Esprit Turbo project car - part3 - the further continuation

[eeyoreish]

Are you round the M25 yet? The suspense is killing me.

[Lotusfab]

No I decided to do a round trip to Lotusbits.

[Lotusfab]

A large part of this car is new and with so many untested changes there are always teething problems . I had an issue with the Turbo pipe which was leaking now its perfect after a switch lo a braided pipe and new seals. There are no engine oil leaks and finally no coolant leaks after tightening some clips. 
I have found an isuue which is a bit annoying since I triple checked everything. I found a gearbox oil leak from the nearside output shaft. It was leaking onto the disc. This should not be possible as the drain hose should have directed the oil away. Further investigation showed the outlet was blocked. So I unblocked it and oil is leaking from the pipe. I examined these seals and replaced only one, as the other seemed fine. The replacement seal was about £30. It was slightly different to the original. I bet it is this one that is leaking, as the fit isn’t brilliant. I have a spare output shaft so I may switch over the seal. 
I thought I was done but guess not. 
The upside is the car is driving perfectly, its a real pleasure. I guess its worth the effort to get the spanners out and sort this last remaining annoyance.

There is not a lot of info on fitting the seals. The design is poor in my opinion. I have overfilled the gearbox level so that will lead to more oil finding its way to the seal, but even then it should cope. I will have it fixed in the next few days!

The new seal wasn't a tight fit in the housing, maybe this is part of the problem and silicon on the outside of the seal might have been a good idea?

[Fridge]

I'd be interested in knowing if you find out if it's the new output seal that is leaking. I fitted had new seals fitted to the gearbox when it was rebuilt, but as you know new parts aren't always the best. I can't remember, but some parts were Lotus branded OEM. Certainly the bearings. The quality of some new parts certainly aren't as good NOS that's for sure. This is across all cars, not just these ones.

[LOTUSMAN33]

That’s just bad luck Fabian and as you say easy fix just frustrating, as you know I’ve just finished a 5 year mini build and done 45 miles finding odd weeps from hoses to tighten when I get home, in another 20 miles I will be re-torquing the head and setting the tappets followed by an oil change, one of my output shaft started to weep on my first trip but has now settled and nothing even when putting cardboard under the car when I get home. 
I think lots of these old cars weeped from the Factory especially 60’s Mini’s 🙄😂

I know you will soon have it perfect again 👍🏻
Dave  

[Lotusfab]

Well a busy afternoon! I rebuilt one of my other shafts only to discover it was the wrong side! Anyhow, the shaft is off and guess what its the new seal that is leaking. When I installed it I knew it was different to the original but assumed they are fitted all the time. It leaks because its too loose a fit in the housing, there is a weaker spring in it and the rubber is inferior quality. I stripped the good used seal out of the other shaft and an about to reassemble it. Took 3 hrs to get this far, not that difficult nto 5ake the shafts off when its all new. Be careful when buying these parts there are a lot out there that just arn’t fit for purpose. It caused me a lot of extra work which could have been avoided. Here it is, looks very similar but is rubbish and expensive!

[Lotusfab]

Interestingly the leak stopped overnight. I was measuring the fluid loss. I overfilled the box as recommended to about 2.7 L. When the leak stopped I measured the oil level it was exactly 2.25L, the Lotus recommended fill amount! 

[Fridge]

Might be a good idea to detail the make of the seal or where it was bought from to help others falling down with the same problem.

I'd have to check my receipts to find where I bought mine from and their manufacturer. They've been OK and have done over 1,200 miles I believe.

[Lotusfab]

Sounds like you were lucky and have different ones, mine had only done 56 miles! They don’t have any markings. Anyone buying some can PM me.

[Lotusfab]

Well seal replaced and all back together. Will overfill again and see what happens. Im using redline gear oil.

[Lotusfab]

Well seal replaced and all back together. Will overfill again and see what happens. Im using redline gear oil.

[Lotusfab]

I feel I may have turned a corner. Extensive testing coming up. I’m also itching to get to work on installing the ski racks. I have a design in my head so now just need to fabricate it and fix it to the tailgate.

[Lotusfab]

Now upto 112 miles and engine is still good guess its fixed! More miles tomorrow. I need to get to 500 ASAP.

[Sparky]

100 miles passed, New target set at 500, he's the only one posting.

[Sparky]

So what happens at 500? Come on?

[snowrx]

Martini's with Moneypenny? 🍸

[v8vantage]

10 hours ago, Lotusfab said:

I feel I may have turned a corner. Extensive testing coming up. I’m also itching to get to work on installing the ski racks. I have a design in my head so now just need to fabricate it and fix it to the tailgate.

I think you missed the snow season this year Fab, look forward to seeing it in Cortina for the next one.

[Lotusfab]

500 run in complete then I can see what it will do! 
Busy doing some ski rack research. Andy on here has done an excellent job on his racks and let me have a close up look. He has come up with a great method of fixing which I will use. 

[Fridge]

I know Andy is a keen skier, like me, and I'm sure given the limits of the clamp designs his method is probably very practical and can be easily concealed with a more accurate prop replica.

I'm not sure who effective they are carrying the skis on the open road, given the risks to other motorists etc, but I'm sure he's tested them.

[Lotusfab]

Had an issue with the drivers door today, lucky it happened in my garage. The drivers door was jammed open! It was the strap mechanism, the metal had broke off inside the door. Luckily Lotusbits are sending me another. Good job it didn’t happen when I was out!

 

[Lotusfab]

Heres the part that failed!You can see the broken metal on the left that jammed the door. The drivers side apparently is always the side that fails.

[ANDYR]

Fabians visit and comments re: the ski racks are very complimentary - seeing him pull up in FYEO was awesome and watching him drive off in it, a sight to behold.  You've done an AMAZING job on that Fabian; truly inspiring.

All that is left is the ski racks.

And you're right to point out there are differences in a prop that looks good from afar (made of balsa, sticky tape and a bit of a gate hinge) vs a working ski rack that holds skis at speed on a vehicle.

 

fix the racks to the car - issue one

fix the skis to the racks - issue two

 

Then fuel up and mark a yellow highlighter pen on your Europe map and head off to the alps - see you there.

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by ANDYR

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Andy, Cortina or bust!

[Chillidoggy]

Christ, you haven't bought a Cortina, have you?

[Lotusfab]

No, if I ever buy another car it will be a Jeep Wrangler YJ. Then i would turn it into a Jurassic park jeep! Still, on with the build!
Whats this?Its an idea I have for securing the lower ski rack. It will have holes drilled in it and be bonded with fibreglass to the rack. Drilling holes helps it to bond and keeps the weight down. For the upper rack I will probably use Steel and aluminium section.I plan to use 2 mm steel plate. Some of the corners bent to reinforce. Should be far stronger than needed.