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One of the most common issues that plagues the Evora's is the master cylinder. It is only a matter of time before the oem plastic unit fails. The update/recall from Lotus isn't any better either.
This Kit adapts a upgraded Wilwood master cylinder into your stock location, eliminating a chance for plastic failure.
No drilling! Bolts/adapts onto the factory bolts and factory pedal location.
Kit Includes:
- Wilwood master cylinder
- Adapter plate
-Hardware
-Pedal fork
-Clutch line to the LF wheel well Union
-AN to metric adapter for line
We have 6 kits in stock ready to ship!
$419 + shipping retail.
I purchased the kit and am not looking forward to the clam off job ahead. The pedal has only stuck down twice. Once on my wife and once on me. I'm wondering how many times it will stick before it finally fails and leaves me without a clutch? We had nearly 200 miles between the failures before. Will it get worse? What else should I do when the clam is off? Inspect radiator and condenser for sure but what else? Any links on removing the front clam?? Thanks
Look at the instructions on gregsraceparts.com, and the clam off job is not much work. Having an S makes it take a bit longer because it's harder to get to the headlight with the coolers. But it's only 5-6 hours to take it off and put it on. While it's off you should inspect the radiator, or just replace it with an aluminum welded one. Also if your vent mesh is warped replace that.
I replaced my fans when mine was off, I would suggest doing that but I created custom bracketry for mine. You should be able to find a solution that drops in though.. Not sure.
If you need any help or questions shoot me a pm.
Well, I removed the clam today and much to my surprise I found I had the METAL MC....not the plastic unit! I was determined to make the Wilwood kit work so I had to do some modifications.
The factory metal MC has a short rod compared to the kit from GRP. First I thought I'd make the GRP billet adapter work by turning it over and just using it as a spacer. This would have required a relief to be cut on one side to allow the spacer to sit perfectly flat on the firewall and a trip to the hardware store for some longer 8MM bolts.
It turned out it was easier to remove the rod from the Wilwood unit and adding about 5/8" more thread to the new rod and not using the spacer. This allowed me to run the clevis in farther to get me back to the original length throw. Now doing that, made me cut off about 3/4" from the new rod so it wouldn't interfere with the pedal bracket where the pin goes through. I was able to use the factory bolts but had to drill out the clevis because my factory pin was larger at the pedal.
Other modifications included opening up the hole in the firewall to approx 1-1/4 so the MC would sit flat and opening up the gasket as well.
It seemed every turn I took there was a new obstacle but with enough persistence it mounted beautifully. I crammed the small rubber hose over the new plastic barb on the MC. It had to be spun around so it didn't hit the brake servo. The clamp was spun as well to make it more friendly to tighten. I got my neighbor to help me with the nuts up top while I went in and contorted myself to fit under the steering wheel to access the pedal box. I swear this is harder than pulling the clam off. I tightened everything up and reinstalled the potentiometer to the pedal which is held to the servo by two bolts. After the blood rushed back to my head I was able to crack a beer and start on the new brake line and filling the system.
Bleeding was straight forward and I did it in several places. I had my wife help me on that and we finalized it with a fresh system filled with Castrol racing fluid. I used my bleeder and got it all done without having to take the bottom pan off. It is possible but you have to work blind to do it
This kit is top notch although I don't think Greg intended it to fit the earlier years. The new line is a stainless braided piece that has quality fittings on it. He even threw in the adapters for the MC and the firewall union. The first couple pushes was a delightful surprise with MUCH less effort to move the pedal.
Here are a couple photos of the before and after. I'm also going to tackle the cracked windshield while I'm here
Thanks CHAOS for the helpful hints!
What year is your car? Yet to see anyone have that bracket there.. The outside of the bracket is the same profile as the 2011+ plastic cylinder, so it has no clearance issues.
The bolts aren't vertical on the 2011+ That I've seen like they are on yours
There is a center bolt under the front LOTUS logo. Then there is one on each side at the inside of the headlight openings. The rest are on the outside of the headlight openings
I just had this installed. Few questions for those who have installed it:
Somebody mentioned earlier in the thread that post-install the effort to push the clutch pedal in was much lower. Mine is much stiffer (not softer) post-install, and the clutch engagement/disengagement point is at the very top of the clutch travel range (ie instantaneous when I push in)? I also noticed that the clutch now "clanks" when it returns to it's resting position (fully up). .... should I be concerned about any of these quirks?
Also, Squid mentioned replacing the slave cylinder as well... i did not do this. If I were to preemptively replace the slave cylinder, what would that do other than protecting against a failure of the plastic OEM unit (i assume it's plastic)? Is the slave cylinder an identical Wilwood part to the master cylinder in this kit?
Lastly, I noticed that I have the wrench indicator for several seconds when first starting up (and my cruise control no longer turns on). I'm almost certain it's my clutch position sensor which I've had an issue with in the past. Can anybody point me in the right direction of how to fix this? If the sensor itself needs to be replaced, is it a simple unplug/plug back in, or is it a pretty invasive process to get to the sensor itself?
SOrry for all the basic questions, i'm not very mechanically inclined...
Somebody mentioned earlier in the thread that post-install the effort to push the clutch pedal in was much lower. Mine is much stiffer (not softer) post-install, and the clutch engagement/disengagement point is at the very top of the clutch travel range (ie instantaneous when I push in)? I also noticed that the clutch now "clanks" when it returns to it's resting position (fully up). .... should I be concerned about any of these quirks?
The clutch m/c rod probably just needs to be adjusted.
Also, Squid mentioned replacing the slave cylinder as well... i did not do this. If I were to preemptively replace the slave cylinder, what would that do other than protecting against a failure of the plastic OEM unit (i assume it's plastic)? Is the slave cylinder an identical Wilwood part to the master cylinder in this kit?
The clutch slave cylinder is metal, and doesn't seem to fail nearly as often as the master (or at least no one has posted about any failures). It makes sense to change them at the same time to keep the whole hydraulic system fresh, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. I'm unaware of any aftermarket slave cylinders made for the Evoras.
Lastly, I noticed that I have the wrench indicator for several seconds when first starting up (and my cruise control no longer turns on). I'm almost certain it's my clutch position sensor which I've had an issue with in the past. Can anybody point me in the right direction of how to fix this? If the sensor itself needs to be replaced, is it a simple unplug/plug back in, or is it a pretty invasive process to get to the sensor itself?
If you stick your head up under the dash near the pedals, you can see the clutch position sensor above the pivot point. It's got a single electrical connector on it, and it's held on by 1 or 2 small bolts.
Hey Play-Doh.....just had the Wilwood installed on my 11 S and the rod does appear to be too long. The fork is screwed down as far as it will go with the end of the push rod just a millimeter away from the pedal. Of course now the pedal bangs up against the metal stop and the cruise doesn't work. It also engages right at the top of travel.
So I'm looking for suggestions. Obviously the rod needs to be shortened to get the pedal back to it's factory position. My only idea is that I have to take the clam off and remove the MC....unless there is another way?
I think @Chaos had indicated that the Wilwood could be rebuilt from the pedal side, so you can likely remove the push rod for alterations without having to take the clam off.
Hey Chaos.....You and I had talked about this before. I took your advice and tried to turn the pushrod with a vicegrip...couldn't get any travel due to the tight quarters...and definitely could NOT get myself into the Lotus position to undo the fork! Interesting, texevora has the exact set of symptoms with his install and play-doh noticed the length difference in the pushrods with the factory being shorter. All of these issues are definitely due to the pushrod being too long and it was not addressed by the tech who did my install. I also have an issue now with the brake icon lighting up every 2-3 days. Adding more fluid puts the light out temporarily. Had the car back to the tech this week and can't find a leak (don't believe he had the clam off...just the left tire and liner).
Soooo....it looks like my attempt to save myself the job was in vain and I will have to do it after all...want a round trip ticket to Delray Beach?
I do have pics of the Wilwood installed and the pushrod attachment to the pedal...I'll upload them on Monday.
Successfully replaced my factory metal m/c with the Wilwood yesterday. Thanks to @PLAY-DOH for the pointers/tips/advice. I ended up using the spacer, but cut the upper left "flange" off so it wouldn't interfere with another bracket that's mounted nearby. Had to run out and grab 2 longer bolts (M8 1.25 x 35mm). Also took the time to measure the stock m/c distance from center of the fork hole to the cylinder base that contacts the firewall, and replicated that on the Wilwood. Didn't need to modify the pushrod length at all.
@Chaos with some slight variations, I think GRP could offer the kit to all S1 Evoras. The 09-11s with metal m/cs just need the spacer to mimic the shape of the Wilwood cylinder, and maybe be a hair thicker so enlarging the firewall hole isn't necessary. And some longer bolts that pass through the firewall, spacer, and m/c. Oh and maybe a different fork with a larger hole for the pin.
Resurrecting this thread as I came in from last session at track yesterday. When I went back to car to leave 30 minutes later, pedal was soft halfway way to floor. Pumps did not help, but it recovered immediately when I stuck my foot behind clutch pedal to let it refill. BTW all fresh ATE 200 fluids but i did drive the pi$$ out of it that session with a passenger. Suspicious that MC may be getting tired or I just plain cooked the fluid again...hehe
Whaddya think, super hot or cylinder getting tired? Came right back up when foot went under to pull at top of travel.
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