Just an update. The Esprit didn't really forgive me for letting it sit for so long, it was just waiting to dish out the appropriate punishment.
A month later, hands in shreds, arms bruised, but it's done. Cam belt replacement, hose replacement, chargecooler impeller replacement, all fluid replacement, tire replacement. No, it didn't take a month of effort, it was an hour here, two hours there... only so long I can spend spreadeagled across the chargecooler before I have to back off.
Wheels wouldn't come off, it took penetrating oil on the hubs and a few thumps on the tires with a sledge hammer to get them off. Now reshod with Toyo T1R's in 215/45 and 245/45. They are sticky! And feel a bit more responsive than the Eagles. Lord, those old tires were shot - probably were original equipment.
Cam belt replacement... what can I say that hasn't already been said by any first timer? The hard part isn't the belt itself, it's the things that would normally be simple on any other car. Bottom cover plate wouldn't come off, bolts rusted in place. Fortunately, someone had thoughtfully cut two holes in the plate that gave just enough access - maybe someone else had that problem with this car? Bumping the starter with a wrench on the crank pulley seemed fraught with danger, so I just put it in 4th gear, locked down the parking brake, and a 19mm socket on a breaker bar got it loose.
Alternator adjuster wouldn't let go, and it's plastic so I was loathe to go banging on it. Remove the alternator with the adjustment arm in place, a tap with a brass mallet and the adjusting bolt fell out. Side benefit - with the alternator out of the way, it's a lot easier to get to other things. Removing and reinstalling the AC compressor belt, it was tight. That tensioner pulley seems a bit redundant, as well as being tucked way up under there. Vacuum pump belt - how do you loosen up the pump? After taking off several wrong bolts, it turned out to be the allen bolt behind the pulley, and yes you do have to grind down an 8mm allen wrench to get in there.
Hoses - normally a five minute job, right? Uh-uh, this is an Esprit, and we have to do it the Esprit way. The troublesome one was the squiggly hose that comes out of the water pump, and I would have thought about leaving the old one on but I had to cut the clamp off with a dremel (screw facing the wrong way) and had nicked the pipe in the process. And if I'm going to all this trouble to get to it, may as well replace it. Problem was - the top part that goes into the water pump is in a rather inaccessable location, and the tight fitting sticky silicone hose didn't help matters any. Two hours of pulling and wrestling - no joy, it's barely on, and my arms are in shreds from rubbing the cam belt. Call it a day, pull out the bottle of Four Grain Woodford Reserve, and calm down. Came back the next day, took a fresh look, and found that a pry bar inserted between the cam pulleys pushed on the hose at just the right angle. A good shove, and it's in place.
Went to tighten the crankshaft bolt, forgot to lock the engine down, and forgot to tighten the cam belt tensioner. Yes, the belt slipped over the intake cam. Okay, pull the spark plugs, hand crank the engine back to TDC 1, sure enough the blue dot on the intake is off by about three cogs. 17mm wrench on the intake cam pulley, back into position. Reinstall the other hoses - thank god for clamps with a 1/4" bolt head, there's no way to get a screwdriver in there.
Compared to the cam belt, the chargecooler impeller was a snap. You do need a 10mm box wrench to get to the one bolt, and don't go for the 'sucker bolt' to the front that's a lot easier to get to. It is one of five that hold the pump mount on. Has me thinking those ratcheting box wrenches are a pretty good idea. The old impeller had come apart, but most of it was jammed in the pipe. Clean all that out, on with the new Lotus impeller I had found on ebay two years ago - weak design, though. Electric pump definitely goes on when this one gives out. Oh, and if you hand crank the engine with the oil filter off, you get a mess to clean up.
Hand crank the engine with plugs out just to be sure the valves and pistons aren't getting too friendly. Looks good. Go to start it, it fires, and thump! thump! thump! Shaking like crazy. Shut it down, and revisit that expensive bottle of bourbon. Come back the next morning, recheck valve timing. Spot on. Pull the plugs, clean off the petrol, put back in. Let's hear that noise again. Fire it, and it runs fine this time. Messing with my head, are you?
Idle is rough... let's get that old fuel out of the car, and that led to a final adventure. Plan is to loosen up the big fuel hose on the left side, and let it drain into a large tray. I start loosening the clamp on the hose, and this would be the one and only hose on the Esprit that wasn't cemented in place by age. It popped off all by itself. And gas didn't run out, it gushed out, everywhere. I made one stab at putting it back on, but fuel was running down my arm. Screw the environment, I'm out of here and set a record for backpedaling from under an Esprit. Yes, I did have two large extinguishers nearby, but I have probably ten gallons of volatile gasoline spurting out onto the gravel driveway, and much of it on me. Back up, looking to avoid anything that might have a spark, when my cell phone goes off. I snatch it off my belt and throw it as far as I can. Grab the garden hose, hose myself off, and then turn the hose on the underside of the Esprit, to disperse the fuel. All's well that ends well, but be careful with that fuel hose, it comes off easy and that's a big fuel line. You'd be surprised at how much gas comes gushing out.
All that remains is to update the license plate, which gets done today. I've done a few dashes up the road, fortunately I live way out in the boonies on a twisty, seldom traveled road, but with the plate expired in 06, I don't want to push it. Wow, those Toyos really make a difference.
Well, that was an adventure. If you haven't changed an Esprit cam belt - it can be done. But you will need plenty of patience, lots of good advice on how to remove components, and a bottle of fine bourbon close by.
Anyway, here it is, much improved.
