Is this HGF??? (Pics)

[texaselite]

Ran into some bumper to bumper traffic today so the car was getting hot...no overheating, would hit 3/4 on the temp and fan would come on...did that 2-3 times while in traffic. No issues, got to parking garage and car was turned off for a few hours.

Come back to go home and as soon as I started her up, noticed major change in exhaust sound/obviously some mis-firing or dead cylinders. Sounded like a crappy lawnmower and could barely move. Had no choice but to coax it home going 20mph with zero acceleration and next to no idle RPM when I was at a stop.

No check engine light.
Paperclip test shows no error codes.

Had a misfire issue with the car not long ago...

Replaced coil packs, ignition coils, spark plugs less than 500 miles ago.
Also replaced thermostat (had a major overheating problem a week after the above repairs) - thermostat was definitely bad.
Car is not driven but once or twice a week if that. Just hit 40k miles.

No visible signs of leaking below car of any sort...the only thing I did see was some oil/grime on the engine. See pictures below. Haven't tried to start her up after coming home....figure if I do, I would like to do it once and get it over to my mechanic (20 min drive). Even then, I am considering towing it (especially, if I could do more damage by driving with the misfire or whatever it may be).

I know that HGF always seems to come up, so trying to figure out how to tell if that is the problem or not. If so, how much $$$ am I looking at, and will I need to order parts for my mechanic to take care of it?

Any insight or help is appreciated! Anything an amateur can do at home to diagnose possible issues or confirm that it is/isn't something? If you need more pics, happy to do that.

Unfortunately, do not own an ElanScan.

[muley]

Sorry to hear you are having problems.

The oil is possibly from the CAS oil seal and not related to overheating / bad running.

Is there any sign of bubbles in the header tank? A garage should be able to test for combustion gases in the water.

If you are not losing any water it might not be HGF at all, but you seem to have eliminated all the usual suspects for poor running.


Jim

[Monty]

Sounds like coolant water has got on the coils They may dry out, or could try cleaning them with a bit of WD40

As Jim says, i would get a Block test (sniffer test) done as you may have the combustion gases going in to your coolant and causing that to over flow

[Specky]

Another easy check is to leave the car a day or two and then undo the expansion cap, if you get a "pisssssttttt" sound it's probable head gasket failure.

TTFN

[texaselite]

No signs (with the limited view I can get into the coolant tank) of bubbles.

Also, don't think I am losing coolant, have definitely kept an eye on that since replacing the thermostat (when I was definitely losing coolant and could see so).

Assuming there is some coolant liquid on the coils...they are pretty far back there...any guidance on what I need to remove (in what order) to take a look and try to dry them out?

I have purchased a Head Gasket/Combustion Leak Test kit...that will be my first step to see if it detects anything in the coolant.

Also, I had a loose baffle in my muffler that was annoying a few weeks ago (mostly noise and not power related)...I kicked the muffler around to make sure it was a loose baffle (it was) but I think it moved it in a way that after that, the car sounded fine. Any chance that is causing issues now...maybe back pressure if it is lodged in the muffler some odd way???

[dapinky]

Assuming there is some coolant liquid on the coils...they are pretty far back there...any guidance on what I need to remove (in what order) to take a look and try to dry them out?

Moisture can easily get onto/into the coil packs if the cap isn't totally sealing, and the water temp (and therefore pressure) increases, as water will come out of the top and drip onto the packs.

By definition, it is hot water, and is in a hot engine bay, so most will evaporate quite quickly.

However, when i got wet packs, i just directed a hairdryer (don't tell Angie) onto the affected area under the coolant tank for a while, then gave it a good squirt of WD40.

If you have a dry garage, it should clear itself in a short time.


PS - I agree with Jim that the likely cause of the oil leakage is a CAS or blanking bung 'O' ring past its best - easily replaced, or in the case of the blanking plug, fixed with silicone sealant. It's a common fault/problem/failure, and can look quite alarming for the amount of oil actually lost.

[texaselite]

Combustion home kit showed no leaks into coolant...fluid stayed blue! However, car still sounded bad when I turned it on for the test. Exhaust sound is very throaty and can tell engine is not firing correctly when giving it some gas.

Next step is removing coolant housing and checking out the coil packs...drying them and WD40(I will bring the hair dryer into play). Hoping that will solve my problems...

[racerstev]

That's were my headgasket failed, there is a rubber ring that seals the oil drain at that corner of the head. When they get old
the rubber pulls away from the gasket and creates a oil leak. Or it could be the CAS seal is bad. EIther way it won't cause a running
problem like you are having, just a leak.

Steve

[texaselite]

Quick question...I removed the coolant housing...I see the coil packs with the ignition coils plugged in...do I remove all 4 and clean the insides of the ignition wires or spray the coil pack connections (or both) with WD40? Not sure where I am supposed to spray/clean?

[tigerdog]

Quick question...I removed the coolant housing...I see the coil packs with the ignition coils plugged in...do I remove all 4 and clean the insides of the ignition wires or spray the coil pack connections (or both) with WD40? Not sure where I am supposed to spray/clean?

I would at least remove the coil packs (mark the wires for reinstallation) and clean thoroughly. I'm not sure I'd use WD40 where the plug wires insert; I'd be more likely to go over the outside with denatured or isopropyl alcohol. In the bad old days of distributor caps, a miss would often begin with a teeny trace of carbon inside the cap, between two HT posts. Anything that might conduct and or carbonize could lead to a similar trace and cause one lead not to fire. WD40 may be a good solution for the coil pack connectors, though. Spray, insert & remove connections several times, then wipe dry with something lint free (a coffee filter is a good choice.) If you do find moisture, the hairdryer is probably a good idea. When you have the overflow tank out, check it carefully for cracks - they're notorious.

[texaselite]

No luck still...

Did my best to clean the coil packs (did not remove them)...let them dry overnight, re-attached and same problem.

I mentioned that I had a loose baffle in the exhaust that I never got around to fixing...I was able to fish this corroded piece of metal out of the tail pipe (could see other pieces that were too large to get out).



Car sounds like a helicopter...I took some video...here are the links, sound is not amazing, video taken from my phone (may take a few minutes to load):

http://www.atsquants.com/Lotus/VIDEO0001.3gp
http://www.atsquants.com/Lotus/VIDEO0002.3gp

Next step? Get an ElanScan?

[HJ2]

Dunno if you have a Kat, but is is not possible that the pre-cat has desintegrated, and now the remains block your exhaust?

[DeeAitch]

Have you checked the ignition timing?
I had similar symptoms a while ago and timing had moved a lot.
Turned out that the CAS drive pin had almost sheared - was hanging on by a nats dangly bit.

[texaselite]

Dunno if you have a Kat, but is is not possible that the pre-cat has desintegrated, and now the remains block your exhaust?

Definitely have a catalytic converter...1991 Elan Turbo (US). If this is the case, what should I do? Get it towed to mechanic and have him replace exhaust?

Have you checked the ignition timing?
I had similar symptoms a while ago and timing had moved a lot.
Turned out that the CAS drive pin had almost sheared - was hanging on by a nats dangly bit.

Honestly, don't own a timing light, and even if I did, that sort of work is a little out of my league.

I guess the big question is...can I drive it (no acceleration) under very light load about 6-7 miles to my mechanic, or am I better off dropping $75 to get it towed there and have him start taking a look?

[HJ2]

Any progression?

[ccb056]

Ran into some bumper to bumper traffic today so the car was getting hot...no overheating, would hit 3/4 on the temp and fan would come on...did that 2-3 times while in traffic. No issues, got to parking garage and car was turned off for a few hours.

Come back to go home and as soon as I started her up, noticed major change in exhaust sound/obviously some mis-firing or dead cylinders. Sounded like a crappy lawnmower and could barely move. Had no choice but to coax it home going 20mph with zero acceleration and next to no idle RPM when I was at a stop.

No check engine light.
Paperclip test shows no error codes.

Had a misfire issue with the car not long ago...

Replaced coil packs, ignition coils, spark plugs less than 500 miles ago.
Also replaced thermostat (had a major overheating problem a week after the above repairs) - thermostat was definitely bad.
Car is not driven but once or twice a week if that. Just hit 40k miles.

No visible signs of leaking below car of any sort...the only thing I did see was some oil/grime on the engine. See pictures below. Haven't tried to start her up after coming home....figure if I do, I would like to do it once and get it over to my mechanic (20 min drive). Even then, I am considering towing it (especially, if I could do more damage by driving with the misfire or whatever it may be).

Had the exact same thing happen this week. It's been getting up to 100F here in Michigan and with the AC on and highway driving the coolant temp stays over 1/2.
Replaced plugs, wires, and coil pack, did not fix.
Elanscan shows no codes and the CEL doesnt alarm.

I'm thinking it may be fuel injector related, when I pulled the plugs 2 and 4 were quite black compared to 1 and 3.

Did you ever end up figuring it out?

Short of replacing the O2 sensor and checking the timing I'm not to sure what to do next.