New Lotus Owner
Discussion
I just purchased a White/White 1989 Turbo SE and love it. It has 42,000 miles (41,000 before I drove it home). After driving it 1,000 miles it becomes real clear that these cars are basically "race" cars made street legal. There is so much that I want to do to/with the car, and I guess the best place to start is to fix the “little” problems. That’s where I will need to depend on some of you kind-hearted people. I’m used to tinkering with Porsches and feel like a goldfish in an ocean when it comes to this car. I do have the service manuals and if anyone needs me to copy and fax them sections, just let me know.
The guy I bought the car from was a real hands-on guy. He recently:
Put in a new clutch (he did put the slave in upside down though)
New brakes
Screwed with the shifter linkage himself (refused to pay the requested $600 to fix). I wish he had left it alone. The car is almost impossible to down shift from 5th to 4th in any kind of quick manner.
New battery
Etc
One item really bothers me. He “adjusted” the waste gate screw a few turns (says the manual said its ok, but I don’t see it in there). Anyway, there is a strange problem; sometimes when driving under full throttle, the car does not develop enough boost. It is damn near impossible to understand the boost gauge, so I go by feel. Sometimes I get good boost, sometimes I don’t. When we test drove the car, I made the comment that the it wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be. He said, “yeah sometimes it does that, this will take care of it” and he get out, removes the engine cover and yanks the small black vacuum line that runs to a little black plastic relay mounted under the little cover panel. We redrive and now when you floor it, the engine gets full boost and runs like a bat out-of-Hell! Reminds me of a 240Z I had with a 355 small block and nitrous. Not knowing much about turbo charging (accept that that is a very dangerous thing to allow full boost to a small engine), I assumed he bypassed the waste gate. After reading the manual, it appears that that relay is an over boost switch (is this right?). Anyway, I’m left trying to figure out if A) he screwed up the waste gate and how do I get it set back to the right pressure? B) Why does removing that vacuum line allow it to get full boost. C) Why do I sometimes get great boost and other times not?
I wish I knew where the needle is supposed to be on the gauge at proper full boost. I know the car should get 9.5lb (.65 bar), but for the life of me, I can’t see which hash mark that should be on the gauge!
I also get a fuel smell in the cockpit. I read the vent hose fix in this forum and took a look at the line (without removing the carpet). From what I can see, the vent hose is solid black (looks like fuel hose) and says “made in the U.S.” on it. Isn’t the factory hose everyone complains about, clear?
I appreciate any and all help. I’m sure I’ll need to rely on you guys quite a bit. I better become a half way decent Lotus mechanic; living in Birmingham, Alabama, the nearest Lotus mechanic is 150 miles away in Atlanta.
Thanks again
The guy I bought the car from was a real hands-on guy. He recently:
Put in a new clutch (he did put the slave in upside down though)
New brakes
Screwed with the shifter linkage himself (refused to pay the requested $600 to fix). I wish he had left it alone. The car is almost impossible to down shift from 5th to 4th in any kind of quick manner.
New battery
Etc
One item really bothers me. He “adjusted” the waste gate screw a few turns (says the manual said its ok, but I don’t see it in there). Anyway, there is a strange problem; sometimes when driving under full throttle, the car does not develop enough boost. It is damn near impossible to understand the boost gauge, so I go by feel. Sometimes I get good boost, sometimes I don’t. When we test drove the car, I made the comment that the it wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be. He said, “yeah sometimes it does that, this will take care of it” and he get out, removes the engine cover and yanks the small black vacuum line that runs to a little black plastic relay mounted under the little cover panel. We redrive and now when you floor it, the engine gets full boost and runs like a bat out-of-Hell! Reminds me of a 240Z I had with a 355 small block and nitrous. Not knowing much about turbo charging (accept that that is a very dangerous thing to allow full boost to a small engine), I assumed he bypassed the waste gate. After reading the manual, it appears that that relay is an over boost switch (is this right?). Anyway, I’m left trying to figure out if A) he screwed up the waste gate and how do I get it set back to the right pressure? B) Why does removing that vacuum line allow it to get full boost. C) Why do I sometimes get great boost and other times not?
I wish I knew where the needle is supposed to be on the gauge at proper full boost. I know the car should get 9.5lb (.65 bar), but for the life of me, I can’t see which hash mark that should be on the gauge!
I also get a fuel smell in the cockpit. I read the vent hose fix in this forum and took a look at the line (without removing the carpet). From what I can see, the vent hose is solid black (looks like fuel hose) and says “made in the U.S.” on it. Isn’t the factory hose everyone complains about, clear?
I appreciate any and all help. I’m sure I’ll need to rely on you guys quite a bit. I better become a half way decent Lotus mechanic; living in Birmingham, Alabama, the nearest Lotus mechanic is 150 miles away in Atlanta.
Thanks again
Let me be the first to welcome you to the forum. Glad you've taken the time to join us and hopefully learn more about the most wonderful car on the planet (when they're working).
Can't help with the mechanical stuff, but full boost is depent on ambient air temp, engine temp and gear select amoung other things. The ECU will restict boost if the conditions aren't perfect. You're unlikely to get full boost on a really hot day or if you've just started the car up. You may have them, but there's some notes on the turbo on my site.
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/turbo.html
As for the boost gauage you may see 1 bar on over-boost, but it should fall just before maximum. I wouldn't rely on the guage. Get a digital one if you want to know what boost you're really getting.
You could always run freescan on it. Should tell you what the ECU's up to and help to find out what the problem is. You'll need a cable and laptop. Checkout the link on my site.
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/freescan.html
kato
Lotus Esprit World
Can't help with the mechanical stuff, but full boost is depent on ambient air temp, engine temp and gear select amoung other things. The ECU will restict boost if the conditions aren't perfect. You're unlikely to get full boost on a really hot day or if you've just started the car up. You may have them, but there's some notes on the turbo on my site.
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/turbo.html
As for the boost gauage you may see 1 bar on over-boost, but it should fall just before maximum. I wouldn't rely on the guage. Get a digital one if you want to know what boost you're really getting.
You could always run freescan on it. Should tell you what the ECU's up to and help to find out what the problem is. You'll need a cable and laptop. Checkout the link on my site.
www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/freescan.html
kato
Lotus Esprit World
Hi, I too am quite new (3 months now). Everyone else is thinking 'is that all!' as I have pestered the life out of everyone here and bored the socks of most. Anyways, Lotusguy (Jim Macfaden) and Calvin Hamanda are the guys who you can rely on in the Forum. They are full of useful knowledge and know these cars inside out. I've asked similar questions to yours and so have others so you may want to do a search on 'buzz words' first, which will answer most of your problems.
I've got a pretty good idea of the problems but because Iam a novice, best not to give wrong advise hey.
Have a look on my profile first to see some of the threads that may relate to your problem.
The smell in your cockpit could be serious though if it's not the hoses!
Hope you enjoy the Esprit experience!
Cheers,
Dave Walters
I've got a pretty good idea of the problems but because Iam a novice, best not to give wrong advise hey.
Have a look on my profile first to see some of the threads that may relate to your problem.
The smell in your cockpit could be serious though if it's not the hoses!
Hope you enjoy the Esprit experience!
Cheers,
Dave Walters
One item really bothers me. He “adjusted” the waste gate screw a few turns (says the manual said its ok, but I don’t see it in there).
Normally this is not to be adjusted. Also when adjusting, if the actuator rod rotates instead of the adjustment nut you can tear the diaphram and damage the waste gate capsule.
Anyway, there is a strange problem; sometimes when driving under full throttle, the car does not develop enough boost. It is damn near impossible to understand the boost gauge, so I go by feel. Sometimes I get good boost, sometimes I don’t.
Turbo boost will be restricted to .65 bar if the coolant temp is under 82C. Even then boost wiil be restricted depending on what gear and road speed as logged by the electronic vehicle speed sensor.
When we test drove the car, I made the comment that the it wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be. He said, “yeah sometimes it does that, this will take care of it” and he get out, removes the engine cover and yanks the small black vacuum line that runs to a little black plastic relay mounted under the little cover panel. We redrive and now when you floor it, the engine gets full boost and runs like a bat out-of-Hell! Reminds me of a 240Z I had with a 355 small block and nitrous. Not knowing much about turbo charging (accept that that is a very dangerous thing to allow full boost to a small engine), I assumed he bypassed the waste gate. After reading the manual, it appears that that relay is an over boost switch (is this right?).
Do not ever do this again. The over boost relay shuts off the fuel pumps to prevent overboost damage to the engine.
Anyway, I’m left trying to figure out if A) he screwed up the waste gate and how do I get it set back to the right pressure? B) Why does removing that vacuum line allow it to get full boost. C) Why do I sometimes get great boost and other times not?
a)Use the standard wastegate capsule test as shown in the workshop book.
b & C) have been answered above.
I wish I knew where the needle is supposed to be on the gauge at proper full boost. I know the car should get 9.5lb (.65 bar), but for the life of me, I can’t see which hash mark that should be on the gauge!
About 12lbs. boost on a stock SE or .85 bar at 82c coolant temp or above with a properly functioning chargecooler. If the chargecooler does not feel cold to the touch it is not working right.
I also get a fuel smell in the cockpit. I read the vent hose fix in this forum and took a look at the line (without removing the carpet). From what I can see, the vent hose is solid black (looks like fuel hose) and says “made in the U.S.” on it. Isn’t the factory hose everyone complains about, clear?
You may also get fuel smell from ruptured charcoal canister hoses or a failure of the one way purge check valve.
Good Luck,
Calvin 90 SE
Congrats Phillip! You have come to the right place, loads of help and info here. I would look into you wastegate prob soon, you don't want to grenade the new toy. I think the boost gauge reads that the first mark is .5 bar and every mark after is .1 higher, so inbetween the second and third mark would be .65 bar. ( I think? ) It's been too long since I have seen my baby!
Congrats and welcome!
Happy Boosting
Dino 88 turbo
Congrats and welcome!
Happy Boosting
Dino 88 turbo
One item really bothers me. He “adjusted” the waste gate screw a few turns (says the manual said its ok, but I don’t see it in there). Anyway, there is a strange problem; sometimes when driving under full throttle, the car does not develop enough boost. It is damn near impossible to understand the boost gauge, so I go by feel. Sometimes I get good boost, sometimes I don’t.
First off, congrats on your purchase, and welcome! Under optimum conditions, the boost gauge should reach close to the tick marked '1', but heat and other factors can cause the available boost to be lessened. If the wastegate is correctly adjusted, the minimum normal boost would be a little above the halfway mark. You may want to check to see if the chargecooler is working properly, as heatsoak in the intake air can cause low boost. Take the car for a spirited run, then before turning the engine off, open up the engine bay and test the temperature of the top of the chargecooler with your hand. It should be cool to the touch, and may even feel cold compared to ambient. If it is uncomfortably warm, or very hot, then the chargecooler pump has probably failed and needs to be rebuilt. (I think I may still have a couple of kits available.)
He removes the engine cover and yanks the small black vacuum line that runs to a little black plastic relay mounted under the little cover panel. After reading the manual, it appears that that relay is an over boost switch (is this right?).
This is a solenoid valve that allows the computer to provide additional boost when conditions are right. The hose goes from the turbo compressor output, through this valve, and then to the wastegate, which should be set to approximately .6 bar. The computer can add boost when appropriate by rapidly bleeding off pressure through the solenoid valve. What he did had the effect of disconnecting the wastegate altogether, which as you are probably aware is a recipe for disaster.
Anyway, I’m left trying to figure out if A) he screwed up the waste gate and how do I get it set back to the right pressure?
See section EB.14 in your Service Notes (pages 37-39 in my copy) for the correct procedure. Pay careful attention to the note about disconnecting the rod, hopefully he didn't already ruin the diaphragm.
I also get a fuel smell in the cockpit. I read the vent hose fix in this forum and took a look at the line (without removing the carpet). From what I can see, the vent hose is solid black (looks like fuel hose) and says “made in the U.S.” on it. Isn’t the factory hose everyone complains about, clear?
It's a semi-transparent yellowish tubing, that gets pretty brown over time. In addition to the main piece between the two sides of the car, there are a couple of short stubs that connect to the filler pipes. If these have also been replaced, you might have a problem with the gas tanks. Crawl underneath and sniff in the area forward of the back wheels, if the smell is stronger there then a tank may be leaky.
Cheers,
Sanj
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