Changing the plug/ignition/HT leads in an S4

[TimSportsTourer]

Can you help me? Please?

 

The No 2 HT lead in my car is broken. A nice AA man replaced it with a POS old thing draped over the top of the engine, and now the engine works OK. So No 2 was definitely broken. However, there's no going back, since he snipped the No 2 lead to cannibalise it.

 

I now have a nice new set of Magnecor leads, but I can't put them in. The old ones run round the back of the engine and behind the heat shield and thus behind the turbo. However, there isn't enough room to get even the thin end of an old lead out, never mind the new ones in. The gap between the engine and the heat shield is only slightly wider than the cables, and much narrower than the narrow (coil) end of the leads. The leads must have been replaced when the turbo was out two or three owners ago. How am I meant to run the leads? Or do I have to unbolt the heat shield, chargecooler bracket etc...

 

I rather hoped this would be a relatively easy job, but apparently, no so.

 

I've reviewed the workshop manual to no effect, and I've had a search round here and drawn a blank too. Sorry if I've missed something along the way.

 

Cheers, all!

[Sparky]

Heat shield it is!  It comes out relatively easily, but watch out for all the washers/spacers sandwiched between bits.

[TimSportsTourer]

Arghh!  You gotta love Lotus, at times like this. Ah well. Tomorrow, then. Or next week. Thanks, Sparky. Does it have to come out, or can I just loosen it? Cheers.

[Sparky]

You may get away with loosening it (well, virtually taking all nuts off) but it's tight and depends on the car's history - who did what before.  Give it a go though!

[TimSportsTourer]

Life being what it is, I'll have to live with a POS AA-man botch job for a little longer, then. No more spare minutes till next week at the earliest, I think. How foolish of me to imagine that I could just go change a set of HT leads like on a car. My mistake.

[Sparky]

Ha!  Welcome to Planet Lotus. 

[TimSportsTourer]

Yea. I should know better. I've lived on this plant for a good while. But plug leads? I thought you couldn't make that hard. Recalibration time. The Esprit really is ludicrous. But I've never loved a car as much - even an Elise!

 

[Vulcan Grey]

There is actually enough room to feed the leads (one at a time) through that gap between the heat shield and the engine.  I've done it a few times.

 

[TimSportsTourer]

I guess Sparky must be right, Travis. There really isn't room in my car- the leads themselves are a bit tight, never mind the connectors, so it must depend on who did what to the car before. It's really tight. I am now resigned to loosening the heat shield. I tried for about two hours last night to slip them through, but failed totally. Can't pull the old ones out, never mind pushing new ones in!

 

Thanks for helping, though.

[TimSportsTourer]

At last, I've had a moment to do this, and it has all worked fine. It seems that the right tool is a 10mm ratchet ring spanner, since there isn't clearance for a socket. I took off the nuts and washers, but then was able to move the heat shield far enough on its bolts to slip the leads behind without removing it far enough for spacers etc to fall off. It was actually quite easy, once I settled in kneeling in the boot. It's still tedious and annoying that this is necessary, but it's at all bad really. Now that it's done, the engine is running smoothly, which is nice. Thanks for your reassurance that this was the right thing to do, Sparky/Vulcan. Cheers.