Roy Lewington

Workshop manual for my 1988 Stevens X180 turbo gives a charge for refrigerant 12 of 1.4kg (3lbs). The quick check procedure using the sight glass advised: Continuous bubbles ------- system low on charge Sight glass clear for more than 45 seconds after switching off before foaming and settling away from glass--------system overcharged Foams and settles away from sight glass in less than 45 seconds after switching off-------system correctly charged

I would use epoxy resin---much stronger. I have used West Epoxy Resin on boats with great results. Roy

Job done. I removed the auxiliary belts and lined the cam belt up. I tapped a soft nylon wedge into the crank pulley housing to prevent the cambelt moving and also zip-tied the belt to the distributor drive to avoid any ignition timing issues. With the cambelt tensioner slackened I was able to ease the belt away from the pulleys. I made a cam locking tool from a couple of soft nylon washers as the pulleys being alloy would be easy to damage. The tightening torque is only 25ftlb so I was hoping to undo the retaining bolt without too much trouble. All ok, it released and the cam sprocket c

My experience of almost anything from China is very poor quality and a waste of money and effort. There is a morality issue as well, I would not buy from China because of the human rights issues even if the quality was ok. I got my alloy rad through SJS, absolutely superb. Apparently the makers also supply F1 teams so what else do you need to know. A bit of a pig job so you don't want to do it twice if you can avoid it.

This is the family round-robin that you just love to get at this time of year. Well, it's been a busy year for us. In January I went to collect coal for the fire and slipped on a patch of ice. Went down with a bit of a bang and lost most of my teeth. This continues to be troublesome (see pic) so looks like turkey soup this Christmas. After 3 days my wife started to get a bit anxious and came looking. She slipped on the same patch of ice and ended up in hospital with a broken hip. The staff were good but after several visits I noticed her medical notes referred to her as Mrs A. not Mrs L.

I hadn't really considered taking the towers off but it is a sensible option. However the car is running really well, no tappet noise, no oil leaks from the cam covers so it seems like a lot of extra work for a £5 seal. I'll try doing it in place and see how I get on. Thanks Roy.

One of my winter jobs is to replace the front camshaft oil seals (910 engine) which I have been assured can be done with the engine in place. I see they are only torqued to 25 ftlb but will I have a problem releasing the bolt? So I have some questions: 1 Can it be done, engine in place. 2 Can I buy a cam locking tool. 3 Would a wedge shaped piece of wood tapped in between the two cams sprockets work. 4 Should I make a bar to bolt between the two sprockets. Any advice gratefully received. Thanks Roy.

Lotus Mediterranean Blue, glad you like it. Nice interior in red/dark blue leather. Still looking good after 94000 miles.

Car show this Sunday, actually it is more a village fete with plenty of stalls, brass band etc. At Horam near Heathfield West Sussex starts at 12...30 so get there for 11.30/12.00. No need to book, just turn up, usually about 50 cars all different makes, a nice day out. Just had a weeks holiday, did about 600miles in the daily driver. A 180K Merc. which was fine, everything you need, auto (good for creeping round the M25, A/C, Cruise, very quiet ride, good brakes, yes it was just fine. Went to top up the Lotus with fuel for Sunday and go for a run. Jeez, this thing just brings a big sm

Some time ago (I think it was early last year) there were some interesting posts on whether or not to fit an oil cooler thermostat. I decided against, as I was not happy with the thought of it failing in the closed position. Instead I have fitted an oil temperature gauge. Lack of a suitable dash location and the preference for keeping it original pushed me into a small digital gauge which was fairly easy to fit and to remove at a later stage if needed. I bought a sump plug from Matt Lewis Racing (half inch BSP) that took a one eighth npt temp. sender. Online supplied me with a digi

Oil temperature gauge? Small digital gauges are available on line. Roy

How good is your timing gun? I have 3------ and 2 of them are close to useless. Just one more thing for you to consider.

Remember that ignition timing at idle (10 degrees I think) is with both vacuum pipes at the distributor disconnected. You may be including some vacuum advance in your 20 degrees.

Nice tip Neil, thanks for that. Roy

I have wrap but on the chassis where it runs close to the exhaust (looks rather nice in red)!