philcool Posted June 8, 2020 Report Share Posted June 8, 2020 Yes there should be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardC Posted June 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 Thanks for all the advice and offers of help everyone. I've had another look at my car, trying to remove the clutch plate, and come to the conclusion that my aircon compressor clutch is seized in an engaged position and so could not release. In addition to that, either the compressor itself or the pulley bearings are seized too, preventing rotation of the pulley and snapping the drive belt. I'm waiting to hear back from Lotus to see if they can help out with the cost of the just out of warranty failure. I really hope that they can, as the list price from Lotus of a new compressor and clutch is £2680+VAT. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure if compressors for the newer R1234yf refrigerant are easily obtainable from other sources yet: I couldn't find any. New old stock Lotus R134a compressors with clutches can be had for less than a tenth of that price. I wondered if one of these can these be used instead by flushing out and replacing the incomparable oil? Or are there other differences? Cheapest option to get back on the road would be an aircon delete, but I don't really want to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21gg Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 I would google an ac recon company and ask. Dont pay that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agentdr8 Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 Chances are, the OEM compressor is a Denso unit, even if it uses R1234yf. I would try to locate the Denso part number, which is usually found on a sticker on the compressor itself, and look online for pricing. They're likely much cheaper than the ones that have a Lotus label attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillidoggy Posted June 11, 2020 Report Share Posted June 11, 2020 On 08/06/2020 at 22:18, philcool said: Yes there should be Sorry Phil, just read your earlier post on the very subject. Clearly it didn’t work in this case? Quote Margate Exotics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RichardC Posted July 2, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 Update: Lotus Cars and my dealership have agreed to fix the car as a goodwill gesture under warranty! It goes without saying that I'm very pleased and a big thanks to everyone in the Lotus community involved in helping me out. It's things like this that make me glad to be a Lotus driver, rather than the owner of less friendly make of car. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RichardC Posted July 30, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Collected the car yesterday afternoon, all fixed and working well. Glad to be back behind the wheel after two months. I'd forgotten just how brilliant the Evora is, so instead of heading straight off home up the motorway, I went for a random tour of the A and B roads of the Midlands until it went dark. Much fun was had. Thanks to everyone on TLF who helped me out with this, to Lotus Cars for honouring the just-expired warranty, and to Lotus Silverstone for doing the work with the impeccable service that they're famous for. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
au-yt Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Great news indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcool Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Good lad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold FFM C8RKH Posted July 30, 2020 Gold FFM Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 You know Lotus sometimes, unfairly in my opinion, gets a bad rep. But this outcome is fantastic. Wonder how Porsche would have dealt with it? Quote I came into this world screaming and covered in someone elses blood. I'll probably leave it in the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruss Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 By not having it fail in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardC Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Not sure about Porsche, but I'm sure that they have just as many breakdowns in warranty as Lotus do. Cars are complex things and the odd one goes wrong now and again. McLaren on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGTE Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 23 hours ago, Bruss said: By not having it fail in the first place? Unlikely. They fail all the time due to placing the condensers in the perfect place to either be destroyed by gravel, or rot out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruss Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Unfortunately I think we are cutting Lotus too mich slack over this particular issue. It's not new to them - since 2012 at least, to my direct knowledge. The majority of failures seem to follow a path. The ac fluid/ gas mix leaks, the pump fails due to lack of lube, the clutch jams, the belt snaps. This should no longer be happening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Well my 2010 has never leaked, never been regassed and is still pumping out nice cold air - maybe I've just been lucky and maybe its more of a problem on SC cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruss Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Mine hadn't done it either until this year. The point is newer cars are leaking air con gas. They simply shouldn't be. Seals should have been replaced or re specified by now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
au-yt Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 Going back to the original start of the thread with the broken belt, my 400 (60,k,) the micro V’s were cracking and I had it changed at the 4 year service. An observation is my Toyota Hilux has 130ks same belt non cracked or freed, I can only surmise the environment plays a big part of belt life. The Hilux is on a yearly inspection as part of the service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.