Chargecooler Pump ,broken Housing,hate car!

[MGFCrasher]

hI

The title says it all, 5 k later in repairs I've used the car for 3 weeks and the chargecooler pump is leaking again. Turns out the garage used the old paper gasket when replacing the impellor.No problem but the leak has got progressively worse so yesterday I took the pump off ,replaced the gasket, went to put on today and guess what.

Got it aligned ,thought it was in and used the bolt to tighten it up.You guess it the housing broke as it obviously wasen't aligned.

I HATE THIS PILE OF CRAP. Don't get me wrong it is now a good car but this is one thing too far.When it s fixed it will probably do 50k miles with the next owner ,but I am not interested anymore.The sooner its fixed and I can trade it in for something the better.

Anyway does anyone have a spare housing for sale so I can get it back together??

As Tony (Kimbers )is saying on a seperate thread.ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I can't afford to run it anyway.

Richard

[chandrab]

Might be easier/cheaper to replace it with an electric chargecooler pump. I used an electric aux water pump from a Mercedes, but there are other alternatives.

-Chandra

91SE

[MGFCrasher]

Hi Chandra,

It might be ,but I havent really got time to make up a kit and fit it. I think I can get the electric pump by looking around this site but the only place that I can see who supplies the blanking plug is WC and they are in the states.

I expect I 'll be at Lotus tomorrow ordering a whole new pump.

I think the hard truth is that I can't afford/havent got time to run an old classic like this. Looking back I have never had an Esprit that has strung together more that 2k miles without major work .

Thanks anyway.

Rich

[andydclements]

The blanking plug is a standard Lotus part.

It's used on the Delco controlled NA cars, they have no dissy ot charge cooler pump so the area is just blanked off with a plug, O ring and plat to secure it. that's what I did with the TE.

Andy

[MGFCrasher]

Cheers Andy.

Its just annoying that I had planned to go to the Porsche barbeque and this has now happened.

I'm just now fed up with Lotus's

Rich

[Jonathan]

LOL I wish I had a quid for everytime I have said that - I was spitting FIRE and raging like hell over the chargecooler the other day when it broke down (as they do) until I realised through the smoke coming out of my ears that if I simply took one little bit off it all became very easy. The vast majority of the car is experience and knowing the little tricks to working on them - the act of working on them is pretty easy.

Then to top it off I did a similar thing and broke the throttle cable adjusting screw (made from rice paper apparently !) on both cars, I've also broken hub carriers, on both cars

End of the day its the risk you take working on a car and perhaps being a bit rushed or hot under the collar - I regularly have to have cooling off periods and walk away from it if things go pear shaped.

G'luck with the pump - I would send you mine I took off but you never know when you might need it again !!!

No way you can repair it ? If it's the tab thats busted you could have it welded back on.

[CBrownstead]

you could still go to the barbeque and tell everyone how lucky they are that they own a fine german made, quality built, auto . . . i love my lotus's but yoiu know what . . .there is a reason people equate lotus to a kit car, that is how they are built . . . fun, beautiful . . but poor poor build quality . . .

[mr.oogieboogie]

bugger, sorry to hear that richard hope you get it sorted with the minimum fuss

[Loose Cannon]

Rich, the electric pump is a piece of piss to do, fiddling around in the original housing area is the worst part and you will be doing that with or without this modification. The blanking plug from Lotus was not a great deal more expensive than from the states.

[Jonathan]

you could still go to the barbeque and tell everyone how lucky they are that they own a fine german made, quality built, auto . . . i love my lotus's but yoiu know what . . .there is a reason people equate lotus to a kit car, that is how they are built . . . fun, beautiful . . but poor poor build quality . . .

Of course an aluminium casting cannot break on any German car because they use a different kind of aluminium over there which is stronger and the bolts automatically stop turning when the piece isn't fitted in right to stop any damage during assembly

Fact that a BMW garage failed to spot the differential on my SE was almost falling out of the case becuase they didn't tighten the bearing up says it all for me - car's fault again.

It's as frustrating as ***k - as I say I've been there many times and broke over

[Advantage]

Not too sure you can lay blame with the car here, Richard. There's a thread running in General Motoring about people who shouldn't be let loose with tools.

Perhaps you should make a contribution to that?

[andydclements]

And it's even worse, since Richard lives in the AEG area, which is the people that originated the issue....

Richard, I've been trying t think where my cc pump housing is, if I could find it then your problem could be solved sooner- damn my garage is in such a state.

[MGFCrasher]

Thanks Mr GKP, FOR THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE!!

I am reasonably handy with spanners however I was rushing ,and now I have calmed down its probably fate telling me the reason it was leaking was that the whole pump needed replacing anyway.

Problem is I lost part of the rig on my yacht racing last week,so another few hundred quid on a car that I thought I had thrown enough money at already just f**c@* me off.

Still,

Andy if you have that housing that would be great,but if not I will go the electric route,and whilst doing that replace all the other parts that may need doing,like leaky expansion bottle,ht leads,etc etc.

Although I have been offered an nice MK2 jag as a straight swap which is very tempting.

Onwards and downwards.

Great to hear everyone rallying round. CHEERS guys.

R

[greekmix]

Nothing wrong with the Esprit boys.. Its the people who working on it !!!!

You should have a go at your mechanic not replacing all the parts necessary required for the fault.

No such thing as a car free of issues.. no matter what brand it is!!!

[andydclements]

MK2 jag as a straight swap which is very tempting.

And you think the Lotus gives you issues?

I'll keep digging.

Andy

[chats371l]

Yeah I agree too that the cars do need a little bit of care and attention more then some 'run of the mill' cars but at the moment, my Lotus is the weekend car with 55k miles on it and my daily runner is a little Mk2 Clio with FSH and 60k miles. So far miles travelled wise, I have done about the same distance in both cars now (obviously owning the Clio for less time) and the Lotus has been the more reliable of the two cars in terms of defective parts that I have had to replace!.

Time will tell how long that this will last but it is just the joys of motoring. B)

Hope that you get the cc sorted soon though mate.

Regards

Chats

[islandbloke]

Richard - sorry to hear about your woes, but I think it's unfair to lash out at Lotus and everything within earshot because something broke.

I've had my share of pain with Lottie, but the miles of pleasure (and I still get a tingle when I first see her each morning) more than makes up for that. At 18 years old, I know she'll always need jobs doing (and I'm useless with spanners so I'll have to pay through the nose). The car I had before Lottie was a new XJS in 1989. Lovely car, but not in the same league, and the build/component quality was no better.

Methinks you're looking at the wrong thing to blame - is your user name perhaps a clue??

[Simon350S]

Your not seriously considering swapping for a mk2 jag...????

Please tell me your joking...... Right...???

I'll take it off your hands and swap it for my 56 plate Vectra CDTI 150 SRI XP....!! Or Lisa's streetka + a little cash...!!!

Thats a serious offer by the way....!!!!

Simon

[MGFCrasher]

Thanks Simon,

I'm not short of new cars thanks to drive ,its just that I WANT to drive the Lotus.

To all of you as well I am not slagging off Esprits,god I've had enough and done my own little bit to keep Strattons afloat, but there comes a point when you simply stop enjoying something .

That time has come and I'm really sorry to all the people out there who think I am blaming the make.What is the point in having a car if all you can do is look at it???

As it is I don't think the car will sell anyway.My ad says offers over

Edited June 30, 2008 by MGFCrasher

[Jonathan]

Rich - I totally agree, there are cars out there which do seem to have perpetual problems which have been accumulated over the years. I can't think of anything more annoying than a Lotus you cannot drive, but they're not all bangers

The other thing is often the cars have complex problems - the car itself is not that complex but everything pretty much has it's own little way of being worked on. I was swearing my head off cursing Lotus about that pump's location and the little bolt holding it on until I realised I was so insensed not to think about taking the air filter box off which made things 10x easier (twat, lol)

It's a horrible eninge to work on as well being so high sided and painful to lean into which doesnt help. The electric route is probably a safe bet too - I'm doing mine at the moment if you need any pointers.

On the car front, ever considered an Elise MKII ? The 111R is bloody fast, very reliable and a lot more turn key fun than a lot of things out there.

If I was to ditch the Esprit today I'd probably be on the look for an EVO or something tunable - but the Esprit, just wont break !!!

[MGFCrasher]

Hi Jonathan,

the Elise is what I really want,and then I'll get an early G shape Esprit to tinker with.

I'm hoping I'll get an Elise owner who wants an Esprit etc but so far I,ve only been offered a p/ex on an Elan sprint which is really not my cup of tea!

A nice series 1 and a few k in cash would suit right now.

Anyway,I have ordered the blanking parts from Strattons and I'm looking at a few pumps so it should be back to 100% inc recirculating dump valve by next weekend

[mr.oogieboogie]

well richard you are mr buy high sell low. hope you get it all worked out.

all the best

[Simon350S]

If this were 12 months down the line I'd be offering you a swap on an S3T fully rebuilt and retrimed in Essex blue and magnolia.....

But hey.... The time aint ever right I guess.....

Simon

[Jonathan]

I got my CC pump in today and it took me a few minutes.

I mounted it on a spacer on the bulkhead side of the plenum, facing down. The return back from the rad was cut about 3 ft shorter and plumed in, using the offcut to make the other connection....silly quick install - mine was the Johnson pump which just about everyone has used on here.

I also used the output from the solenoid relay (controls the throittle jack / EBPV which should be removed from all cars anyways cus it's rubbish) paired the Green red - green white wires as a +ve and the unused neutrals grouped together and hey presto - on key position 2 the pump runs ! No need to add relays, fuses or wiring, couldn't believe my luck !

What about PXing the car in at a dealer ?

That would be the quick fix solution - yes you'd lose a few quid but you might not ever find the right private sale.

S1's are silly fun but the S2 is a lot better to live with imo - the cheapest is the 2001 S2 which was the VVT K series instead of the honda, 156BHP iirc - thats the one I would have on a budget not the standard car.

E-types are nice but bloody expensive for the right one - my old man has one (series 1 4.2 coupe) real car pron but the mechanics / wiring lead somethig to be desired - 60's car/tech and all.

[MGFCrasher]

I've ordered the blanking plug from Strattons and the pump off a specialist pump supplier .Its the same one Demon tweeks sell for