Discussion
Hi gents, I am new to this forum but what a great forum. I have a US spec Sport350(very modified though) that needs an engine rebuild. It started with the leaking liners and coolant loss which then developed into a knocking noise. I have tore down the upper half of the motor and I have seen some strange thongs so far. First off the timing belt on the right hand side (looking from the rear) came offf without even loosening the tensioner. The other side
would not budge. Upon closer inspection I can see all four valves on the last piston have made contact with each other-barely but surely (could this be the noise?) I am not sure yet as I am going to yank the bottom half of the motor out today. Anyway I am going to reseal the liners, put oin forged pistons, replacde the four valve (even though they do not even have a mark on them-just want to be sure), I am going to port and polish and match and last but not least I am going toput twin intercoolers. I cannot wait. I will keep you guys updated
would not budge. Upon closer inspection I can see all four valves on the last piston have made contact with each other-barely but surely (could this be the noise?) I am not sure yet as I am going to yank the bottom half of the motor out today. Anyway I am going to reseal the liners, put oin forged pistons, replacde the four valve (even though they do not even have a mark on them-just want to be sure), I am going to port and polish and match and last but not least I am going toput twin intercoolers. I cannot wait. I will keep you guys updated
Cool what color do you have?
Did I meet you or see your car at Lake Geneva at last years LOG.
Several weeks ago I was looking at a 350 they had at Barrett Jackson but they sold it by the time I inquired.
So I still have one of the slower Esprit's and must drive a bit smoother to keep up with the V8 owners.
Calvin 90 SE
Did I meet you or see your car at Lake Geneva at last years LOG.
Several weeks ago I was looking at a 350 they had at Barrett Jackson but they sold it by the time I inquired.
So I still have one of the slower Esprit's and must drive a bit smoother to keep up with the V8 owners.
Calvin 90 SE
Always interested to hear of people mod-ing their 350's. Maybe when I massively increase my driving ability such that my 350 ceases to be scary (in a fun sort of way) then I'll mod mine too.
Until then, hats off to all you mad modding people out there.
Be real interested to see some pics. Can you make sure you get loads and post them somewhere?
Cheers
Andy
'99 S350 (no.19)
Until then, hats off to all you mad modding people out there.
Be real interested to see some pics. Can you make sure you get loads and post them somewhere?
Cheers
Andy
'99 S350 (no.19)
billsport350 said:
I have tore down the upper half of the motor and I have seen some strange thongs so far.
Found your problem
Bad luck on the valves. With the loose belt, that could have been the culprit. Did you notice a decrease in performance lately? Usually when the belt gets out of wack the ECU compensates by retarding a bit IIRC...
ErnestM
Edited to Add: There is currently a black S350 on eBay for about 48K "buy it now". I wonder what the problem is (other than the obvious missing front spoiler). I think it is a wholesaler and he may not know what he has.
>> Edited by ErnestM on Wednesday 3rd September 17:54
It turns out that I spun a bearing. Could be a result of the leaking liner syndrome cause the oil to dilute. As far as the color is concerned it is black 350 with black and grey inside with all the carbon fibre trimming. I also have a six speed, dual blowoff valves, straight pipe exhaust--will now have forged pistons, twin intercoolers, port and polished and matched heads and intake, reflowed turbos, so I cannot wait to get her up and running again.
I have the backup tranny that went into I believe the GT1 racer (not sure). It has an extra gear don't know how modified but it is strengthened a bit since it was taken apart and compared with the regular tranny. Also the gears are different ratio much closer together as well as the limited slip is much more beefed up/ I have some pictures but I do have to find them. Also I had to change my cables back to the pre98 to make it work. It is longer so Ican no longer use the brick muffler (big deal anyway
)
)billsport350 said:
It turns out that I spun a bearing. Could be a result of the leaking liner syndrome cause the oil to dilute. As far as the color is concerned it is black 350 with black and grey inside with all the carbon fibre trimming. I also have a six speed, dual blowoff valves, straight pipe exhaust--will now have forged pistons, twin intercoolers, port and polished and matched heads and intake, reflowed turbos, so I cannot wait to get her up and running again.
Hi Billy
Wow what can I say you have totally impressed me 
Owning a "black" 350 must be awesome!! Can't wait to see some pics. Bye
Kylie
Yeah I can never keep mine clean enough. I take it out for a drive around the block and it looks like its been through a dust storm. But when its clean and shiny it glows.
Upload your pics from your computer to free webspace like fotango or webshots copy the weblink of your photo into here and put [pic]..name of pic .[/pic]
no gaps in this. Preview before you post.
Upload your pics from your computer to free webspace like fotango or webshots copy the weblink of your photo into here and put [pic]..name of pic .[/pic]
no gaps in this. Preview before you post.
Billssport has the 6 speed box that was from Lotus USA headquarters in Atlanta. It was sold a year or two ago in one of the clearence sales. It and boxes like that particular one was used in the Esprit GT race cars and I believe the 6th gear does not have a syncro as they did not have enough room in the box. It also has LSD. Shifted properly the lack of a syncro would not pose a problem. It is indeed a very rare box and a genuine Lotus box.
Calvin
Calvin
Regarding intercoolers.... I've been thinking about this for quite some time. I found the Spearco intercoolers that Johan uses long ago and overall, I don't like the way they plumb into the Lotus. It's simply their physcial dimensions that make it awkward. After more searching, I found PWR in Australia makes a line of barrel-shaped intercoolers. While I have not done enough research yet to know how they compare to the Spearcos, I am leaning toward these as I think they can be plumbed easier and neater into the confines of the V8 and add minimal run lengths to the inlet tract. I also found a source for the PWR units at the following link: www.absoluteradiator.com/Intercoolers.asp
One thing is certain, before I add intercoolers, I will upgrade the front end of the car and get the cooling system up to task. At stock, it's a bit under capacity already. Adding intercoolers (which adds power) will also increase heat output from the motor and I doubt the stock system will handle it. This would also be the logical time to add a chargecooler radiator of ample size to handle the intercoolers and run the lines to the rear, preferably using the two "red-capped" holes in the chassis backbone.
In any case, something to think about.....
Regards, KM
2000 V8
One thing is certain, before I add intercoolers, I will upgrade the front end of the car and get the cooling system up to task. At stock, it's a bit under capacity already. Adding intercoolers (which adds power) will also increase heat output from the motor and I doubt the stock system will handle it. This would also be the logical time to add a chargecooler radiator of ample size to handle the intercoolers and run the lines to the rear, preferably using the two "red-capped" holes in the chassis backbone.
In any case, something to think about.....
Regards, KM
2000 V8
I don't know if this link will work but here are some photos www.fotango.com/cgi-bin/view_a_picture_all.cgi?ALBUMS=365929
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