Timing belt snapped
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576 Posts
Really unfortunate! You will have damage.
Was it preventable? I.E was the belt current?
The belt is the number one service item when you get an Esprit, unless you 100% know the service history. Several people have been burned by this, and getting the motor repaired is a big expensive proposition. We know, as we have dealt with several broken cars.
Sorry your Holiday is less than happy.
Randy
Was it preventable? I.E was the belt current?
The belt is the number one service item when you get an Esprit, unless you 100% know the service history. Several people have been burned by this, and getting the motor repaired is a big expensive proposition. We know, as we have dealt with several broken cars.
Sorry your Holiday is less than happy.
Randy
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938 Posts
Just awful friend.
Perhaps you are too pissed right now to get into it!!
But after the steam subsides -please-I'd like to know why?-
AND everything else about the belt.
Sorry. Really am. What a bummer at this time...Then again you have a LOTUS and I do not.
Some problems are relative..keep that in mind.
Perhaps you are too pissed right now to get into it!!
But after the steam subsides -please-I'd like to know why?-
AND everything else about the belt.
Sorry. Really am. What a bummer at this time...Then again you have a LOTUS and I do not.
Some problems are relative..keep that in mind.
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1,505 Posts
Sorry to hear elfer. Since you are most likely going to have to rebuild the top end, be sure to pull the transmission and get the updated circlip and nylon washer from Harry Martens.
Mine went out back in September and causes major transmission damage. Repairing the transmission is on my plate this spring.
How did they put your car on the flatbed? I hope they didn't put the hooks around the lower control arms. Straps need to go through the front subframe near the lower control arm mounts so the subframe takes the load.
Robert
Mine went out back in September and causes major transmission damage. Repairing the transmission is on my plate this spring.
How did they put your car on the flatbed? I hope they didn't put the hooks around the lower control arms. Straps need to go through the front subframe near the lower control arm mounts so the subframe takes the load.
Robert
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694 Posts
I was wondering the same thing. I really wish someone would fabricate a tow hook for the front like what is/was available for the Elise, Evora, & Exige.
He had another guy come out. They decided to use a really big fishing hook looking thing under the passenger front tire control arm.
completely my own fault. I had no history on the belt. Visually it looked good. Previous owner had it for seven years and he didn't know if it had ever been changed.
I'm a little unsure of the RPMs. I was going down hill slowing down to go over some railroad tracks. May have been in neutral or third gear? I didn't hear any thing at all. I just looked down and RPMs read zero, dash lights were on, and I thought it was an electrical issue. I coasted into a nearby parking lot and tried to restart, but nothing. Then I was like 'oh crap I bet it's the belt' popped the hatch and it was still visually in place. Tried to restart, again nothing. Went back and tugged on the belt and that's when it pulled up broken.
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1,505 Posts
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390 Posts
Sorry to hear that brother.
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136 Posts
My condolences. I went through the exact same thing recently. Take a look here for the saga; Crap.. Lost timing belt today while running... Now what? - Engine/Ancilliaries - The Lotus Forums
If you have any questions let me know. It is all pretty fresh right now so I can probably give you some advice.
Regards, John
If you have any questions let me know. It is all pretty fresh right now so I can probably give you some advice.
Regards, John
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1,886 Posts
Sorry to hear - this just confirms the importance of having it done if you arent sure. That being said, as long as it gets done fairly reguarly and is installed properly there is no benefit to changing them too often.
Couple questions:
1) Was it a standard black belt or the newer style blue belt?
2) Very interested to hear if its the tensioner that actually gave out since many times its the tensioner that goes and causes the grief.
3) Verify it wasnt some flukey thing either like a stick/twig/road debris getting caught up in there. Curious on that too.
Good luck getting it sorted again. Damn.... just hate hearing this kind of thing.
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982 Posts
That sucks for Christmas or anytime for that matter. Bent valves are pretty much a guarantee. The question is how many are bent and if the pistons are not too badly nicked up.
If you can remove and replace the head yourself. The budget should be around 2K for just the upper fix as long as the pistons and lower 1/2 are ok. There is machine shop work that one usually needs to be jobbed out. One or more guides are probably going to be out of round and should be changed out anyways. You should replace a few problem items as well. It might even be a little less than 2K as the G car valves cost less than 89.5 and later cars.
Although I sympathize with you I would not have been able to get back into an Esprit without an unfortunate incident occurring to another. I am currently doing an upper 1/2 rebuild. The question is did the problem cause the belt to break or did the belt breaking cause the damage.
Robert Grener I think we might have met in 2002 Geneva, Wisconsin or perhaps just from the old turbo list. One of these days we need to have a nice Lotus chat like in the old days. BTW I have been tracking a possible problem area that maybe occurs around, near, or after the 40K mile range that maybe masked by the belt failure. Typical Lotus failure item that is inexpensive but turns into a major headache.
Cal H.
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