urgent advice please! coils nightmare!

[joolz]

Hi All
I've just had a nightmare time doing a simple coil change-yes, you've guessed it, when I removed the first coil, I moved it horizontal as the lead was still held by the clip and the bolt dropped down into the engine to who knows where!

My questions are - is it safe to start the car to test the coils?
and where can I get a replacement bolt(please don't tell me a dealership!)?
TIA

Joolz


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[TheFinn]

For a new bolt, try any hardware store. Just take one of the other bolts with you for a reference. And, even if almost everything is heavily priced at Renault, a simple bolt of this type shouldn't cost a fortune even at a stealership...

I stupidly flooded my coils and after drying them out test-ran the engine for a while without the bolts. It didn't do any damage, but the coils have a tendency to "pop up" off the spark plugs if permanently left without the bolts.

[joolz]

Thanks for your reply, I successfully found a temp replacement @ B&Q (bolt #307), although it has a screw-head javascript:emoticon(':(')
Sad, which I'll replace long term from a dealership(they didn't have any in stock - surprising as this is such a common problem). They also advised that it was safe to start the engine, so I began the replacement process:
I started work when the engine was cold as per very good advice from previous posts javascript:emoticon(':bow')
bow. I checked each coil individually to see if there was any apparent shorting (black marks) anywhere. They all looked the same. I then removed each one separately to check if there was no difference in tick-over. This also wasn't easily identified. I then decided replace succeeding coils and do a short test drive. It worked for me on coil number 2!javascript:emoticon(':tu')
thumbs up Problem solved - for now at least. By the way, a tip on removing the clips from the leads. Leave the coils in place - this will give better leverage to release the clip.
Regards Joolz