Mellow Yellow

[lotos]

That seems totally reasonable - in my climate it's so dry my concern is the rubber drying out in all the hoses and the top seals and that sort of thing. Tires that sit here get cracked a lot faster, too. Hopefully I won't go any long stretches without driving the Elan, though, given the FWD and the fact that there is probably a whopping ten days in Denver with actual snow on the ground.

[lotos]

I've contacted Amber about their hose set they made for the Elan. I also am joining the local Lotus Owners' group here in Denver and hopefully I'll meet some mechanically-inclined owners that can lend me a hand with this stuff like you mentioned, Al.

[Doug]

sounds like a proper list

yes, you will 100% do the other belts -- they are more likely to go bad than the cam belt -- you should request the old belts so you can see the condition of them -- likely you will see the cam belt looks pretty darn good still -- but still a good insurance plan to change it . . .



get a back-up cam angle sensor (if you can find an Isuzu one at a dealer) or new hall sensor replacement for it from the Lotus sales list

[Doc Fizzix]

For what it is worth I would not do the Dynamat. That stuff is very dense and the weight can add up real fast (do I have to teach you about F=ma? ), plus you are dealing with a convertible so I am not sure the cost and effort of Dynamat-ing the car will really provide that much benefit (IMHO)

[algirdas]

Dear Lotos:

My name is Algirdas and I live just up the road in Fort Collins with an Elan or two (M100 and otherwise). I'll see you next week at the LOCO meeting and we can get acquainted.

Talk to Greg Carpenter (LOCO el presidente and taco chef) about getting your car serviced. He is a top flight mechanic (and taco chef). Change out all of your fluids and belts for starters. While changing out the transaxle fluid, DO NOT COMPLETELY remove the little plate that holds the speedo cable in the transaxle. You will simply hate life trying to get it back on. Cam belt is VERY IMPORTANT. Put a spare CAS on the shelf in your garage (about $100 from Merlin). Change your fuel filter and drop in a new battery if you are sitting on an old one that has been through too many charge-discharge-charge cycles. Run several bottles of Chevron Techron through the gas tank. Remember, three and you need to change the oil. Check all of your CV joint boots just to make sure they did not crack. Change your coil packs and coil wires. Change your wiper blades (good luck finding 23 inchers in the US). I went with 24 and 22 inch Bosch ICONs. Samco hoses are the way to go and changing them while you have the coolant drained is very convenient. The Fed kit has all but one (the one that connects to the radiator at the bottom radiator hose). Samco can't seem to get that one right with any degree of reliability (rumor has it that 9 fail in getting one somewhat close).

In my opinion, don't waste your time or money on Dynamat. You will have to disassemble your car to an unacceptable degree to properly install the Dynamat and the slight decrease in sound will not justify the weight gain. If your car had no sound deadening material, then that would be a different story.

Start cleaning the car and coating all plastic and rubber surfaces with vinyl and rubber dressing (try Griots garage). Start feeding your hides with leather restorer to keep them moist and soft (again Griot's garage). Zymol the daylights out of your paint or your clearcoat will dry out and begin to fleck in our dry, UV intense climate.

The foregoing is a summary of what I did when I bought my car three years ago in order to establish a baseline from which to begin.

Merlin is a great source for all things Isuzu. Dave Bean is pretty much the only game in town this side of the pond for all things M100 if you have the $$$$$$$$$$$.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[Elanlover]

On the Dynamat issue, I've Dynamatted a good portion of the car with Dynamat Extreme which weighs less (albeit not huge amounts less) than the original Dynamat. Made a HUGE difference in noise reduction for the 50 pounds of added weight. I did the entire trunk (as many surfaces as I could get too), the floor and firewall and the rear bulkhead. While I appreciate the additional weight didn't help performance I'm more than happy to trade that for a quiter ride (especially after the exhaust upgrade).

[lotos]

I wouldn't be dynamatting right now anyhow - it's a 'live with the car and see if you want to do that later' sort of mod in my eyes right now.

Looking forward to meeting you soon! Thanks for the info.

[lotos]

Yesterday was garage re-organizing day, so that we could move the Audi from the driveway into the garage. Amazingly, we did it. We got a slew of stuff into the garage - all three vehicles, the scooter, the lawn mower, the snow blower, and I didn't even have to remove any of my shelving. We are getting rid of an old upright freezer we don't use any more that was just taking up space. Now we need to hang our bicycles from the ceiling, add a few more high-placed shelves... and that should do it for now. A 3-car garage sound big, until you have 3 cars.

[nitroman]

Yesterday was garage re-organizing day, so that we could move the Audi from the driveway into the garage. Amazingly, we did it. We got a slew of stuff into the garage - all three vehicles, the scooter, the lawn mower, the snow blower, and I didn't even have to remove any of my shelving. We are getting rid of an old upright freezer we don't use any more that was just taking up space. Now we need to hang our bicycles from the ceiling, add a few more high-placed shelves... and that should do it for now. A 3-car garage sound big, until you have 3 cars.

Back when I had that big Lincoln the only way it fit into the garage was to slightly push the washing machine against the wall with the car's front bumper!

[lotos]

get a back-up cam angle sensor (if you can find an Isuzu one at a dealer) or new hall sensor replacement for it from the Lotus sales list

I assume you're talking about this:

Elan M100 A100E6570L ****HONEYWELL HALL SENSOR(F/W) 973 N/A 12.77

My list is being sorted now... At Rock Auto it's running about $145 (I attached the cart) - can you folks look this over and make sure it is correct? I'll also be getting the Heater Valve as people mentioned. Then I'll be placing an order for the hoses... and should be okay for a while? Pricey first month

[lotos]

Just wanted to bump and see if you folks could take a peek at my shopping list and let me know if it looks kosher? I want to get this junk out of the way so I can drive without praying to all possible gods first

[rip]

Hall sensor - correct
TIming belt - correct
Timing belt component kit - correct
Water pump - don't know because I ordered a different brand.
PAS/Alternator belts - not sure because I got my order wrong & my Elan does not have air con like most of the US ones.
Fuel filter - don't know. This may well be different to the Isuzu Impulse since it not housed around the engine.

[Doc Fizzix]

Fuel filter - don't know. This may well be different to the Isuzu Impulse since it not housed around the engine.

I am also not sure if the Isuzu one is the same. I know it was a GM part and I bought mine down at the local auto parts store

[CRAMBURY RS]

Just wanted to bump and see if you folks could take a peek at my shopping list and let me know if it looks kosher? I want to get this junk out of the way so I can drive without praying to all possible gods first

nice ride, i'll be down helping some isuzu (Robie the Robot and Flatliner/Mark from isuzone.org) owners this week in colorado springs if you have any issues feel free to drop me a buzz at 509-952-3220 AT&T cell. we share the same engine and if you need a little walk through on anything i'm sure we can help you out. the timing belt is a cake job after you've done it a time or two.

have fun!!!

[tweetdriver63]

Hall sensor - correct
TIming belt - correct
Timing belt component kit - correct
Water pump - don't know because I ordered a different brand.
PAS/Alternator belts - not sure because I got my order wrong & my Elan does not have air con like most of the US ones.
Fuel filter - don't know. This may well be different to the Isuzu Impulse since it not housed around the engine.

All of the belts are common between the Impulse and Elan. My Elan has all new belts on it, and they all came from the local parts store listed for the Impulse. There's a Wiki cross reference by vehicle model. If you find anything that isn't listed there yet, please add it, or get somebody else to.

[lotos]

Thanks everybody - I want to get this order in ASAP so I can get rolling again.

Just wanted to bump and see if you folks could take a peek at my shopping list and let me know if it looks kosher? I want to get this junk out of the way so I can drive without praying to all possible gods first

nice ride, i'll be down helping some isuzu (Robie the Robot and Flatliner/Mark from isuzone.org) owners this week in colorado springs if you have any issues feel free to drop me a buzz at 509-952-3220 AT&T cell. we share the same engine and if you need a little walk through on anything i'm sure we can help you out. the timing belt is a cake job after you've done it a time or two.

have fun!!!

Oh I'm not doing this stuff myself - I am going to give the Lotus dealer my business (there's a great gearhead in my local Lotus club but he's busy/booked until January and said to give him the car for a week or three, too)... The dealer quoted like $800 which is a crapload of money, but I don't really feel like I have a choice. (6-7 hrs @ $120). It's a big expense I really hadn't planned for, but I figure I'm set for years once I get this out of the way, and I can move on to the upgrades and actually driving my new car

[lotos]

Back when I had that big Lincoln the only way it fit into the garage was to slightly push the washing machine against the wall with the car's front bumper!

I can relate - my mom had a big Caddy DeVille that we actually pushed into the drywall to make a groove for the bumper to fit. Those f@#$ers are long!

[Doc Fizzix]

The dealer quoted like $800 which is a crapload of money, but I don't really feel like I have a choice. (6-7 hrs @ $120).

I sure am glad I grew-up working on cars with my dad.

I love touching the tools to the car when ever I can get around to it, nothing like doing a job yourself and then going out for a good meal with the money you saved

[lotos]

The dealer quoted like $800 which is a crapload of money, but I don't really feel like I have a choice. (6-7 hrs @ $120).

I sure am glad I grew-up working on cars with my dad.

I love touching the tools to the car when ever I can get around to it, nothing like doing a job yourself and then going out for a good meal with the money you saved

Sort of reminds me that kid's line, "I would if I could, but I can't, so I won't." Of course, I could always start the project, let it sit for 6 months, then tow it to a mechanic and let them finish it

[lotos]

Parts ordered - except the fuel filter. Now I just need to decide the lucky soul that gets to do the job (and get my money )