Lotus Elan Central

by **Sy V** » Sat 07.04.2007, 08:02

I'd just like to reiterate, my comments were from an uneducated concern front. I hope I didn't cause offense.

by **lotuska** » Sat 07.04.2007, 12:04

Always open to suggestions, ideas and the experiences of others, hence being a member of LEC...

Therefore no offence taken from any comments that anyone has made.

Thanks
Mark

by **davidjt** » Sat 07.04.2007, 14:25

Talking of flow rigs - I seem to remember someone on here being a mate of Dave Walker: he's got one....... ;-)

by **lotuska** » Sat 07.04.2007, 18:04

Thought you might like to see some pics of my valve spring compressor, initial made to try and replace the oil seals without removing the head it has proved useful as my normal spring compressor hasn't got long enough reach.

Has the added benefit that I can do 2 at the same time.

by **GeoffSmith** » Sat 07.04.2007, 19:05

Nice work Mark.

by **Doug** » Sat 07.04.2007, 19:30

Mark,

I've only just found this thread!!

looks like a great project. I agree with what you are doing. I am impressed with your work, and even more so that you are doing it in a 5X5 garage!!

the port work looks great. what have you done with all the grinding shavings? are you going to give all the ports a good cleaning too with some noxious gasoline or such?

what are you doing with the valves? from what little I know, it seems usually it is the valves/springs that are the limit for redline speed of an engine like ours. considering project creep, have you considered a better spring/retainer combo. certainly if this engine is just for the usual street use then it won't make a difference -- just thinking out loud

keep up the good work and keep your eyes and hands protected!!

by **lotuska** » Sun 08.04.2007, 17:59

Doug welcome.

Believe it or not I do have a double garage, however a part restored 1961 MG Midget (my sisters) and a part restored 1986 Lotus Excel SE (my brothers) are hindering my space a little. Plus a load of tyres from my wifes landrover isn't helping.

The shavings are a nightmare they get everywhere, it took me most of Friday to clean the head, using my parts washer and loads of sovent and various brushes etc...oddly enough the head now rattles if you shake it hard? (whether it rattled before I don't know...)

I'd forgetten to post some pictures of the valves, in keeping with trying to do everything myself I decided to have a go with my piller drill, some grinding stones and the wet and dry. What do you think?

I decided not to do too much, I wanted to get rid of the sharp edges and improve the flow into and out of the cylinder by cutting the valve back, the pictures don't really show the detail. I didn't touch the shank as I didn't want to risk the valve snapping.

by **lotuska** » Sun 08.04.2007, 18:16

Knew I forget to mention something...

Well in fact two things.

I think that the nuts used to fix the turbo to the manifold and the wastegate to the turbo are of a type that can not be unscrewed...I think they are called prevailing torque nuts. The reason I think this is even though the nuts on my turbo are completely rust free when I undo them they strip the thread off the stud almost completely (at best) or snap the stud. Just a thought for anyone who might be doing a wastegate port, I wish I'd just cut the nuts off and replaced them, it would have been easier than replacing everything as well as having to get the snapped studs out.

If you are considering doing your head and you are going to grind the valves in I suggest you buy one of the following, fits onto your drill and makes a painful task much easier and quicker.

by **Enright** » Sun 08.04.2007, 18:38

geoffsmith wrote:Nice work Mark.

Simple but stunningly effective.

by **Specky** » Sun 08.04.2007, 20:10

Would you happen to know what type of prevailing torque nuts are used as this would aid in the style of removal..

The reason:-

I've just blown my front section of exhaust..

and you've guessed it... Dam project creep

TTFN

by **lotuska** » Sun 08.04.2007, 21:41

Sorry haven't a clue what type they are...all I know is that when I tried to remove them they stripped the threads or snapped the studs!!!

Oh and the proper replacement nuts are £3.05 each, normal manifold nuts are only 56p each.

by **lotuska** » Mon 09.04.2007, 12:04

A quick question about the head gasket.

Both the old and new gaskets have a couple of circular holes for water but the holes both in the head and block are nothing like circular. Also looking at the old gasket its obvious that there has been quite a build up of crud around these.

Is it possible to enlarge the holes to match the block & head? and could there be any issues doing this?

A couple of pics might explain. The holes I'm wondering about are between the 2 head bolt holes, kind of triangular in shape.

by **lotuska** » Mon 09.04.2007, 13:42

Hit a problem...

The gasket set that I got from kmckmc doesn't seem to fit.

2 problems, firstly the gasket won't fit over one of the dowels and secondly it has a hole missing that the original has.

Any ideas?

by **GeoffSmith** » Mon 09.04.2007, 15:02

'kinell Mark. I've just checked my gasket and it's the same.

Check out the Stripey II thread - Monty had identified the circular vs. triangular holes so enlarged the holes but he did not report the lack of holes! As well as pressurising the cooling system, he's also suffering from water in the pots. I suspect that the lack of gasket hole may be to blame!

Geoff

EDIT: is there a hole missing from both gaskets in the same position on the top cylinder?

by **GeoffSmith** » Mon 09.04.2007, 15:05

Is the build up in crud on the old gasket because the hole in the head is circular?

by **Monty** » Mon 09.04.2007, 15:43

Mark,

I enlarged the holes in Kmckmc`s head gasket buy laying the gasket on to the block and used a stanley knife.

On u`r last photo i never noticed that hole missing on the gasket :shock:

is that a water passage or the head bolt hole?

Could explain why i had temp and pressure problems on track :roll:

and nother thing i`ve noticed that the original gasket seemd to have more of re-enforcing built in

To be on the safe side go for the Lotus one there about £25

ps i had to remove the locating dowel to fit Kmckmc gasket

by **lotuska** » Mon 09.04.2007, 16:02

The missing hole is a water one, I have also noticed that the original lotus gasket has much more re-enforcement around the various holes.

After all of my work I think I'll go safe and get a Lotus one, hopefully PM will have one in stock.

by **Monty** » Mon 09.04.2007, 16:19

lotuska wrote:The missing hole is a water one, I have also noticed that the original lotus gasket has much more re-enforcement around the various holes.

After all of my work I think I'll go safe and get a Lotus one, hopefully PM will have one in stock.

arrhhhhhhhhh for Fook sake, so that could be the cause of my problems :twisted:

and i bet i`ve damaged the head to top it off :roll:

by **GeoffSmith** » Mon 09.04.2007, 16:31

geoffsmith wrote:Is there a hole missing from both gaskets in the same position on the top cylinder?

geoffsmith wrote:Is the build up in crud on the old gasket because the hole in the head is circular?

by **Monty** » Mon 09.04.2007, 16:42

geoffsmith wrote:
geoffsmith wrote:Is there a hole missing from both gaskets in the same position on the top cylinder?

geoffsmith wrote:Is the build up in crud on the old gasket because the hole in the head is circular?

Looks like geoff is right on the bottom photo the hole below the locating dowel is missing on both gaskets

what the hell is going on with these gaskets :roll:

Mark, could u compare both gaskets to the head rather than the block?

Geoff on u`r 2nd question, think thats just wear the original gasket is just wearing through as the holes are small like the kmckmc one

Lotus Elan Central

Valve Stem Oil Seal Replacement

Who is online