one to make you smile

[mikesmith]

This will make you smile. One V8 GT run all last summer without fault. Got an urge to sort out that little rattle from the manifold heat shields over the winter. So as it looked a tad awkward I thought I would pull the engine and box out so while the two were out I gave it a thorough check over. The timing belts were falling off I could get my fingers between the back of the belts and the idlers , the alternator bearings were noisy, the air con compressor leaked gas, the six oil and water pipes to the turbos were rotten, the clutch was just about shafted, two manifold bolts were broken off and as it was out I had the gearbox reconditioned. Oh and I got the two manifold heat shields welded. So far we have got to

[peter_england99]

Mike,

Good news that you found belt problem before it found you. Otherwise the bill could well be north of

[Günter]

that lets me expect also a bigger bill in the next time. I doesn't even have bolds and clips to hold the turbo hotside housing to the turbine wheel. So the point of rotten things isn't unknown...

[cweeden]

This will make you smile. One V8 GT run all last summer without fault. Got an urge to sort out that little rattle from the manifold heat shields over the winter. So as it looked a tad awkward I thought I would pull the engine and box out so while the two were out I gave it a thorough check over. The timing belts were falling off I could get my fingers between the back of the belts and the idlers , the alternator bearings were noisy, the air con compressor leaked gas, the six oil and water pipes to the turbos were rotten, the clutch was just about shafted, two manifold bolts were broken off and as it was out I had the gearbox reconditioned. Oh and I got the two manifold heat shields welded. So far we have got to

[bigsi]

i got some dirt on the underneath of mine, im going to sort it out tomorrow... erm thats it really

[M3S2k]

how many miles on you guys V8's? That is some seriously scary stuff. Bought mine back in July and haven't had any issues other than the AC compressor. Its in storage right now for the winter months, but when I was under it last fall I never noticed anything wrong with rotting lines and what not. All the bolts and visible piping and what not all looked as new! Sorry, I am a little on the paranoid side with this car. Love it to death, but fearing anything major happening.

[cweeden]

Mine has less than 30k on the clock. To be honest most of the problems are due to corrosion. The manifold studs will break on all V8's, I am convinced of that. It seems to affect the rear most stud on the passenger side and one or two others (I cant remember which). I think it is bad design to hang the exhaust system directly off the manifolds coupled with poor quality studs. I replaced mine with ARP studs.

The turbos were corroded and needed replacement, as did the pipes to the turbos. This is very poor considering the car was only about 6-7 years old at the time.

The intermediate shaft bearing has been revised by Lotus to increase the size of the bearing so it is a known weakness and this could also be worsened by incorrect belt tension (or uneven tension between the belts).

The quality of the components is my biggest complaint and I hope they find the extra few quid in the budget to use high quality fixings on future models.

cheers

-Chris

[Günter]

10 years and 105.868km on mine !

[iainskea]

Well done Mike. I know the unexpected money bites, but you seem to have listened to that little voice in your head just in time by the sound of it.

Maybe you could start up a service predicting Lotus issues for clients - sort of a clairvoyant type of thing. Some might say it's like shooting fish in a barrel though!

Iain

[Lowtus]

Good news that you found belt problem before it found you.

How true!

[M3S2k]

Over 100,000 km's on your car? Wow, that is quite impressive. Is that original engine? No liner issue? Than I'm not soo worried, haha. Mine is only at like 30,000 km's. Got a ways to go then!

[Günter]

engine rebuild at a distance of around 38-40 Tkm ( timing belt problem-with the free spinning intermediate pulleys. I hope 'they' [Auto-Koenig Dusseldorf] have used the right liner glue as a new piston and valve set is listed an various other bits, but i don't know what they have or have not done with the liners...)

Followed by a spare/exchange based gearbox rebuild from Lotus/Renault (5th gear problem!)

It was all the problem of the previous owner , so no further comment on the rebuild process is possible for me... .

Have enjoyed my own 60.000km + with only smaller problems around the whole car. mostly typical stuff of the general conception of that car. (clutch, clutch spline, clutch hydraulic lines, alternator, battery, starter, handbrake rest in sidepanel, intermediate steering hinges in the wheel-housing, wastegates capsules, and now turbos and catalysts ...)

[M3S2k]

I've read a couple of times about the intermediate pulley being a problem. Should I be worried about this? My timing belt was done about 2.5 years ago with adjustment being done 1 year ago.

[Günter]

as far as i can see, and as Steffen from "R&B" told me -there is nothing that holds the bolt and the unmarked pulleys in place ( same thing with the cam pulleys) . It's hopefully some glue added on the treats and the right bolt adjusting torque...

[mikesmith]

Thinking about it you know, if it were a woman that gave you this much trouble and cost so much you would get rid of / shoot her. Why is it we are all prepared to spend so much time and money on our cars to keep them in tip top order? when we know there is another big bill just around the corner? It's got to be a Lotus thing. B) Bless it.

[p4jkafla]

Thinking about it you know, if it were a woman that gave you this much trouble and cost so much you would get rid of / shoot her. Why is it we are all prepared to spend so much time and money on our cars to keep them in tip top order? when we know there is another big bill just around the corner? It's got to be a Lotus thing. B) Bless it.

You do know that there are women on this forum. I know this place is dominated by guys, and I'm not so sensitive that I can't handle silly remarks, and I'm sort of a n00b here, but please...

[Günter]

and especially those women keep the cars as shiny and perfect as it gets!

Maybe i have a higher mileage, but can't say for me that i spend real money ( it's something I'm known for -keep it simple and improvise, even if some specialists would hate it..)

Edited February 15, 2008 by G

[Paula&Marcus]

Yes G