugs cost to replace?

Seem to remember when Karl said about it in his progress thread it was in the region of a bit under £300

Ign Coil £54.82 each
Spark plugs £8.28 each

Bare in mind you need 4 of each bringing this to a total of £252.40!

Being a bit of a n00b for actual engine components, if for instance only one of your ignition coils had been corroded, would it still be necessary/best to replace all four?