(Loopy - the spineless boy) says:
>Luckily, pulling an engine in a Europa is very easy!
While working on the race car this past couple of weeks, I've noticed
how easy it is to do a number of tasks that are more difficult in most
other cars. I'd guess that the race-car orientation of Lotus was
responsible to a large extent for this ease of access.
For instance, while we're on the topic of water pumps, you really
need to loosen -- if not completely remove -- the radiator from a B
before you can get to the water pump. Loosening the radiator takes
about half an hour to 45 minutes, because you've got stays, bolts,
hoses, and clamps to loosen or remove, most of which are probably
frozen on since the last time the job was done ten years ago, and
of course there's the coolant to drain, which gets the garage floor
sticky and runs the risk of poisoning your cats.
In the race car, it takes ten minutes to remove the radiator, nine
and a half of which are waiting for the coolant to drain out of the
easy-access draincock on the bottom of the radiator. Once you have
that open, there's a tidy little stream of Prestone from it to the
bucket, no splashing or spilling. While it drains, you can loosen
the upper hose; when the level is below the water pump you can
remove the other hose from the water pump. Then when it's done you
lift the radiator out of its bracket and set it aside temporarily.
This also makes short work of adjusting the valves, because you can
get a 1 5/16" socket on the nose of the crank and turn the engine to
adjust the rockers. Easy as can be. If I had a lot of money and a
lot of time, I'd try to engineer a similar mounting mechanism for
the transmission. That would really be a timesaver...
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