andyblackman777

I put the belt back on from above. No problems. 😁👍

Alan you can get that bearing/pulley wheel from SJ sports cars. £50. I replaced mine was your oil pick up broken?? Curious about the buzzing

Thanks Mike. No need to worry then 👍👍

Surely the dipstick depth would be governed by the length of the dipstick itself and the length of the outside tube to the locknut?? The tube inside the engine wouldn’t alter the dipstick position. Im interested in this because when I completely drained my oil. (Oil coolers off etc) , a lot of oil went back in to get the level to register on the dipstick 8.5l! I wondered if somehow the tube position had changed. I’m concerned that the engine may be overfilled Cheers Andy

So I finally got these fitted seems to work well. Holds boost in 3rd gear roll ons etc much better

The first thing I would check is the proper figures from the manual and then compare those to the actual readings. I wouldn’t trust the machines idea of where they should be. the rear toe is a pain to adjust because it uses shims. I also found changing the shims effected the camber so there was a fair bit of adjusting and then readjusting. My mate has a tyre shop so I borrowed his alignment rig for the afternoon 👍.

Because it’s a Honda 😁

So I tripled checked the tension. I got 122 Hz on the left bank and decided to try to match it to the 130Hz I have on the right bank. Suppose to be 120-135Hz on new belts. Anyway I spent ages adjusting it and settled back on 122 in the end! It’s tricky adjusting the tension and tightening the bolt. I’ve gained plenty of experience of what’s required to increase or decrease tension. I don’t know why I didn’t do it myself before. The car starts and runs at idle. I haven’t road tested it because I’m waiting for a new auxiliary belt and pulley. For anyone planning to do this job the adjustment of the tensioner is tricky and turning the crank is a bit hard work. Not difficult just tricky because of access. It would be very straightforward with the engine out of the car. I did notice that center section of the plastic belt covers has split where the metal tubes are inserted , these are where the retaining bolts go through. The metal tubes have corroded and split the plastic. Which is a shame. I have another one and that is similar, not quite as bad. I’ll probably replace it next time. Unless I find a way to repair it in the next 4 years 😂

Thanks Mike, the above is exactly what I did. Got 125 and 130hz (Lotus belts)and the same again after rechecking. 👍 Might just do one more check just to be sure😉. Waiting for some parts now anyways.

Thanks Mike. I wonder why the clavis gauges are so expensive I have £20 guitar tuner which is obviously bang on. I guess the proper automotive gauges are lot more robust and no so much in demand. Anyway, I got round to tensioning the belts today. It took 3 or 4 goes, just a case of getting to know what is needed adjustment wise. Again turning the crank twice every time is a pain with the engine in the car. I found his easier from underneath. I have one question, after adjusting the tension and then rotating the crank twice to get it back to the correct checking position I get 130Hz. If I then give the belt a twist/pull it reads a lower amount, say 100Hz. If the crank is then rotated a further 2 times were back to 130HZ. I'm assuming that the belt tension is checked while in tension from the said rotations, not in a "relaxed" state. In the same position. ?

Alan, Not sure if it’s really necessary though? I see you have a different set up though!

Thanks Mike. I found some time this morning to replace the belts. I did another check of the timing position, the pins only go in one time out of eight possible positions. My unmarked pulley/ damper is now marked! Belts are replaced now and timing still good after 2 rotations of the crank. I just have to check and adjust the tension now. A bit fed up of turning the crank over so I’ll do it another day. Belt tensioner and idler pulley bearings are good. Auxiliary belt tensioner pulley is a bit wobbly so will order a new one. (30,000 miles). For anyone doing this job the hardest thing is probably turning the crank over. Maybe combine it with a spark plug change😂 Also, buy the timing pins and crank locking tool. I wouldn’t mess around with drill bits. With the proper pins you know when they’ve gone in properly. Well worth the money £130 from PNM. I made a tensioning tool.

Here you go. http://www.freudhoefer.de/lotus/esprit/

Definitely no mark? The other engine I have is marked as in your picture. I read that some early engines have two drillings of the camshafts one at 10deg BTDC #2 cylinder and the other at 10deg BTDC #1 cylinder! I did two rotations and the pins only went in once out of the 8 options!!

Im currently replacing the belts on my 96 V8. There is more room than I thought so removal of all necessary parts has been quite straight forward by just laying on top of the engine. 👍 My only problem so far is that my Crankshaft pulley has no markings against any of the 4 vanes? One vane did have some evidence of possibly some yellow paint on it. Anyway I locked the crank at all vane positions and the tolerance pins only went in at one position. On the 2nd go around I might add, starting at the 'yellow' vane. Im assuming that the pins only go in at one position 10 deg BTDC (firing) No2 Cylinder. Does anyone know if this is correct? Im pretty sure but want to double check before continuing. Cheers Andy

Cheers Mike. I’ll give it a go with the app then. If I’m not happy I’ll have to borrow the proper gauge from a friend 👍. It’s funny we’ve gone from a twist of the belt and experience knowing it’s correct to an expensive instrument to measure the frequency and now a free app!

While on the subject of belts. Do you think a smartphone belt tension app will do the job, Gates have one. Or should I try to get hold of a Clavis gauge?

Now your really confusing me!!

Cheers Mike 👍

Mike are there two different kinds of Gates belts? Was looking on PNM and he listed Gates belt. Just looked and not there anymore, might just give them a ring Andy

I'm going to change the belts on my car. which ones are better. Gates or the OEM lotus? Thanks Andy

Cheers Mike as I thought I’ll get some of the correct size. 👍

Thanks for the reply Mike it’s the clevis end

After a bit of advice, The hole in the rod end of my forge actuators has a slightly larger hole than the stock ones. 8.5mm as opposed to 7.5 mm. This means that there will be a bit of 'play' where it fits over the wastegate shaft. Does this matter or should I try to get some replacements with a smaller hole. Many thanks Andy

Hi Mike, I feel you pain! Mines not Esprit related though. I really liked you rebuild threads, just have to wait another 10 years I guess......... Take care , hope to see you still posting. Cheers