S2 JPS project

[jep]

My tape buying rule in the 80s was generally for albums by artists I was not a mega-fan of but liked a single. Or two. I don't much like Phil Collins but Sussudeo was just brilliant. 

Vinyl was reserved for my fav bands. The Jam, Squeeze, The Beat, Special AKA etc...somehow I never felt cassettes were the true way to own an album. I often taped the vinyl to use in the car. Still got 'em. 

Whoops...thread drift. Sorry. 

Justin 

[tomcattom]

On 16/08/2020 at 18:34, LOTUSMAN33 said:

I also started to degrease the engine and box, the gearbox end cover is leaking as is the selector shaft so glad I removed the exhaust which will now be replaced with a Peco stainless sports system.

What is your weapon of choice for degreasing? The engine in mine is covered in oily deposits that I want to clean off to work out where the leak(s) are actually coming from.

 

[Barrykearley]

A hot water pressure washer @tomcattom you can add some fairy to the mix if you like. But you really can beat hot hot water.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Hey Tom, I use just plain engine degreaser as its kind to the aluminium, avoid alloy cleaners as they tend to leave a powder substance. Gunk is fine if you want branded but I use carplan 5 litre cans with a nylon bristled brush usually. Be careful not to drown the area around the open bell housing to avoid contaminating the clutch and flywheel. Wear Google’s and nitrile gloves or similar along with old clothes or overalls as it’s a messy job. I bought a Sealy 25 litre drip tray to catch the muck which I decant into a drum then take to the tip for disposal.

Barrys way is great if your can do it outside unlike me with a garage and steep drive along with non running car 🙄😁

Dave  

[Barrykearley]

It took me about 6 goes at fully cleaning my rolling chassis of all shite and grease. You’ll never get it all in one go - but a good steam wash over - let it dry and repeat is an easy way to clean it all up.

oh and don’t forget - once it’s clean - it’ll be covered in shite pretty quickly. So don’t get overly anal about it.

[Bibs]

@jep, you started going a bit Christian Bale there!!  

 

[jep]

@bibs  I was so hoping I was more Nick Hornby...…...a thin line between quirky and psycho 

Justin 

[jep]

9 hours ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

Wear Google’s

Only wear Google's when you search for engine...….

Justin

[LOTUSMAN33]

Doh! bloody predictive text, I hate tech hence driving old cars and still enjoying retro games like Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy 😂

[tomcattom]

Thanks for the tips @Barrykearley and @LOTUSMAN33. I've tried various clearners before but never felt they really worked aswell as they should. Given I don't currently have host water pressure washer/steam cleaner (its on the garage wish list) I'll give the carplan stuff a try while the car is up on stands in the garage and see how that works.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Tom

I have one of these and it’s been a god send over the years 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183294174556

For £21 the quality is excellent and very strong and fits under the esprit powertrain perfectly.

Dave  

[LOTUSMAN33]

Paintwork done and looking to good compared to rest of car so I need to knock it back a little but very pleased with the results, I think I will paint the roof and capping rails along with rear valance and that should do it. 

Half tempted to not fit front repeaters as although I have them I do like the clean lines and many S2’s never had them like the S1’s. Unfortunately all the JPS did 🙄

A little flat and polish on the other 3 marker light panels today and that’s all my fibreglass repairs complete.... oh other than the fire damaged engine cover so may attack that soon. 

Dave  

[LOTUSMAN33]

Tanks drained and what a stinking mess that was as went through the banjo bolts but in hindsight should have just disconnected the pump first to get rid of the volume, I thought they were pretty empty already....not! 🙄

Still glad to have that out the way and ready to put the first new shiny bits on the car 😁

Finished flatting and polishing the other marker light panels so plan to do a few mechanical bits for a while with valve clearance checks next before doing the belts. (After the garage has vented for a while) 

Dave  

 

[v8vantage]

Nice job, what sort of paint did you use to match the original black?

[LOTUSMAN33]

I just had it matched by a paint shop from the rear valance after I removed it following a good flat/polish to remove years of road grime.

The match is excellent so worked out pretty well, with the weather turning I will get them to apply the paint to both Cant rails and the rear valance is my thinking although I shall prep, prime and do the final finishing.

I was just going to flat the Cant rails but they are by far the worst part of the car and as I’m removing to do the trims it makes sense knowing the match is good. I may do the front spoiler as well as been painted before and although shiny the previous prep is not very good along with quite a few chips and nicks.
Dave  

 

[LOTUSMAN33]

Engine and gearbox oil drained with good clean magnetic plugs so good news and finally got the air injector manifold off with every knuckle bleeding on right hand 😧

Less good news is the valve clearances are out of spec;

No1 Inlet - 0.005” and 0.006”

No1 Exh - 0.011” and 0.010”

No2 Inlet - 0.004” and 0.005”

No2 Exh - 0.010” and 0.012”

No3 Inlet - 0.007” and 0.005”

No3 Exh - 0.010” and 0.011”

No4 Inlet - 0.006” and 0.004”

No4 Exh - 0.010” and 0.011”

Inlet should be 0.005 to 0.007” aiming for 0.007”

Exhaust should be 0.010” to 0.012” aiming for 0.012”

Now clearly I have to remove the inlet cambox and re-shim but I have four exhaust readings at min tolerance.

I’m at that turning point now as the exhaust is already off, I need to do the four belts and an engine mount as minimum and have a couple of unknowns with the water pump and clutch. Do I remove the engine and attack all these jobs or just carry on in situ?

If I remove the engine I would be able to remove the air injectors and blank the head rather than just the injectors, split the Engine/gearbox and check the clutch and crank seal, change all the hoses with ease, change the hard to get to gear selector bushes, clean up the engine bay properly.

Issue - My garage isn’t very long and I know if I do remove the engine/box it will probably turn into a full restoration, to drop the engine will mean stripping the rear end with the front of the car out the garage so I would need to get it mobile/moveable in the same day. On a positive note I have no rusty bolts to deal with anywhere.

Whats the general thinking/advice?
Only done a S1/S2 engine removal once many years ago and that was after taking the body off first!

Mind the Goodridge fuel tank to pump hoses fitted a treat and new pump now on rubber mounts again where the old ones had long since perished so vibrated through the cabin. 👍🏻😁

Dave  

 

[Fridge]

Pull it.

[v8vantage]

Leave it in and avoid mission creep! I did mine insitu but dropped the gearbox to fix the rear main seal. Everything else was pretty straightforward.

[910Esprit]

3 hours ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

I have four exhaust readings at min tolerance.

You have 8 exhaust valves within the correct tolerance.  That's an excellent result.  They should not move from that for many 1000's of miles  I'd reshim the 2 inlets, which is a far more straightforward proposition.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Yes thanks Steve you are right, if leaving in I won’t disturb but taking out I probably would adjust them knowing if I re-seal the cam box it won’t leak, at the moment I had a lot of oil on the exhaust manifold which was no doubt the cam cover but belt and braces and all that 😉

Roo, I’m still sat on the fence with this as the cars been sat for so long I am suspecting the crank seal behind the flywheel might be leaking as I can see oily deposits through the bell housing and no idea if the water pump is any good. It may be quicker to pull it and do all these jobs, I have an engine lift so no tools needed.

I do know if I pull it I’ll end up sinking another £500-£1000 in parts into the engine bay time I replace the clutch, seals, gaskets, water pump and all the other hoses which appear good but will be on my mind. I have the usual odd drops of oil travelling down the sump studs which I can also job if apart.

I’ve done a fair few Esprit timing belts before but access with the Air Con compressor is pretty tough, it has separate belts for the water pump and alternator as well, the water pump belt seems to have no adjustment and is currently loose (may have wrong belt fitted) so assume you just stretch the belt with the pulley and pop it over the water pump shaft?

I will investigate today by starting the belt removal process and pulling back the AC compressor, time to get the mirror out 😁

Dave  
 

[Lotusfab]

Its not that difficult to take the engine out. The thought of doing it is worse than actually getting on with it. But the costs will ratchet up. Although, its all a bit of an unknown at the moment what its all like. You may end up taking it out anyway later on. I would probably take it out clean and check everything and work on the engine out of the car.

I’ve taken the engine out twice on the Turbo, once by myself it took about  5 hrs. But then everything is easy to do when its out.

[Barrykearley]

A cam belt on a later car is a right old faff in the car - it’s like 20mins when the engines out.

the list of similar jobs like that seems almost endless - only you can make the decision. But I do remember all too well the pain of trying to remove a manifold insitu. I spent far longer under that car than I did actually ripping the lump out.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Thanks Guys, I’ve done several esprit engine removals from the top which are so much easier than the early cars having to drop out the bottom. I’m not worried about the task albeit some help would be useful more my limited space with the sloping downwards driveway.

I can position my engine lift from the side but that’s little use when you need to drop it down and backwards.

I really could do with the car the other way around in my garage but it needs to be running to achieve that 🤬😂

What wally just painted the back end, that will be me who now needs to be climbing in and out the back with soft paint.....doh! 

Dave  

[Fridge]

I think the voting is in Dave. Taking the engine out will be ultimately the quickest and most efficient method of doing all the jobs that needs doing on it. Whilst also providing you with peace of mind that you haven't compromised on thoroughness.

Another JPS I know has had just this done recently, and has been worth it in Elastoplast savings alone!

[v8vantage]

Having a small garage is going to make taking the engine out a risky business, do the basic maintenance and run it for a bit to see if everything is working correctly before taking it apart. Now the engine is clean you'll be able to see where the oil leaks are actually coming from. I always take the AC compressor off the mount and to the side when doing the timing belt on mine, gives more access.