Chargecooler HOT after a commute to work

[Crescent Fresh]

Well, crap. I went to work yesterday and when I turned the car off I immediately felt the chargecooler....HOT. The turbo hasn't went above .25 bar since I acquired this car.

1. Will I damage the car by driving it like this?

2. Does someone have a write-up on how to replace the impeller? (assuming that's the problem).

This car sat idle for 3 years until I bought it 2 weeks ago, so I assume I will find more stuff wrong with it soon.

[Bibs]

As far as I'm aware you won't damage the car but you will be down seriously on horsepower.

There are 2 camps, you can either replace your impellor (I'd recommend the polyurethane one from PUK for longevity) or fit an electric pump.

There are a good number of posts on the forum about it and also some info on LEW.

[Quicker]

will not hurt it but you are loosing 25hp or so....

replacing the impellor - > http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EGuides/EM...e/Impellor.html

upgrading to electric - > http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EGuides/EM...argeCooler.html

Edited January 9, 2008 by Quikr

[Glyn Harper]

Could also have an air pocket stopping the water pumping round. I have an electric pump, and mine is bad for air locks if I'm not careful.

[Vulcan Grey]

Well, crap. I went to work yesterday and when I turned the car off I immediately felt the chargecooler....HOT. The turbo hasn't went above .25 bar since I acquired this car.

1. Will I damage the car by driving it like this?

2. Does someone have a write-up on how to replace the impeller? (assuming that's the problem).

This car sat idle for 3 years until I bought it 2 weeks ago, so I assume I will find more stuff wrong with it soon.

Since you have an S4, you may have the combined plastic coolant tank. Make sure you check it often for a drain, don't let the coolant for the main engine cooling get low.

The earlier cars had seperate systems, and a coolant drain on the chargecooler wouldn't effect the engine cooling.

[Kimbers]

That depends. Mines an S4 but has the twin tank. I think it was upgraded towards the end of 94.

Troy did mine. It's interesting to note that on the factory open day last year the guys checked all the cars they could and Troy reckoned that at least a quarter didn't have the chargecooler working!

[Crescent Fresh]

I have the twin tank. The chargecooler tank was empty so I filled it and went for a drive. Boost still at .25, and chargecooler still hot. Also, my water/antifreeze in the chargecooler tank was flowing out after said drive.

One day this car will be tip-top....but until then I will continue to get frustrated .

[Artie]

Scott,

The chargecooler system with seperate tanks are a bear to get situated if they have an air pocket. Read the section on LEW on fitting a new impellor first and look at the bleeding section, although I'd bet since the car sat so long I would bet the impellor is shot. Check with Jeff at JAE and see about getting a new impellor to fit. You are losing lots of HP at only .25 bar of boost, that's less than 5psi! You should be getting about15psi so I'd estimate you are only making about 200 hp not 290 as you should be. If you need some technical assistance pm and I'll give you my Cell number, I can talk to you about what you can try.

Artie

[Crescent Fresh]

Thanks, Artie. I may take you up on that if we don't determine the problem(s) next week at Quikr's.

[Crescent Fresh]

OK. Apparently, ths car has been fitted with a water pump for the chargecooler. Unfortunately, I don't know where it is or what it looks like to check wiring.

Also, after a 10 minute drive (easy drive, no high revving) I turned the car off and 10 seconds later water came gushing out of the vent line from the chargecooler water reservoir.

Any ideas, gentlemen?

I know I shouldn't be driving it right now until I find out why the CEL is on, but when you've wanted a Lotus for 20+ years and finally get one, it's hard not to take it for a spin.

[Quicker]

it will be easy to find the pump once we get it up on the lift.

you could have a blockage in the loop somewhere - often bit of the old rubber implellor are not flushed out properly and then cause a jam....

[Crescent Fresh]

Quikr, I talked to the previous owner yesterday (briefly) and the timing belt was done 3 years/1500 miles ago. I'm debating on waiting a year or so to do the timing belt (it looks brand new) and simply concentrating on the rest of the car next Friday. I can read manuals and how-to's all day long for weeks but it doesn't compare to a few hours hands-on with someone who is very familiar with the car. I still can't believe how good a 14-year-old car can look B) .

[Quicker]

cool - that is the big job - so if we are not replacing the belt - we can make sure it is tensioned right and spend time sorting the other things.

[Bibs]

When we changed the impellor on my car we found evidence of 3 old ones from the number of vanes floating around in the system!

[wiseraven]

How did you work that out Bibs? I've visions of you piecing them back together. If you've still got the bits, you could sell them on eBay as the worlds hardest jigsaw!

I'd be VERY wary of trusting that timing belt. Three years standing idle is not good, even if it looks brand new, and the cost of fixing the damage if it breaks doesn't bear thinking about. In fact, it's probably a good thing that you're not getting full power out of the engine - it could be the only reason it's not gone already.

[Crescent Fresh]

UPDATE:

1. Timing belt was slack (40).

2. Vacuum pump hose was off.

3. Relay rack in boot beside fuel pump reset had been tightened down so hard it cut the wires going to the vacuum relay. Soldering these, along with plugging the hose back to the vacuum pump, and getting the intestines of the catalytic converter out of the exhaust (exhaust was just about plugged up) fixed the heater (was f@@king cold on the way to Quikr's), the the auto exhaust flap thingy, and the CEL.....then I got full boost, the chargecooler stays cool, and the car has woken up.

We (Quikr and I) may never have found this wire being broken had my new ALDL cable worked. It didn't work up front so we used the rear one, which also didn't work. We then plugged in his ALDL and ......BINGO.....communication.

WOW. This car is stupid fast now. I didn't realise how much the lack of turbo boost affected it.

Thanks for all your help......and special thanks to the Canadian in Austin!!!!