five minutes a day fixing my lotus

[tom kilner]

Is that s in the diagram?

[EXCEL V8]

Yep - part 5.  To withdraw the shaft from the housing you have to remove the woodruff key (not part 7 - that is at the pump end) - this can raise burrs on the shaft.  Use an ultra-fine file to remove any burrs  (I use a fine diamond hone).

Pete

[tom kilner]

Thanks for the tip pete.

Now I've been wondering whether the oil pickup pan head was contacting the base of the Sump for the final millimetre of assembly... the old pickup pan was squashed flat too! 🤔

I couldn't imagine how this would be possible (everything looks good) so chose to press on with the sump fitting anyway - but now I've mulled it over, I think I need to remove the sump (and clean up the mating surfaces again🙄), measure accurately,  and if necessary, remove the pickup pipe assembly (i have a spare o-ring) and modify the tab that fastens it onto the mbp so that the pickup gauze pan assembly has wafer of clearance from the Sump. I can't imagine that being under stress for 100,000 cycles won't cause the pipe to break or something else with catastrophic oily consequences🤯

...or is the oil pickup meant to press against the Sump???

[EXCEL V8]

No - it's not supposed to touch the sump.  If you buy some laying out fluid (I use Dykem) and put some on the sump the strainer will leave witness marks if it is touching when you lower the sump into place.

Pete

[drdoom]

Regarding patching of the fuel tank I had one done by an old time pro welder quite some years ago and well remember what he instructed before getting to it. It was my first lesson in the peril of igniting fuel residue traces, easily comprehended once reflecting on the air-fuel mixture outcome within a heated old tank. So I dutifully rinsed the tank several times with a strong household cleaner and hot water, rinsed out thoroughly with hot water alone then finished with methyl hydrate to dry and clear any remaining traces within the seams. I later watched as the old boy ever so carefully warmed the tank with a torch, timidly waving the flame past the filler neck from time to time before having at it. The patch was silver soldered or brazed rather than welded, and held up beyond the duration of my ownership.

Cheers

[tom kilner]

Lotusbits have offered to replace my tank - (which i bought "untested" for £40, it had just come in to them with a pile of stuff) with a good one for a further £60 - so it doesn't seem worth getting the torch out on that one.  There's 3 patches necessary,  probably get through £30 of gas and brass and 3 hours work prep and braze.  If someone asked me to patch the 3 holes I'd probably ask £90 - £110 if it was through work so vat...

I had the Grinder out, tank cleaned inside, long Henry hoover pipe from the (running obvs) car exhaust into one filler neck, and i thought - I'll just call lb see what they say.

 

Course I've done an hour of prep already, but if you throw in the opportunity to not breathe poisonous gases, set yourself on fire or blow yourself up that probably balances that out🤣

[tom kilner]

Oil pickup remodeling:

I flattened the tab but then it turned out the bend (where the pickup pipe exits the button of the mbp) was tight on the mbp, so I had to increase the bend in order to create some clearance.

Now I've got 115mm clear in the Sump,  and 114mm oil pan projecting  and the pipe is unstressed. So that's fitted.

I next need to refit the Sump, and just wondering whether i should replace the olive again(#37 above)

Doesn't look quite right🤔