2000 W Esprit V8 - Need some advise please.
Discussion
Hi,
My mate is looking at buying an Esprit V8, its a 2000W thats only done 9800 miles. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've been told that as long as the engine has had a rebuild, the cambelts been changed etc, its a good sign. I'm just slightly wary of the fact of the mileage, hopefully not going to let go any time soon.
I've been looking on LEW and its been very useful as always, just wanted to know if anyone else has come across similar and what happened to them i suppose.
I'm flying into the UK on Wednesday morning and will have to check it out for him the same day, so i'm looking for a response fairly quickly please guys.
Regards,
Rog.
My mate is looking at buying an Esprit V8, its a 2000W thats only done 9800 miles. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've been told that as long as the engine has had a rebuild, the cambelts been changed etc, its a good sign. I'm just slightly wary of the fact of the mileage, hopefully not going to let go any time soon.
I've been looking on LEW and its been very useful as always, just wanted to know if anyone else has come across similar and what happened to them i suppose.
I'm flying into the UK on Wednesday morning and will have to check it out for him the same day, so i'm looking for a response fairly quickly please guys.
Regards,
Rog.
By 2000 he should be OK even if the car has not had a rebuild. It is alsop not true that all cars will fail. I had a 99 V8, did 30k in about 2.5 years and she never put a foot wrong. There is of course no assurance with these things but personally, I wouldn't loose sleep over it.
Make sure that car has been serviced on time, belts have been changed etc and get it checked out by a specialist but no reason why a 2000 V8 should be a problem. As with all Esprits, get lucky and you will get a peach that will never go wrong, get unlucky and you will have a car that will drive you nuts!
Make sure that car has been serviced on time, belts have been changed etc and get it checked out by a specialist but no reason why a 2000 V8 should be a problem. As with all Esprits, get lucky and you will get a peach that will never go wrong, get unlucky and you will have a car that will drive you nuts!
Check the coolant. Never buy a car with a coolant problem ! Check the coolant has no trace of oil, yellowish scum around the header tank filler or large quantities of rust particles. Check there is no yellowish scum around the oil filler on the engine. Both the coolant and the oil have characteristic smells. Check that there is antifreeze and rust inhibitor in the coolant.
A stamped service book means nothing more than that the service book has been stamped. I once found a biscuit tin in the garage of a mechanic acquaintance of mine. It was full of rubber stamps from every garage for whom he had worked. Why not call the dealer who did the last service? They should know the car and its history. The owner should welcome such an enquiry if he is legitimate. The only problem is if the service station and the vendor are one and the same. I would have no qualms at all in giving a prospective buyer the details of the garage I use. But then, I would say that as I know that they refer to my car as: "The nice one" !
A stamped service book means nothing more than that the service book has been stamped. I once found a biscuit tin in the garage of a mechanic acquaintance of mine. It was full of rubber stamps from every garage for whom he had worked. Why not call the dealer who did the last service? They should know the car and its history. The owner should welcome such an enquiry if he is legitimate. The only problem is if the service station and the vendor are one and the same. I would have no qualms at all in giving a prospective buyer the details of the garage I use. But then, I would say that as I know that they refer to my car as: "The nice one" !
Right, he looked at one last week, has had it inspected and it did have a cooling problem, unfortunately this was on the hottest day of the year in London, but it might be a faulty fan or sender unit. Thats being checked out prior to purchase by Lotus dealer apparently.
Couple of other things, its only done about 22k miles and the clutch is stiff apparently and the gears are very tight. Is this normal for the age and mileage etc do you think?
Other than that, it seems a right peach, the guy's looked after it. I'm waiting for the details on the report so i can ask you guys what the form is on the relevant points.
Right then, here's what the report picked up;
1. Drivers door frame seal loose.
2. Rusty coolant visible round neck of the coolant header tank. Engine temperature was high during test. (He only did 4 miles in 33 degree's heat) Coolant is also leaking from hoses behind radiator and engine.
3. Clip missing from right hand side turbo waste gate actuator rod. Replace Clip.
4. Tyres are worn, check tracking.
5. Left front anti-roll bar bush is worn, replace both sides.
He also noted the gears, 1st and 2nd were difficult to select and the engine temparature reached 115c on test drive. He noted he thought the engine top cover was missing (early Esprits had these, laters ones don't). He noted the clutch was heavy and in his opinion was therefore faulty and could be making the gear selection difficult as it increased the effort of the clutch.
The car's being looked at and my mates gonna haggle some points prior to purchase, but what do people think about the rest of it? Is some of that normal for that age car? The general thought was that due to its under use, age and mileage the gears were tight along with the clutch. But not having much experience with these later models, its hard to say.
Can you help me out? He's due to speak to the guy over the next few days to finalise the details, i just wanna make sure as much as i can there's not gonna be a hefty bill in 2-3 weeks.
Thanks guys.
Couple of other things, its only done about 22k miles and the clutch is stiff apparently and the gears are very tight. Is this normal for the age and mileage etc do you think?
Other than that, it seems a right peach, the guy's looked after it. I'm waiting for the details on the report so i can ask you guys what the form is on the relevant points.
Right then, here's what the report picked up;
1. Drivers door frame seal loose.
2. Rusty coolant visible round neck of the coolant header tank. Engine temperature was high during test. (He only did 4 miles in 33 degree's heat) Coolant is also leaking from hoses behind radiator and engine.
3. Clip missing from right hand side turbo waste gate actuator rod. Replace Clip.
4. Tyres are worn, check tracking.
5. Left front anti-roll bar bush is worn, replace both sides.
He also noted the gears, 1st and 2nd were difficult to select and the engine temparature reached 115c on test drive. He noted he thought the engine top cover was missing (early Esprits had these, laters ones don't). He noted the clutch was heavy and in his opinion was therefore faulty and could be making the gear selection difficult as it increased the effort of the clutch.
The car's being looked at and my mates gonna haggle some points prior to purchase, but what do people think about the rest of it? Is some of that normal for that age car? The general thought was that due to its under use, age and mileage the gears were tight along with the clutch. But not having much experience with these later models, its hard to say.
Can you help me out? He's due to speak to the guy over the next few days to finalise the details, i just wanna make sure as much as i can there's not gonna be a hefty bill in 2-3 weeks.
Thanks guys.
Edited by dodgey_rog on Thursday 6th July 02:38
dodgey_rog said:
clutch is stiff apparently and the gears are very tight.
As compared to what? The gearchange in all Esprits (even the V8s) are a lot more agricultural than other cars. That being said, when my clutch was a bit worn, it didn't stiffen, the release point just changed. So this could indicate something other than just a simple worn clutch.
ErnestM
ErnestM said:
dodgey_rog said:
clutch is stiff apparently and the gears are very tight.
As compared to what? The gearchange in all Esprits (even the V8s) are a lot more agricultural than other cars. That being said, when my clutch was a bit worn, it didn't stiffen, the release point just changed. So this could indicate something other than just a simple worn clutch.
ErnestM
Well thats what we wondered. You tend to find in some cars, when the clutch gets easier, its on its way out. Being a sports car, its bound to be stiffer than most.
I don't have any specific experience with this on the Esprit, but I would have a Lotus tech check out the master and slave clutch cylinders and the entire fluid lines just to make sure.
Also, have you done the "quick and easy seal check"? Run your hand along the belts to make sure that they don't have any oil saturation. When the engine is off, obviously.
ErnestM
Also, have you done the "quick and easy seal check"? Run your hand along the belts to make sure that they don't have any oil saturation. When the engine is off, obviously.
ErnestM
ErnestM said:
I don't have any specific experience with this on the Esprit, but I would have a Lotus tech check out the master and slave clutch cylinders and the entire fluid lines just to make sure.
Also, have you done the "quick and easy seal check"? Run your hand along the belts to make sure that they don't have any oil saturation. When the engine is off, obviously.
ErnestM
Also, have you done the "quick and easy seal check"? Run your hand along the belts to make sure that they don't have any oil saturation. When the engine is off, obviously.
ErnestM
I'm hoping the dealer will check the points raised when it goes in. My mate is flying in today so i'll get the latest on progress. I've told him to phone Sinclaires in London as they do a fair few Esprits, just so he knows whats what. Having not driven the car myself its hard to say, but they should have a better idea.
Well, so far so good. The guy had the car dropped into a Lotus Service Dealer and is having/had the problems sorted. I had a look on LEW and sure enough, there was a thread about cooling/radiator problems, exactly what the guy said it was doing. Turns out it the radiator was completely full of rubbish thus the rise in temp so the dealer said to change it. Its being picked up today so it looks like my mate will take delivery of it next week as he's away in Spain with his doris this week.
To give credit where its due, unless i'd read that feature on LEW, i'd have sworn it was a major problem that would have cost a few grand to put right. Other than the few little niggles, it sounds like a right peach, but time will tell.
Thanks LEW, keep up the good work.
To give credit where its due, unless i'd read that feature on LEW, i'd have sworn it was a major problem that would have cost a few grand to put right. Other than the few little niggles, it sounds like a right peach, but time will tell.
Thanks LEW, keep up the good work.
What you have to bear in mind with V8s is the coolant temp. After speaking to Lotus Engineers they said the majority of engine rebuilds were precipitated by overheating due to clogged radiators amongst other things.
The engine has narrow waterways so cannot endure overheat for long before the (original) liner sealant fails and oil and water mix.
worth noting
The engine has narrow waterways so cannot endure overheat for long before the (original) liner sealant fails and oil and water mix.
worth noting
jackal said:
how long has the car been used with an inefficient cooling system and a clogged radiator ?
the liners could have already developed a problem (IMO its less to do with Sealant type and age of car but more to do with cars overheating) because of this ?
the liners could have already developed a problem (IMO its less to do with Sealant type and age of car but more to do with cars overheating) because of this ?
Hi Rich,
You are absolutely right. IMHO, most of this liner-problem myth could be directly related to coolant/cooling problems like this: Not properly sealing main coolant header tank cap, air pockets and not properly working main header tank + expansion tank. From my experience around 7 out of 10 V8-Esprits I get in my hands have one or more problems like this:
- not enough coolant in header tank -> air pockets in the engine
- not properly sealing main header tank cap
- not properly tight coolant hoses and expansion tank hoses connections (= VERY VERY LIKELY !)
- clogged front radiator or leaking front radiator
The result is an insufficient cooling system with hogher than normal operating temps and additionally you get air pockets along with local/partial overheating (steaming) in the engine.
Cheers
Marcus
I spoke to Lotus about it, Dave in technical was extremely helpful, it turns out to be a 2001MY, its totally sorted by way of recalls, there weren't any on that vehicle and it was also a Lotus Directors car, lovely spec too.
Also, the cover round the engine bay is missing it seems, not the top cover i know this was deleted on that model, but the surround trim. Are these neccessary or just cosmetic, can they be picked up fairly easily? If so, how much do they cost?
Also, the cover round the engine bay is missing it seems, not the top cover i know this was deleted on that model, but the surround trim. Are these neccessary or just cosmetic, can they be picked up fairly easily? If so, how much do they cost?
Edited by dodgey_rog on Monday 24th July 16:02
Also, check the cambelt auxilliary shaft bearings - there was a fix to stop the bearing in the block from failing due to the heavy load placed on it - move the belt on one bank and feel if the belt on the other tightens up as this could indicate a problem whereby the whole shaft moves in the front cover.
Dave.
Dave.
Gassing Station | Esprit | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff