Help...!

Just come back from drive out in the sun, left the car idling for a few minutes in the garage, and there was a whoosh and loads of steam from the front, followed by the coolant on the floor...! - the nearside radiator end tank has split!!!. This is only 2 years old as NWSC replaced it under warranty just after I brought it.

So a new rad! this time an aluminium tank one.

BUT...? Has anyone any experience of changing the rad. I had a look previously and you can get to the top and bottom hose couplings and the top mounting fixings but the fixings at the front appear to be under the 'radiator housing' which itself is under the clam - added complication is that it has Air-con and the pipes to this seem to be routed through the rad housing. I'm not sure if the rad can be swapped without taking the clam off even.

Any helpful comments gratefully recieved. Thanks

[BTW, its a Elise S2 K series]

Hi Ian, i think it is a clam off job.

This link shows how hidden the radiator is;

http://wiki.seloc.org/a/Remove_S2_front_clamshell

Harvey

Ian wrote:Just come back from drive out in the sun, left the car idling for a few minutes in the garage, and there was a whoosh and loads of steam from the front, followed by the coolant on the floor...! - the nearside radiator end tank has split!!!. This is only 2 years old as NWSC replaced it under warranty just after I brought it.

So a new rad! this time an aluminium tank one.

BUT...? Has anyone any experience of changing the rad. I had a look previously and you can get to the top and bottom hose couplings and the top mounting fixings but the fixings at the front appear to be under the 'radiator housing' which itself is under the clam - added complication is that it has Air-con and the pipes to this seem to be routed through the rad housing. I'm not sure if the rad can be swapped without taking the clam off even.

Any helpful comments gratefully recieved. Thanks

[BTW, its a Elise S2 K series]

The Best person is Martin Edwards: martin@lotuspower.co.uk

He as a lot of experience working on S1 Exiges and S2.

I have taken my S2 front clam of its a two man job .

Eddie .

Ian,
I visited Radtec Radiators at AutoSport recently. I know about them because I've had dealings with them in the past with aluminium radiators for race cars. They now do radiators for the Elise & Exige and were showing them on their stand. It would be worth a call top see what they can do for your replacement:
Radtec Radiators, Hawkes Green, Cannock, Staffs.WS11 7LH. Tel 01543 502525 www.radtec.co.uk contact Darren Jeynes - MD.
(might be worth saying you will do an article for Chicane if you buy from them...a bit of advertising for some discount?)
Cheers,
Tim.

This is the info i used when taking the front of .

http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elise/experience/maintenance/frontclam/clamremoval.html

Eddie King.

Bit of an update....

First though, thanks for all the replies, those SELOC and particularly Mike Sands (...how does he keep that car so clean! it looks like new!!) websites are really useful, I trawled those when I was looking to buy.

So, got home a little early at 5.00 and thought may as well make a start and 3 hours later, clam's off rad's out and ready for the new (all Ali) one to go in, once I bought it!

Here's a photo of the problem area.



Doesn't look good, those walls are B***** thin!

Hi Ian,
The split is all along the fold where the metal has stretched during forming. Either the Ali is too thin or more likely the Ali is too hard and has stressed( Work Hardened) during that operation. Sometimes the material requires stress relieving before final operations??. I believe it to be a manufacturing fault just waiting to blow. Clearly due to the age of the car you will get no joy from Lotus. However, with such a great photo try the manufacturer themselves.
Good Luck
Chris Mayhew

Hi Chris, thanks for the info. except the end tanks shown are plastic, which is why I'm opting for a Ali replacement. Another reason, it's not yet two years old, replaced when I bought it under warranty. I am going to contact the manufacturer - not expecting much though.

I can't offer any constructive help but the Photo of that split Tank makes me wonder what Forces were at work to cause something as drastic as that to happen.
I would suggest that the cooling system system needs a careful looking at.
The maximum rating for a Filler cap that I know of is 2 Bar & I would have thought that more pressure would be needed to burst a Tank with the accepted industrial safety margin of at least 100%.
I know that the Rover K series engines had a very bad reputation for blowing Head Gaskets & I suppose if one did let go around the Combustion Chamber there would be a massive volume of Gasses that would blast into the Cooling System.
It is also worrying to read that a new Radiator had been fitted. There remains the Question, why?

(My worries are backed up by a few years professional experience in developing Car Engine Cooling Systems)

Cheers
John

Thanks John, my thoughts as well, so I'm going to do a compression check before going too far. I think that should indicate if that's a problem, would you agree? I've had a good look and there's no perceivable evidence of water in the oil or vice versa if that means anything.

Ian wrote:Thanks John, my thoughts as well, so I'm going to do a compression check before going too far. I think that should indicate if that's a problem, would you agree? I've had a good look and there's no perceivable evidence of water in the oil or vice versa if that means anything.

Have a look at these.
http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/84/223/radiator-standard/

Eddie.

Bit of an update....

Firstly though, thanks again to all for the advice. I checked the compression and all cylinders were equal 15bar, so that and no water/oil mixtures anywhere I concluded the head gasket was still intact.

Now all fixed and back together, better than before!


In the end I shopped around and got a complete new Ali one from Liecester Radiators, who are part of PMA group, who are OEM suppliers to Lotus. Note! tip; the best price phoning direct was ₤30 more than buying it on eBay from them! Also, close enough to collect the same day.

While the clam was off I took the chance to replace all the ferrous fixings with stainless and strip and re-paint the rusty bits! Also, removed all the old foam rubber suround from inside the rad housing and fitted new, so I know it should now seal all the air-flow through, rather than round, the radiator. Refitting the clam was a doddle -30mins. plus a bit longer as I thought I would shim/align the panels better than they were, and even more new SS fixings!

After the coolant refill I ran the engine at 2k up to the fans cutting in and out three times, then let it cool, then repeated this twice more to check there was no over-pressure or coolant loss, which there wasn't. Today took it out on a run and now the temp stays at a near constant 87C while moving, whereas before it used to cycle between 85 and 95, maybe indicating the old rad had a restriction which caused the build-up of pressure that blew the plastic end tank...? Also, less rattles now...!!!

See you Thursday!

Ian

Is this the web site on ebay .
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/leicester_radiators/m.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A2471&_ipg=&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_pgn=1

Good news its all ok

Eddie

Yes it is. For the Elise S2, with or without A/C, (which is only more holes) the actual rad part number is 71752.

Ian wrote:Bit of an update....

Firstly though, thanks again to all for the advice. I checked the compression and all cylinders were equal 15bar, so that and no water/oil mixtures anywhere I concluded the head gasket was still intact.

Now all fixed and back together, better than before!


In the end I shopped around and got a complete new Ali one from Liecester Radiators, who are part of PMA group, who are OEM suppliers to Lotus. Note! tip; the best price phoning direct was ₤30 more than buying it on eBay from them! Also, close enough to collect the same day.

While the clam was off I took the chance to replace all the ferrous fixings with stainless and strip and re-paint the rusty bits! Also, removed all the old foam rubber suround from inside the rad housing and fitted new, so I know it should now seal all the air-flow through, rather than round, the radiator. Refitting the clam was a doddle -30mins. plus a bit longer as I thought I would shim/align the panels better than they were, and even more new SS fixings!

After the coolant refill I ran the engine at 2k up to the fans cutting in and out three times, then let it cool, then repeated this twice more to check there was no over-pressure or coolant loss, which there wasn't. Today took it out on a run and now the temp stays at a near constant 87C while moving, whereas before it used to cycle between 85 and 95, maybe indicating the old rad had a restriction which caused the build-up of pressure that blew the plastic end tank...? Also, less rattles now...!!!

See you Thursday!

Ian

Hi Ian,

from your description it sounds like there has been some serious previous overheating, maybe you should check out the Car's History.
Massive overheating can result in the Coolant solidifying into a Jelly type residue in the Radiator.
Very hot Glycol (Anti-Freeze) will also attack PA-6 (Nylon) which is what the majority of Radiator Tanks are made of, this contributes to the formation of the "Jelly" & also weakens the Tanks by removing the PA-6 component & leaving the weaker Glassfibre filler material.
If you still have the old Radiator it may be worth while taking off one of the end caps & checking the flow of Water through it. The lower rows of Pipes are always the ones to be affected.

Please to hear you now have a Fix, but the PO may have a dark secret.
Cheers
John