1997 Renault Laguna RT from UK and Ireland - Comments

I have got a 2002 Laguna Estate and have serious leak problems, not just in the back, but also in the front. The carpets are completely soaked and I can't seem to find the problem. The water seems to be getting in behind the dash near the fuse box on the drivers side. A renault mechanic suggested that it could be getting in through the roof bars and running through to behind the dash? Any help would be much appreciated.

I have a 1996 Laguna 1.8 RT (8 valve) and it's great. Had very few problems with it and even when my cambelt broke, I simply lined up the marks, replaced the cambelt £12, and the tensioners and everything was fine. Actually runs better now. Don't be afraid to have a go yourself. I followed the instructions in the Haynes manual and 2 hours later the car was fixed and saved myself a fortune at the garage. Do however get yourself a 16mm spanner. The french do use some weird sizes sometimes. If you want any advice on doing it email me at geeza79@hotmail.com.

Laguna's love them. Don't ever want to get rid of it

Hi, I've just bought a one owner Laguna 1.6 RT with £63k on the clock for £600, which I thought was a decent deal. I don't think it's ever had a new cambelt, so I will probably get it changed by my local garage - any ideas on how much I should be paying for this?

Also, there is a humming drone coming from, I think, the back end. Could this be wheel bearings?

Cheers.

I purchased a 1996 Renault Laguna 2.2 RT DT Estate this year. It ran fine for a week, then the radiator dropped its contents on a friend's driveway. The radiator turned out to be completely rotten along the bottom, but looked original. Replaced it with a more aluminium looking one for £200 and no more problems there.

Ironically I am now seeing a lot of water in the drivers side rear foot-well, and I am going to try the solution mentioned in this forum.

The gearbox does not like 1st, 3rd or reverse. Generally it has good days and bad days, as does the clutch, which you have to bury into the floor to operate. The car, otherwise is an absolute pleasure to drive on long journeys. Its comfortable and roomy (despite my slight overweight problem) and gets very good mileage. A bit tired of listening to the turbo whistling away though.

I have to say I do like the car, although I refer to it as a P.O.S.

Hi,

I have both rear doors leaking in my 1996 Laguna RT Sport during heavy enough rain, which in turn SOAKS the floors in the rear. I actually tried making the small cuts in the rubber door-seals (both sides) with a brand new stanley blade (for sharp-clean cuts), about 2mm holes x 4 inches long. However, it hasn't sorted the problem at all.

After checking again, the rain seems to make its way in through the top of the door, due to the intact but soft & worn seal going round the top of the actual doors.

I'm thinking of resorting to applying some clear water-proof sealant/mastic along the top of the inner door-way (on the car itself), which will hopefully deflect the water from dripping straight down onto the floor, and hopefully guide it down the rubber seals then through the holes I've cut at the bottom.

I'm just waiting on some dry weather though - for the sealant to be applied and dry...

In the meantime I'll continue using `Magic Tree` air fresheners to take away the mild whiff of dampness. They work a treat!