unleaded petrol?

[bob]

HI. I´ve just moved to Spain and bought a 1989 Renault 4 furgoneta.
I am unclear on 95 unleaded petrol. Anyone had any problems-burned valves etc?
My car -1 owner from new and has covered 145000 km. No rust evrrything seems to work fine. WHere can I get workshop manual. Returning to England in a month.

 

[Simon.AU]

The jury still seems to be out on whether unleaded is OK without additives for Renault motors. However my R4 with an 845cc, type 800-01, 8.0:1 compression motor has run OK on normal (91 octane) unleaded with no signs of VSR just on 30,000 miles. My just recently sold R12 with a 1289 Sierra (R4 GTL) type motor (type 810-05, 9.5:1 compression) was run on 95 octane unleaded and also showed no signs of VSR over at least 45,000 miles since lead replacement fuel was no longer available.

As for a workshop manual, try Ebay, also Haynes has a reprint of the R4 manual on their website, but it seems rather exxy to me.

 

[malcolm]

There was a detailed discussion about unleaded a while ago but we didn't come to any real agreement. We're fairly certain that the R4 valve seats should be OK for unleaded but I've burned valves in two engines after extended full speed motorway driving, so tend to run unleaded for ordinary driving, but drop an additive in for long motorway journeys.

 

[Bluebell]

Petrol

Last time I went for an MOT I asked the chap at the garage about petrol. I told him that I'd been using Sainsbury's petrol and the car had not been it's usual perky self. He looked aghast :eek: and said avoid cheap supermarket petrol as they don't put enough additives in it. He had recently seen 4 engines ruined by running too hot. He said the best to use was Shell, followed by BP and Esso. Tesco at a pinch because it was Mobil II.
Incidentally we noticed this year that supermarket petrol in France was pretty dire. It's not worth saving a few pence per litre when you're damaging the engine and getting fewer MPGs.

 

[gpovanman]

I use lead additive as a matter of course, routinely cruise at 120 kph, and have covered 15000 km in the last 3 months without any problem. Prevention is better than cure.

 

[YellowVan]

Hi there,

Im new to the forum but bought a renault 4 F4 van today and i am really looking forward to getting stuck in to some fun motoring! I know this is probably a really silly question but did they never make a diesel version? And as for additive which one sould i buy? Thanks in advance for any responces :-)
YellowVan

 

[gpovanman]

The only engines they made were the 845 cc and the 1108 petrol, that I know of. They are very economical, so you would not gain a great deal even if there was one! Would be hellishly economical though....