88 Esprit Rebuild

[t70]

Hi again guys!!! Well, my name is Mark Terrio-Cameron, and I live in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada and I've just purchased my first lotus. It's an 88 esprit turbo that I got in Calgary that didn't run. Ed Kwan had worked on it for a while but wasn't willing to do a full restoration on it for the previous owner. So, I baught it and, having previously owned a porsche 924, have decided to start from scratch and try and solve as many problems as i can before they happen! Right now, I've only removed the interrior and the rear "floor". I've also begun recording all the wire color codes and what they operate. I probably could've had this running in a week or so, but I'd rather spend the time and do it right!

So far I need:

Fuel Supply line

Front fan shroud

both drivers side springs/shocks

passenger side wheel bearing

rear brake pads

speedometer cable transmission mount (to hold the gear into the tranny straight)

2 coolant hoses

water pump seal or new pump

a lot of wire repair

new roof liner

some other minor upholstry issues

o2 sensor wire grommet

air box

tires

suspension bushings

passenger side front upper ball joint

steering arm rubbers

I think that's about it for now, but I'm sure i'll find more!

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Edited September 3, 2007 by Mark T-C

[Simon350S]

Good to see this projects section growing.....

Good luck and Keep us posted on the progress with plenty of pics!!!

Simon

[hilly]

Ohhhhhh, I am gonna say it again........ slippery slope

[t70]

yes i'm sure it is... i am, however, quite satisfied with parts prices so far -- $80 CDN for rear brake pads, $25 CDN for wheel bearings and seals.... $60 CDN to rebuild water pump.... Quite attractive really, considering the prices of the stuff on my porsche was MUCH worse. So I'm generally quite happy with it so far... Biggest problem right now is with the fuel pressure regulator on the CIS.. not functioning as of right now... so I've gotta figure out what's going on there....

[yeller77]

Hi Mark,

Welcome and good luck on your project. Do you know aerobat? Could be of some help to you. How many Esprits can there be in Medicine Hat? One of your docs, but don't go see him if you have a sore throat!

Cheers,

Eric

[t70]

Aerobat? no... but i'll look him up.. And you're right, there are only 3 Esprit's in town that i know of including mine.

[aerobat]

. . . Contact made. Thanks for the referral, Eric. Mark I'll send you a PM.

[t70]

So... here's the latest on the project. I've almost completely disassembled the interrior/heater system etc... ---I discovered the wiper motor wasn't functioning... so I rebuilt that and it runs now.

--Additionally the warm-up regulator was malfunctioning and so i tore that apart, cleaned it and rebuilt it.

--I'm gonna need to build some new intake piping, it's falling apart and causing incorrect fueling.

--I found a chewed through a/c line under the dash (bloody mice)

--The previous owner had mis-wired the secondary positive lead from the battery to the negative side.

--This unfortunately pooched my alternator

--Front wheel bearing needs replacement -- $28

--Rear brakes $73

--Water pump leaking -- can get rebuilt for $60

--In order to replace the water pump... i think I'm gonna have to pull the engine.... might as well to ensure that all the leaks are fixed and I shall polish my intake runners... mmmm pretty

--Valve covers need paint

--Need a new intake air box (hole in it)

--I've had to fix my coolant tank -- cap wasn't sealing properly due to bent lip

--Found a wiggly speedometer angle drive... doesn't seem to be installed correctly... gonna have to spend some time on that one

--Need new door seals.

--must re-upholster roof liner

--repair one patch in seat..

--Had to rebuild a couple of wire plugs...

--distributor cap was loose

--i'm sure there's more....

here's some pics anyway

first is of the passengers side wheel spindle

Second is of the a/c line eaten by the mouse

Third is of me trying to disassemble the wiper mechanism... WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT!!!

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[t70]

Well... here's the latest.... There is a broken body mount and my rear rims are ceased to the hubs! WEEE... and there's something rattling around in my bellhousing... we'll see what that is soon i hope, once i get the motor out. Basically, I would say that this car was not exactly perfectly maintained. Oh well... I think I'm gonna pull off the body and check all my mounts. Again... the purpose is preventative maintenance...

[t70]

Well... I finally got my rims off using the "Rust off Ice" and "Nut Buster"... The next stage was the CV axles and the Brakes... I've don't both of those now and drained the coolant in the Engine. Here's some pictures of the progress so far.

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[USAndretti42]

Wow you've been busy. I hope your garage is heated. Please keep posting pictures. It's all interesting stuff.

[Simon350S]

Cool Dude!!!!!!!!

Must have bin a relief when you got that wheel off!!!

Not tried to take mine off yet, hope theyre ni siezed 2!!!!!!!!

Simon

[t70]

my wheels did take a few wacks with the dead blow hammer, but they did come off.. The other thing that was odd was that they were bonded mainly by sand. The hub was surrounded in sand wich appeared to be the main bonding factor. I'll probably be pulling the engine tommorrow... I'll keep y'al posted..

[t70]

AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!! well... I got the engine out, and seperated the transmission... only to discover my worst nightmare: The input shaft has at least 1 cm of end play! CRUD!!! So.. now i'll have to split the case and see what all is broken and hopefully i won't need to start from scratch. I'll post some more pics tomorrow...

[Artie]

AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!! well... I got the engine out, and seperated the transmission... only to discover my worst nightmare: The input shaft has at least 1 cm of end play! CRUD!!! So.. now i'll have to split the case and see what all is broken and hopefully i won't need to start from scratch. I'll post some more pics tomorrow...

Woo, man what a job, you have been busy....Keep us posted on your progress.

Artie

[Simon350S]

AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!! well... I got the engine out, and seperated the transmission... only to discover my worst nightmare: The input shaft has at least 1 cm of end play! CRUD!!! So.. now i'll have to split the case and see what all is broken and hopefully i won't need to start from scratch. I'll post some more pics tomorrow...

Mines got loads of wobble in it aswell!!!!

Not had a look inside mine yet.....

Is it just the one solid shaft, if so any play is bad!!!!

Maybe a post for the Tech section or just open her up and take a look...

Simon

[Simon350S]

Sounds like its meant to be.... posted in the Tech section and heres the replys...

G Tech

Simon

[t70]

Well, here's some more pics of the progress....

The first one is of the broken body mount:

Ahh.. the naked engine bay

Me... not naked (thank god) in the engine bay..

And this one is just a nice shot of the brakes and tranny while it was still in the car.

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I have since taken the cover off of the transmission and had a look inside, everything appears to be in absolutely mint condition. My synchros are like brand new! So I still have to inspect the front half of the transmission though and i need the specs and manual for that, so if anybody is willing to send me that part of the manual, it would be much appreciated.

[Simon350S]

U got a Tranny in your car??

Not something to be bosting about maty!!!!

U should be carrying real ladies as passengers!!!

Simon

[t70]

No tranny's, Just chicks and Transmissions!... only problem is... there's only room for one chick in the front.... what will I do with the rest of my Harem?

[Simon350S]

Ask fishy...

He got 2 in the front of his!!!!

[t70]

Well here's some pics of the polishing and porting of the intake system on the lotus. I've only gasket matched the ITB's to the plenum so far and polished some of the intake pipe..

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[t70]

Okay.. so here's the latest updates: I've pulled out the left hand fuel tank without a problem, sprayed it with rust inhibitor and re-painted it. I'm gonna throw on a few more coats and go from there. However, the rest of the project hasn't been so great. The Diff has suffered some pretty bad rust corrosion. Both my bearings are pitted and shot. Not only that, but my input shaft is really bad... the rust inside was unreal.

The next part of the project involved trying to remove the right hand fuel tank... Apparently impossible. I've had to rip out all the sound deadening inside the cab and unbolt the steel cross bar along the back of the firewall (inside engine bay) So far, I've been unsuccessful.. I will be successful by next week I hope. I've had to begin removing the rear glass so as not to break it while removing the steel cross bar.

[t70]

So here's some pictures of everything but the transmission... hehehe.. the final one is the left hand fuel tank.. newly painted... finally some restoration as opposed to destruction:

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[t70]

Today I finally started some re-assembly!!!! wooohooo!!!!! I currently re-installing the wiper motor and windshield wiper.... It took a long time to find the right bolts etc... also I painted one of the fuel tanks with rock-guard, and I am attempting to eliminate all the rust from the right hand fuel tank.