I'm caught by Murphy's law

[neill1607]

Sorry to hear you've got a problem after all that hard work - keep going - it'll be worth it.

[Günter]

my guess is: interfering of stock clutch bolts & machined flywheel -as now, without gearbox & clutch i can turn the engine over by hand ->see timing verification in *field mode*

tomorrow i will fit plenum & covers again , and do it with *firing* -as the starter simply does not turn it long or fast enough to pump an sufficient amount of oil (7.5L) in the whole system. Every pipe and the block was dry, so it will need some faster rev on the crank ! Mike, have you really managed to prime the system/pressurize the system with the starter !? Must be an starter in perfect condition -or at least an very strong battery ? The engine turn by hand, a bit stiff (with 20cm wrench , no wonder..) bud it turns on so far!

[mike_sekinger]

Hi G

[Günter]

you're right -as it is to late to go on an weekend-run with Daniel & the Berlin gang I will take my time on sunday... . Mike, you know me -to pull an gearbox out again is not that problem for me , especially as i have an engine-crane

over here Oh -and for your information -I get in contact with my ECM from the first turn of the key -no loose wiring so far, have looked over it several times , just to be sure -thanks to your dad !

The battery is one of the big BOSCH-silver, with an capacity of 65AH -so it should be in the higher *start AMP* rate too.. . Spark-plugs are out. Bud what i have not done is to fill up the pipes to the top. And several 30 sec cranks with the starter will need an battery recharge over night. As if i try it so long the starter slows down really fast, or maybe the battery is just not fit enough (even as it was 'trickle charged' in the several months of this project )

From what i could feel (could only put the finger on the back-side of the flywheel on one position..) there is nothing in the way!? Bud you never now.. . I will measure it !

Interestingly i really could not turn the engine, even with an strong screwdriver/lever in the bellhousing this day earlier on... . >So there must have been some fault, it was like you turn the crank an amount and then get in contact with something. First thought was interfering in the timing -thats why i also verified that later on. Bud in the moment the crank get stuck there was no way forward -or back. It was totally blocked.

Edited August 29, 2009 by G

[mike_sekinger]

I

[Günter]

In the moment I'm on the same situation as yesterday: all is in, and i can't turn the engine -and the starter does not turn it over... .

Have tested it in the morning without clutch & gearbox ->can turn by hand/starter. Measured the clutch bolt [60mm] , measured the clutch [50mm] and finally the flywheel [ around 11mm thread-deepness]

So nothing in the way. Fitted the clutch and tested it ->starter can turn the engine over.

Tested the gearbox layed next to the car: ->can select an gear & select 'neutral' , so all is OK there.

Fitted all together in the car _ nothing, totally blocked. Cant turn by hand with a wrench in the crank pulley

& can't turn with the starter... .

For now (as the neighbors, or especially one.. does not like my 'holy Sunday' work) i will just loosen the gearbox the third time & pull it back as far as possible -just in case there is any problem with the box !?

for now , bud its an mystery i want to find out.. .

[Simon350S]

How very strange, hope its an easy fix

[Günter]

*Lift off* -we have a lift off , or at least PRESSURE by cranking with the starter after some seconds now. Bad thing is: seems that i have to trailer my gearbox behind my car from now on -as i simply do not know why the hell it will not turn over with the box fitted in ...

Good thing is, tomorrow is an ordinary working day -and i can make some serious noise (OK, the catalyst will block some of that. Bud with oil-pressure i can test it *under fire*

[streetz]

Strange, very strange... Although I

[mike_sekinger]

Good news for oil pressure !

On the gearbox front - what about your pilot bearing, is it free and true?

Do the output shafts move freely when dis-engaged?

I

[Günter]

can turn the wheels in 'neutral' -pilot bearing feels not perfect as new, bud works fine.. .

for test reasons there is now pure water in, fuel & oil -some wiring improvisation for the ECM -and up we go on an ignition test tomorrow. The gearbox is placed an secured in the back. If the engine starts fine and there is no fuel, oil or water leak it is clear that the next step will be to refit the box. Bud i will try to inspect the box 'in-situ' with an endoscope along the flywheel opening under the engine. Maybe i can spot the problem !?

[streetz]

Wow, you have an endoscope in your garage!

Are you not only a mechanic, but a leasure-medic?!

[Günter]

after one week in my working-clothes I need an shower now ..

..still don't know why -bud on the third time (tested the crank rotation after every nut & bold tightened one by one...) it worked fine. Anyway, an gearbox pull in a hurry isn't that hard for me. Mike knows it -so why not do it again and again and..

Need an new battery or an stronger starter system generally -tomorrow is the first road test up to the working temperatures in the schedule. I simply want to sleep now. Will download Peters OBD system too and see what it can get out. VE told me 3x P0106, nothing else.

Video of first 'idle up' is in the upload, with a little help (thanks Daniel )

[mike_sekinger]

Glad that you

[Günter]

there it is, the first 'idle up' from yesterday: http://rapidshare.de/files/48262175/CLIP0418.AVI.html

(..maybe there is an problem with the player, so try the ordinary *windows media player* or newest version of VLC-player..)

progress of today: a lot of fun in the sun!

in the morning i tried to start, and it did start . Sounds good so far -Bud my first run ended up in an stalled engine on maneuvering around the village streets. pretty much as usual -bud bad thing was -there was still this old battery in the back. So what to do -make a little fun for the neighbors an push the car down the road back to the garage (was only 300m , with an 1350kg car not that hard work )

there is now an new *high rated* 640 Amp battery in the back. It does have 70AH capacity or so ...bud i need to cut my car in half just to fit it in, or at least to use the angle-grinder for some 'modification work' on the battery casing. It is not that good that Lotus designed the battery section just for usual GB battery formats !? Seems that no real size battery over here would fit in. The trunk arrangement with this molded section can only hold up on an European standard 45AH battery...

15Km later there is some time to cool down an relax. It shifts as you would expect with an clutch known as 'defective' (Mike knows what i mean -the *Mouse tooth problem* on both of my friction plates/splines ) anyway I can (and wand) only do 2000revs/min & not more as 120km/h for now. So this should not be an problem.

-car needs some more oil. And maybe an bleeding & water change. Can't connectz with my VE Trican Interface and Peters OBD tool so far. Bud VE works perfect. Still this MAP bfault to sort out, and the 'dancing digits' in the speedo is back too.. and some other knocks & small things to work over. Will see that tomorrow .. .

@ all my friends

cheers!

ready for the Dunston !!

Edited September 1, 2009 by G

[Jukka]

Well Done G

[mike_sekinger]

Now you are really moving. Good job !

[Günter]

hey -no problem --the first is always 'the first' or lets say 'the hardest' ..

and who knows how long it will work, as there are some things not done (even the one valve-guide that was replaced is done a little wider, and ll the others are not in 'new' condition. only four new valves are in, the others are just cleaned and all have got an 'regrind' [holds fine grain] on the seat face. the rods are not perfect [compared with the technical-informations I've got from Brian] )

I have an spare set of piston rings, one full set of main-bearing & big end shells in *std.* and one full set of headgaskets. So i can do more 918 work if i can find an engine to build up a spare.. .

[streetz]

Congrats to you G

[Günter]

'fast' !? ..one year is not fast..

OK, to be fair -parts querie, fuel-tanks & oil-cooler pipe needs some time too... bud after all it was done more in a 'i want do a little now' ,'i want do this in a few days' , 'i do not want to work today' ..and so on -not it must be done in xx-days mode.

Edited September 1, 2009 by G

[streetz]

And you really survived not driving your Esprit for ONE year!?!?

Well, part-searching, work, studies and so on cost its time... I see!

But now you

[Günter]

you should get your car too..

..so we can make an run on the traffic lights Berlin nights at its best !

the tanks are full now -bud as soon as possible i will replace the injectors with some higher rated stuff I've got here in an tuning shop. So it should be possible to run with my beloved E85 fuel without manipulating the injection timing furthermore via *black boxes* in the wiring loom.

Edited September 1, 2009 by G

[Günter]

first boost run up to 200km/h on the A10, get some notable acceleration -bud still several P0106 DTC in the memory. Funny thing is -car does not show an CEL & MAP is shown as 100kPa with ignition on/engine not running -Baro on the 'extended screen' shows 14.78 pound/inch^2 !?` Under idle MAP is around 35kPa -so this means i have to test tomorrow what the boost will show under load. For now there is no performance problem compared with last years runs ... .

[streetz]

Oh, you already hit the 200km/h-limit! Great, I hope you keep up with this speed...

Good luck for tomorrow!

[Günter]

no, it's the first 85Km -so will try it slower for now ! This was just an performance test

..have to lift it up on axle stands tomorrow and listen from the underside. Maybe the magnet coupling of th AC-comp does make this noise.. . . And an re-bleeding of the water system is on the plan. Have done all test runs with pure water & mild citric acid. So the radiator and heater matrix should be fine now.