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Ian's S4s refurb


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Back on the rear crank seal saga, after much searching for a suitable piece of material, I finally found a bronze deck plate that was precisely the right size which just needed a bit of machining to each face to make sure it was parallel. In and out of the press a few times to get the depth correct, and it’s all ready to fit.

Barry, you’ll need something like this when you do your rear seal. :whistle:

C27A9044-9884-4F85-9593-D036BC4D5B7D.jpeg

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Margate Exotics.

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Oooh, that's quite sexy.  I might bring my next one down.

British Fart to Florida, Nude to New York, Dunce to Denmark, Numpty to Newfoundland.  And Shitfaced Silly Sod to Sweden.

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1 hour ago, Sparky said:

Oooh, that's quite sexy.  I might bring my next one down.

 

Yes, and the new Margate Exotics hydraulic press is sooo nice, fast/slow pressure handles. I tell you, it’s pure workshop tool porn, matey! Barry will definitely need one of these as soon as his gearbox goes back in.

Margate Exotics.

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I was stood in the engine bay of the blue one earlier cursing - badly - whilst looking over at the red one. I can wait to get this fking blue one done so I can do it all over again

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Only here once

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A meetoo campaign for Esprit???  :cry:  Mglp!

Anyway, it seems as if Sparky's Esprit will soon become the real deal Moonraker.

Cudos to Sparky for staying true to the Bond theme using his Esprit for the purpose.

And now we all know what he was really playing up to, while working at the BA.

The sum of all this is:

If you want a supercar that will outdo any other car in the most deserted and wild Places on the Earth, Patagonia, and if you want a supercar that will outgun an attacking hellicopter from under sea level, and if you want a supercar that will reject thieves in a serious way, and if you want a supercar that is able to orbit the Earth and back, then there is only one car that will do:

The Esprit.

And it can drive bloody fast on curvy roads too.

Cheers,

Jacques.

Next thing I know, is that the Esprit is the real Millennium Falcon. May the Force be with it. 911 Chaos car is of course, the utterly slow and wayyy too big to handle, death star; only able to shoot, not handle.

Nobody does it better - than Lotus ;)

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Hmmmm.

Anyway, back on planet earth, the crank seal carrier still needs to be fitted, and I still haven't sorted out a brace to rest the engine on so I can raise and lower the scissor lift. Making sure everything is as perfect as possible seal-wise, as I really don't want to be dragging the gear box off again, after measuring the seal depth once again, this time wearing my specs, I decided to adjust it in the press once more to meet the criteria in the service notes more accurately. And after an aborted attempt to machine up a seal insertion tool from a piece of plastic pipe, I spent some time cutting up the body of a 2-litre fizzy drink bottle and fashioning it into a conical shape, in the hope I can slide the seal onto the flywheel flange without damage. I just need to get out there and do it now.

And, "while it's all in bits", I'm now pondering damper and spring options, as I have no paperwork to say how old the ones fitted are, or how many miles they've done. The current front dampers are black with a yellow and red roundel on them, I've no idea what make they are. The rears are Gaz adjustables, a bronze colour. So far, it seems there are a few options, depending on how deep your pockets are, but I'm keen to keep the car with its original spring rates if possible.

Margate Exotics.

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Damper and spring options seem very limited. I’d not want to go adjustable as it’s just something that you would be wondering all the time If it was right.

cant believe the costs of some of the options. It with almost be cheaper to install and air ride self levelling system ?

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I know shag all about spring rates.....,

lotus are a well renowned company with regards to car handling - they sure know better than me or many for sure.

id just like some new factory ones

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I certainly don't know any better than those who originally designed it, so I'm not fitting any different spring rates on the car.

The parts manual shows the S4s uses A082C4241F front springs, and A082C4240F dampers. I also see that the S4 damper is colour-coded yellow/red and the S4s damper has the P/N stamped on the casing. My front dampers have a yellow/red roundel marking, which probably means that whilst they're probably genuine Lotus items, they're not the right dampers for the spring rate, unless the springs are also incorrect.

As for the rears, they're Gaz adjustables. I have no idea whether they're OK or not, and no supporting paperwork for them to identify what's fitted, so I'll no doubt be changing those as well.

Margate Exotics.

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5 hours ago, Chillidoggy said:

I certainly don't know any better than those who originally designed it

Same for me ... For your info I asked Bilstein if they are willing to refurbish their shocks when the time comes but had no answer so far ... (https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/92035-s4s-shocks/)

I really don't know what to choose, the LOTAC set is quite expensive, but I had read nothing but good reviews. Still I am wondering whether they are worth their price comparing to the alternatives. Actually it's very hard to decide for me because it's just a choice based on no real criteria.

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Yes indeed, if I decide to get them I will most probably order them here! (Do you know the shipping price to France by the way? I suspect the quoted shipping price  is UK only. What about the warranty? One or two years?)

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This is how I installed my rear crank seal. Just use a piece of plastic (not too thin) cut to the right size. The plastic protects the lip of the seal and puts some tension on it, which will help with the centering. Make sure the edges of the plastic are not sharp.

 

DSC_7818 websize.jpg

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Esprit Freak

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1 hour ago, fjmuurling said:

This is how I installed my rear crank seal. Just use a piece of plastic (not too thin) cut to the right size. The plastic protects the lip of the seal and puts some tension on it, which will help with the centering. Make sure the edges of the plastic are not sharp.

 

DSC_7818 websize.jpg

 

Thanks Freek.

I've come up with something very similar, with th3e use of insulating tape to protect the seal. It's so annoying that they don't make Coke bottles the correct size to fit rear seals.

Margate Exotics.

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19 minutes ago, Chillidoggy said:

You have no idea how long I’ve spent checking supermarket shelves for any suitably-sized conical plastic containers. It’s tricky explaining to shop staff what you’re doing whilst measuring a potentially useful container with the Vernier calipers, they think you’re crazy.

Well, I may be just a little..

I’m surprised they saw past the bloke in the flowery dress to be fair

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5 hours ago, Chillidoggy said:

It's so annoying that they don't make Coke bottles the correct size to fit rear seals.

Wrong sort of coke Ian. Pop up to Swindon and I will get you some of the right ones as part of the package of services rendered...

I tempted fate...now my Esprit V8 IS in bits...(sob)

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