The Lotus Grand Tourers

Hello!

Lotus Excel- need to change head gasket.

Is it possible to remove the whole inlet installation without removing the carbs?

I bothering about the cooling hose connection between inlet manifold and waterpump.
It is very tight. I looks like I cannot push the tube left or right.

cheers!
Maikel

Excel_Propshaft wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 10, 2024 14:21

Hello!

Lotus Excel- need to change head gasket.

Is it possible to remove the whole inlet installation without removing the carbs?

I bothering about the cooling hose connection between inlet manifold and waterpump.
It is very tight. I looks like I cannot push the tube left or right.

cheers!
Maikel

I'd pull the engine for a job like this. Sounds like more work perhaps, but once you accounted for all the back breaking antics and 'litlle jobs' you're going to find with a 40 yo car getting the engine out and clear is certainly more comfortable. But it depends on you workshop facilities . Don't see any reason the manifold won't come off with carbs and airbox, but then there is nothing left to lift the engine

Yes, its the best way to remove the whole assembly and the easiest. To get the head off you will need to take the right hand engine mount off and just take the bolts out of the left hand mount. This will allow you to push the engine across the engine bay far enough to get the head off.

Bash

For the manifold on the other side... I know some of the exhaust manifold nuts are a b@$t@rd to get to even with the engine out of the car, so will be worse still with it in the engine bay. I cannot remember for sure, but I suspect that when I changed the head gasket with engine in situ I took the head off with exhaust manifold still attached.

While it's off (yes, I know it's tempting to get a lot of "while it's off"s added to the task list!) you may want to replace the exhaust studs and nuts, mine were a rusty mess with the stud ends decomposing into unrecognisable stumps. I used stainless studs and brass nuts (from eBay) to avoid future corrosion. I would suggest spring washers and high-temperature thread lock - I didn't, and some of my nuts have worked loose over the last few years, it's one of those jobs I'm trying to ignore 'cos I'm not keen to pull the engine out. Again. Maybe at next years NEC Resto Show (major dismantling to fix a minor problem seems to becoming my theme for this show!).

N.B. As an alternative to what Bash suggested, I think what I did was detach the exhaust-side engine mount, then jack up a bit under the sump, to get the necessary clearance to get the head past the inner wing.