GOHER007

Thank you all, I did check for lead contact for all five, but I will check for the spark next and quickstart spray. The fuel pump does comes on upon turning ignition. soon as my fracture heals I will report on further progress. appears to be a fuel and spark issue. Thank you all

After an eight month lull and after a brutal winter I tried starting her up. I did add some fuel after the first (stupid ) attempt and than possibly flooded the carbs. Heartbroken as I am but thinking forward could I have damaged or clogged the fuel pump and the fuel filter by sucking in all the muck left behind by the evaporated fuel over the winter. Ladies and Gents, is there a way I can check the flow of fuel. I did try to take the line of the regulator on the other side of the coil compartment but in vain, its like welded on there. I will try to start her up again in a few hours again. As I push the fuel peddle down the turning engine changes its noise, and once or twice she nearly hiccupped and started. Any suggestions on the fuel pump and where best to source it would be super and also any motivation to get under the side and change the units myself would also be appreciated. Thank you

i forgot to post how i got the timming right on the s3 as follow You can always do it the "old fashioned" way. Pull #1 plug, stick a straw in and rotate the flywheel. At TDC after the intake valve closes you should see a TDC mark and a timing mark. Or you can make your own with chalk. David Teitelbaum Just checked my s3 as my s2 is somewhere else large marks every 10 small in between at the 5s 10 degrees = 25mm of circumference (or an inch if you into that sort of thing) mine is numbered TDC and every 10 degrees to 30 no marks after TDC and never have seen on any Lotus __________________ Thanks to both of you. I even have a dial indicator with extensions I could rig up to make sure of TDC if I want to get real scientific, but I think a straw will work just as well for this application petersracing - ouch, I though you were going to say that about no ATC marks as there is a red paint mark on the mark I thought was 10 degrees ATC (true TDC). Unless I read the manual wrong, under 1000 rpm timing s/b at TDC. Car was (and is) set at 10 degrees advance at idle. Vacuum advance not used with the Delortos. I tried true TDC at idle and it did not like it at all. Mechanical advance is working fine (just ten degrees off across the board). Not sure there is detonation risk on a non-turbo car, but I can't think of any reason to have the timing advanced that much. Previous owner told my pal it was set up for gymkhana in the 80's and that he (PO) tuned it for colder weather. That cold weather tuning may be the reason for the advance? Don't know, but I am not comfortable leaving it there. Our S2 is the federal motor (low comp) that has been changed from Strombergs to Dellorto too. 10 degrees BTDC at idle is pretty close, we just closed off the vacuum retard too. Nothing but antique american iron is going to stand TDC timing id suspect. I think you must be mistaken on the manual but Ive put in a phone call to where the car (and its manual) are to check. We set it recently to 22 BTDC at 4000RPM (ie full mechanical advance) but there is a little variation on the total mech advance between the ROW and the federal cars. If by colder he meant really cold then I'm afraid no experience from here will be relevant I looked at the book. It is utterly confusing, but I think what it is trying to say is that TDC is 0 degrees and that the static (or idle) timing is 8 degrees BTDC. Depending on what distributor or tune it has it might have different centrifugal timing. I'd set the static and then buzz it up to the end of the timing curve (6k) and see what you get but it should be in the high 20s. If it is a road car I'd just tweak it for driveability. If it will be run hard then its off to dyno. The ultimate authority is Tim Engel who is on this board as Esprit2 as he has seen all these variations a hundred times. You can always set it up @ 8 at idle and then do what we used to call "Power Tuning". You would play with the advance till you noticed pinging and then back off a few degrees. This is very "hairy" ie, close to the edge. It will be affected by the fuel (age and type) and atmospheric pressure. You do not want sustained detonation, you will melt the pistons. You can also play with the advance curve by messing with the weights and springs. Typically you want to get as much advance in as fast as you can. This will also affect the carburetor tuning so you will have to mess with that at the same time. It can get complicated. What most will want is to be able to burn the stuff they pass off as gasoline with good drivability and fuel economy without worrying about detonation. Means staying on the rich side of Stoch and not over-advancing the timing with enough advance to get good economy yet still run well hot and cold. Factory settings were never meant for the cr-p they pump at the gas station these days to be used in carbureted cars. You will have to adjust a little in any case off spec. Usually towards the richer side. And probably less total advance. David Teitelbaum QUESTION Several Lotus Esprit turbo owners have confirmed that there is a discrepancy between crank "0" deg mark on the front crankshaft pulley and fly-wheel TDC mark on some 1986-88 US Federal cars. Can you please offer an explanation and which mark is correct? C.G. - USA ANSWER There is a previous article in the knowledge-base which explains this manufacturing error and checking method. The fundamental question to this problems is - which timing mark is correct, the front crankshaft pulley or flywheel? To begin with you have to assume both are incorrect. To determine which timing mark is correct, the initial task is to check and determine the true TDC piston position. There are two ways of doing this and installing a mechanical stop (modified spark-plug and protruding bolt thread) is the easier. A spark-plug can be suitably modified by first removing the insulator material and electrode. Next step is to drill and tap the plug body to accept a convenient bolt size of 3/8"UNC x 3" (75mm) long. The fully threaded bolt can then be screwed in from the top of the plug to allow 3/4" (19mm) of thread to protrude from the nose. The plug can then be gently screwed into No.1 spark-plug hole, the engine carefully turned clockwise and anti-clockwise whilst noting the points where the crank stops turning. The mid-point between the two mechanical stop points is true Top Dead Centre (TDC). This procedure should be repeated on both the crankshaft pulley and flywheel to determine which set of markings are correct. Its also wise to check the camshaft timing after determining the true TDC timing mark. If the cylinder head has ever been skimmed whilst being serviced, it will retard the cam timing (on both cams and you will lose power) Adjusting the cam timing to the correct MOP (Maximum Opening Point) is the cheapest horse-power you will ever realise from an engine.

Thank you so very much, the wonderfull Lotus community....i will forward these very helpfull suggestions to my friend Allen (ex US army ordinance specialist turned enthusiast classic car fixer) as soon as he comes up with a diagnosis and method of fixing....I will be obliged to promptly post the outcome.......Thanks again.......This week perhaps ( he always uses the posted advise from you folks as a guide)

in the bigger picture, a loutus sits lower on the driving side, in case there is a passenger,but otherwise the investigation of fiberglass setup with the rear shock absorbers (if any cracks) gives the balance picture, other than that both bumpers look gorgeous apart from a misalighened piggy back mechanisim....(thech the back both shock absorber articulation with the body)

Hello friends i need advise regarding both pods which are not comming up and the beam/lights also dont come on, although parking lights in the front bumper comes on......upon activating the high beam....i can hear a click from the relays and the high beams come on. This is not a recent event although if i am not imagining once or twice i wiggled the light switch and they came on....also whilst driving while the light switch in the dash was in on position..they popped up like couple of dolphins out of the ocean now nothing works......(wiggling, reinserting the relays,) is the light switch wich feel wobblish worn out or the relays...if so where to best order or find these components........the lights go down from a munually set position(if i twist the moters with hands) Any input would be of great help and knowledge Thanks (i did see alot of material about the lights and pods but more knowledge is more power)

Because the petronix is running on the coil, and there are not enough ohms running to the coil, perhaps is partially resposible. i was told that it may need 12 oms to be supple (or even a diffrent coil?) How pethatic of me not to have a voltometer on hand........weekend will tell.

Thanks MC....This is a fedral s3 turbo...Do they come with ecu units...i thought they came in Stevens esprits......i will spend a few hours again today to troubleshoot (few hours))) few years morelike it Thank you

Dear Lotus community thanks for your help.....i changed a petronix unit with a petronix unit (foolish of me)......but thereafter the boost, the pick up is not the same....i remember the revs at idle use to be higher than what they are now at 7-8000......timming is correct.....changed the spark plug wires.......before the petronix swap the turbo gauge will jump nicely to 3-4-5 in third gear...but now only 3...and i dont want to push it....i know something is a miss..................Any helpfull hints or suggestions from the seasoned would be of great help Thank you again Taking that distributor out again will give me polio of the arms this time around-)))

I have a 83 turbo esprit in blue with 40000 miles on it. I would like your help in letting me know of someone or a workshop to get my timming belt changed and do a c service. I live north of newyork city in westchester. will travell a 100 miles if someone is a speacialist and Thankyou for your help

installing the petronix along the distributor back into the block with markings was not difficult, but the bottom clip was a 20 minute struggle, with allan in okward position from right back, as his right hand went in from the right and left from the back. all along it was the tachmetor revmeter wire(connected to coil) but the car idles fine and presents with a smoothness, except when you stop or come to a halt the rev dives to 500(0.5) and feels like its gona die but it never dies, like it use to before, and also when you pull away it hasitates much more than it use to, but if you pull away with a little throttle(2000 revs) its a blast to drive untill the next traffic light arrives. Allan thinks its the accelerator pump please advice it may be the timing, as these symptoms are new and the old symptom are cured i think will keep you posted. thanks goherf

Yes i had the rad recored, and now all three fans are on direct, on all the time, for a good 45 to an hour run on the motorway, with (even small racing spells with Reds, the yellows, and the porsches), and the Ac does not work, it can get humid and hot here, in the afternoon when the autobhan is empty. I will learn from your experience if ac will enhance or decrease the potential of the machine. I Know 007 will not have it without ac. The racing spell. igot the chinese fans from ebay, a triplet regards goher

Yes the fans are doing ok, iwill follow your instructions, to eliminate the fan light. I must admit, that the present fans are just about sufficient for cooling, if not less( but i am subdued by thier availability and thier cost). But no doubt my next twin S3 will be a magniefied dream out of MATCHBOX, just like Freds There are only a few Esprits left Thanks we all will meet again

every body will freak out if Margaret Thatcher was replaced by Margaret Thatcher. well thats what happened to me me and allan looked at the distributor embeded deep in the engine, like a fireman looks at a fire, like a prey looks at the beast, like a revolt looks at a king, for good five minutes. and than we started. i did the houners and went from the right and undid one of the clips(which one i cannot be sure for true), and gave the distributor cap a polite wiggle. Allan got incoureged and went and put his hand from the back and checked if i really undid the clip, it wiggled and he wiggled it a littel more. at this point he went and got the oil filter tool and undid the oil filter( with an oil tray underneath). he than came from the right and went and wiggled the cap along the wires back out and than left the cluster(cap) under the regulator like(back right) with his right hand. than he marked the distributor from left top(thru the intake manifold holes), than we decided in five minutes of trail and error that to do it from right(from under the plenum(, also some thru the intake mani from the top right and the whole stud was undone with this slender catheter like device(with these four mosquito legs turned inside out(GREAT TOOL TO RETRIEVE ANY SMALL COMPONENT) and in this case allan used it to rotate the stud, by inserting the cath(mosquito legs gripping) thru the back, and also retrieve the stud and washer, from the back. he pryed the distributor from the top right( of engine bay), and when it moved, he than got it from the right, from under the plenum, carefully untangling(wires, lines etc) and undoing two vavum lines. the inside of the distributor was identical to what i had for replacement(petronix), but we continued and (with some polite complexity changed the inside petronix system with a new one, with the new rotar arm. Putting it back together and fitting the distributor back and the @#$%^ cap is another story, i will post tommorow. my every bone has a bittersweet pain thereafter, with no name. Tools make a world of diffrence see yoy tommorow folks. the job is still to be finished goher

Fairly and swap, music to me ears, but easy, unless the pressence of the plenum makes a diffrence. please advice(83 turbo Esprit).