First Lotus (s1 111s), Need Some Advice

[Mr_Belowski]

Hi folks,

 

I've just joined your esteemed ranks as a proud and broadly grinning Elise owner. I bought a 1999 111S and I'm chuffed to bits with it. It sounds great, looks great, is brilliant fun to drive, and me lady friend loves it

 

 

It's not perfect of course and has its share of minor niggles, but I'd like to ask some specific advice about a couple of things.

 

 

It's got the full Lotus service history, but as it's only done 36000 miles it's still on its first cam belt. It's also the original head gasket. Would it be prudent to take it to, say, Horizon and get these two changed as soon as I can? Do I need to specify an uprated head gasket? And "long bolts" and alloy dowels too? I'm not well versed in mechanical matters so the dowels / long bolts are a little hazey for me

 

It also has a very infrequent slighty sticky throttle. Only noticed it this morning. Nothing major and it only happened within the first 10 minutes or so of driving from cold it and is easily unstuck by a little blip on the gas. Is that likely to be a lubrication matter, or something more serious?

 

Finally, the seal at the top corner of the windscreen on the passenger side appears to have perished and is letting water in. Only a few drips but it mounts up (the car is otherwise water proof, so far...). Is there a temporary bodge job I can do on this? Would silicon sealant be OK to use here to reduce the leaks until I get the seal sorted properly? Are there any other improvised fixes that folks have tried?

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Jim

[ferk]

Hi folks,

 

I've just joined your esteemed ranks as a proud and broadly grinning Elise owner. I bought a 1999 111S and I'm chuffed to bits with it. It sounds great, looks great, is brilliant fun to drive, and me lady friend loves it

 

 

It's not perfect of course and has its share of minor niggles, but I'd like to ask some specific advice about a couple of things.

 

 

It's got the full Lotus service history, but as it's only done 36000 miles it's still on its first cam belt. It's also the original head gasket. Would it be prudent to take it to, say, Horizon and get these two changed as soon as I can? Do I need to specify an uprated head gasket? And "long bolts" and alloy dowels too? I'm not well versed in mechanical matters so the dowels / long bolts are a little hazey for me 

 

It also has a very infrequent slighty sticky throttle. Only noticed it this morning. Nothing major and it only happened within the first 10 minutes or so of driving from cold it and is easily unstuck by a little blip on the gas. Is that likely to be a lubrication matter, or something more serious?

 

Finally, the seal at the top corner of the windscreen on the passenger side appears to have perished and is letting water in. Only a few drips but it mounts up (the car is otherwise water proof, so far...). Is there a temporary bodge job I can do on this? Would silicon sealant be OK to use here to reduce the leaks until I get the seal sorted properly? Are there any other improvised fixes that folks have tried?

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Jim

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i bought my elise in March, only 15000 on the clock, but decided as it was 5 years old (2000 model) it would be a good idea to have cam belt done, as the cost of a new lump wasn't worth not doing it, on doing the cam belt, the found two of the tensioners had failed so although the car was and is still running great, im sure i saved myself from disaster

[chorton_1]

Definitely get someone to change the cam belts, better safe than sorry!

 

Don't worry about the head gasket - I think disturbing it is just as bad as leaving it (so no need to worry about dowels and bolts either!). The best thing is to keep an eye on it and change it when signs of issue surface. Most do not fail to the point of leaving you stranded, although it is feasible and unfortunately part of K-series life. Fitting a 'remote stat' from www.eliseparts.com will reduce the likelihood of it happening, as will giving it chance to warm up before thrashing it!

 

It is possible that either the throttle cable/linkage is sticking. Use 'white grease or similar to lubricate the linkage and a light oil on the cable. I wouldn't use WD40. Also, I'm not sure if the 111s has a plastic throttle housing (follow the cable to the end and you come to the throttle), but these are also known to stick. This can be helped by lubricating or relaxing the hose clamp a little (if a hose clamp hase been fitted - only likely if the air filter system has changed). The throttle housing can be replaced with a metal version which does not suffer this problem. Also, the idle is automatically controlled by a little motor, therefore can you feel the mechanism stick or is it just the ECU doing its thing?

 

Most cars leak from the top corner. If the seal is perished then investigate a replacement, but I wouldn't expect it to necessarilly completely cure it.

[Mr_Belowski]

Great, thanks for the info. I figured the cam belt was a no brainer, so thanks for confirming that guys.

 

I just can't believe how fun these things are. I've driven one or two fancy cars over the years but this is easily the most satisfying and involving. Can't believe I was even considering a Cobra replica

 

 

I'll leave the head gasket and keep an eye on the coolant level and check the filler cap for mayo once in a while. I used to work in a bike shop, so I've had plenty of experience of trying to fix something properly, only to have it fall to bits in front of me, so head gasket stays where it is for now

 

As for the sticky throttle, it's a weird one cos it sticks less after the car has warmed up - the whole car, not just the engine. It sticks after the choke's gone off, but then as the heat gets into the chassis it sticks less and less until, after a run on the motorway for example, it won't stick at all. I

 

The housing is definitely plastic with a big jubilee hose clamp - it didn't appear to be distorting the body. I backed it off a touch anyway, and it's still secure so maybe it was a touch tight.

 

There's definitely no stickiness at the pedal - it returns to the same position whether the throttle's sticking or not, but I've not yet had a chance to look at the linkage on the engine side when it's stuck. Could still be the cable / mechanism at the pedal side tho, with the springs pulling the pedal back to the right position. I'll oil the cable, grease the linkage and see what happens. If it's still sticking I'll see what the experts make of it when I get the cam belt done.

 

This fannying about with oil and grease is all part of the fun. Thanks for the advice

[Sol]

Remember AA do a Parts and Labour Cover for £50(covering the first £500) if youre a member, which includes(I believe) the hg. Its a really good peace of mind insurance if you do the maths with the likeliness of hgf being reportedly high..

RAC dont do the equivalent any more from what Ive heard.

 

Oh and if you join Seloc, you get a discount on AA membership..

[Martin R]

Welcome to MLOC, S1 111s good choice. Enjoy

[Mr_Belowski]

Never thought of the AA parts and labour cover - I'll go buy some

 

 

But I have another related question. I'm off to the Lakes on holiday for a week starting Saturday and there's no way I'll get the chance to have the cam belt done before then. I'd love to take the Lotus (which is running very nicely and is now waterproof) but with the old cam belt, do you guys think it's too big a risk? I'm not likely to be hooliganising it with missus next to me.

 

The alternative is to go in her mouldy old Clio

[Martin R]

Ring Mike at Horizon Motorsport, we all use him and he,s a gentleman. 01384 566660 or email him

[Scott_Mac]

I know the cambelt is a concern, but take the AA cover and get on with it... it is probably a lot of hype about it and its very unlikely to break* so take the Elise... it's too much fun around the lakes to not!

 

 

 

 

*obviously if it does then ignore my advice

[Mr_Belowski]

it is probably a lot of hype about it and its very unlikely to break* 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Famous last words

 

Unfortunately the AA parts & labour cover doesn't start until 2 weeks after you take out the policy so that won't do much good for the holiday. Ah well. I'll give Horizon a call to book it in and ask their advice, but I'm certainly leaning towards taking it.

 

[chorton_1]

I agree with Scott. The chance of one of them breaking on your trip is minimal, but you have to make the decision and take responsibility for it.

 

If it were me I'd happilly risk it!

[Ladders]

Hi!

 

The throttle body is indeed plastic on the 111s. Never had a problem with mine sticking but have heard a lot of people have. I have fitted a 160 TB to mine for a bit more power anyway.

 

Perhaps the throttle stops sticking after a while as the body will expand with heat from the engine?

[Mr_Belowski]

Well, one week and 350 miles later and I think it's safe to say that I rather like my shiny new car. Shame my next door neighbour isn't so keen on it, judging by the 6 inch scratch he kindy gave it on Friday night. Ah well, I promised I wouldn't get precious so I won't. Until I catch him doing it

 

So now it needs the C service, I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions about decent places to take it Oop Norf (I'm in Sheffield). I'd prefer not to have to hike 100 miles to Halesowen (but would if I had to...).

 

I'm not looking for a Lotus stamp, just somewhere with the skills, experience and enthusiasm, a bit like the legendary Horizon.

 

 

 

Oh, and I've found a new pet hate. People that drive in the middle of the road on country lanes. You're approaching a right-hand bend. It's blind but the road is fairly wide. What do you do? Stay over to the left to increase your view ahead and avoid tears when meeting a car coming the other way?? No. Of course not. You straddle the double white lines in the middle of the road because you're too good a driver to do anything as dull as driving on your side of the road. And your amazing skills are so amazing that if you do meet a bus or, say, Jim's shiney Lotus coming the other way you can make your car magically jump out of the way. And if you do happen to run the other car off the road, well, as long as your Mondeo is undamaged all is well with the world and you're officially the greatest driver who ever lived. GRRRRRRRRR.

[Scott_Mac]

I know of 3 other people who do actually travel from Sheffield to Halesowen to get the car serviced by Horizon.

 

FWIW they quote around £450 inv VAT for a C Service... whereas most dealers will be nearer £750. So it could be worth the drive!

 

It may be worth posting on NORLOG to see if they know of any decent specialists up that-a-way...

[Mr_Belowski]

I booked it into Chris Foulds, an independant Lotus specialist near Huddersfield. Still a bit of a trek, but there are plenty of gushing reports about his work on the NYLOC forum, so fingers crossed. And it'll be a lot more fun driving there than slugging it out with the Brummy traffic.

 

Is it normal for the C-Service to take more than a day? He says the car will need to stay over night

 

Quote was £468 + £24 for the VVC belt and £24 for tensioner(s). Which seemed reasonable to me and he certainly seemed to know what he was talking about. Strange that the VVC belt & tensioners aren't part of the standard C service schedule

 

Shame I've got to put up with the newly aquired 2000 rpm gravelly growl till August 11th, but everyone I've spoke to says it's the exhaust or the undertray and not the dredded cam belt