Calling all mechanics **updated**

[BIKELESS STEVE]

I'm slowly losing the will to live...
My Renault Laguna's cambelt snapped boll*ksing the engine.
I bought a replacement from a renault breakers and a friend of mine helped my fit it. All was going great until we started it and heard blowing from manifold. Tracked it down to the gasket (which we'd replaced from euro car parts). It didn't fit properly and have since taken it to a garage to have it replaced (seemed easier as £40 a good price). They've tried 2 standard gaskets and they don't fit. I've contacted the company I got the engine from and they say the K4M engines all had the same block and the manifold should be the same. If I can't get one to fit what are my options ?
Does anyone make custom gaskets as the manifold mates up to the block and bolts in ok. The engine was from a 1.616v Clio.
I know it's a long shot but I've already thrown £450 at it and the cars only owes me £1000.

[SlimRick]

Could you phone a stealership with the engine number and get a gasket part number from them?

[BIKELESS STEVE]

Have just got that, passed that on to the garage...fingers crossed.
Hopefully it's just a case of several different model numbers.
If it was just gonna be noisy I could handle that but if air gets into the manifold and the lambda sensor knackers up the air/fuel mixture I'm told I run the risk of knackering the cat. Cars are a bunch of arse, If i was single I'd f**k it off and live on my bike.

[the grim reaper]

French cars are a nightmare for being bitsa's, they just chuck whatever they have in the parts bin on them and leave the owners with a nightmare when it comes to parts. I remember buying some brake pads for my Peugeot 309 many years ago. I though I have the bases covered, Girling brakes, disc diameter, disc thickness, pad design drawing etc. I went into Euro car parts and the bloke said 'What size is the friction area?'. Apparently it could be one of two sizes, 40mm or 60mm.

Arse.

As far as gaskets go, is the problem that the gasket is the wrong thickness or a completely wrong design?

Cheers

Grim
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[BIKELESS STEVE]

They have a gasket that fits the engine block side, a gasket that fits the manifold side but they don't match. It turns out the engine is from a Megane and needs that manifold. Kudos to the company I bought the engine from though as they're posting me a megane manifold F.O.C here's hoping the manifold from a megane mates with the pipe that joins the cat. Next time I'm buying another bloody vauxhall cavalier or a Ford Escort. I like the comfort and looks of the Laguna, I don't like fixing them.

[ms51ves3]

[BIKELESS STEVE]

My dream (affordable) car is a nice shiny honda civic.
My previous car history is really dull,
Ford ka (traded in), Ford Ka (written off 2nd attempt), Vauxhall Cavalier (rusted and heater matrix broke), Rover 620 (old giffer wrote it off by reversing into me a high speed), Vauxhall Calibra (I rear ended a van) then Laguna. I did like the Rover, bouncy comfy car but drank fuel.

[Faldo]

Are you sure it's the gasket blowing? 1.6 16v manifolds are very common for cracking.

If it helps 77 00 107 181 is the part number for a Clio 1.6 16v exhaust manifold gasket and it should look like this:

https://www2.carparts-cat.com/webdata/ImageData/artbild/10/852190.JPG

Edit:

The Laguna and Clio K4M engine do have a slightly different suffix (K4M 720 or 724 will have come out and you've put a K4M 748 or 708 in) but the manifold gaskets do have the same part number.
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[BIKELESS STEVE]

That was a worry but the manifold was fine before we took the engine out. The replacement manifold arrives tuesday so here's hoping it fits and is in good nick. I shall dance a merry jig if it works or stab a frenchman if it doesn't !

[The Artist]

[BIKELESS STEVE]

I can see the upside. Ok revised P.O.A, stab a frenchman (whilst disguised as Gordon Brown), dance a merry jig afterwards (to show lack of compassion) then worry about the car another day.

[the grim reaper]

If I remember correctly, a lot of the Renault's are arse about face, with the exhaust coming out of the back of the engine (where every other manufacturer puts the inlet) and the inlet in the front of the block.

The exhaust manifolds on there were a design in two halves that was welded together down the seams, they are prone to cracking by the seams and are a bitch to weld, it rarely lasts. A new manifold is about £400

Cheers

Grim
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[BIKELESS STEVE]

Yes it does exit at the back of the engine and they are silly money to replace new. I'll be looking at offloading this at some point once the work's been done for something more reliable. Am about to become a parent so don't want to have to worry about the car.

[owdamer]

Its a well known fact that when buying renault parts you have to make sure everything was made on the same day. A gasket made on a tuesday wont fit a car that was made on a wednesday.
Once you have found the day your engine was made, you find a gasket that was made the same day. Dont forget to take into account if you buy monday parts on a tuesday they are probably wont fit either.....
Buy a ford. They may be common but you'll never struggle with spares.

[cagiva gezzer]

GF has a megane with a 1.4L E7J engine in it . . .

According to my local specialist Renault breaker he's never seen that combination.
According to haynes that doesn't exist as a combination.

I hate it. Despise it. Still trying to find a Idle Valve for it 3 months on . .
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[BIKELESS STEVE]

Well, all working fine now, purring like a kitten.
Just needed the manifold off the doner engine as well as they're slightly different. Thanks for the replies, I'd posted on a renault forum in 'ask the experts' and although 56 experts read the post, not one managed to reply with even a 'dunno'. BCF for the win.