Brake Accumulator for '91 Esprit - alt source.

Brake Accumulator for '91 Esprit - alt source.

Author
Discussion

lotusesprit16

Original Poster:

2 posts

254 months

Saturday 28th February 2004
quotequote all
Following a helpful clue on this board, I found that the brake accumulator is the same part that is used by Jaguar.

On the Jaguar board, I found that the same part is used in GM cards - GM Part Number 25528382.

The cost from www.gmpartsdirect.com is $86 plus shipping and handling. This sure beats $$$? from Lotus, or $400 from a Jag dealer or $200 from a mail order Jag parts supplier.

These things are made with different pressure loads. I have no idea what this one is, but it seems to work just fine. 10 minute job to replace.

Dave

5150neo

154 posts

274 months

Sunday 29th February 2004
quotequote all
A 10 min job? I thought you had to bleed the system after installing an accumulator. Granted I have yet to do this but I will soon as mine is starting to act worn. Please tell me what was involved in installing the new unit. How do the brakes feel now that the new unit is in?

John

janszott

218 posts

262 months

Sunday 29th February 2004
quotequote all
That part has now been replaced with a new part number and price $350!!!
I know, I bought one last year.
Whole brake system came from 1991 Buick Regal/century or Pontiac Gran Prix.

Jan
Ontario Canada

superdave

935 posts

261 months

Sunday 29th February 2004
quotequote all
How do you know if your accumultor has gone. I had the link to test my system. My ABS light is on. When the engine is running, when I press my brake a few times, on the fifth press, the accumulator recharges itself, is this right?
Iam going to test my sensors first.
I don't have access to a diagnostic testing equipment.
Any advise will be appreaciated.

Cheers,


Dave Walters

5150neo

154 posts

274 months

Monday 1st March 2004
quotequote all
Hi Dave,
My understanding is that the accumulator should act just as you describe yours to be acting. It sounds like yours is holding preasure just fine. Mine, on the other hand, fires every pedal press and sometimes every other press. Without question it's the accumulator, switch, or both.
John

superdave

935 posts

261 months

Monday 1st March 2004
quotequote all
Hi john and thanks for the tip. As for the accumulator at GMparts, it's still listed as $86 as the first posted had said.
It's got to be worth investigating.


Cheers,



Dave Walters

janszott

218 posts

262 months

Monday 1st March 2004
quotequote all
The original part number I had was 18013994 which was replaced by 88927271. I know that part number is correct. The 88927271 has been in my car since last year.

Jan

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Monday 1st March 2004
quotequote all
There seems to be some discrepancy over the part number. Does anyone know with 100% certainty which is the correct one. Will the part lotusesprit16 suggested work?

The part that janszott suggests is available on gmpartsdirect.com for $201 but shipping is a whopping $40.20! I have no idea how they can charge so much to ship such a small part other than too add to their profit while appearing to have low prices.

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Wednesday 3rd March 2004
quotequote all
bump.

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Tuesday 9th March 2004
quotequote all
BUMP
karlfranz said:
There seems to be some discrepancy over the part number. Does anyone know with 100% certainty which is the correct one. Will the part lotusesprit16 suggested work?

The part that janszott suggests is available on gmpartsdirect.com for $201 but shipping is a whopping $40.20! I have no idea how they can charge so much to ship such a small part other than too add to their profit while appearing to have low prices.

bojangles

464 posts

249 months

Wednesday 10th March 2004
quotequote all
not sure what bump means, but i dont hear any concensus...
what part should I buy? i need an accumulator

ErnestM

11,621 posts

272 months

Wednesday 10th March 2004
quotequote all
"bump" is a way to get a thread that has had no responses back to the top (also called BTTT). That way people will read it again and maybe comment.

...Since this thread has been BUMPed twice, I think we can safely assume that nobody has the foggiest...

ErnestM

bojangles

464 posts

249 months

Wednesday 10th March 2004
quotequote all
then engineering approach:
the pressure accumulator does not control the pressure available to your brakes.
The pump pumps until the pressure switch is satisfied. if you have a new accumulator there should be enough nitrogen in there so that when it is at full pressure, the accumulator is probably a little more than 1/2 full of oil ( brake fluid ) say 2/3
as the nitrogen dissapears.. the bomb will be fuller and fuller until there is no nitrogen left. at that point, the pressure switch stil works and the pressure is fine until you use the brakes then as soon as you use a small amount of oil (first pump of pedal), the pressure drops and the pump kicks on.
If you use the wrong accumulator, there are three posibilities, one the nirtogen is too low compared to the original and then it is like a partly worn accumulator ( no biggie really ) second, it is charged too high, this may be ok, it will only be partly filled with oil and again run out of pressure in just a few pumps, but as it leaks over time it will be come perfect and only much later leak enough to need replacing...
Thirdly it may be perfect out of the box...
I think as long as the threads match and it fits in the location... it is a safe risk to use the 85 dollar unit..

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Thursday 11th March 2004
quotequote all
janszott said:
The original part number I had was 18013994 which was replaced by 88927271. I know that part number is correct. The 88927271 has been in my car since last year.

Well I'm thoroughly confused. The original part number on my accumulator is 18015082, not 18013994 like yours.

Also, I searched the web for the 2558382 part number that lotusesprit16 suggested. I found a reference in a discussion where someone claimed it was stamped with 210 bar. Mine says 207 bar and 0.25L on the side. So they are obviously not the same part. However, as bojangles has suggested, it may be that several parts will work in our cars. At 90 bucks, I think I'll try that one first.

mperez225

13 posts

275 months

Thursday 11th March 2004
quotequote all
Hi Karl,

Why don't you just use the JAG Part (JLM1907) which is what LCU recommends anyway? You can get that part for around $110 at Moss Motors. That is what I used.

Regards,
Manny
S4s

incautious

23 posts

261 months

Thursday 11th March 2004
quotequote all
I believe that Moss is no longer selling these accumulators. I also agree with the above post that the second part number 25XXXXXX should work because they are all for the GM powermaster 3 ABS systems.(89-91 W cars) Personally, once I'm back on the road again with my 91 SE, I should be able to pull the pump relay and the system will revert to regular non ABS.( I am currently doing this on my Lincoln beater, the yellow abs light will light ,but a piece of black tape fixes that) This will also keep the accumualator from blowing out since it will no longer be charged to pressures exceeding 1000PSI.( this is exactally what happens when you pump the system 40-50 times with the key off, you still have a firm brake pedal,but no ABS function)One may even be able to plug the accumulator fitting with a steel plug and have a nice non ABS system. Remember you still have conventional braking in event of an ABS failure( this is NOT the same as a system(re: hydraulic)failure)This is why you have a yellow ABS light and a Red Brake light. Keep in mind that these are MY own thoughts on this and messing with or disabling the operating braking system on a motor vehicle can cause serious accidents or worse.
Also as a side bar you can get a GM ABS AND Engine Management service manual which covers for the most part the 89 esprits and up systems on e bay for as little as $2.( that's what I paid) the 90 and 91 Cutlass Supreme(NOT Ciera) and 90-91 Grand Prix use both the delco moraine 3 system AND the Quad 4 DIS(Direct Ignition System). So why pay $200 for the Lotu$ ones? Although these systems have been Lotusized the troubleshooting and basic layout of the Gm cars are the same. Happy Motoring and remember my nickmane says it all.

bojangles

464 posts

249 months

Thursday 11th March 2004
quotequote all
the system used hydraulic power assist not vacuum, so if you wanna have power brakes.. you need to keep the pump working,,, not just for ABS function...

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Friday 12th March 2004
quotequote all
First of all, Manny, when you posted the info on Moss Motors a couple of months ago on the turbo esprit list I gave them a call. At the time they had two in stock. I called back the next day to place my order and someone had just ordered both of them and they said they wouldn't be stocking the part any more. Obviously someone else thought the parts were a good deal and decided to make some bucks by buying them and reselling them. Not very cool if you ask me.

Now on to the more important stuff. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO WHAT "incautious" HAS SUGGESTED!!!

You can effectively disable the ABS on the Esprit by disconnecting the fuses that power the front and rear ABS solenoids. However, the Esprit (as most ABS-equipped cars) does not have convetional power brakes to fall back on in case the ABS fails. The power braking is accomplished by means of the pressure from the nitrogen capsule (AKA the "accumulator"). If you disable the pump, remove the ABS pump fuse, or the accumulator fails and cannot hold a pre-charge any more, the brakes will operate only in a non-power assisted mode. This means that braking distances can easily be two or three times more than normal.

How do I know this? It seems someone at the Lotus factory had one too many pints during lunch break and then proceeded to wire the fuse block on my ABS system wrong. He accidentally swapped the locations for the rear solenoid and ABS pump fuses (which have the same rating). When I removed the fuses to disable the ABS on my car I had the scare of a lifetime. I went to hit the brakes at a traffic light and the car barely slowed down. Luckily the road was clear and I didn't ram into anyone, but this could have been ugly as I proceeded to run the red light unable to stop in time.

Consider yourself warned.

KFM
www.espritfactfile.com

flowers

50 posts

275 months

Friday 12th March 2004
quotequote all
Karl,

Is there an easy way to check if the ABS block on my S4s was wired correctly or not?

Rich Flowers
'95 S4s ...SHF63000
79 JPS #040

karlfranz

2,008 posts

275 months

Friday 12th March 2004
quotequote all
flowers said:
Karl,

Is there an easy way to check if the ABS block on my S4s was wired correctly or not?

Remove the ABS pump fuse, then put the iginition in the On (Engine Off) position. Listen for the pump. If you don't hear it, press the brake pedal 5-6 times. If you still don't hear it, it was wired correctly. Don't forget to put the fuse back in