1986 esprit turbo

[esprit22]

just maybe someone out there knows what the answer (stranger things have happend!)

my car is a 1986 esprit turbo( a pampered one) which recently had the following work done; both brake calipers overhauled, new front discs and pads, new front shocks. all this was done by a non lotus mechanic but I trust him enough to do "simple stuff" and I even got my hands dirty with him. when work was done car was fine, drove to castle combe meeting no worries but thought tracking might be a tad out. my mechanic had just had a new lazer tracking system installed in his workshop so I let him set it up. I also asked him to check for any play in steering rack while it was on ramp, so he lifted car a few inches to do this. on driving car home it was clear that the tracking was miles out but the worst was that when braking the car pulled to the left badly. took car back to him and on checking tracking again found that he had set it incorect (twat) drove home to find tracking ok but still pulling to left on braking. took it back again where we checked both calipers which were working fine and checked brakes performance on rolling road, again showed ok. I then

decided to book car into "sinclaires"who are a lotus dealer to have tracking done on their 4 wheel lazer, at least they give you a print out of before and after. I told them of the pulling problem and they drove car before and after. the tracking was shown to be slightly out but this was not the cause of the car pulling.

the only thing I can think of is that this problem only occured when the car was lifted slightly under the front crossmember to check steering play. is it possible that one of the new shocks has shifted somehow?

please help or I will have to loose my belt, bend over, and take car to hethal!

[WayneB]

Incorrect caster setting.

Tracking incorrect(still)

knackered ball joint(S) and or tie rod ends.

Incorrect tyre pressure.

Worn steering rack.

Worn steering coupler.

Bent control arm or wishbone.

damaged frame.

Worn bushings.

Broken spring.

Thats all I can think it might be ATM

Edited August 16, 2006 by WayneB

[USAndretti42]

Did you check the rear brakes to see if they are both working the same?

Are your front wheel bearings adjusted correctly?

Ride heights right?

Do the dampers move freely (try bouncing each front corner up and down) and are the bump rubbers equal in length? I.e are you sure you are not bottomig out on the one bump rubber when the nose dips under braking?

[Advantage]

Any or all of the above could be the problem (especially the tyre pressures or worn bushes - the bushes may have completely given up when the front wheels were dangling in the air if they were a bit iffy before then).

As an aside, Sinclaires are a specialist not a dealer and have a very good reputaion (although you do pay almost top dollar). Give 'em a call back to have your problem investigated further.

[esprit22]

Did you check the rear brakes to see if they are both working the same?

Are your front wheel bearings adjusted correctly?

Ride heights right?

Do the dampers move freely (try bouncing each front corner up and down) and are the bump rubbers equal in length? I.e are you sure you are not bottomig out on the one bump rubber when the nose dips under braking?

thanks for your reply, we drove car last night and reckon our next step is to remove the left hand shock for inspection as the brakes appear to be working fine. when we originaly took shocks off, we could'nt get the coil springs off to put on new shocks so I took them to a local tyre/exaust dealer who took an hour to do it useing a bloody air gun! possible that the idiot left the top bump rubber out of one shock or buggerd up a coil spring. let you know the findings.

Any or all of the above could be the problem (especially the tyre pressures or worn bushes - the bushes may have completely given up when the front wheels were dangling in the air if they were a bit iffy before then).

As an aside, Sinclaires are a specialist not a dealer and have a very good reputaion (although you do pay almost top dollar). Give 'em a call back to have your problem investigated further.

thanks for your reply, tyres+pressure ok, all bushes renewed approx 10,000 miles ago and still look new, but reckon I will fit new upper +lower ball joints as they have<nt been changed yet.

[esprit22]

Any or all of the above could be the problem (especially the tyre pressures or worn bushes - the bushes may have completely given up when the front wheels were dangling in the air if they were a bit iffy before then).

As an aside, Sinclaires are a specialist not a dealer and have a very good reputaion (although you do pay almost top dollar). Give 'em a call back to have your problem investigated further.

forgot to mention that although sinclaires have a good reputation, I like to deal with the mechanic who works on my car on a one2one basis rather than just booking it in and handing over my keys not knowing who will work on it. guess I like the personal touch.

[esprit22]

thanks wayne, gonna take shock off and check spring.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

How hard are you breaking when the pulling happens. If you caress the brakes while it is at a speed of say 40mph does it do it then?

[esprit22]

How hard are you breaking when the pulling happens. If you caress the brakes while it is at a speed of say 40mph does it do it then?

only very slightly if braking from low speed gently, but if brakes applied hard at 40 it pulls like bugger, any ideas?

[WayneB]

The caliper was removed or tied up out of the way to change the shocks, so Im guessing maybe the rubber brake hoses are original to the car, and were damaged internally by either being clamped(to completely remove the calliper) or bent and strained(to get them out of the way).

When the inner unseen rubber layer collapses, it acts as a restriction and also holds some pressure in the calliper (after a brake application).

Eventually the pressure relieves , so when you check to see the caliper is free all apears well.

Have seen this strange condition a few times on older cars

Edited August 18, 2006 by WayneB

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I'm with Wayne on this one. I would have a very good look at the hosses and the copper brake pipes in case some muppet has caught it with a hammer or spanner.

[esprit22]

I'm with Wayne on this one. I would have a very good look at the hosses and the copper brake pipes in case some muppet has caught it with a hammer or spanner.

thanks for advise guys, that could make sense, will have a closer look at hoses before removing shocks. have ordered new abutment plates and top insulators for shocks already just to be on safe side.

checked out your restoration pics, how come the car was in such a crap state when u got it?

[f1karting]

Did you ever check the caster settings?

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Don't know mate I think it was just left and unloved. It then sat around for a couple of years.

[esprit22]

Did you ever check the caster settings?

guess all settings like this were all checked etc , when tracking done on 4 wheel lazer.

[iainskea]

Hi Chris, any update? - interesting thread.

Iain

[esprit22]

Hi Chris, any update? - interesting thread.

Iain

Thanks for asking matey, "YES" , I am still none the wiser. I just posted another thread,"brakes"