Jeemy's Elan Rebuild

[epipete]

Thanks Jeemy, I'd seen that thread and figured it was done and dusted. I'll ponder this.

Pete

[cliff]

Have a look at this thread: Worth dropping them an email.

viewtopic.php?f=85&t=18896

To place your order you can call or e-mail as per below:

Nolan Fehr
LS Technologies
303 103rd Street
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
S7N 1Y9

1-866 427 4659
(306) 683-5000 (if the 800 number doesn't work in your area)
info (at) lstechnologies.ca

[Jeemy]

Thats the fellows. They asked me to call to order rather than email. Very cheap, no tax on import, took about 1.5h to fit total!

[Jeemy]

Gutted. The last two days have been sunny, dry and virtually zero wind. Perfect for spraying the underside and finishing that job off. Of course, the whole family was hit with some terrible gastroenterital bug so we spent the last 2 days in abject misery.

Today, high winds hit. With too much work on my plate to go windsurfing, I thought at least I could start taking some parts out of the engine bay to clean, prep and paint. Using a thick bolt to prevent the bonnet strut from popping out under the wind, I took a look inside to see what could be done.

First easily identifiable task; I hoped to remove the top turbo heatshield in preperation for cleaning, painting and moving onwards to remove the turbo. You can see the whole area around it is cracked, dirty, rusty and there are bolts missing:

I got the top and front bolts off easily enough with a ratchet and plumber's pliers respectively. The side bolt as per WikiLEC will indeed need a ratchet spanner, something I did not own.

While under there I noticed one of the bolts missing holding the gasket(?) onto the side of the gearbox. I can see its hard to access, but really? Sigh…..

I also decided to try to loosen the 3 bolts holding the exhaust onto the bottom of the turbo/downpipe. The bottom one was easy enough to crack with a 12" ratchet but the two side ones, no access.

Hopefully the ratchet screwdriver will bear dividends there too; I need the exhaust fully off before I spray the underside.

This also seems to be the point at which I will need to fit either the O2 sensor or the pipe leading to it; I haven't even opened the box but I would very much doubt this is something I own. It appears that this goes into the massive bolt on the turbo from what I can see in WikiLEC. God knows how I am going to remove that; measure it and buy a correct sized socket I guess.

This is the point at which I am going to need (ulp) lots of help with wee things; there are tons of bolts not present and I don't know whether they relate to missing heatshields, parts that were used in the Impulse or something else, or whether they need blanking plates.

First step while its windy is to sit down with the parts manual and work steadily through it all…...

[Jeemy]

Urp....have just realized, the little rubber discs i painted over were insertion points for dinitrol on the wishbones.....will insert a warning earlier in the thread....

[cliff]

You need a 27mm socket & lots of penetrating fluid. Have a look at this:

http://wikilec.9600.org/index.php/Conve ... d_loop_ECU

Ratchet ring spanners are a must have especially for the Elan. Halfrauds were selling a set last year for round about the £25 mark.

[Jeemy]

Thanks cliff. 27mm socket bought. Fingers crossed for the extraction.

Wow, haha, another incredible job to perform before I finally get her on the road! Now I really am confused; I thought the O2 sensor went in the exhaust! There is a hole there as far as I know.....and it was discussed when I talked about fitting mine....maybe this is all the same thing. There is so much reading and learning to do.

On the subject of the ratchet spanners I got a set of Beta spanners which run something like 11 - 21mm for £32.95 off eBay. All the Beta tools I have bought since I started have far outstripped the Halfrauds jobs (and Ryobi, my previous preferred make - I've snapped a lot of drill bits, torn a lot of sockets and bent a lot of spanners before I found Beta) - they just seem to be a cut above, and cost maybe 20-50% more than the cheapos.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The hole in the exhaust is for a temp sender that was used on Japan models. The O2 port that you need to use is the one at the outlet of the turbo - the big bolt. You might find it easier to get it loose if you get the engine up to temp (after using penetrating fluid over and over for a few days before you start) for a while and then give it a try. You will also need to check for continuity between the O2 connector and the ECM. Some UK cars have all of the wiring and some don't.

[Jeemy]

Its all ever increasing circles! I dont't know if its safe to start the car now I've half got the exhaust off. But then if the O2 sensor fits in the turbo, i can get the exhaust back on and then fit it. I'm going to try Plus Gas and a breaker bar to get the big bolt off, and maybe just give it a wee bash each day rather than try to wrench it off all in one sitting.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Just don't break the cast iron casting. That is another pita to deal with. If you just have to reconnect and re-hang the exhaust, I would do that rather than try brute force. Broken parts are just a huge problem when parts are scarce to begin with.

[epipete]

There is a real dilemma here for me.

I've got an O2 sensor waiting for me to fit (but still need to obtain an S2 chip). I've had the sensor about 6 months and thought I'd sort it in the winter down time. Having read the wiki and absorbed the concerns regarding getting the 'bung' out I'm weighing the benefits! Certainly there is a fuel saving benefit but against the cost of obtaining an S2 chip and that of the sensor I would need to increase my mileage substantially!

On the other hand fitting an Everest would gain considerable performance benefits and would justify going closed loop, but then I have a financial, and possible practical, headache in upgrading the brakes

I'll be interested in how you get on with the bung

[Jeemy]

John, I am not sure if I know what you mean. When you say "if you just have to reconnect and rehang the exhaust", what are you referring to? That if I just reconnected the exhaust to get the car started, and get the system up to temperature, that would be far preferable to force?

This is not possible with the old exhaust, as it was a sh*tpipe and I hacksawed it off in the end!

And I am reluctant to fit my new ceramic exhaust and then remove it again and risk any issues with sealing or damage in fitting.

If its merely a case of heating the bolt to aid removal, will a heat gun or propane torch do? Or is this not an advisable place to apply specific heat? I would have thought from an idiot's point of view if the engine gets hot anyway, its probably safe enough with the heat gun, but that a naked flame might be best kept away from petrol, oil, cables and the rubber top of the dipstick tube. So I can probably get it to 50-70 degrees at best without starting the engine.

I know I sound an idiot, but I take it starting the car with the silencer and centre pipe missing simply to heat up the engine is asking for trouble? I wouldn't consider it if you hadn't pointed this out, in my defence!

I was not proposing using any force necessary to get the thing out, more small shocks over a period of days to try and allow the Plus Gas to penetrate the thread.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

I really don't think you sound like an idiot.

I didn't know the old exhaust wasn't still usable. I don't advise running the engine without some form of exhaust so the heat and flames are properly controlled.

The problem with cast iron is it doesn't heat from an outside source very well. It basically absorbs the heat and spreads it out across all of the housing(s). Without access to a real oxy-acetylene torch with a rose bud tip, you probably will not generate enough heat to help. Using the engine to create the heat is usually the best solution. That said, You don't really need to do the O2 sensor right now, so maybe put if off until things are back together within your rebuild plan and do it then.

It is always worth it to try penetrating fluid and a little force, but my experience and that of others suggests it will be really hard to get the bolt to turn and the housing could crack. Give it a try but refrain from getting that piece of pipe to increase the leverage. Most that have written about it found that a hot engine usually makes it come loose easier. You might be the lucky one that finds it is just normally tight, but I would prefer to err on the safe side.

I tried to remove my O2 sensor (20,000 mile car) and it just destroys the socket designed for the task. I have several brands of sockets that are now oblong - including a big buck one from Snap-On. I will try again once the engine is running.

[Jeemy]

Well. I am coming at this a bit fast as I am keen to keep things moving. Thats why I feel like an idiot, because I am going a bit fast and making mistakes through lack of research. That said, I want to be driving this car by the time the clocks go forward again! Every hour I put into it so far results in 2 more hours of identifiable tasks and so I am trying to at least chip away at it each day and questions abound.

So thinking about it rationally, I've just realized: I don't need to fit the O2 sensor now!

I had thought from the previous advice on the exhaust:

The O2 sensor is in the top of the downpipe

As a thought on the O2 sensor......

If you have one ready to fit it will save a heck of a lot of (potential) grief and time - you want to fit one anyway, so it makes sence to do it at the same time as fitting the downpipe, mainly because if you don't fit one, then there will be a hole where it goes!

You could buy a new blanking plug from Piper (or elsewhere), but there is little point if you are intending to get a sensor in time.

....it had to go into the exhaust downpipe assembly itself, and therefore be done pretty much now before the car comes down off ramps. So when revising the Wiki, it mentioned the O2 sensor again, I transferred that premise to this situation, incorrectly - and so I was off, still thinking it needed done now.

I can't do it without taking the wheel arch off, so I can't do it until the car is back off ramps....so in fact its fine!?

I keep on as I am, fit the exhaust after doing the underbody work, take her down of ramps once the short-shift arrives and gets fitted, and then go respray/powdercoat the wheels. Then when I replace the wheels, refinish the arches and do the brakes, I can do the sensor, and then fit the chip after that.

Its not a problem, if I am understanding it correctly. Given the quotes above, am I??

I always mean to open things and check them out properly. Like, I should have opened the exhaust and checked it already so this made more sense to me..... But I also try to have parts and tools ordered well in advance of when I need them, especially when I am limited by the weather to what I can do, and to leave them in their packaging rather than opening them, "playing with them" and risking damage in storage which is limited for me.

[Jeemy]

Just to be 100%, I am referring to this parts diagram, ominously titled Screenshot 666.

According to this, the O2 sensor screws into part 36, the wastegate manifold. But the Piper kit is only replacing parts 53 downwards, the pre-cat (eradicated by the new downpipe design) or Starter Catalytic Convertor as its termed by Lotus.

Or does the new downpipe design actually cover right up to the wastegate? This would explain a lot and be the first time in this project that a task just became simpler!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Just trying to make sure we are on the same page: The O2 goes in place of the bolt at the top of the Turbo area.



You can get to it any time. Checking the wiring for connection might be easier with the wheel arch cover off, but I don't know where the connection is missing. It is described in the forum. I will look for it after I get back tonight.

The Piper downpipe replaces ALL of that - from the turbo to the exhaust front pipe.

The big opening at the top is where the O2 sensor goes. The pipe bolts to the back of the turbo.



Send me a PM if you have any more questions and I will answer when I get back in tonight.

[Jeemy]

No thats amazing. Understood pic 1. Did not have a clue the downpipe came right up to there. I thought it attached where pre-cat did. Finally, he gets it. Amazing news!

[cliff]

The O2 sensor plugs into a blanked socket near the RH headlamp motor.

This is the Piper downpipe clearly showing the O2 sensor bung.

I took the bung off my old cast lump before I got the new downpipe. About 3 weeks of penetrating fluid, a good breaker bar and a gentle but firm rocking motion on the bung rather than one huge pull worked for me. I would recommend a 6 point socket & not a 12 point.

Check your wiring as per the Wiki, there is no need to remove the liner for this. Hopefully it is installed, mine wasn't, if not, then it is missing between the inside of the car and this plug.

Remove the wheel arch liner, look in the top rear corner of the wing.

The Wiki write up to install the wires is pretty easy to follow.

You don't need to fit the O2 sensor until you have the chip but it is never too early to start soaking the bung. It can always be loosened then put back in with anti sieze compound.

[Jeemy]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I got confused once already, I might as well ask - I don't need to bother removing the bung now do I - as I have the new Piper downpipe ready to install, I will just remove the whole wastegate manifold.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

You will need a bung or a scrap O2 sensor to fill the hole in the Piper pipe. You don't want to use the new O2 sensor until it is connected and is working. They clog easily. Should be ablke to get a scrap O2 sensor from the local shop - one they replaced. Just put anti-seize paste on the threads.