04 Megane pulling to the right under acceleration - HELP!!

[RichM]

Hi Guys,

We have an 04 Megane 1.6 Dynamiq. It went in to Mr Clutch to have a clutch and oil seal replaced. Since they did the work it's been pulling to the right under acceleration and then snaps back to the left when you let off. It's been back to Mr clutch and they have checked everything they can think of including...

Taking the gearbox apart and checking it
Checking the sub frame
Cross measuring the chassis and wheels to make sure it's straight.
Swapping the wheels front to back.
4 Wheel alignment
Checking drive shafts are fitted correctly and in good shape
Checking the diff is working as it should be.

They can find nothing wrong and I now have a car that's un-drivable!!! It doesn't pull or drive weird if the engine / clutch is not engaged.

Has anyone come across this before with a Megane? Is there something odd about the setup of these cars?

HELP!

Thanks, Rich

[pw981]

Hi RIch,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I cannot give any advice on what it might be technically, but if the problem was not existent before you took it to Mr Clutch, it is very likely they have obviously caused it!

When you say they took the gearbox apart and checked the diff to make sure it is working correctly, how long was the car in for when they were doing this? For some reason I don't think they actually did this at all - more over just made up an excuse.

I don't think even a Renault dealer would take apart a gearbox/diff to check if its working correctly after the clutch has been changed because these parts are merely removed then put back on. The labour involved to take a gearbox/diff apart would be much longer and costlier than 'just' changing the clutch!

Hopefully some other members will give you some more advice, but how are Mr Clutch treating you at the moment, have they washed their hands of the problem saying they are not at fault? Or are they sympathetic and accepting blame and trying to solve it?

[rteone]

I had this problem on car i have just bought,and discoverd that the o/s/f lower wishbone the long horizontal fixing bolt wasnt properly tight and allowing the arm to move in and out when accelerating/decelerating,hope this helps.

[RichM]

Thanks both for your advice, I'll take a look at that wishbone fixing point. We've written a long letter to the MD of Mr Clutch now to see if they will help. In the mean time to get my wife back on the road, we went out at the weekend and bought a 2nd Megane. This time in that beautiful metallic blue. It cost us nearly twice as much as the silver one but it's like a new car. Previous owner had it from new and REALLY looked after it.

Thanks, Rich