Hi

[lwasson]

Hi

Been real busy lately and I haven't checked Esprit Fact File until last week. Things have really changed. I'm glad to see they broke out the different makes of the Esprit and the G-cars have their own technical section. Wonderful!

Anyway, I've been restoring an '83 Esprit Turbo. Every nut and bolt came off the car 2.5 years ago. She is close to motivating again in what has been a frustrating but wonderful project.

I hope to be of technical assistance to the group. Approaching 50 so I'm forgetful (thankfully other things still function properly) and may have to go back to the shop to check my notes and manuals and respond the following day.

louis

'83 Turbo

[Jussi]

Hello and welcome to forum Louis.

Remember to vote "what are you owning" section http://www.glcforum.com/ukesprit/forums/in...p?showtopic=346

Another point for G-cars B)

Your project sounds very interesting, if you got some photos about it you can put them on the garage-section.

[lwasson]

Jussi

I've tried several times to add pics of the project car in garage but no luck. The file size may be too large?

Here is the project web page. It hasn't been updated in quite sometime. The body is now back on the car. I actually driven the car but only to reveal more problems.

http://intranet.erc.msstate.edu/~lwasson/

A word of advice...only by carb rebuilt kits from DellOrto. Many rebuild kits are cheap copies and can cause problems. More on that later.

louis

'83 Turbo

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I don't want to pick holes in your work but you have put the steering rack on the wrong side of the car

Welcome to the group look forward to seeing some updated pics. Oh I love your other car by the way, last time I saw a Jalpa was in a Rocky film which one I'm not sure.

[WayneB]

Jussi

I've tried several times to add pics of the project car in garage but no luck.  The file size may be too large?

Here is the project web page.  It hasn't been updated in quite sometime.  The body is now back on the car.  I actually driven the car but only to reveal more problems.

http://intranet.erc.msstate.edu/~lwasson/

A word of advice...only by carb rebuilt kits from DellOrto.  Many rebuild kits are cheap copies and can cause problems.  More on that later.

louis

'83 Turbo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for comment on carb rebuild kit. Was tempted by a kit on ebay from South Africa($25 US) but I thought it must be too good to be true. Am getting mine from Gower and Lee in the UK for 70 quid the pr.

[Jussi]

Thanks for link, I think I saw your site before... anyway project looks very professional B) post some progress.

Don't worry about steering, yours is just right side of the car

I'm sure some moderator would help to get your pictures to garage section, try first to smaller your pics and post them again.

[DrieStone]

Louis,

You can always put photos up on flikr.com and link to them from there. I really would love to see how things are looking for you (especially since I should have my engine back early next week).

jon

[lwasson]

Louis,

You can always put photos up on flikr.com and link to them from there. I really would love to see how things are looking for you (especially since I should have my engine back early next week).

jon

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Jon

Glad you are getting the engine back. I'm sure it will run better than mine at the moment. I bought the cheap carb rebuild kits that resulted in flooding on a biblical scale. Really didn't know how bad things were until I drove the car a few hundred meters around the shop area. Saw a trail of fluids and my heart dropped. 2.5 years of work and now what?? The carbs were dumping so much gas it was flowing past the piston rings down into the oil of the crankcase. The fluids were coming out the crankcase breather pipe that had not been hooked up to the air filter box.

Drain the oil for a couple of weeks while I was out of town.

The carbs have been rebuilt with the proper kits from DellOrto. The engine idles better than ever but now I have the problem of no oil pressure. We've tried everything trying to figure this one out. From the oil pump losing prime to a clog in an oil passage but no solution. I will try a new oil filter tonight to see if that helps.

On the picture side of things I like the Esprit with the body off. It looks more impressive. The body is in good shape but I haven't really done much work on the body. Compared to the rebuilt chassis, suspension and engine the car now looks dirty with the body on.

Good to hear from you Jon. Your WIKI page is great!

louis

'83 Turbo

[WayneB]

Re. No oil pressure. Did you pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly before you reassembled the engine? Failure to do this will mean it is nigh on impossible to get any oil up to the pump.

[madmezza]

Beautiful set of pictures of engine/gearbox/chassis in the late 2004 gallery! Wish my engine looked like that!!

Looking forward to seeing the current state of the car.

Rich

[lwasson]

Re. No oil pressure. Did you pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly before you reassembled the engine? Failure to do this will mean it is nigh on impossible to get any oil up to the pump.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Wayne

No, didn't do the petroleum jelly treatment. The engine has been running perfectly for months (except for the carbs). Did leak tests on all the systems before the body went back on. Always had proper oil pressure. Last Saturday she just didn't like me and still doesn't!

Also, last Saturday after the carbs had been rebuilt she wouldn't fire up. The fuel pump wasn't working. Again, never had a problem. Dismantled the pump for inspection and saw only a small fleck of material drop out from the pumping end. Got it back together the engine fires right up. All is well except no oil pressure.

Its not the gauge because no oil is coming thru the oil pressure gauge line. No oil is going to the turbo. Oil is going to the filter but is it coming out of the filter? I didn't get a chance to change the filter last night and will try again tonight to get to the shop.

If anyone has more ideas PLEASE pass them along.

Thanks!

louis

'83 Turbo

[WayneB]

All that fuel in the oil has washed all the oil from your pump. When you have removed the filter Get a funnel with a hose shoved on the end and try to get AS MUCH 50 wt. OIL AS POSSIBLE into the filter inlet/outlet. It will make a mess but beats taking oil pump off.Fill new filter to max also. Might help also if you remove the spark plugs to enable the starter to spin motor over faster and to reduce strain on it also. Sometimes on the dry sumped race cars its a nightmare to get oil pressure after a complete restoration. Good Luck

[lwasson]

Its already a big mess. Good tip on removing the plugs.

I'll give it a try.

Thanks Wayne!

louis

'83 Turbo

[gpz900r]

Its already a big mess.  Good tip on removing the plugs.

I'll give it a try.

Thanks Wayne!

louis

'83 Turbo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

best of british luck mate, were all fingers crossed for you

[lwasson]

The latest news on the Oil Pump soap opera.

Rigged up a system where I could force oil back thru the oil pump in an attempt to prime the pump if indeed that is the problem. Worked pretty good but it didn't help the pump.

I replace the oil filter but no good. But the filter was full of oil?? So I took the filter off and cranked the engine and oil did flow out the oil filter port. But the oil was not flowing with great force. So the pump is pumping not very efficient.

Ummmmm????

Could it be the pressure relief valve is stuck in the open position?

Regardless the pump is coming off for inspection. Hopefully the surfaces will be clean and smooth and the problem will be easy to fix.

louis

'83 Tirbo

[WayneB]

Louis, Whilst you had all that petrol in the oil , the engine didnt backfire at any time causing the gas in the oil to combust? That happend to me once(not on an Esprit) but it did cause the relief valve to stick fully open(also blew both valve covers and launched the dipstick into orbit! Another aid to getting oil pressure is a tool made by Snap On that holds a litre of oil, which you connect to the oil pressure switch threaded boss.You then attach an air line to the tool and pressurise the oil forcing it into the oil galleries and pump of the engine. I used this once(borrowed it from friend who owns machine shop) Worked good!

Edited June 17, 2005 by WayneB

[f1karting]

Louis,

You can always put photos up on flikr.com and link to them from there. I really would love to see how things are looking for you (especially since I should have my engine back early next week).

jon

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good to hear Jon..

Got my Fikse wheels.. they are awsome!! Jan

Hi Louis!

[f1karting]

Hi Louis.. that problem is nerve racking.. I had the same issues with my twin cam.. I tried everything, even greased up the pump impeller to tighten the seal. In the end, I found all was well, so I crossed my fingers and fired it up... gave it 10 secs (seems a lifetime in that situation) and couple of quick blips to about 2000 and magically the OP showed. The one thing I couldnt check, and was concerned that maybe the PU pipe had failed or was sucking air from somewhere.

Needless to say, I was scared s-tless that my next job would be redoing the bearings as well.

Its been fine since...

Good luck my friend.. Jan

[lwasson]

I believe we can finally put this thread to rest. I will not bore you with all the details of the problem solving process and just tell you that the pump simply lost prime.

I did try forcing 50wt oil thru the galleries with a homemade pressure tank. Still it would not prime. Ran several quarts thru the system but no luck.

So, I took the pump off and after careful inspection of clearances the pump was deemed OK. The pressure relief valve was also in the closed position and functioned perfectly. So why will it not pump efficiently??

So we greased up the annulus and rotor and put half the pump down into a bucket of oil. Several of my friends fingers plugged a few ports on the pump and we spun it up with a drill. We did this outside knowing it was going to make a big mess if all was ok. Sure enough the pump was shooting oil out 5meters or more. Burt's finger could barely hold position on the outlet to the oil filter. So all is well and all we need is to put it back in place along with the intake manifold/carb assembly and she should be ready to go.

Fortunately I never had an explosion that blew the 'lid' off as mentioned in a previous post.

Jan! It is good to hear from you. Send me a pic of your wheels. Have you test driven your suspension upgrades?

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions,

louis

'83 Turbo