Evora 400 - Possible Rad Replacement Needed

[randomusername]

Hi All

I've been losing coolant for the past few drives and I think it's vanishing somewhere round the front of the car - there's a faint smell of coolant from the front rad vents, and one or two drips on the undertray that taste a bit coolant-ey...

I've got a couple of questions before I investigate any further...

1 - can you get the the bottom of the rad by removing the undertray, or is there more ducting etc in the way? I was hoping that you could get access to enough to figure if it's the rad itself, leaky hose etc. I know to replace the rad you need to take the clam off... 

2 - Is the 400 rad bespoke to Lotus, or did they re-use something from another car? I read somewhere that the earlier pre-400's possibly used a Vauxhall Frontera rad, but the 400 setup appears to have a different pipe layout... 

3 - Are there any companies that make an uprated / all ally rad - it looks like the Komo-tec one is for the earlier models, but I can't find a 400 onwards one...

Thanks!

Jon

 

[jep]

Elise Shop (Netherlands) supplied mine for my NA. Much cheaper than Lotus Cars parts department and I am told better quality. 3 years on, all fine. 

Justin 

[randomusername]

Thanks - it looks like the early and later model rads are different - they don't seem to list a replacement for the 4x0 series

[randomusername]

More for anyone's future help / reference than anything else:

 

Pre 400 Rad - C132K0011F	RADIATOR OPEL FRONTERA A 2.0 2.2 2.4 PETROL 1991-1998 1300119 1300120 1300136"
Post 400 Rad - A132K0190H	Currently Unknown...

 

Disclaimer - I've not checked that the Frontera rad is identical, I just read somewhere that Lotus used a Frontera Rad in a thread somewhere and it looks very similar!

I've had a search online for rads for all of the cars I can think of but can't find anything that looks the same as the 400 rad...

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by randomusername

[jep]

I'd call Hangar 111 and or Steve Williams to see if they have more info.

[randomusername]

Once I strip it down and figure out it is the rad that's leaking I'll be straight on the phone to them - but I was doing some research beforehand and wondered if anyone knew what the rad was from

[mg4lotus]

I'm a bit concerned that you know what coolant tastes like. ☠️

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

It tastes very similar to Austrian wine, I imagine.

[randomusername]

9 hours ago, mg4lotus said:

I'm a bit concerned that you know what coolant tastes like. ☠️

Much better than EP90 gear oil

8 minutes ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

It tastes very similar to Austrian wine, I imagine.

Initial sweet notes with a long lasting bitrex aftertaste

[Alfa2Evora]

EliseShop do list the 400 rad but it looks like it's just the same as you'd get from Lotus/Bell and Colvill (DeRoure) and at a similar price by the time you've paid the cost of importing it from Holland so no advantage there this time unfortunately.

https://www.elise-shop.com/a132k0190h-p-522206.html

Just a pity that they don't do an uprated all-alloy version like they do for the S1 - I'm just about to fit one to mine (along with a replacement A/C condenser and dryer/receiver, hopefully tomorrow if the weather cooperates) and it's so much better quality than the OE part-plastic version and worked out cheaper too.

 

[EvoraBob]

I got my Condenser Radiator from these lot who have a Manufacture factory PMA Group in Leicestershire who make radiators for Lotus plus many other car manufactures. But they will not sell direct to customers but you can purchase via there there other businesses outlets - Boston Motorcool there contact is Richard who is very helpful.

Boston Motorcool
Unit 3 Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate
Boston
Lincolnshire
PE21 8DR

T: 01205 355016
F: 01205 319469
E: boston@autocoolingcentre.co.uk

Edited September 24, 2023 by EvoraBob
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[randomusername]

Small update - I got the front clam off last weekend and have managed to get the rad out without having to pull the AC condenser, chargecooler rad out as well...

As suggested above, there's a sticker on it saying it's made for Lotus by PMA group. There's a similar sticker on the aux rad in the wheel well. 

The rad appears to have failed internally - I can't see impact damage but there's red coolant stains from between some of the cross tubes. As the main rad is bolted to the car, and the chargecooler rad, AC condenser and PAS cooler are all hung from it, I wonder if the strain has caused a fracture internally somewhere...

The old rad appears to be different to the pic above - it's fully metal including end-tanks etc. I could do with the car back on the road so swallowed the cost of a replacement from B&C - it arrived yesterday and is similar to the one above with plastic tanks. 

The side vent brackets were a bit rusty, but other than that it all came apart reasonably easily. They've been Bilt-Hambered and repainted. The mudguard brackets were also rusted away to nothing so the Eliseparts stainless ones will be refitted instead...

Hopefully it goes back together as easily as it comes apart!

[randomusername]

OK - some more updates on this... I've been working through it slowly evenings and weekends since and it's pretty much back together now...

Stripping everything down isn't too hard, it's just time consuming. The Lotus service notes say that the rad has to come out as a pack - main rad, chargecooler rad and AC condensor, but it is possible, if awkward to split them apart in the car and just get the main rad out. 

Putting it back together without splitting the rad pack is much, much more awkward. If there's a next time, I'd probably take all three out. But it is possible. 

Some of the rad hoses / chargecooler hoses were a little crusty and starting to weep, so these got resealed and some extra clips on them to hopefully prevent any future issues. I would probably recommend inspecting the hoses behind the arch liners if possible as part of general maintenance - for the sake of an hour or so it's better than having a major leak. 

Putting the bumper / clam back on is more fiddly and time consuming than difficult, it just takes a while to get everything to line up nicely, make sure the panel gaps look OK. Likewise with the headlights - the mountings and adjustments are a nasty nasty design and it's fiddly to get them aligned in three dimensions and sat in the recess nicely.

 

[EvoraBob]

Did you replace the AC receiver drier filter ? 

[randomusername]

Nope - I left the AC side of things alone.