Despite all the money spent recently, the Avantime has rewarded me with a persistent transmission oil leak. I could not find the source of leak as it stretched the bottom of the transmission but no higher. I suspected it was coming from the dipstick tube, which I have removed several times. I ordered some new O rings from Renault for £3.24, but several weeks later they have still not left France... After giving the car a rest for a few weeks while borrowing another car, the leak ultimately stopped, and with topping up the transmission oil, I've not had another leak since.
With the 100,000 mile switch looming, i had been contemplating swapping the car for a cheaper to run 2.0T. However, after all the money I have invested and the relationship I have with the car, this consideration quickly faded and my thoughts towards getting the car to the condition I want it in returned. I am using a car for a few weeks instead of the Avantime, with the hope of looking into some of the issues before the MOT next month.
At my place of work, i arranged a car show to raise money for charity, and of course being my event and always looking for an opportunity to show off the Avi, I secured a place in it. Instead of seeing to the oil leak, I made the unusual decision to change the headlights 4 days before the event. This ended up using three whole evenings right up to the night before!
When I bought the car the euro deflectors were left on as the car was only really used to travel abroad. Over time the residue had burnt on and the multiple attempts to remove were not successful, only causing more damage to the lenses. As part of a purchase I made from a breaking car, I bought the xenon headlights. Removing the bumper proved tricky. Removing the vent panels was OK, as was the bolts along the top and bottom of car. However, i noticed that all of the bolts holding the bumper on at the bottom were missing and it appears that the wheels have rubbed through the edge of the bumper, causing damage on both sides. This might be the feeling I get when the wheels 'bounce' at full lock. They must be getting stuck on the bumper... The fixings in the wheel arches were like nothing I have ever seen before. They were like rivots with metal blob prongs at the back and no drilling or man handling could get them off. The plastic trim of the bumper split before the rivet gave way. 
Ultimately it seems that the bumper needs replacing, and I have seen some new ones still available. But this is a task for the future. Having wrestled the bumper off, I took the headlights off. As I knew the headlights worked, I swapped the xenon bulbs and the xenon ballasts if possible. I only did this on one as the other one had rusty bolts. Having done this I fitted them and cleaned them. Paint on the old headlights and grill seems to suggest that the bumper was repainted at some point. I decided to replace the lower grill with one I purchased from a breaking car. Although a small point, a white stain on the lower grill always caught my eye and would not disappear despite my agents I tried! I tried to be gentle but the old grill just broke when trying to be removed. The new one had some breakages between the rows, which I superglued and then refitted. Having testing the lights, they seem to be working OK! I'm not sure if they are level, but the MOT next month will tell me that.
