water pump/cambelt change

[ritchie]

Just thought id ask if anyone has a walkthrough on this procedure as the lotus manual is very vague.Im having trouble with the engine mount crossmember,four bolts wich seem impossible to access.Does the exhaust downpipe have to come of to allow more engine tilt,any advice!

[dapinky]

I don't have one yet, but i have put a variety of tips in relation to the change on various posts - give me the evening to find it all, get it sorted into a proper order, and i'll have a write-up to post for you!

there's only on f in Geof Smith has already asked for it to put on the wikiLEC as well

[lotuska]

I lieu of the proper write up this might help...if its the engine mount you want to get off.

The easiest way I found was to support the engine with a trolley jack, remove the long bolt that goes through the centre of the engine mount itself and then jack the engine up, not too much but far enough to make access to the 3 17mm bolts easier (taking care that no hoses, cables etc are over stretched).

The remove the 3 17mm bolts holding first part of the mount (see pic's to make it clearer - a racket spanner makes life much easier) and then finally remove the allen key bolts using a hex bit with an 8mm racket spanner (again see pics).

Hope that helps a bit...

[DeeAitch]

Word of warniing on the racket (sic) spanner (reminds me of the torque spanner I had when operating a centre lathe many years ago - it needed a good talking to i.e. move you ferker, move ) anyway, I used a non reversible one - seemed a good idea at the time , went hunky dory until I realised the hex bit was a tad too long. Winding the bolt out resulted in the hex bit wedging against the chassis member and I had no way of winding it back in again. The spanner is then captive - you can picture the rest

[GeoffSmith]

you can picture the rest

Whoops. I can imagine what was said as well.

[GeoffSmith]

Thanks Mark. First stage of the Wiki write up started. Over to you Dave.

[dapinky]

I still don't understand how the Wiki works, but heres my (useful?) information to suplement the manual!

(Geoff, It's e-mailed to you!!!!)

Replacement of Water Pump, Cam Belt, Timing pulleys, etc.

Words of wisdom on the way to tackle some of the more common ‘problems’ in the engine bay:-

In other words, useful tips which are NOT in the workshop manual which have been discovered through painful experience.

The manual only gives 3 pages to Cylinder head removal, and labour time of 8 hours for a complete gasket change, I thought that a whole day should at least have the head on the bench – THEY ARE LYING.

There are a series of things which MAY/WILL make your life easier with some of the necessary processes:-

Bottom (crank) pulley removal:-

Not only does this have to be removed to change the timing belt anyway, but it will make life a lot easier to remove it in order to remove the right-hand engine mounting, which needs to come off to get to the cam-belt cover to gain access to the water pump!!!

The single bolt is tightened to 170Nm / 125 ft.lbs.f

The manual simply gives it one sentence “Remove the crank pulley bolt” but it isn’t that easy!

Without going into a tale of woe, here are a few options to try –

Put the car in 5th gear, chock the wheels, handbrake on.

1. Jack the front of the car up and place on firm axle stands. Take the front right-hand wheel off, use a 17mm impact socket on the bolt and an air impact wrench on maximum torque. (Only works with a good compressor / air wrench!). Do not use an 11/16” AF socket – it is half a mil too big and may shatter.

Lots of bars and plenty of leverage…….

2. If you have an assistant handy, then removal of the FOS(right-hand) wheel (car on FIRM axle stand) would give better 'straight' access to the bolt. Get the assistant to apply pressure to the brakes from the driver’s seat whilst applying force.

3. If you have no assistant, then the method to try is thus:- Keep all wheels on the ground, handbrake on, chock the wheels, car in 5th gear.
There is just enough clearance in front of the tyre to get a socket, 5” bar, 10” bar, another 5” bar & swivel wrench on the bolt and apply some pressure. Use the old proverb “Don’t force it, use a bigger hammer!” I used a 5’ scaffold bar for leverage on the breaker bar.

With the extra leverage it won’t take much to twist all of the extension bars, causing one of them to snap (poor quality tools = grief). Only use good quality tools with high force loading, and DO NOT be tempted to use a ratchet wrench (it will break!) or a Torque wrench (it will take it out of accurate use for the future).

4. Overall, I think that car on a 4-post lift, all wheels on the ground (ramp!), assistant on the brakes and a scaff bar for leverage from underneath would be the best bet.
That way there would be no need for any extension bars, just a 17mm impact socket and a good breaker bar.
With that much torque on lots of extension bars, they're almost bound to twist and make the job harder (as I proved).

Unfortunately, this wasn't an option on the driveway - should I ever need to do it again, I think that I'll use the ramp at my local friendly garage to at least 'crack off' the load.

Remember, the only thing holding the crank from turning with the bolt is the Cam Belt, so it will suffer (perhaps unseen) stress and damage from this operation, and should be either thoroughly checked or replaced.

Once the bolt is out, remove the crank pulley - Ii needed to put a 3-leg puller on mine to get it off, it was quite a tight fit! – Do not force it with a hammer/mallet etc from behind as it may crack, warp etc, causing the engine to run ‘out of balance’ upon re-assembly.


Once the bottom pulley is off, it gives plenty of access from underneath to get to all 4 bolts on the Right Hand engine mounting bracket.

It took me most of a day to get the bracket off, and then I found an easy method (when it was too late for me!

Place a trolley jack under the right-hand side of the sump (remember to put a piece of wood between the sump and the jack to avoid damage to the sump).

You need an 8mm allen key and an angle grinder.

Cut about a 2cm length off the SHORT end of the allen key.

The key will then fit into the socket heads on the bolts and you can use a 10" (half inch drive) extension bar over the allen key to give extra leverage.

Once you have 'cracked off' the bolts, take the weight of the engine on the trolley jack, but do not lift excessively. Use the short bit you cut off the allen key to put into the bolts, and use an 8mm spanner to turn it.

To get the bracket off, you may need to undo the oil cooler pipe to give it enough clearance, and it helps (but not totally necessary) if the power steering pipe is taken off the pump and stowed out of the way. Be careful not to cause excessive force on the brazed end fitting (banjo bolt) to the power steering pump. It is not tight, and is a standard 19mm size bolt.

You can now get to the plastic cam belt cover and remove all of the bolts (10mm head) from it, lifting it away to gain access to the bits inside!

The tensioner and water pump bolts were all easy to get at and undo (might be a bit harder with the head still on, though, but quite possible). The only tight one was the idler pulley which is on the head, so at least it is easier to reach.

Remember to clean the face where the water pump joins the block with emery cloth to ensure a good joint, use a new gasket and tighten all 5 bolts (12mm head) evenly to keep the pump ‘flat’ to the block.

When replacing the tensioner, the spring has to go the right way round, and can be a bit fiddly – perseverance from underneath was the way I got it done, but with flexible, thin fingers, it should be possible from above.

With the new timing belt fitted, tension the belt from underneath using a 10mm spanner and a 5mm allen key to get the tension correct (as per the manual). Then replace the plastic cover – it is easier than tensioning it through the hole in the cover (with the rubber bung).

Good luck!

[GeoffSmith]

Or even try with WikiLEC.

Feel free to add and amend - it was cobbled together pretty hastily.

Geoff

[Sy V]

Why do I thing that Ritchie was asking about the four (various length) bolts under and to the rear of the engine.
If I'm correct, you need a series of socket extension bars and a knuckle union nearest to the bolt heads. It's then possible.
It's easier with the short section of exhaust pipe removed and easier still if the prongeron/crossmember, between the suspension rafts is removed too.

[ritchie]

all sound advice will tackle this soon,cheers

[GeoffSmith]

Sy,

Forgive my ignorance as the dirtiest my hands have been since getting the Elan are posting on LEC after my son's used the keyboard (not really but almost). Does he need to undo the four bolts if the above method is sufficient to gain access? If so, has anyone got any pictures?

Geoff

[Sy V]

No, he doesn't have to Geoff, but if he wants to or needs to because of some other contributory factor...at least he now knows how to.

[GeoffSmith]

Just didn't want Richie doing it in the mistaken belief that it was necessary.