Consistant drone on motorway journeys

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Aaronjoy

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I've noticed since i've had the twingo that the engine drones and then goes quiet and then drones and then goes quiet and so on when on motorways, i didn't think anything of it at first and it doesn't appear to have an affect on the way the car performs or drives, but since the fiance noticed it the other day i thought i'd see if it was a common thing or whether that's just how the revvy little engine is?

Thanks :)
 
what you want to do is check for air leaks running from the air filter housing after the air filter to the inlet manifold gasket. to do this, simply get some fairy liquid into an empty bottle of skooshy mr muscle or whatever lol, spray it on to the edge of the inlet manifold and you should be able to spot bubbles from where air is leaking in to the manifold. this would create a much noisier induction sound under certain throttle conditions.

the second option will be to check to see wether or not the exhaust is blowing, this will be a case of jacking the car up onto axle stands and getting your backside under there to feel around the exhaust connections for blowing (which will feel like blowing out your mouth onto your hand!) offcourse lol. if you can't find anything in the exhaust system, but you can smell exhaust gasses in the engine bay then it could be your exhaust manifold gasket that's developed a leak. this is very very very unusual for a renault engine, but if your handy with the tools then an exhaust manifold gasket costs the price of a few packs of fags.

one last thing, does it have an aftermarket air intake or is it just the standard renaultsport 16v box?
 
I'll have to carry those tests out in the next few days when the weathers a bit better here.

The whole car is completely standard, 2012 and it's done 9k miles

It's just a strange noise, never heard it before in a car
 
i get it all the time with my zip tied mushroom, hit the boost and BINGO it's vibrating all over the place like a girls best battery operated friend :) well if you don't want to find the little niggle yourself, get it into a renault dealership or back to where you bought it. you'll either have warranty from renault for 3 or 4 years mate so you'll be covered, so don't worry about it. it's certainly a strange one
 
not if it's under warranty no, you just need to inform the renault dealership that it's under warranty still and also tell them that the car is completely standard with no modifications whatsoever.

give renault uk a phone to confirm this first, they will let you know the procedure. better to hear it from the horses mouth so to speak!
 
Thanks for your help Oscar i'll give them a call today and see what they can do this week, would you recommend the place where i got it? I got it from a renault lookers dealership in chester, they have their own mot test station etc. First time i've actially owned a car still under warranty haha!
 
yeah man, the only place that R-UK will agree to have warranty work undertaken will be at a renault dealership because the technicians are factory trained. best thing to do is give them a phone, most dealerships will try to tell you that there will be an 80 quid diagnostic fee ... once it's diagnosed, that's when they put the warranty claim to renault ... essentially taking a diagnostic fee from you, and then claiming another one + the go ahead for the cost of the work itself. so what you'll want to do is see wether or not renault uk will book you into your local dealership directly through themselves so that you are not out of pocket
 
Oscar. With the fairy liquid n bubbles, you wouldnt see anything. Its ok for you with boost but our inlet will have a vacuum, so any bubbles would form inside the plenum/inlet.

You should be able to hear a vacuum leak as a high pitched whistle. But, a slight air leak will be more noticeable at idle because the throttle plate is closed so the vacuum is greatest, so any additional air entering the engine gives an different idle. On the motorway, the throttle will be opened between 15-30% so air can easily enter the inlet in much greater quantities than through a small leak.

One test is on a COLD engine, use a blowtorch switched on, but unlit so the gas can be drawn into the engine through any inlet leaks. Any leaks will show up as a change in idle speed from the extra fuel. Carbcleaner or easy start also work but theres a greater chance of a fire with liquid sprays
 
shite! i was assuming that this was a GT for some reason, but neils correct. the idle will pick up and smoothe out briefly and you will hear this instantly, you'll then know where the intake leak is ... in which case, it'll be new gasket time.

the more i think on it though, the more it sounds like an exhaust related problem. does the drone change with RPM and throttle position? say you're going 50 in 5th gear, when you floor the throttle does the noise increase with the position of the throttle in relation to the increasing rpm's ... or does it only get louder with the RPM's (if so, this will be the exhaust blowing)

it's extremely hard to try and diagnose problems over the internet, for example it could even be a missfire related issue. you'd be surprised the sorts of noises a intermitent missfire can create at higher RPM's. either way, it's good that you're covered by warranty.
 
if i'm on the motorway going 60 upwards it's most noticeable, it doesn't get louder depending on rpm.
For example i'm going a consistent 70 and the engine (or something) will sound normal as it does under those revs and then go quiet for the equal amount of time and do that constantly, it's not overly loud but i thought it's worth getting checked out.
 
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