Ian's S4s refurb

[swindon_alan]

3 minutes ago, Sparky said:

No, REAL men don't feel the need to measure it.

Overheard on the Brooklands banking yesterday after the photo shoot:

Lotus Owner 1: "Well that was an anticlimax"
Lotus Owner 2: "That's not the first time that has come out of your mouth"
Lotus Owner 1 Wife: <smirks>
 

[Bibs]

Were they expecting singing and dancing? It's a photoshoot! 

[swindon_alan]

I thought that a reclining Bibs was the highlight personally. It reminded me of those old Playgirl pin ups

[Bibs]

It's a tradition, or old charter or something.

/Robert Rankin. 

[Chillidoggy]

I'd be more concerned that Alan used to have Playgirl pin-ups on his wall.

[swindon_alan]

Oh come on Ian, even you would have had a go on Burt Reynolds in his prime

[Chillidoggy]

Not on Burt himself (non-return valve fitted up my chuff), but deffo on his '77 Trans Am SE.

[Alex Carter]

yes alan my aim is brooklands and belgium next year .

i can always arrange some girls for you lot hahahahaha 

[swindon_alan]

Do those shoes double up as tools for getting flints out of tyre treads as well?

[Alex Carter]

or a tooth pick

[Chillidoggy]

Rear hub bearings -

On the way back from Sunday's meeting, we noticed a new noise which got progressively worse, and sounded like we were being shadowed by a squadron of Lancaster bombers. The car already sounds like a Mk9 Supermarine Spitfire, what with that damned boy-racer exhaust, but this was something definitely dodgy. Suspecting a wheel bearing, I got the car up on the lift, and sure enough, the left rear wheel was decidedly wobbly. I also decided to replace both rear bearing sets, as I was surprised at how quickly the bearing started to fail, and I have no desire to be out and about with a wheel hanging off. On other cars I've had they normally gave plenty of warning, but not this one.

Following the service notes, wheel and hub nut removed, then the pin and clip from the rear caliper. Removed the disc, and undid the caphead bolts through the hub flange.

 

 

I had a look at the bearing and hub, and decided to use the gear puller to separate them, as I couldn't see how they could be easily pressed out without some kind of collar, which I don't have. Still, with 'Big Bertha' the gear puller on them, they never stood a chance.

 

 

This unfortunately leaves the inner race still on the hub, which I'm going to angle grind off tomorrow; there's no gap for a puller.

 

 

 

Looking at both bearings, aside from the wear, one is kind of dry, the grease looks decidedly dirty, and I suspect they're the originals from new with whatever dust and other rubbish has crept in there.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2016 by ian29gte

[davevr6car]

My bearings were the same when I got my S4s.......With massive play on the drivers side.......used a dremel on the remainder of the bearing to get it off. Cheap enough to replace....standard Renault bearing.........and don't believe that the lotus supplied ones are upgrades....I got my local bearing supplier to check and they are the same.

[swindon_alan]

@davevr6car, did you get a cross reference for the bearing, a part number, manufacturer or which Renault it is used on please?

I had the same situation with my nearside rear, the repairer took it down the local bearing shop and got one off the shelf, nothing special about these at all.

[andydclements]

I'd recommend something like SKF or Japanese known brand but it's this type/cross ref

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Wheel-Bearing-Kit-Renault-18-20-21-25-30-Fuego-Espace-I-II-New-7701462020-/301672729632?hash=item463d188c20:g:548AAOSwm8VUtsUo

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, swindon_alan said:

@davevr6car, did you get a cross reference for the bearing, a part number, manufacturer or which Renault it is used on please?

I had the same situation with my nearside rear, the repairer took it down the local bearing shop and got one off the shelf, nothing special about these at all.

 

No, I haven't got a cross reference as yet, Alan. I shall see what I can find when I get time.

46 minutes ago, andydclements said:

I'd recommend something like SKF or Japanese known brand but it's this type/cross ref

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Wheel-Bearing-Kit-Renault-18-20-21-25-30-Fuego-Espace-I-II-New-7701462020-/301672729632?hash=item463d188c20:g:548AAOSwm8VUtsUo

 

Item location: Panevezys, Lithuania.

 

I got mine from PNM in Cheshire instead.

[Chillidoggy]

Looking at the old bearings, the lip seals looked decidedly chatty, and I reckon ingress of dirt is what probably what caused the failure, especially given the state of the grease, and their 20-year old vintage.

 Anyway,  I angle-ground the inner races down as far as I dared, then split them using a 4lb club-hammer and nice big chisel. One good donk, and bingo, off they came.

Gave the hubs a good old clean up, and pressed the new bearings on. I'm hoping they're pre-loaded with grease, or it'll be embarrassing......... I just need to clean up the seating areas in the uprights and make sure the bolt holes are clear before they can go back in.

[Chillidoggy]

Given the sealing arrangement, I suspected the new bearings were pre-packed with grease. A call to PNM proved fruitless, so I took the plunge. After a 50 mile run, they're still fine, so that's a relief. I have been advised to check the torque after a few hundred miles, so that is going on the list. It wasn't a bad job to do at all, but it does need a decent bearing puller, careful use of an angle grinder, and hammer and chisel.

One odd thing I found was that the 6 caphead bolts for retaining each bearing were different side-to-side. One side had 5mm hex socket (thought I might have had problems there), the other side was 6mm. Yet the bolts are otherwise identical. They looked original, so I guess that's just another Lotus idiosyncrasy!

Further inspection of the original bearings showed that the grease that remained inside was discoloured, more like wax, and the lipseals were hardened with age, so they were worth changing. The replacements were original Lotus supply, SNR bearings, although as usual there will be other manufacturers supplying them.

[fjmuurling]

Hi Ian,

Do you have a link or more information for the turbo lower coolant port fitting you used?

[Chillidoggy]

On 14 June 2016 at 16:57, fjmuurling said:

Hi Ian,

Do you have a link or more information for the turbo lower coolant port fitting you used?

The Chinese one?

[fjmuurling]

That's the one.

[Chillidoggy]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Degree-Elbow-Brass-Fitting/dp/B00CI04TMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467185679&sr=8-1&keywords=generic+90+degree+elbow

Took me a while to find, but this is the one I used.

[fjmuurling]

Thanks Ian.

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, fjmuurling said:

Thanks Ian.

This is the difference you're searching for -

[fjmuurling]

That's what I'm looking for.

many thanks

[Chillidoggy]

Front brakes -

I fitted the PNM Engineering/Hi-Spec 6-pot brake calipers and big discs last month as I wanted some improved braking performance over the original Brembos. The kit came supplied with all the bits and bobs, and I ordered the EBC Yellowstuff pads to go with it.

I found it easy to fit, although there were a couple of issues. I had to shim the caliper brackets to get the calipers perfectly central, as the pads wouldn't fit in the calipers without them. I think I used 1mm and 1.5mm shims, but it's not something I haven't done before. I also needed to relieve the aluminium pad retaining pins a bit, as they just kissed the edge of the disc, but again, nothing difficult.

Bleeding the front brakes was easy enough, but it took a lot of fluid through them to remove every trace of air from the new calipers. I also bled the rears while I was at it.

On the road, my first impressions weren't good, though. I bedded the pads in, but found the car pulled to the RHS on initial braking. I had only just completely rebuilt the front suspension, with all new bushes, and anti-roll bar, so before I did anything else I took the car for a geometry check which showed corrections were required on the LHS, which I did.  I checked the tyres, but both are identical, new-ish Michelins, having been bought at the same time. I also temporarily disabled the ABS, but the problem still remained.

Having already been in contact with Pete at PNM, individually, I swopped the pads, brake lines and calipers side to side, one after the other. Re-bleeding the brakes again after each change. After moving the calipers, the initial 'snatch' moved to the LHS.

At their suggestion, PNM immediately sent me a brand new set of calipers which arrived the next day. Once fitted, they cured the problem, and I can only imagine that there must have been some kind of debris in the original set, or some manufacturing issue. So, a public 'thank you' to Pete and John at PNM Engineering for such good customer service!

Yesterday, I took the car for its MOT, and spent a while on the brake rollers with the tester (incidentally a friend of mine), which showed perfect balance, both front and rear.

For now, I remain undecided as to whether the Delco Powermaster system is staying or being replaced, and will probably disable the ABS again and see how that feels to me before making any further decision. As far as I know, spare parts for it are NLA, so that could well tip me in a certain direction, though.

 

 

Oh, and an unexpected bonus in all this is that my wife is now an expert in brake-pedal operation when brake bleeding is required.