Richard123

There is a tutorial online of an Esprit owner who disables the ABS on a later model to improve brake "feel", then wires in resistors to get rid of the light. I haven't done it yet, as I'm so bloody happy to have brakes again that I didn't dare tempt fate, bit will shortly. I will report back if the difference is significant. Second last thing I want on my Esprit is ABS, lol.

Yes to everything said. Modern cars automatically switch to recirc when the air conditioning is first needed, Lotus had you do it manually. Without AC, there is no purpose to recirculating the air as it will just get humid/foggy. As per Nick's posts, replacing the actuator would definitely need to be done from the bonnet as the 3 retaining screws are there. The fan sits inside a big plastic "air box". The outside portion is where the jack and wheel wrench are mounted and removes with a few screws. The inner portion appears to be very well sealed to the fiberglass (black goo almost like what they do windshields with) and also a few screws. I think if that were removed you'd have a huge hole from bonnet to cabin. The actuator would be bolted to the back of that inner fan box. Re-install would require sealing it all back up nice, though with the outer cover on I don't think you can see the seam at all anyways.

Be very careful not to dislodge the vacuum connection whilst taking the picture..........:)

Hey John, I'm just trying to keep that ole beater of a S4 you sold me on the road! lol. I brought in a few oil seals/gaskets from the USA this winter, never even thought of the Calgary dealer to be honest. Your ex-car is going strong, still loud as all get out, and other than tires, oil and a few little niggly bits (that should be expected in a 20 year old car) has been rock solid. I hope you're enjoying the Evora S!

I think we are mixing up valves (the two little white cylinders in Ian's photo above) with the actuators they operate (that indeed look like the throttle jack). Both valves are visible in the RH footwell as is one actuator that changes cool air from dash vents to hot air from defrost/floor. The other actuator operates a flap under the bonnet to admit fresh air and is proving tough to reach, lol. (No pictures of that one unless we can get a Lotus owning surgeon to borrow one of those arthroscopic cameras and fish it in there for us.) Fortunately, heat/cool works fine with the flapper simply blocked open for now. Didn't mist up on a rainy drive in this morning,

No, I'm all strapped back together. Plugged the line and blocked the flapper open. Cleaned up the vac lines in engine compartment as I don't have the BPV or throttle jack anymore, so hopefully pump will stop cycling so often. From what I've read, the cold air flapper is pretty much always open, so I am hoping heat/vent will still work fine. AC has never worked and global warming has a bit of work to do before summers get hot enough to need it here. I'll try again from under dash when I've got more room....maybe remove the seat so I can get in there better....but for now I need to enjoy the car while the sun shines. Thanks for all the assistance though, much appreciated.

Interesting Ian. That is my valve configuration exactly, except that incoming vacuum lines are yellow and don't need elbows. Someone must have changed them out at some point, but left the black vacuum hose w/ elbows for the tougher to reach ones. Your pictures make everything look so accessible!

I'm in Canada so drivers side is on the left for us. I can see the two white plastic valves (that the cam actuates) side by side in right hand footwell with each having a yellow vacuum line in, and a black line out. One black line goes to an actuator under the right hand footwell (passenger for us). The other is now open as I've dislodged it. I removed the stereo, but all it exposed was the tee where a black vacuum line, presumably from the vacuum pump in the back, splits into the two yellow lines I mention above. The actuator I am trying to get at would be much further forward near the base of the windshield, way, way behind the stereo. Pretty sure my rummaging dislodged it as the flap doesn't operate any more. The rubber elbows are dried out and fit sloppy. Mine is 1994, if perhaps the location of the valves has changed?

Lol, I tried again today as I don't want to break open where the inner airbox is sealed into the fiberglass under the bonnet. I can see the actuator from that side, and the 3 screws securing it, but not the vacuum connection. I suppose it'd be from the passenger footwell (NA), but I can't even get close enough to the actuator to touch it. Getting your arm up and over the heater box is quite a treat on it's own. For now I will block open the fresh air vent with a stick......what sad sad day for my beloved. (I will buy a gibbon and begin it's training shortly.)

Thanks Nick, appreciate the help!

There is an outer cowl that opens up to see the fan blower/motor, is that what you refer to? Or do you mean to remove that, then the blower/motor and then the inner cowl that looks to lead directly under dash? I have the outer cowl off, and can see the actuator rod (still attached to flapper) but can't get any closer to the actuator to fix up it's connections. Thanks in advance!

So while rummaging under the dash to find vacuum leaks (electric vacuum pump cycles on/off every 3 or 4 seconds) I managed to pull one of the black vacuum tubes out. It ISN'T the one that you can see run to the under dash actuator, meaning, I think, that its the one that opens the flap under the bonnet. So, my question is.....how does one access that cold air flap actuator? From under the dash, or from under the bonnet. If from under the bonnet, I assume the inner air box that is sealed to the fiberglass has to be removed? How did you get the actuator rod off the flap. Any advice would be appreciated. (Should have let the darn thing cycle......lol.) Richard

Thinking about scenarios where the two problems are related.....perhaps you should check the consistency of the oil, likely change it. You spilled a bunch of oil on the ground and on the manifold, yet oil level is fine. That doesn't make sense. What if as the BPR filled the intake with fuel, some made it to the crankcase, thinned the oil out, caused minor leaks that you weren't monitoring to become substantial, and the fuel restored the level on the dipstick? Does the BPR vacuum line feed direct to the manifold? Memory is fading with old age, but might it tee into a crankcase ventilation line giving it a direct route to the crankcase? I'd be all over the oil. Make sure it isn't a solvent at this point.

Excellent news, now you just have to figure where the oil came from. I'd guess it's a separate problem, but if that exhaust gasket is burnt through, you'll hear it pretty good and clear on start-up!

Personally, I think you've eliminated head gasket failure with your compression test. Strong fuel smell and how you re-started the car with the tow truck operator would indicate flooding (with fuel). I think our fuel pressure regulators are typical and sense vacuum above the diaphragm. If the diaphragm fails, you get raw fuel flooding the intake and stalling out the car. Remove the vacuum line and turn the key to start the fuel pump. See if gasoline pours out. (OF course route it to a container for safety!). That'd be the next 2 minute test I'd perform. Good luck, hope it turns out to be a minor problem!

I had the o-ring (that Andy speaks of above) blow out and indeed oil runs down the heat shield and onto the exhaust manifold as shown in the pictures. I had a ton of smoke, I mean a lot of smoke, like call the fire department amount of smoke, but the car ran fine. So the only way I could see the end cap o-ring being involved is if you have 2 separate problems. Does the car smoke a bit out the engine bay vents (not the exhaust) when you start it up after a few days sitting? (I agree with others here that those compression numbers are fine, which to me seems to rule out a head gasket.) Sudden over fueling, enough to kill the engine ....maybe fuel pressure regulator?

Thanks for the heads-up. I could see it happening, as the tee fitting I was planning to use to put a pressure gauge into the system had that same issue. The pump threads are recessed fairly deep, so my fitting wasn't going to make more than a thread or two either. As I had both accumulator and pressure switch out, I decided to try "cleaning" the pressure switch, though the process seems dodgy at best. On re-install it appears all is well. I am getting 6 presses of the brake pedal to activate the pump, which is fine. I am test driving today to see if it holds true on the road, but have no reason to suspect it won't. Oddly enough, the tip about trying to clean the switch was posted by Mark T-C, who previously maintained this same car. So this is the second time cleaning this particular switch. I think he cleaned it 4 or 5 years ago, so if I can get that again I'd be rather satisfied!

The system seems to have completely given up the ghost now, with pump on and anti-lock warning flashing on the first press. I'm going to do the bleed sequence once more and then order in one of those Wabco Range Rover accumulators.

I'm troubleshooting recent braking issues in my 1994 S4 (anti-lock light and only 3 pushes to activate pump). I like to think I understand the system fairly well, but I figured I better check with the experts. Every time I depressurize the system (40 pumps), the rear portion of the fluid reservoir is murky (milky looking) indicating, I presume, that it has air in it. I can only imagine the air getting in through a failing diaphragm in the accumulator. Is that accurate? Or is there another way? I'm not losing any fluid and the brakes feel fine while driving. I bled the whole system, got it up to 5 pushes to activate pump, but 2 days later I was back down to 3 and the dreaded anti-lock light. I thought I'd ask before committing to another accumulator (this one is only 5-6 years old). Thanks, Richard.

Doesn't the oil get pumped through the oil coolers before lubricating the engine and turbocharger? If so, is it good logic to want to remove the oil from the coolers and lines? It would make oil starvation on first start-up appreciably longer, no? Did you notice if it took some extra time to get oil pressure Roger?

Hopefully it will be worth the wait! Did you bring the car into Alberta? I don't remember any 1989's up for sale locally lately. Hope to see you on the road when the snow goes..... Richard Edmonton

I finally got Freescan to work on my Esprit, and it showed a couple of issues that concern me. First, as I suspected via the gauge, I am hitting the max boost (freescan = 2.24) very early. AT 75% throttle and 4500 rpm I am already maxed out in freescan and on the factory boost gauge. Is that right? To date I've been backing off when I see the boost gauge pinned out as I don't want to pop the motor. Are there fail-safes that will kick in if indeed the wastegate sticks or such? Doesn't the ECU get involved? I only hit the 2.24 for a bit before I chicken out. Should I just be holding 'er down? Second, I have knock counts of 3 or 4 on runs and in a few spots I had "knock retard" valves of 1.1 and 2.5 and even 4.5. Is that typical? My barometric was 0.75 as we are at 2200 feet altitude. Motor 80C, MAT = 36C. MAP=0.43 at idle. 1994 S4 with oversized chargecooler, secondary injectors and Walsh turbocharger. But stock ECU I believe. Those in the know, let me know.

To Mark.... My S4 did the same when I bought it, with the pump running every time I pressed the brake pedal and the car braking very poorly. Main solution was to bleed the entire system. There is a ridiculously complex procedure involving many bleed points and at least a liter or two of brake fluid. This fixed the brake feel, but pump still ran every 2nd press so I swapped in a new accumulator (I bought one meant for a 90's Jaguar) and that has the pump running every 4th press or so which seems typical for these systems. I did bleed out the system again after fitting the new accumulator, so not sure if the 2nd bleed or the accumulator helped out there. The brakes are fine now. Not great, but perfectly acceptable. You wouldn't comment on them (good or bad) if it was the first Lotus you ever drove. The pressure switch thing should be a last resort in my opinion as a couple hundred psi isn't going to help if you are braking on air!

The "minimum air rate bleed screw", where is this? Or do you mean the adjustment screw that just holds the butterflies open? I gave the butterflies adjustment a 1/4 turn open and other than a high cold idle to start with, the ECU figured it out pretty quick and all seems well. I'm not sure this solved my problem though. The car still seems hesitant in that instant when you first apply gas and begin releasing the clutch to get moving. Perhaps I'm just driving too conservatively and need to rev her up a bit more before releasing the clutch! I will get myself a cable and try to figure out this laptop thing one day. But for a non computer guy, your discussions of ports and configurations and adapters are quite intimidating! lol.

How did you adjust the IAC valve? Internally? Or do you mean that you adjusted the throttle stop until the IAC closed itself down to 30? I've a similar stumble off idle, but no freescan to work with. If the throttle stop, would you say you turned it a half turn or so?