Clutch and chassis concerns
Discussion
I am picking up my new 1990 SE tomorrow, and after speaking to a local Lotus dealer / specialist, have even more concerns. Can people put my mind at rest...please! No 1, he has said the chassis is probably on its last legs as it's 14 years old. All I know is the car has been a dry weater vehicle, has been garaged from new, has covered 58k miles and has a new MOT. Is it likely to need replacing soon? No 2, he quoted around £4k for a clutch replacement (although I must stress this was off the top of his head). Scanning this site, that appears to be about 400% too much. Can anybody comment / shead any light?
Don't get me wrong, I have to say that I appreciate everything he told me and he was probably just preparing me for the worst. I just hope a number of you out there can say that he was making it all up
Many thanks for any information.
Jason.
Don't get me wrong, I have to say that I appreciate everything he told me and he was probably just preparing me for the worst. I just hope a number of you out there can say that he was making it all up
Many thanks for any information.
Jason.
??????? Replace the chassis due to age?? Do yourself a HUGE favor and do not give this guy ANY of your business or he'll have you replacing the seats because they've been sat in 'X' number of times or God knows what..??
The only time you need to replace the chassis is if the car hits or goes over something with sufficient force to actually bend the chassis. If you have concerns that this may have ocurred, take measurements corner to corner to check trueness.
A clutch is about 16 ManHrs. in labor and $500 in parts so find out their shop charge and do the math. If you posess any acumen in this area at all, it can be accomplished in a weekend with a moderate set of tools.
Hope this helps. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
The only time you need to replace the chassis is if the car hits or goes over something with sufficient force to actually bend the chassis. If you have concerns that this may have ocurred, take measurements corner to corner to check trueness.
A clutch is about 16 ManHrs. in labor and $500 in parts so find out their shop charge and do the math. If you posess any acumen in this area at all, it can be accomplished in a weekend with a moderate set of tools.
Hope this helps. Happy Motoring!...Jim'85TE
Well, I'm shocked!
Who was this guy?????
I have my 89 SE on the ramp this weekend whilst changing the exhaust, the chassis and almost all the suspension sections are galvanised on these vehicles and generally come up like new with good a wash.
Things that do go in the UK are some of the steel brackets (such as small sections acting as lock-plates), and a lot of the original fixings tend to snap of when trying to remove them so I always replace where possible with stainless steel (I should add this is only a problem if you want to remove them!).
I've only had my SE 6 months and the PO had it sat outside on the street in Wimbledon for years! It’s still fine!
Gareth
Who was this guy?????
I have my 89 SE on the ramp this weekend whilst changing the exhaust, the chassis and almost all the suspension sections are galvanised on these vehicles and generally come up like new with good a wash.
Things that do go in the UK are some of the steel brackets (such as small sections acting as lock-plates), and a lot of the original fixings tend to snap of when trying to remove them so I always replace where possible with stainless steel (I should add this is only a problem if you want to remove them!).
I've only had my SE 6 months and the PO had it sat outside on the street in Wimbledon for years! It’s still fine!
Gareth
Hi Guys.
I picked the car up today and drove it the 220 miles from the garage to my house and it is lovely. The dealer put the car up on a lift for me so we could look underneath and the condition was top notch. Needless to say I am very happy. Thanks again for the comments.
All the best,
Jason.
I picked the car up today and drove it the 220 miles from the garage to my house and it is lovely. The dealer put the car up on a lift for me so we could look underneath and the condition was top notch. Needless to say I am very happy. Thanks again for the comments.
All the best,
Jason.
Hi there. In UK and other similar climates, even with some dry stored cars, the chassis can start to corrode at the rear section by the exhaust. This is due to the galvanised coating being burnt off or exposed cycles of heat/cold.
I've seen this first hand at my local Lotus Specialist who pointed this out on a customer's car. He had put a patch on a recoated the area. This work would have cost less than £100.
As for the clutch, they fit clutches to Esprit all the time. The last was Kato's highwing who runs www.lotusespritworld.com They charge about £450+VAT ish. If you need their details then please e-mail me on dave@acsdesign.org I think I'll keep their details off for now as one or two people have complained about me giving this company too many plugs.
A couple of my Esprit friends are having their cars booked in for a new clutch and they are dotted all over the country.
Hope this helps.
Dave Walters
I've seen this first hand at my local Lotus Specialist who pointed this out on a customer's car. He had put a patch on a recoated the area. This work would have cost less than £100.
As for the clutch, they fit clutches to Esprit all the time. The last was Kato's highwing who runs www.lotusespritworld.com They charge about £450+VAT ish. If you need their details then please e-mail me on dave@acsdesign.org I think I'll keep their details off for now as one or two people have complained about me giving this company too many plugs.
A couple of my Esprit friends are having their cars booked in for a new clutch and they are dotted all over the country.
Hope this helps.
Dave Walters
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