The Lotus Grand Tourers

Yet another chapter in the oil pressure saga..
I have just drained the sump on my Excel with zero oil pressure in preparation for removing the sump, so I can do two things, firstly get the strainer and pickup pipe off and properly examine the infamous nylon olive. I also might dig the plastiguage out and see what the clearances are on the big ends
The service notes claim that the sump can be removed without engine removal but the engine needs to be lifted to clear the strainer.. it looks a little tight with the cross member under the sump. Has anyone tried this?

Just removed sump and fitted new big ends with engine still in car so yes it is possible.

Yes, it is possible. My specialist did exactly that when I had the zero oil pressure problem too. The plastic olive was broken (so no suction on the oil pickup), and also the strainer on the bottom of the oil pickup had disintegrated. I bought a new one but it was too long to fit into the sump, so he had to cut and weld it down to the correct length. Long and detailed thread here:

https://lotusexcel.net/viewtopic.php?f= ... e&start=30