Cam Belt Change

[Alireza]

I've been in the tech. pages and read the article about the Cam Belt change on SE models.

Mine needs that change but i still am afraid of giving the car to the local technician to do it.

I mean, how hard, how delicate is that job?

I have no Lotus (long-time) dealer near me and i don't know what to do.

Any opinions?

[fjmuurling]

It's not that difficult to do but it takes some time to do it the first time, acces is limited with the engine in the car but it is very good possible to do it yourself (depending on your technical skills). I did mine last winter (1990 SE) as part of an almost full C service. I only modified 2 pieces of tools namely a hexagon wrench (needed to be a bit shorter for loosening the vacuum pump) and a 19 mm ring spanner needed a different angle (blow torch and vice for modifying, needed for tension roller adjustment). Furthermore in addition to the normal tools you need some torque wrenches and the car needs to be of the ground for acces from below. In order to adjust the belt tension i used a laptop with some software (Tunie!it 3.40) and a microphone (some topics ago "cambelt tension"). If you do the cambelt then also change the other V-belts aswell as the roller bearing for the tensioner.

Hope this helps and if you need more info let me know.

Freek.

[Nigel]

Not technically difficult , but a b*****d for access , particularly the radiator and heater return hoses.I'm probably a bit of a wimp but I found it difficult to remove the hoses once the clips were slack.

You'll need to take the top off the thermostat housing (didn't say that in the manual) and I had to grind the ring end of a perfectly good Britool 19mm combi spanner so it was thin enough to fit under a 17mm socket for the cam belt tensioner.Took me a while to find the hole for looking at the flywheel timing marks , on my car you take the cover off the relay box and then remove the 30mm grommet and there is also a rubber cover on the top of the clutch housing that needs to be removed.

Hope this is of some help.

Nigel

[fjmuurling]

I used the marks on the front of the engine, there is a small groove in the v-belt pulley and a small kind of flange on the engine with 10, 20 and 30 deg (BTC) markings. You need the 30 deg BTC mark if you tension the cambelt with the microphone etc. Furthermore before taking off the cambelt (cylinder 1 in TDC and the coloured dots on the cam sprockets pointing to eachother) i marked the belt and sprockets as well as the sprocket on the crankshaft with a small paintmarker after which i transferred the markings of the old belt to the new belt.

Freek

Edited June 7, 2006 by fjmuurling

[jetfixr123]

If this helps, I own and operate an aircraft maintenance shop, we take care of our customers exotic cars from time to time for fun and a change of pace.

Aside from that short introduction...We just finished a C service and some other major repairs on a Stevens car. I pulled the engine and gearbox out to accomplish the tasks at hand, sounds crazy but it was easier....I started at 1:30PM and went home at around 9:00PM with the whole powertrain on a bench. During all of this we took the liberty to replace all cooling hoses with silicone. Obviously all belts and that dreaded bolt that should be changed on the water pump for future replacement in the vehicle. We pressure washed the rolling chassis, engine, gear case etc. Not only did it make it spotless clean it made it much easier to work on.

Changing that timing belt looked to be so much easier with the unit out (for obvious reasons). Glad we did, we found a lot of hidden minor but potential problems. Working on the bench allowed us to change seals, check valve clearance and replace so many things with absolute ease.

Total job with 2 men was 3 days basically before turning the key. Not too bad really.

Pulling it all out seems quite excessive, keep in mind I didn't mention previously we replaced the clutch and slave cylinder hose was upgraded to stainless braided hose during this service.

I love the Stevens car.

I am dreading the major service however on my V8 looks a whole lot less roomy

Just some tidbits...Hope they help.

If nothing else my mind is still fresh if you need assitance.

I also have reference photos along the way.

Ian

I've been in the tech. pages and read the article about the Cam Belt change on SE models.

Mine needs that change but i still am afraid of giving the car to the local technician to do it.

I mean, how hard, how delicate is that job?

I have no Lotus (long-time) dealer near me and i don't know what to do.

Any opinions?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Vulcan Grey]

I was able to remove the engine in my car 5 hours, note that doesn't include putting it back in...

I can do a belt change, with the engine inplace in less than 4 hours. Longest part is the coolant drain and refill.

[ukrocketcar]

I was able to remove the engine in my car 5 hours, note that doesn't include putting it back in...

I can do a belt change, with the engine inplace in less than 4 hours. Longest part is the coolant drain and refill.

hi,

all is a "world record"