DJ Wilmas 111S S2 T series 400bhp Elise

DJ Wilmas 111S S2 T series 400bhp Elise

Author
Discussion

Gooby

9,268 posts

233 months

Tuesday 16th December 2014
quotequote all
djwilma said:
Gooby said:
Seems we have a mutual friend. We will have to arrange to meet!
Ooh cryptic and always up for a meet
End of year at work is manic so had no real time, even managed to turn 40 but still look 28 so all is good ;-)
Nick and Sarah!

djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
quotequote all
Lol Nick and Sarah, good people

Having a busy time at work so the failed alternator bracket / belt has taken for ever

However i quickly realised the bracket wasnt man enough and the belt had been hitting the cam cover, so we have fabricated a new bracket





Still work in progress, but fitted the alternator yesterday fired it up and it hit a heady 11.9 volts. Best bit was the alternator has no numbers and is an unknown origin. One i purchased for the 620 Ti isnt right so i hope second time around to have the right one

Also took the chance to make a few holes to let heat out, as the turbo sits close the bulkhead and high up it has nowhere to exhaust and when stationary i have a fan to circulate air but it just fires it out the drivers side vent, where the air filter is. So this will help

I am thinking about some additional vents on the body but i'd like to keep it vent free and std ish looking


djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Friday 20th March 2015
quotequote all
Firstly apologies to the nice fellow that spotted my Elise at Tech1 in Poole and asked for an update.

Work and family have meant no time for me to spend on the elise.

Finally found the electrical problem the cobra siren had gone open circuit and caused all.sorts of weird problems

New alternator is fitted and cars running well

Put a new oil temp.sensor into the sump and temps sit nicely at 85c but hit 112c on a spirited run so need to keep an eye. Dash only logs highest data so may just of been a spike.



Was of course on a track at the time

Also had a little mod done to the front as only ever got hot air through the vents and as long as I am.moving it's worked well.






djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Sunday 29th March 2015
quotequote all
Couldnt see diddly out of the dipped head lights so swapped for Philips 55w 150+% bulbs and had the very very scratched headlights cleaned.

Found lots of primer / paint on the lenses too

I can now almost see when driving.........






djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Thursday 2nd April 2015
quotequote all
Have been getting terrible mpg 60 litres and 150 miles which I just put down to the right foot giggles

But decided to re calibrate the AFR gauge and it's made a massive difference, thought the fuel gauge was faulty at one point but it's now moving

Odometer was zero'd so fairly happy if thats the end result



Next post I am sure will be a i ran out of fuel one

Next issue is body work, I have the same problem on both sides a horizontal cracking on the lower section

Any idea why





djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Wednesday 15th April 2015
quotequote all
It seems the infamous blowing of the main fuse is back

Looked at the log and it spiked at 16.9Vs

Whats more annoying its its not part of the loom that i have touched, its still the standard elise wiring

Popped a new fuse in and meter reads 11.1volts, but the red light is not on.



So, the alternator was stripped and inspected

No heat damage, no signs of over speeding and the regulator and diode packs are blown. They are connected so.....only a few things that blow these. Heat, overspeeding, bad earth and bad positive

So will run an earth from the chassis to the alternator case and see what happens.

Decided to tidy some things up, Randy mentioned it once and it's been annoying ever since.

The before photo



Added in an Ali plate below the charge cooler so most of the air passes through




I have never had an issue with the Rad always sat high and had a lot of gaps, and the chargecooler rad had gaps behind it so thought about moving thing around.



Reason for this was std fans were installed for the charge cooler, but these restricted flow to the main rad and did little when stationary. So removed these and reset the main rad lower



Next was the charge cooler pump, it used to fly free but added a bracket to the pump. Orientation is terrible.but best we could do



Next was the windscreen wiper, purchased a new motor and fitted it. Same as before, intermittant is 2/3rds of the screen and stops wherever it wants and high speed does nothing.

Assume this is the relay so will change that


djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Thursday 4th June 2015
quotequote all
Well work is horrible at the moment, oil price is low and sales lower so its been all hands to the pump.

So i have had little time to play with the elise

I am also moving next week so i thought i would spend an evening on it

Bad news was, it blew the new alternator i fitted. So thats 3 its been through now. So its not an earth, not a live, not overspeeding or heat. So latest idea is that its load on the alternator. It blew whilst stationary in traffic at 95C. This is when the water pump duty goes to 100% and the fans kick into high speed. With all the pumps going i think it asked for more than the alternator can give.

So a 120amp alternator has been ordered and hope to have it fitted this weekend

This time just the regulator, the diode pack went later this time

More worrying is that the car wont start, nothing when the key turns not lights off nothing.

Thought this was the immobiliser so removed it and bypassed it



Didnt work

Thought the starter had blown but live to the solenoid and she runs fine

MFRU is clicking when the key turns but starter isnt moving.

Thought it was the alarm, so managed to find a 8186 on ebay new and unused.

The alarm has been playing up recently too, the fuse to the siren was removed as it was open circuit. Central Locking had failed and the LED on the Stack no longer worked.

So today i spent the fitting the 8185 module.....horrible





Finally found the module, thanks to Junks and Sportomotive, it was behind some cheap foam

Changed the Module and central locking is fine, led works but engine still wont start. The new immobiliser has a different plug so need to get a wiring diagram

LED flashes 7 then 8 times, instructions say this is a Serial Line Data Link.......

Pulled the old alarm to bits and found that it had got hot and had blown an electrical component thingy





Had enough and went to collect my son, who asked where the Lotus was and why it was in hospital again

Drinking now :bc

MGJohn

10,203 posts

182 months

Thursday 4th June 2015
quotequote all
Bad luck. These things can be very frustrating.

Rover T-Series Turbo.

Car I had on SORN garage stored for past two years started first time after fitting good battery couple weeks ago. Took it for MoT and had a good run to warm up, clean out the various systems and get fluids running again. Also to warm the Cat nicely for emissions part of test. Started first time until..... no strength in battery but lights and horn etc OK. Nothing from starter. Not even a solenoid click which is usually and indicator of a weak battery.

Multimeter showed only 8 volts but, Battery ( Alternator ) Charge light always went out so assumed Alternator is charging. It was not. Fitted another good battery and immediate start. With engine running, multimeter showed less than 11 volts when a healthy Alternator should show around 14 volts charging.

Fortunately had a spare Alternator, fitted that and no more problems.

Puzzling that the Charge Light went out even though the alternator was not charging.



djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Friday 5th June 2015
quotequote all
Yep, i think the alarm wasnt helping and was drawing current

But its lovely weather and i just want to be driving with the roof off to the beach with my son

I simply hate electronics

Toltec

7,159 posts

222 months

Tuesday 9th June 2015
quotequote all
Only found your thread earlier today, my T-shirt may be a little smaller than yours, but I definitely have one.



From early on when I was first sorting out the loom.

I only have the GT2860RS so not looking for more than 300ish bhp, it is going on the RR later this month so we'll see. I think I will need to swap the nasty little intercooler for a chargecooler setup before being able to use much more than the 0.8bar boost on the road though.

What did you do about drive shafts?


djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Wednesday 24th June 2015
quotequote all
I use the standard drive shafts, they are similar to the MGF ones and so far havent caused any problems

I had the same on the metro, but 150lbft less, and they survived lots of punishment

however,

Well this is starting to get on my tits......

Moved house, collected Elise got to my new home and thought i would run up to the next junction as its de-restricted to clear the engine out :bc

Foot down in third, big smile, engine lost power......looked at new 120Amp alternator voltage and 13v. Dumped clutch, engine cut out all lights on dash on. Clutch up, and engine revved back up, lights went out no power and no noise.

Pulled over, popped bonnet

The fuel rail regulator had literally popped off the rail and started to fill the boot with fuel........



Its held on with a stupid clip, refitted and realised the o ring had also gone awol

Phone my friends at recovery..........called wife and explained.....got shouted at as house needed moving



Today i received, the wrong, fuel damper. But wasnt too worried as could fit the fuel in to the end of the rail.

Released jubilee clip gave it a tug and the fuel rail snapped




At this moment i'd sell the bloody thing as just dont have the time or worse the inclination......as stressy job and just moved house.

Rant over

djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Monday 10th August 2015
quotequote all
Well work and the house move have calmed down and i have had some well deserved time off so i actually had time to do somethings to the Elise

Firstly i Jacked it up on gravel, didnt think this was a good idea, so tested to see if it would hold and it fell off the jack ! I now have a nice jack sized indentation on the drivers side sill......numpty that i am !

Anyway after cursing and explaining to myself its fun when you drive it i got on with things

The fuel rail was first, i did some research (text Drew at roverdose, thanks again) and he advised to fit the old style fuel rail as this has the regulator on the end bolted in and not the crap top mounted with a clip.



Was sent one the next day and fitting was easy ish, even if i did have to bend the rear clam to get the inlet off



The alternator wasnt working so i charged the battery and took her for a little spin, came off a roundabout floored it and smelt coolant. Looked out the back window and it was covered in condensation.......parked up got out and......



A small hose from the turbo coolant outlet was touching the turbine housing and had just given up with all the heat



Luckily the hose from the header was too long so cut it and re-positioned the new hose and all is well again. I may add a metal extension to take it away from the housing completely.



So the battery had dropped about 0.2 volts in a few mins driving so i thought i would take the car to help my brother start his new engine, only 10 miles away, and arrived with only 0.5v dropped. This tells me its not a short or a faulty piece of equipment as the battery held up well. Charged it up as it was dark when i left



So i purchased another 120amp alternator and had this fitted at the ever Helpful Tech1 Performance in Poole. They are ex Ktec and Paul has done some top class fabrication for me on my metro before and they as a norm deal with Modified cars etc so they were more than happy to help



I also had the Battery tested it was only holding 11.8v and 330ah so was advised to get a new one> Same model and the new one was 12.6v and 550ah

I also changed the negative terminal from a quick release to a hard one, just in case.

Was in two minds as to whether i should wire up the alternator but changed some settings on the ECU so the FAN and PUMP didnt both come on a the same time and thought what the hell

Car made it home but the voltage dropped from 14v down to 12.1v over a 30 min period. Let car cool started again and straight up to 14v battery was 12.4v before starting.

So i thought it may be a bad connection so wire the battery straight to the alternator, so a 170amp 120" cable was ordered and "bodged" on



This made a big difference and voltage with everything on i could press or twist, dropped to 12.8v (the DTA Volt meter is a long way down the cable so i expect voltage drop) and 13.2v direct on the battery.

This weekend i have done 250 miles in the Elise and no electrical problems. I even managed to convince the Drop Zone owner it would be a good idea to take him for a spin up the runway at the end of the day with the roof off managed the below on low boost setting :bc



So, for now, i am all happy again its even done the 250 miles on half the 60 litre tank of fuel including a couple of high speed runs :clp

Only casualty is i now have no front grill, the charge cooler is definitely too small (known from the start) and the placement of the air filter means it sucks in hot air from the engine bay not cold ish from out wink

bencollins

3,486 posts

204 months

Wednesday 12th August 2015
quotequote all
impressive! and great perseverence

djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
quotequote all
So sat in the car this morning and started it up

all was good but the oil light stayed on. Stopped and got the camera

https://youtu.be/f7IGYkdiUU0

Not a good sign......let it run for a minute and noticed a knocking sound....

Looks like the oil pump has failed and the top ends have gone. Will take the engine out next week and see whats what

In three minds

1. fix the t series may need rods, crank and pistons at worst
2. Sell what i can from the T series and look at the 2.3 duratech turbo and start again
3. Break the car get some cash and do something else like a Maxi Clio 182 turbo or 306 gti-6 4x4 or.........

However i intend to get drunk tonight......Beers

MGJohn

10,203 posts

182 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
quotequote all
djwilma said:
So sat in the car this morning and started it up

all was good but the oil light stayed on. Stopped and got the camera

https://youtu.be/f7IGYkdiUU0

Not a good sign......let it run for a minute and noticed a knocking sound....

Looks like the oil pump has failed and the top ends have gone. Will take the engine out next week and see whats what

In three minds

1. fix the t series may need rods, crank and pistons at worst
2. Sell what i can from the T series and look at the 2.3 duratech turbo and start again
3. Break the car get some cash and do something else like a Maxi Clio 182 turbo or 306 gti-6 4x4 or.........

However I intend to get drunk tonight......Beers
Hold on DJ ... Hold on a mo or two...Been there, done that with both T and O series Turbo engines. No oil supply to Camshafts will make a hell of a din! Did you pour oil over them before fitting ?... I usually do. May not have done any harm just yet.

There's a possibility you have not primed the Oil Pump and so it is NOT scavenging oil supply from the sump. First time this happened spent ages thinking best plan of action but had no idea why no oil pressure after start up. Light stayed on.

Long story short had an idea whilst "sleeping on it". Checked the level on the dipstick. All OK. Here's what I then did.

I got a six pint plastic milk bottle and washed it out when empty. I removed the Oil Filler Cap and placed the six pint plastic bottle inverted with its neck in the Oil Filler Location. Asked my son to start the car and observe the Oil Warning Light. After only two seconds, I slapped both hands smartly on the sides of the plastic bottle. The idea being to send a swift pulse of air pressure down into the sump to force oil up the scavenge pipe.

Son No.1 said:
.
The oil light has gone out Dad!
.
Sorted!! ... smile Following another Engine rebuild, T-Series in Rover 620ti, no oil pressure and the plastic bottle ploy worked perfectly again.


Edited by MGJohn on Saturday 29th August 23:34

GTRene

16,369 posts

223 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
quotequote all
sorry to hear that, don't know how strong those 2.3 duratec are?
maybe also an option is such Audi 2,0 TFSI engine
6-speed DSG-gearbox and flippers behind the wheel
like komotec makes, but then you make it in a more affordable way? such RS400

although such Clio Maxi special is also nice.

http://komo-tec.com/Shop/en/Elise/MK2-Toyota-2004-...


djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Sunday 30th August 2015
quotequote all
Only difference John is my engine has been running for a while now about a year it's also down on power and wont tick over.but thanks

I just noticed above the max oil pressure was 2 bar....

Rene friends building an NA one and a turbo would suit it better.

Wife asked me to get shot today.....

djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Tuesday 8th September 2015
quotequote all
If I wasn't such a man's man I would be crying now

Cranks gone so have 2 of the 4 big ends, so needs a set of rods

Oil pump inlet was indeed blocked.....but by big end so big ends look to have gone first but honestly have no idea why. Could of been low oil as light came on round a roundabout once, or mapping on big boost the engine stuttered

So i think i will sell of the parts of the engine, will post in for sale and hope to recover some of the cash i have spent

Then 50/50 on whether to admit defeat, or re start with another engine Duratec seems to be fav at the moment







Sump has sludge and debris



Engine is out and ready to be stripped, will try to sell what items i can




chuntington101

5,733 posts

235 months

Wednesday 9th September 2015
quotequote all
Re-build it and come back bigger and better! smile

djwilma

Original Poster:

198 posts

148 months

Wednesday 9th September 2015
quotequote all
chuntington101 said:
Re-build it and come back bigger and better! smile
Definitely wont be re-building the t series

Shame as the engine is a good one and seemed a great idea......just lost patience and two engines due to lack of oil

Could be related could not be, either way i am not spanking another 3k on it wink

50/50 whether i break it or go for something different