Two other odd things

[rizla1]

One other thing I am wondering if anyone else has to hold the gas down on their car to get it started?. Is this normal or does my car need a serious tune up? I also have a noise in the front right wheel it only happens under slow slow speeds when the car is not in gear or under power. When rolling up to a stop sign without the brakes on the car makes a shreaking sound almost like the brakes are grabbing a little bit. I took it back to the dealer and they said there is nothing visibly wrong with the rotor or caliper/pads. It usually happens a little more when the car is steered a little to the right coming to a stop.

[cnh1990]

Holding down the gas to start it is not normal. That is screwed up. How long have you had the car? Did you buy it from a dealer? When was the last service?

I would take a look at the pads.

Do you have vibration in the front?

[rizla1]

I obviously made a very large mistake, seeing as how this is my first exotic car purchase, I did not follow the proper techniques on purchasing a car of this magnitude. I purchased the car from Lotus of Atlanta. I have already taken the car back to them to have these things looked at and they say everything seems to be ok. I thought the car was on the up and up seeing as how it only had 9,200 miles on it. Now that I have made my mistake what can I do to fix it? I don't want to take the car back to the dealer because they obviously are biast on the matter. Do you have any ideas on where to go in Atlanta, GA to have the car looked over for any other would be problems and or to fix it?

[kmaier]

rizla1 said:

I obviously made a very large mistake, seeing as how this is my first exotic car purchase, I did not follow the proper techniques on purchasing a car of this magnitude. I purchased the car from Lotus of Atlanta. I have already taken the car back to them to have these things looked at and they say everything seems to be ok. I thought the car was on the up and up seeing as how it only had 9,200 miles on it. Now that I have made my mistake what can I do to fix it? I don't want to take the car back to the dealer because they obviously are biast on the matter. Do you have any ideas on where to go in Atlanta, GA to have the car looked over for any other would be problems and or to fix it?

Well, you've only had the car one month... sorry, but doubt you have any idea on whether you made a very large mistake as of yet. Also not sure what you refer to as "the proper techniques for buying a car of this magnitude". I'm not trying to be a "smart-ass" here, just trying to level-set you on your purchase.

First, you bought a 6-year old car... low mileage (which is not always a good thing). But you did buy it from a Lotus authorized dealer, which is a good thing. So first and foremost, go back and make friends with the service manager, the parts guy and the mechanic... bottom line, unless you're very good mechanically you're going to need them, period.

As to what to do about your purchase, take some advice, do some homework and get some basics done and see where you are afterwards. Here's what I would suggest:

1- Talk to the dealer and get them to print out the service history of the car. Also, find out when the last cambelt service was done. They must be done every 12K miles or 18 months whichever comes first. LCU covers them in the US for 8 years or 80K miles with a complimentary belt change at 36K miles or 4.5 years. If it hasn't had a cambelt service recently, get one done.... it's free, contact Dave Simkin (LCU) first. And while that's being done, have the auxillary drive belt replaced if it hasn't been already.

2- Do a full fluids and filters swap on the car to get a known reference for where you are. This would include:
- Engine oil and filter (probably known)
- Power Steering fluid (ATF)
- Coolant (use a 33% mix as summer is getting near)
- Brake Fluid (I use Motul 600.. Castrol SRF is nice, but $$)
- Clutch Fluid (feeds from Brake Fluid resevoir)
- Gearbox Fluid (dealer can get the Castrol TAF-X but pricey)
- Windshield washer tank (flush and refill)
- Air Filters (you don't know the previous history)
- Fuel Filter (you don't know the gas brands used and time between fillups)

I would suggest you replace the air filters with ITG Profilters as they flow better than stock ones. Note that some owners prefer K&N instead. New spark plugs wouldn't hurt either... always a possibility that they got wet and rusted as some earlier cars did not have a complete seal around the plug covers and when washed or rained on would allow water to run into the spark plug wells. Plugs get very rusted over time. If you do replace the plugs, you can go with the stock NGK or a Denso Iridium if you like.

Next, have the throttle adjustment checked to ensure you are getting 100% WOT when floored (verified with a scantool attached) and reset the ECM to get a fresh start. Also, run the tank down and fill up with Chevron Supreme. Having a 1999 V8, I would highly recommend you have the ECM upgraded to the High-Torque ECM code which is Lotus sourced and well worth it as it will make a dramatic difference for the 1999 MY.

You should probably clean, repack and readjust the front wheel bearings. This could possibly be a cause of some grumbling up front so just do it. I would also replace the battery with an Optima yellowtop.

Next on the list is to tighten the body mounting points as they can and will loosen a bit over time and if they haven't been snugged up at least once, they need it.

Once you have the car serviced and at a known reference, things should be fine. To address some of your other problems, here's a run down:

- Starting the car. You should leave the gas pedal alone... it's not necassary to depress when starting the V8. Resetting the ECM might help. Checking the plugs/air filters as noted above could as well.

- Clutch and hard shifting into 2nd gear. It can be a problem and can be caused by many things. Air in the clutch line, a bad master or slave cylinder (remember, lack of use over time is bad for these cars), the clutch itself, or the gearbox . Flush and bleed the clutch line with fresh fluid. Changing the gearlube and examining it for synchro dust will tell you a lot about the gearbox condition. The clutch should last a very long time. Read my earlier thread about replacing the clutch in the V8. Mine had over 48K miles on it when I took it out and it's not badly worn at all... but the splines were rusted so it was sticking badly. If you have something similar to this, you would typically notice difficulty getting the car into or out of gear when stopped with the engine running despite the clutch being depressed fully. Shifting up and down also becomes difficult.

Beyond this, the V8 is usually a very reliable car and runs very well. Don't drag race it however... you'll probably break something from the clutch back. Learn to shift "with" the gearbox and the twin-plate clutch and you should have no trouble with it. Hope this helps as a starting point. Sorry for the long post.

Regards, KM
2000 V8

[benfell100]

KM is absolutely right on all points. Heed his advice.

Also it seems like the bubble is bursting in front of your eyes. It shouldn't. These cars are not built to the exacting standards of some Honda/Toyota or Euro boxes due to the fact that they are hand built by 2 guys in an old Wartime hangar in Norfolk. No robots are involved.

What you have to do is accept a few issues are going to arise and using forums such as this, correct them. Its a bit of a labour of love I find although most of the time my car is very reliable and NEVER needs the gas pedal pumped as its fuel injected and it does all that stuff in its tiny little brain.

The new battery may make all the difference. Just replaced mine and it started up like an excited child...

The (RENAULT UN1) gearbox is the weaklink although if all the hydraulics and linkages are correctly set up you should have no problems. DO take care with drag racing as the upshift to 2nd can suffer quickly. Downshifting from 3rd also, but you can learn to heel/toe (blip the throttle whilst braking to match gear speeds ala racing drivers, -in case you were unaware) and engage the 2md gear GENTLY. Don't force it or you will wear out the sunchro and crunch it. You will find the engaging point with a little practice and it will slip in nicely. This is assuming the master and slave cylinders are in good nick, not leaking and the fluid is bled correctly of course.

If the fluid is leaking from anyware it can cause other problems too so worth looking yourself if possible. This one small 'component' can be to blame for expensive fixes.

Some owners have commented on the red hose (clutch pipe) and replaced it with a braided one to prevent expansion in hot weather. Of course when this is done it is re-bled which in itself can eliminate the root of the problem. Then the cause was blamed on the hose and not the actual fluid!! Once it is done though you can narrow it down.

Brakes must be Brembo IIRC. If they grab to one side it may be a caliper needs cleaning or just that they haven't been used for a while and need a little breaking in again. My Land Rover(1965!!!) grabs to one side until warmed up then is ok. Might be worth taking her up to 50/60 and doing a few brake runs down to walking pace (don't stop > heat spots) with increasing force on the brake pedal. Then check again and see if it still pulls. May be that the pads are new and haven't been bedded in properly.

At the end of the day if it came with any warranty from Atlanta Lotus then they should square away these things and as it is used more often it will become more slick. Nothing worse than an Esprit that has been sat idle.

Above all, you have a lovely, lovely, lovely, great looking car that will out-handle almost anything. So DON'T dispair!!!
Dom

[rizla1]

All excelent, eye opening information. Thank you for everything you have taught me thus far. I will definetely use all of this information. I guess what I did'nt realize but I knew it when I bought it, was there was going to be a lot of tender love and care needed. If i'm going to do the clutch line correctly where do I go to purchase the hydraulic cable, brand name? Thank you so much for everything I appreciate all of it. I will keep in touch. What does LCU stand for, sorry. Where or how can I reach them?

Chuck

[kmaier]

rizla1 said:

All excelent, eye opening information. Thank you for everything you have taught me thus far. I will definetely use all of this information. I guess what I did'nt realize but I knew it when I bought it, was there was going to be a lot of tender love and care needed. If i'm going to do the clutch line correctly where do I go to purchase the hydraulic cable, brand name? Thank you so much for everything I appreciate all of it. I will keep in touch. What does LCU stand for, sorry. Where or how can I reach them? Chuck

Chuck,

The clutch line on the 1999 V8 is steel line from the master back.. red hose is on 1997 V8 but only for a very short section, ie, you don't need it. Just get the brakes and clutch lines flushed with new fluid. I can recommend Motul 600 (I use this in mine) which is reasonably priced or if you like to splurge the Castrol SRF is great.

LCU = Lotus Cars USA
Website: (www.lotuscars.com)
Telephone: [phone]

Regards, KM
2000 V8