Just bought a 1997 Esprit V8

[kestrel74]

Originally Posted by ritcci

more pics please!!!!! interior..everything.

Yeah that too !

[Imolas54]

mMMm center exhaust is niceeee.... you'll come around on the round tail lights

[JeffYoung]

Viggen I owned a 1993 Esprit SE for over 3 years (03 to 06) and bought an Exige last May.

The Esprit is beautiful, a head turner and the SE is reliable as far as Esprits go. Early V8s (97-00 or so) and early 4s (up until 91 or so) are not. Reliable is a relative term though. I replaced fuel pumps, tranny mounts, alternator, coils, and the a/c quit. There were other things; I'm just afraid to look at the receipts.

In comparing the cars beyond reliability issues I would say:

The Esprit weighs 3000 to 3100 lbs. It's light for a modern car, heavy compared to the Elise/Exige.

The Esprit is a comfortable GT car, good cruiser mostly. Ventilation sucks though.

Esprit handles fine, but it is an old chassis and old design. Lots of flex. Brakes on everything up to the later S4 (mid 94) are marginally adequate (Celica up front, LeCar -- I kid you not -- in the back). Fast car, easily modded and can make 300 whp reliably.

On track? The Esprit was fun, I enjoyed it the 4 times I tracked it, but had some issues. Eats rear brakes, had a fuel cut out issue, etc.

The Esprit feels "large" on track, but proably no different than a Vette or even a 911.

The Exige is in a completely different world reliablity wise, and handling and braking wise. As a track car, other than straight line speed, it is light years ahead of an Esprit.

I'm glad I had my Esprit experience. I'm also glad I have moved on.

[maz]

it ain't me, but if it was, (i owned a '98) i would get a leak down test, and a compression test before i did anything else. nothing accelerates the demise of the 918 engine faster than modding a sick one. be aware that you have a loctite engine and the liners are prone to failure if the engine is run hot for a period of time. if you are anything less than tolerance, do the liners BEFORE the rest of the engine goes,($10,000-15,000 rebuild easy). check the oil pan for sludge. also the first mod i would do would be to get a high flow radiator from harry appleby at viking motorsport. it'll be the best $2,000 you ever spent on the car. other than that, the hyperflow cats are awesome. and take the muffler off. the car is no louder without it, and although some say it is an aero device at the rear of the car, i would rather have the car running cooler, and it does without the muffler. the rest of your operating budget should be set aside for the "little things". as for yohan's chip, i never did it. i know people that have, and they raved about it, but i had such a time keeping the car running, i opted against it in favor of the "high torque" ecm flash from lotus cars. p/m me if you have any esprit specific questions.

[SteelrzLotus]

Originally Posted by Imolas54

mMMm center exhaust is niceeee.... you'll come around on the round tail lights

Never !!

[SteelrzLotus]

Originally Posted by kestrel74

Yeah that too !

Here ya go

[maz]

the original s4s/v-8 taillights are better in a way, because they are easily sourced from a celica. somewhere i have a cross reference parts list. i also have a very big reserve of parts, so let me know if you are looking for something.

[lotustt]

Looks great!, good luck with it.

[Mr. Esprit V8]

Congratulations, and enjoy!

[StallionX]

wow GORGEOUS color combo and who painted your engine black? Also I see you have the OZ rims that everyone seem to think are THE rims to get for the Esprits..

BTW I highly agree with the loctite engine situation, have the sealant updated to holymar or else!!!! it's the biggest reason there is a price drop on purchasing a used 00 and newer V8.. the sealant!!!

[SteelrzLotus]

I don't understand the whole "loctite engine" thing, what is Holymar sealant?

[flyguyskt]

just take your car to johan and let him play!!! i have driven HIS extreeeeeeme espirit and damn i must say uum uum umm umm what just happened. oh ya my brain just caught up with me!

wow freakin incredible! heard it was in pieces now though. since a project arose?!?!

[StallionX]

ok,

in 1996 when Lotus made the new V8 engine, they started with a engine sealant called Loctite, they used this sealant until about 2000-2001.. however it was discovered that by about 30k miles all engine were experiencing complete failure due to the early sealant.. the engine's required a COMPLETE rebuild, and lotus was taking responsibility (as they should) for it and footing the bill. Rebuilding the engine with holymar sealant, since then no engines were suffering failures

They started using the old reliable Holymar sealant after 2001 in the rest of the Esprits were a'ok..

It's pretty much assumed if you have a loctite sealed esprit you will have to get it rebuilt usually at 30k miles.. some might get more but your driving on borrowed time at that point.

Now I personally know of a 96' v8 on original engine sealant still going over 120k miles.. but that is an exception and not the rule.. This is generally why you see a price difference of about 10k on a 99-01 to 02 model year cars.. most sellers know that they are offering up a time bomb that is going to cost!

I don't mean to panic you, however it would be better to spend the 4k towards a holymar rebuild then the Johan chip, peace of mind you know..Plus it will greatly add in the resale if you mention (engine rebuilt with Holymar sealant) most buyers know what this means and it will put your 97 ahead of all others (you know, the 2 others for sale in the US at any given time ) hehe

[JeffYoung]

Steelrz, a bit more on the sealant issue.

The 918 is a sleeved block. Meaning, it has piston liners that are inserted into the block and it is within these liners that the pistons move up and down.

The 918 is also...I believe...a "wet" liner block in that coolant comes into contact directly with the liners. Something about the original sealant Lotus used in 97 to 99 (check out www.lotusespritfactfile.com or www.lotusespritworld.com for actual information on the VIN numbers that were affected) caused problems when in contact with the coolant. The liner sealant would fail. Coolant got into the combustion chamber, bad news. If you have a mysterious and regular drop in coolant level over time, you probably have this problem.

Stallion indicates a full rebuild is required. That is generally true in that the engine must come out, the heads must come off and the liners have to be replaced and resealed with the correct sealant to fix this. The heads will generally be fine and not need work. Generally. Pistons can usually be reused, as can teh crank. At that point, it of course makes sense to replace rings and bearings, and probably the water pump and oil pump as well since the motor is out.

Now, here is the kicker (that might help you). Lotus paid for a lot of these rebuilds, and while the warranty is long gone, Lotus apparently is still quietly paying for some. Find out if your Esprit is affected, then call Lotus USA or the factory and see what they will do for you (if the car has not had the rebuild).

The good news is most 97-99s have had this work done already. Did you get receipts from the P.O.? See what you can find out about it. Again, Lotus USA keeps track of work done on US Esprits and they may be able to tell you.

Good luck. Everyone should experience a good running Esprit once. They are a great car.

[SteelrzLotus]

thanks a lot for all the info, this car has just over 40k miles on it right now and so far it runs great !!

[StallionX]

Originally Posted by JeffYoung

Steelrz, a bit more on the sealant issue.

The 918 is a sleeved block. Meaning, it has piston liners that are inserted into the block and it is within these liners that the pistons move up and down.

The 918 is also...I believe...a "wet" liner block in that coolant comes into contact directly with the liners. Something about the original sealant Lotus used in 97 to 99 (check out www.lotusespritfactfile.com or www.lotusespritworld.com for actual information on the VIN numbers that were affected) caused problems when in contact with the coolant. The liner sealant would fail. Coolant got into the combustion chamber, bad news. If you have a mysterious and regular drop in coolant level over time, you probably have this problem.

Stallion indicates a full rebuild is required. That is generally true in that the engine must come out, the heads must come off and the liners have to be replaced and resealed with the correct sealant to fix this. The heads will generally be fine and not need work. Generally. Pistons can usually be reused, as can teh crank. At that point, it of course makes sense to replace rings and bearings, and probably the water pump and oil pump as well since the motor is out.

Now, here is the kicker (that might help you). Lotus paid for a lot of these rebuilds, and while the warranty is long gone, Lotus apparently is still quietly paying for some. Find out if your Esprit is affected, then call Lotus USA or the factory and see what they will do for you (if the car has not had the rebuild).

The good news is most 97-99s have had this work done already. Did you get receipts from the P.O.? See what you can find out about it. Again, Lotus USA keeps track of work done on US Esprits and they may be able to tell you.

Good luck. Everyone should experience a good running Esprit once. They are a great car.

Jeff young is correct, however I have heard reports that up to 2001MY the Esprits did not get the new sealant. when I mentioned full rebuild it's just from my experience of lotus owners when their story is told.. Likely the pistons will be ok, however once you have the thing opened up, they will suggest doing more just to make sure..
I agree with JeffYoung Lotus is still doing the right thing and performing the rebuild on these cars..

[mikelr]

Funny, I just looked at the Lotus Fact File and it states the opposite as far as the liner sealant that is used in the later Esprits.

Cylinder Liner Adhesive
The sealant used between the base of the cylinder liners and the block (formerly Hylomar) has been changed to Loctite 572 adhesive sealant (A912E7030V) in order to: reduce fretting and noise; improve sealing durability; reduce the risk of liner disturbance with the cylinder head removed. The use of Loctite 572 has been Introduced together with the new block and head castings, but may be used on all Lotus 900 series engines. Loctite 572 Application Procedure:
Thoroughly clean the liner spigot and seat, and the corresponding areas in the block.
Dry fit the liners and check that there is a nominal clearance between the top end of the liners: Check the standout of the liners above the block deck face (liner "nip') which is unchanged at:
0.03 mm to + 0.05 mm (- 0.001 to + 0.002 in);
max. variation between adjacent liners: 0.03 mm (0.001 in).
Apply a small bead of Loctite around the seating face of the liner.
Apply a thin smear of Loctite around the outside of the liner spigot.
Apply a thin smear of Loctite around the top edge of the liner spigot bore in the block.
Slide the liners into the block and fit the cylinder head within 4 hours to ensure that the liners are seated correctly before the adhesive cures.
If this procedure is used on an 'old' type engine, apply a red paint mark for reference, to the cylinder block at the end of the engine number stamping.

Note that when assembled as above, the liners will subsequently require the use of a liner puller tool (T000T0012A - existing part of the dealer special tool kit) in order to extract a liner from the block. The improved security of the liners also means that if care is taken, there is no necessity to reseal the liners in the normal course of cylinder head removal/refit.

PART NUMBERS Description Part Number Qty
Cylinder Head Gasket A912E7029Z 1
Loctite 572 Adhesive/Sealant A912E7030V A/R
Angle Gauge T000T1235 1
Plug, 1"-14 NPTF socket taper, oil gallery side face A912E7111Z 1
Adaptor, thermal switch (head A rear face - Excel) A912E2600S 1

Did Lotus switch back to the Holymar after the "new" Loctite 572 didn't pan out???

[JeffYoung]

Stallion is correct as well -- the actual "date" the sealer issue was fixed is not clear. Check the webpages for VIN numbers if you are close (but I don't think you are since your car is a 97). You had the bad sealant. Whether it has been fixed, you should find out.

[maz]

the main thing is that overheating caused the failure. the radiator on the v-8 has less capacity than a 4. either replacing your rad, or getting it re-cored is the cheapest safety measure. i had an engine pop at 29,000, due to liner failure, and again on an install failure(rings) at 29800.

[StallionX]

Maz,

HOW FRUSTRATING..

yes recore your radiator, have it doubled..