Head Gasket

[VIZ139]

Hi all I'm new to the Espriet driving experiance and after 3 great months and 2000 miles I've hit my first major problem.I expected problems when I bought the car but thought I'd get a bit further before this. Looks like head gasket blown ,burning oil, down on power, but there is also oil gathering arround the spark plugs. I've had a look around the engine bay ('82 turbo) and was wondering is it an engine out job.I've rebuilt old engines before but not this high a preformance are there any special tools required and where is the best place to get a manual.
Appreciate any advice given.
Ro.

[lotusse89]

VIZ139 said:

Hi all I'm new to the Espriet driving experiance and after 3 great months and 2000 miles I've hit my first major problem.I expected problems when I bought the car but thought I'd get a bit further before this. Looks like head gasket blown ,burning oil, down on power, but there is also oil gathering arround the spark plugs. I've had a look around the engine bay ('82 turbo) and was wondering is it an engine out job.I've rebuilt old engines before but not this high a preformance are there any special tools required and where is the best place to get a manual. Appreciate any advice given. Ro.

Burning oil and down on power doesn't necessarily mean headgasket. Sounds like a turbo seal to me. The oil leaking down around the spark plugs is probably just a normal cam tower seal leak, can be resealed without removing head.

If I were you I would do a compression check and then a leakdown test before removing the head. Regardless of what is actually wrong, the leak down will tell you what actually needs fixing.

Head can be removed and replaced with the engine inplace (I've done it on my 89SE), but some prefer to remove engine to do all the other things that also need doing.

You can also test for exhaust gasses in the coolant with a "block tester", it is an easy chemical test where you suck air through a cylinder full of blue fluid (corked into the coolant tank), if the fluid turns yellow then you have a headgasket leak. Also you can check for coolant in the oilpan, check the oil level stick for sludge.

Do those tests and get back to us.

Don't forget to hold the throttle open while doing the compression test.

>> Edited by lotusse89 on Wednesday 15th February 00:18

[VIZ139]

Thanks for the reply.
Forgot to mention I have gray sludg in the oil tank and high back pressure at the oil filler cap.The oil around the spark plugs seemed to happen quite quick ,about 1/2 inch.I didn't drive the car for several days and left it out several frosty nights ,the next time I drove it ,which wasn't too hard ,all this happens.I don't know if there was any anti-freeze in it so I'm just hoping I havn't cracked the head or block.
Thanks Ro.

[Paula&Marcus]

VIZ139 said:

Thanks for the reply. Forgot to mention I have gray sludg in the oil tank and high back pressure at the oil filler cap.The oil around the spark plugs seemed to happen quite quick ,about 1/2 inch.I didn't drive the car for several days and left it out several frosty nights ,the next time I drove it ,which wasn't too hard ,all this happens.I don't know if there was any anti-freeze in it so I'm just hoping I havn't cracked the head or block. Thanks Ro.

Hi Ro,
I´m sure you are kidding ... aren´t you ?!

- gray sludge in oil indicates water, maybe even frozen water !!!
- high pressure at the oil cap indicates that combustion gasses are escaping -> blown head gasket and/or cracked head and/or cracked block
- you actually did let your Esprit sit outside in the frosty nights without knowing if there is antifreeze in the coolant or not ??????????????????

What about letting you camping outside in frosty nights without proper underwear and a warm sleeping-bag ?

---- I´m still sure that you are kidding !? ------
---- This actually must be a test from the TCOYES (="Take Care Of Your Esprit Society" ----

Where is the camera ???

[VIZ139]

Unfortunitly an ongoing full baremetal restoration and a delay in extending my garage has left the Lotus outside for the moment.The right car came up at the right price so that was that.Irish winters tend not to be so harsh with minimun tempetures at one or two degrees near the coast where I am . The last owner (18 years) used lotus specialest to look after so I would have assumed coolant was used in the system but who knows.Still want to get a manual before I start taking things apart.
Ireland got its first Lotus dealership last year which is tied into a Toyota dealership so while this may be good for Elise owners they don't have experiance on Esprits. When I was importing the car the tax office had to issue a new car type code making mine the only one of this model in the country, they had the later HC already on the system.

[marco247]

Hi ive got a s4 to v8 service manual that you can download for free should you wish to email me,i will return the link to you(1800 pages can take a while to download).Marco

[mike.griese]

[quote=Paula&Marcus
- gray sludge in oil indicates water, maybe even frozen water !!!
[/quote]

This could also be from condensation inside the block. I changed my oil
after a cozy Minnesota winter one spring and just about had a heart
attack from noticing a little chocolate milk in the oil. Now if all
of the oil is like that, well, is right...

Mike

[VIZ139]

Thanks Marco but mines a 4pot turbo.
Did a compression test at the weekend .Cylinders 2 and 4 down to 50bls. so the head is comming off anyway.
Back to the original question, any more opinions on engine in or out.
Thanks Ro.

[lotusse89]

You can do everything with the engine in the car, but it sounds like you may want to take it out to make it easier to do everything that it may need.

If you aren't exactly sure what causes the problem, then you should check everything that might have...