restoration - slow but sure

[Frank]

Restoration of the S1 is going slowly, I had all good intentions of getting stuck in over summer and sorting it all out with the knowledge that at least I can have the garage door open and at least the rain isn

[USAndretti42]

Frank, I would turn the engine to no.1 firing TDC and check that the marks on the cam pulleys line up like they should and that you actually have marks on them that you can see. You are going to need to replace the belt anyway as the car has been sat for "years." You will need to remove the crank pulley to get the belt off and the new one on so you need to find a way to lock the flywheel while you loosen it. You can torque it back up when the engine is back in the car.

Check the water pump while the belt is off. Change the water pump bolt that sits behind the belt for a socket cap head screw to make it removable when the belt is on. It may make life later some time on the future. It's also a good time to change the front crank seal gasket.

Change the timing belt tensioner bearing as they don't last much longer than the belt and make a mess when they fail.

As you probably are going to have to remove the head, you should check and adjust the valve clearances. Do this before removing the belt.

I'm sure you plan to change the oil filter anyway.

Check the pilot bearing in the flywheel.

I'm sure others will chime in with more suggestions to keep you busy.

[silverfrost]

Hi Frank,

As the four cylinder engine uses wet liners i.e metal cylinder bores pushed into an alloy engine block, you must ensure that once the cylinder head is removed you clamp the liners down as if you turn the engine over even by hand with the cylinder head removed you run the risk of disturbing the seal at the bottom of the liners which s not good!

Good luck with the engine regards danny

[Frank]

Trevor

Top tips, these are the sort of things that are absolute gold that you dont know until you have made the mistake.

Danny you've worried me a little, I might have to do a bit more reading about wet liners (I thought this was something that incontenent old woman might wear!) but really glad I asked the question.

this is fantastic stuff guys, anyone with any other hints or tips?

Frank

[Tony K]

Good advice so far; let me throw in my .02:

I'd first check the valve clearances. If you have one that is "0" and/or have a cam lobe that is wiped around the back side, then a not fully seating valve might be your compression issue right there.

Second, I'd then, as Trevor suggests, line the engine up to TDC. Check all the marks, and put your own marks where you feel necessary. Then, by hand, rotate the engine backwards 90 degrees (careful to watch that the belt doesn't jump/slip) or forward a full turn plus an additional 270 degrees. Then you'll have the pistons all half way down when you take the head off. It makes life a lot less nervous when you reinstall the cam boxes. And as stated above, don't rotate the engine when the head is off unless you have the liners FIRMLY clamped down via the head studs!

Rebuild the tensioner (nylon bushings), too, in addition to the bearing.

If it wasn't a valve adjustment, you'll likely find your compression issue in a valve or valve seat being slightly burned or otherwise out of round.

The current composite head gaskets available are slightly thicker (IIRC) than the original foil Coopers gaskets, so there's a little more of a margin to skim the head if necessary (although I wouldn't unless it needed it).

While the engine is out, remove the sump and clean whatever crap or debris is stuck around the screen around the pickup tube.

If there is any hint of a leak where the auxiliary housing bolts to the block, now's the time to do it.

With the engine out, it's easy work to clean or replace the exhaust manifold studs, and when you refit the manifold, use the copper crush nuts like Mercedes and other German cars use. They're more of a pain to get on because you can't really finger tighten them on, but they don't vibrate loose (common on Esprits), and they don't seize, either.

Inspect your (cast iron) manifold for cracks.

Inspect all three cam sprockets for wear.

Inspect the inside of the crankshaft V-belt pulley to make sure the woodruff key in the crank isn't beating away at the slot in the pulley. (When you reinstall, it is essential to use the cone-shaped washer and torque it to the specified tightness...)

Inspect clutch disc for wear...

Replace motor mount on manifold side.

Replace trailing arm mount bushing on the same side.

Replace the various hoses between front of engine and chassis tunnel.

When you reinstall the timing belt snubbers, don't give them the ridiculously close few thousandths of an inch that the manual suggests; give them about half a tooth's height clearance. If you make them as close as the manual suggests, you may hear the timing belt chirping because it may be thicker at one portion than another.

Just a few suggestions . . . hope it's helpful. . . .

Tony

p.s. Mark the position of the rotor against the distributor body.

[lotus4s]

Save yourself a lot of grief later and rebuild or replace the water pump now. An easy job with the engine out, a real pain in the car.

[yeti]

When we had the engine out of my car, and turned the engine up-side-down, the liners fell out! So: Clamp your liners.

Otherwise you can read all about my engine rebuild here: http://www.meek.nu/lotus/index.htm

Good luck!

Bjorn

[Frank]

Well guys in-spite of the cold weather I have slowly been working on the S1 following all of your advice and direction from varying posts.

I took my head down to get the exhaust manifold off and the studs replaced and they had to bring in 'The Thread Doctor' to sort out 2 of them. I couldn't get the head skimmed as the oil journal hex stud was in the way and was stuck solid so it was just cleaned up. The exhaust manifold looks like toast as the cracks all started to appear and open up when the nuts came off. Tomorrows problem I think.

The valves and seats are in very good condition and I look forward to getting the head back on so I don't need to lose any more sleep worrying about my wet liners falling out! The only issue is if the valves were good why was compression low in No 4? hope it was just a sticky valve!

When I took the cam belt off I noticed its a QTB 122, in a number of the threads its said that you should go for the Lotus one but this was one supplied by Lotus (in 1987). Whats the final thoughts on this topic, where is the best place to buy my belt from?

Following the recommendations from you folks on things I should do or look at when Im here I am on the way to completing most, but I have some questions following your advice:

'CHECK THE WATER PUMP' how do I know if its good, or bad?

'CHANGE THE FRONT CRANK SEAL GASKET' This looks like an absolute dog to do, is there a post on this?

'REPLACE THE CLUTCH' I was going to do the 3 piece kit until I saw the price of the bearing and now I am sure that my bearing is absolutely fine! My bearing is probably the best one in the world! I think I will go for just the clutch and pressure plate from SJS.

My engine was pretty oily and I couldn't tell where the leaks came from as I couldnt run it as the cam belt was 20 yrs old .....etc. where are the most likely oil leak hiding?

My gearbox appears to have clear silicon sealant oozing out of every joint, was this an alternative to gaskets on the SM gearbox? I was going to see if I could reseal it but imagined taking off one cover and cogs exploding everywhere! Gearboxes scare me like a rubiks cube.

While I was digging around I found this which looks interesting, a rubber cam cover gasket:

http://www.jhps.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=jhps&Product_Code=RCG&Category_Code=CC

apology's if you've seen it already.

Look forw3ard to any info that anyone can help me with around this.

Frannk

[910Esprit]

QTB 122 is Quinton Hazel, which is not the OE maker of the belt and is unlikely to have been provided by Lotus! Go for a genuine Lotus one, far more stylish and not too expensive... I agree, I wouldn't change the CRB unless it seems worn or you are a wealthy man. FWIW unless a clutch has been slipping, I generally only change the driven plate (once it starts slipping the heat damages the spring tension).

Oil generally from cam tower to head joint, or cam covers on a 907 (they are tricky to get oil tight unless you are meticulous. I generally dont like changing stuff for the sake of it, but the water pump is probably a good call. Not really possible to check on the bench and a pita to change.

I think siiicone is used on the bellhousing/box joint but nothing else. You can remove the top cover,rear cover and driveshaft housings without anything bad happening.

Steve