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As many that read my posts can surmise I'm a hands on guy. I an fortunate to have the knowledge, skills and tools to perform most jobs and mods.One thing that I think would be helpful to people using this board is real times for DIY jobs and mods. I define a real-time for a job as the time that elapses between pulling your lotus into the garage to pulling it out with the job completed. I think some posts may state an artificially short time for a install not including the time to take off wheels , pans ect. This came to mind when I installed the force fed damper( see post). We could make this a sticky for true DIY times I'll start.
Install Nitrons includes lifting or jacking,R&R wheels and top front shock mounts 2-2 1/2hrs note does not include setting ride height corner balance or alignment add 3-4hrs(trust me i've done this many times)
Force fed damper 1 1/2hrs add 1/2hs for RTD brace.
Oil and filter 1hr
Change front brake pads 3/4hr, remember all times include jacking and R&R wheels.
Change rear pads 1 1/4 hrs.
Change springs on Nitrons or Olnins 3-4hr includes resetting corner bal and ride height check alignment but no adjustment.
Install Sector 111 RTD brace and reset rear toe and thrust angle 3-3 1/2hrs.
My addition, when I get the rest of the parts, will be: Cutting rear bulkhead trim panel, placing speaker pods, and installing a Lotus harness bar.
Removing trim panel: 15 mins.
Measuring for cuts to trim panel: 20 mins.
Cutting rear bulkhead trim panel for harness bar: 5 mins per side
Cutting rear bulkhead trim panel for speaker pods: 2 hours (includes cut, test fit, fettle, test fit, bang head on wall)
Pop riveting speaker pods: 3 mins (includes drilling holes for rivets)
Replace trim panel: 5 mins. (not including putting passenger seat back in)
Placement of OEM harness bar: 20 mins with one 30 sec cuss break
Replace speakers: 2 mins
Replace passenger seat: 10 mins
approx 2 hours... Jack car, remove wheel, remove castle nut cotter pin, remove castle nut, remove three hub bolts (the hard part, tough to get to and probably rusted - removing undertray for wrench clearance is probably necessary). Use a gear puller to remove hub, then replace new hub, connect ABS sensor, replace three hub bolts, replace castle nut, replace cotter pin, replace wheel.
You will need a shallow 19mm 6pt socket, a 19mm offset box-end wrench, several extensions, a breaker bar, a torque wrench, an impact wrench, and a 30mm impact socket. (and an air compressor) Oh, and a propane torch may come in handy if you do have really rusty stuck bolts like I did.
approx 2 hours... Jack car, remove wheel, remove castle nut cotter pin, remove castle nut, remove three hub bolts (the hard part, tough to get to and probably rusted - removing undertray for wrench clearance is probably necessary). Use a gear puller to remove hub, then replace new hub, connect ABS sensor, replace three hub bolts, replace castle nut, replace cotter pin, replace wheel.
I've had three wheel bearing failures so far on my car, an early 2005. (both together at about 18,000, and left rear at 38,000). Lots of track time, though. Easy part to replace, and reasonably cheap at about $120 retail.
The first replacements were covered by Lotus under warranty, but the third was mine... and a big :clap: to Qais at southbay, btw... he got me a slightly used hub for free. Thanks again, Qais!
I do tend to favor a little oversteer in my setup, and I use the curbing aggressively. So I'm not really all that surprised.
I've had three wheel bearing failures so far on my car, an early 2005. (both together at about 18,000, and left rear at 38,000). Lots of track time, though. Easy part to replace, and reasonably cheap at about $120 retail.
The first replacements were covered by Lotus under warranty, but the third was mine... and a big :clap: to Qais at southbay, btw... he got me a slightly used hub for free. Thanks again, Qais!
How about the time to do:
1) the milled steering arms and resetting front toe
2) fettling of '07 air scoop
3) catch can install
4) cat removal and re-install
Changing/cleaning stock air filter? My experience was 2 hrs by myself (1.5 just trying to line up the cover). With a knowledgeable extra set of hands, 15 minutes to close. With my wife, 30-35 minutes.
I filled it from the top with a funnel that had a fairly long clear hose attached to it, only way to go in my opinion. 15 minutes to clean up the oil I sloped everywhere when draining the trans :wallbang:
Exige S dipstick tube oil leak. (from Carl) Four days to get the O ring from Toyota, then 1 hour to replace, hardest part was getting your hand in there to get the old one out, and new one in. (don't forget to take out the dipstick first) Doh!:sad:
Pete, did it fix the leak? took me about a total 8 hrs after trying other things to figure it out. lotus( I.E. factory) thought it was the gasket on the breather plate on the block. carl
Start to finish according to supplied instructions: 0.75 hours actually sitting there doing the work, plus 0.5 hours for time spent reading the instructions, inventory the hardware/fasteners, getting out and putting away tools, etc.
First time install, give yourself 10-12 hours to be on the safe side. Some of our certified installers have gotten proficient enough to do it in 6, but I believe 8 hours is pretty standard.
Check torque on rear toe links (with rear panel and heat shield removed): 30 minutes, including getting the car up and down from ramps and having the socket roll just out of reach once under the car.
remove rear grill and trim heatshield and install Von Hep brace 2 1/2hrs. this includes the time it took to stop the bleeding . that stuff is sharp! carl
Your owner's manual outlines the guage cluster reset procedure. It is something simple like open the door, hold down the trip odometer reset button, turn on the key. I said something simple LIKE that. I don't know it by heart, so check your manual.
reinstall stock exhaust and all orginal factory heatshielding plus rear grill on a S 2 1/2hrs. carl
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