Lotus Elan Central

by **chris22** » Sun 29.01.2006, 19:35

i have a problem with my 91 se turbo.
when driving the temp stays low on the gauge as they all do. when left at idle after some time the gauge rises to half way just after this point the fans come in and it cools down no prob.

however if i drive hard ish there is no change in the temp but when i switch the engine off water escapes past the pressure cap on the header tank. this started out as something that only happened if i realy pushed the car hard but now happens nearly all the time. also when this happens i can see the system is over pressured because all the coolant hoses are bulging!!! and hard as rock. i have replace the cap and the rad is new.
also im sure there is no air in the system. i suspect the headgasket but there is no oil in the water or the other way round.

any help much apreacted

by **Enright** » Sun 29.01.2006, 21:02

Get a compression tester. They're pretty cheap.

Oh, and post your location details in your profile - it may save you having to buy one in the first place!

by **Sy V** » Mon 30.01.2006, 03:57

FYI, my Flying Cat project car, which did have a head gasket blown , tested at 140 - 140 - 135 - 140 (s**t PSI?).

by **M100 TWO** » Mon 30.01.2006, 11:40

Chris, Ianh had the same problem as you he changed the cap for a yellow one but it was a bad fit then changed header tank which is a nova part no 90128691 and I believe it is ok, now I am having the same problem with the cap passing water going to change tank as the first job, the cap should be rated at 15 psi so your hoses will feel firm when system is hot

by **Enright** » Mon 30.01.2006, 13:35

Sy V wrote:FYI, my Flying Cat project car, which did have a head gasket blown , tested at 140 - 140 - 135 - 140 (s**t PSI?).

Sy, so are you saying that a compression test is not a good enough method of finding if you have a blown head gasket or not?

What would you recommend?

by **Sy V** » Mon 30.01.2006, 13:56

No I'm not, just providing reference figures.
There are chemical sniffers available too - analyses the water in the header tank.

by **Enright** » Mon 30.01.2006, 14:26

Ah I see. Good idea for the reference figures.

Bet those chemical sniffers are a lot more expensive than a good old-fashioned analogue gauge. Having said that, if you know that they exist then you may just be able to pop down to your friendly neighbourhood garage and get them to stuff their probe in your header tank. Free diagnosis, thank you very much!

by **M100 TWO** » Mon 30.01.2006, 14:29

my old cap was 1.2bar =17.4psi the new one is 1.4bar=20.3psi this should help to keep the water in the tank when making progress or I Have a head gasket gone but it does not feel like the problem as there are no bubbles in the water

by **chris22** » Mon 30.01.2006, 18:54

ok have done a compression test all ok all around 150 psi
so then used a "chemical sniffer" ( which is realy called a universal block tester avaliable from snap on or MAG etc) and the head gasket is dead for sure.

so i rang the local lotus dealer stradstones (formaly storm of leicester)

not bad prices £25 is for the gasket and the others were all quite reasonable. but i also want to change the stem seals as the car smokes a little on start up this is much worse when the car is hot and then left to stand for around 20 mins then restarted. so i asked the price £5.27 ea +vat thats £99.76!!!!! there only a little bit of rubber on a steel ring most other cars there included in teh head set. maybe there made of gold or something in this engine (i hape so at that price).

so anyone no where i can get some for a real world price???

also while im pulling the head off should i be renewing the head bolts?

thanks for all the help.

by **Sy V** » Tue 31.01.2006, 09:06

Some folk say you should - PM say you don't need to.

by **PaulN** » Tue 31.01.2006, 09:22

Chris,

Where abouts in Leicester are you mate?

Cheers

PaulN

by TC » Tue 31.01.2006, 10:25

Chris

Did my head gasket last year and changed the valve seals. Got mine from
http://www.bgautomotive.co.uk/html/catalogue.html

for a ISUZU IMPULSE TURBO 4XE1WT price now is £20. A more sensible price. Got some of the gaskets from these people too.

Tony

by **Monty** » Tue 31.01.2006, 11:10

TC wrote:Chris

Did my head gasket last year and changed the valve seals. Got mine from
http://www.bgautomotive.co.uk/html/catalogue.html

for a ISUZU IMPULSE TURBO 4XE1WT price now is £20. A more sensible price. Got some of the gaskets from these people too.

Tony

Tony,

Thats a good find and in the uk to :-D

saved as a bookmark :smt023

by **Sy V** » Tue 31.01.2006, 12:59

Yep, I can vouch for the quality of BG Automotive's products.

by **chris22** » Tue 31.01.2006, 14:41

thanks again guys will give that a try have ordered some bits form lotus they tell me this thusrday willbelieve it when i see it!!!!!!!!

as for the bolts sems people are undecided think i will look and see what there like. hope i dont have to change them as i want to start on friday night and have it done sunday with a bit of luck.

the lotus books say it is best to remove the top shell for better assess
this looks like a lot of work for little gain is it worth it ?

by the way paul N im in blaby near to fosspark

by **Dave M** » Wed 01.02.2006, 13:03

Enright13 wrote:
Sy V wrote:FYI, my Flying Cat project car, which did have a head gasket blown , tested at 140 - 140 - 135 - 140 (s**t PSI?).
Sy, so are you saying that a compression test is not a good enough method of finding if you have a blown head gasket or not?

What would you recommend?

It sounds like you've already found the head gasket to be faulty, but a leakdown test is a much better test to determine gasket and ring health.

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