Laguna 1.9 dTI niggles

Hi,

I recently bought a Mk1½ 99-T-reg 1.9RT dTI with 133K miles. Its a very nice looking mota with decent blemish free original bodywork. Thats normally a good place to start when buying bangers.

I got it reasonably cheap (£3K) so I didn't expect it wouldn't be perfect by any means. The Laguna wasn't my first choice, but Passat TDIs & 406 HDIs aren't too common @ £3k unless they're dodgy.

Are there any Laguna / Renault guru's in this N.G. that could offer some advice ?

So far, in week no-1 I've sorted out the defective bonnet catches, and replaced a busted exhaust rubber mount.

These questions are now based on other things I've identified :-

1.) Even though I've put a new exhaust mount on, theres still a bit of shuddering and gears are little tricky to engage (I'm used to an Audi TDI with a slick gear change). Do these cars suffer from any common problems with engine mounts or gear linkage bushes wearing out ?

2.) My o/s rear footwell is soaking wet. All the other footweels are dry and so is the boot. Therefore I assume there is some water ingress path coming from the o/s dear door. I don't believe the car has ever been accident repaired, but I'm surprised to see a 4 yr old car leaking water ( Laguna isn't a well thought out name in this case ). Is this a common problem and if so is there an easy fix ?

3.) Further to 2. ) The car has been smoked in and could do with a proper interior strip & valet. If I tried to remove any seats, am I going to trigger any problems with my airbag etc?

4.) The single CD player is dead. I've double checked the feed and no fused are popped. I've opened up the unit and there's no sign of any electical damage. Is there any simple way to check out whether its scrap or repairable?

5.) I've noticed if I take a hard right turn, something rubs against the tyre. Do Laguna's have any problems with wheel arch liners becoming loose or misaligned ?

6.) With 134K miles now on it, its long overdue its 2nd timing belt ( history says it had one @ 62K so its a timebomb at the moment !) Not having a Haynes manual for it yet, I wondered if it was a straight-forward job with lots of position locking points thought out by Renault, or is doing the belts a minefield ? Plus are the belt tensioners bulletproof , i.e. should I replace the tensioner when doing the belt ?

7.) Are there any good sources for Laguna info, eg forums / websites etc?

) Are there any other things I should be looking for as telltale signs of common defects about to happen?

Thx

It's a French gearbox - you stir it around a bit until you find the correct gear - like making Christmas pudding. Don't compare it with the German equivalents whre if you point it in the right direction it finds its own way.

This is unlikely to be the door. Have you taken the carpet up to look underneath (rear sills / wheel arch)? I know of one sun roof that leaked on the rear carpet. Try drying it out and getting someone to hose the car down while you stay inside.

Unlikely unless you have the seat airbags. Removing the seat is a sod of a job. Just as easy to valet it in place.

Not many of these units are really worth repairing professionally.

Set the steering to full-right lock and have a look around the wheel with a torch. If you can't see anything tounching, get someone to bounce on the wheelarch. Look for marks on the tyre. If something is touching it will leave a mark.

Always. It's much easier to change it when you change the belt - even if it's not necessary!!

Sorry - can't help.