talon

I am located in the Charlotte area and have had my '01 for about two months now. Lotus of Durham is the only place I am familiar with, and that is only because the previous owner used them for service. I am yet to actually need anything serviced (knock on wood)

Nice ride. I've owned 7 or 8 vette's. Bang for the buck, they are hard to beat.

Fingers AND toes

Actually, after bleeding the air from the rad and topping off the the tank in the wheelwell (What a pain in the arse!), the car seems to have stabilized. I plan on doing some city driving with it over the next week, so that should prove it out one way or the other. Assuming all is good, then I can moveon to addressing some other minor issues with the car, mostly cosmetic.

beautiful car! What level of restoration are you planning?

Good point on the thermostat! I'll give it a check as well. Slightly off topic, but can anybody recommend a source for V8 service or shop manuals?

That is part of my concern. The paperwork that th PO handed over included receipts for a fairly major service that was performed in January of this year at the closest Lotus dealership. During the service, they replaced the waterpump. I am wondering if they did not bleed the system correctly. I will give it a shot this weekend and let you know what difference it makes.

I plan on getting the radiator looked at, but will try the bleeding first - it can't hurt ;-)

Thanks! To fill at the wheel arch, I assume I need to pull the wheel off?

Hopefully somebody can help me with this. After much searching, I picked up a 2001 Esprit about a month ago and have been nothing but impressed with the car so far. I am having a problem that I hope you experts can help me diagnose... Last week, while running the car on a longer run (~60 miles or so), the temp gauge pegged and the coolant light came on. I pulled over into a gas station to find that the car had blown all the coolant out from the drain in the passenger side rear wheel well as a result of overheating. I let the car cool, refilled the coolant and cautiously made my way home. I had been sitting in traffic on a warm day prior to the overheat, so I chalked it up that. Since then, I have had the same thing happen twice more. The first time, I pulled over as soon as I saw the gauge skyrocketing and managed to prevent the coolant overflow. Just as I was pulling over, I hit a pothole and the temp came back down pretty quickly. I still shut the car off and let it cool before proceeding. This morning it happened again and I needed a complete refill of the coolant On a related note, sometimes the car wont start if you shut it off hot (>95 degrees) until it has had time to cool. This problem has been with the car since I got it. Not sure if it's related or not, but thought I would throw it out there. I am starting to wonder if I filled the coolant system correctly - the car came without manuals and I have not found a replacement set yet. I found the fill line on the cannister under the wheelwell but, while trapped on the side of the road, I have been filling it through the overflow tank in the engine compartment. Is this correct or am I introducing the possibility of air pockets that would explain the temp dropping when I ran over the bump? Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

anybody? any advice?

I need to get a new drivers side headlamp motor for my 2001 Esprit. Looking at the x ref list, it is not clear whether the motor comes from a 84-96 corvette or the newer C5 corvette. Can anybody confirm this for me? A part # would be even better thx in advance!

Welcome! I just picked up an 01 last week. Good luck on your search!

What's the easiest way to troubleshoot the injectors? Is vapor lock common in these things? Sorry for all the questions, newbie to the Lotus world.

Yes, although HOW purple depends on the lighting. The car goes from black to purple and even midnight blue from time to time. In this shot, it looks black:

Here she is!

I took the new car out for the maiden voyage yesterday - WOW! I had to run a couple quick errands before meeting up with a friend in a Z06 to find some back roads. I pulled into a convenience store after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic that was barely moving for 15 minutes and shut the car off. I had been watching the temp while in traffic and it never went over 100c. Anyway, when I came back out, the car would turn over but not start. Figuring it was heat soak of some sort, I just popped the hatch and let it sit for 15 minutes. I tried it once every 5 minutes after that and, on the 3rd try, it fired right up and ran like a champ... Any ideas? Is heat soak a normal problem with the v8's?

Well - I'm on my way to pick up the car now. It's an '01 with 19K miles on it. Great shape, although it could use a good detailing. The drivers side headlight doesn't come up, but the seller has agreed to fix it and has already ordered the parts. This was his 4th Lotus and he knows them inside and out. Guess I'm now officially part of the club ;-)

Preciousssss.... in all her glory. '06 Rinker 390 with twin 8.1L Mercs. Don't have any pics of my Suburban. With any luck, pics of the Esprit should be available shortly

heh heh - I aint skeered. On my other other toy, all 750 hp and 1200 lbs of torque, I encourage the ladies to 'show me theirs if I show them mine' http://www.shand.us/images/boat/rinker390/390sunset.jpg

Thanks! I'll try and grab some pics.

Hello all and greetings from the Charlotte, NC USA. My name is Russ and I'm a Scottish born 31 yr old that has lived in the US since age 3. I've been lurking for awhile but, since I'm going to look at an Esprit V8 this evening, I thought I should go ahead and come out from the woodwork. Is there anything in particular I should be looking at in a used 01 Esprit? If all goes well, I hope to bring it hope this evening.