1998 Renault Laguna 3.0 RTi V6 24v
Here is my Laguna upgrade. As I mentioned previously, I got somewhat bored of the deisel Laguna so decided to go for something with a little more grunt. I had enjoyed the comfort and space that was available with the Laguna so decided to stick with one.
This is a 3.0 litre fuel injected V6 24 valved engine and depressing the accelerator pedal would confirm this. I paid £750 for this car which, for the performance you get, is as cheap as chips.
Toys in this beauty included; Airconditioning, Automatic Climate Control, Talking Trip Computer, Cruise Control, 6 Disc CD Changer amongst others.
The best thing I found with this car is the fact that she doesn't look like a sports car to your average boy racer at the lights. Believe me when I say I had many a surprised faces in my rear view mirror many a times over the year or so that I owned her.
Downside to all this fun was the low MPG and cost of parts/repairs. Being a rarer model and also the fact that this particular model was right on the cusp of Mk I Phase I and Mk I Phase II parts were very hard to come by.
The most ludicrous price I was quoted for work on this beast was £900 plus parts to change the rear three spark plugs.......yes that's right.........spark plugs, a normal service item. The quote was, of course, from the main dealers and I managed to find a garage that could do them for £105 which was a huge mark down.
One problem I came across over my ownership were a broken power feed to the heaters blower motor which I duly fixed by installing my own feed direct from the battery with an in-line fuse. Another was an absolute nightmare to pinpoint, I had been suffering with a drop in revs, hesitation at junctions, stalling, mis-firing and could not find the culprit. I changed the spark plugs, had the throttle body cleaned and searched and searched for other possible causes. It eventually turned out to be a £13 sensor, the Temperature Sender to be precise, five minutes and the problem was fixed.
Having loved every minute of owning her the dream had to come crashing down around me. I noticed that I had been loosing fluid from somewhere due to the tell tale pools on the road. I investigated and found the culprit to be the gearbox leaking fluid from not one driveshaft but both. I was informed that to rectify the problem the engine and gearbox would need to be removed at a vast cost which, alas, I did not have.
Once again, eBay was involved and I sold her as seen with her problem highlighted for a measly £350. I still miss her to this day!
Specifications
Engine Size......................................................................2946 cc
Cylinders.......................................................................................6
0-60 mph.........................................................................7.5 secs
Power Output...................................................................194 bhp
Valves..........................................................................................24
Torque...............................................................................267 Nm
Top Speed.......................................................................146 mph
MPG (mixed)...............................................................................25
Insurance Group........................................................................16
