Burton vs Bean water pump, cover, etc replacement

[JPMohr]

My '70 Elan S4SE, Vin 45803, owned since 1980, has developed a wobbly pump bearing - my first - but remarkably enough no leak. Used mainly summers for short drives these last few years - was a regular commuting car for several decades - I'd be glad to replace the pump with the minimum of trouble.
Reading the excellent entries, and looks like the head comes off and the pan gets dropped, unless I'm lucky - as Don Tingle had been for some I saw him replace years ago.
Hoping to do this one time only, given my age 73, the major questions are whether:
1. I could get this job done in my small garage without pulling the engine, and
2. the Burton or Bean installation avoids disappointments with assembly compared with replacing the original via a local machine shop, and
3. the choice of Burton or Bean: which offers the least last-minute obstacles to finishing the job?

My rattly bearing came to light after I replaced my Luminition with the (excellent) Ignitor ingition from JAE last weekend. The Tach is now stable after all the years with the Luminition. One leaf of the Luminition chopper blades broke off as I tried gently to pull it off the distributor shaft hoping to do an in-engine installation. It slipped down below the plate so I had to pull the distributor anyway.

My Lotus experience dates back to the late 1960s and includes '62 Coventry Climax Elite, '62 S2 Super 7, '67 S1 Europa (my favorite Lotus, 45DCOE Weber Hermes kit a terrific add-on), Elan +2, later model Elite, and my current Elan. Some may recognize typical Lotus experiences, only a small sample of the many cited here, like endless difficulties starting the '62 Elite in wet weather; stiff clutch pedal catching dirty in the pedal box tubing at tearing the box free of the floor in heavy snow in the Europa in Boston, aluminum bearing hub on the diff shearing off going around a curve in the Elan, Otter switch popping out of the radiator at highway speeds in the +2, clutch cable breaking during heavy traffic on the modern Elite, and Super 7 sunk above the instruments in a flood in Mobile. Owning a Lotus remains a daily adventure. I admit that full servicing of the car before any start might have avoided all these problems, but a French friend pointed out that I am happily married so need a car, not a mistress, to break my heart and leave me in the lurch with no warning.

[gerrym]

JP, the Burton castings are very well finishd and the whole kit goes together beautifully. There are threaded holes so that the cassette can be removed many years later.

Never seen the Bean equipment so can't comment.

Regards
Gerry

[JPMohr]

Gerry
Thanks for the tip. Ordered the Burton and await it arrival and the task ahead.
When a rear Koni leak forced a replacement, two pipe wrenches an a special marine rust breaker were needed to get it out of the housing. Then the Spax I chose for replacement needed several more turns in the housing to settle in properly. The never-previously-used top threads had to be chased carefully 1/4 turn by 1/4 turn until all were clean. Happy now and hoping the pump will prove no greater challenge - especially with no frozen bolts.
I have kept my generator fan belt as limp as possible all these years, fitting a Smiths voltage gauge on the dash and never heard any squeal, so maybe this was what gave me such long pump life (since 1980). Not planning to change to an alternator. If you find fault with this plan, please advise.
Since I'm planning to do the job engine-in-place, my plan in removing the head was to lift it enough to insert he new gasket a the end of the job, turning or rotating the head as little as possible. This effort from reluctance to disturb the heater control valve and the thermal tubing for fear they have well seized themselves into the aluminum head and cold break off if I tried their removal. Any experience with such difficulties should I decide move the head clear of the engine bay and thus have to attempt their removal? Thanks for any reply.
JP

[69S4]

I have kept my generator fan belt as limp as possible all these years, fitting a Smiths voltage gauge on the dash and never heard any squeal, so maybe this was what gave me such long pump life (since 1980). Not planning to change to an alternator. If you find fault with this plan, please advise.

A voltage gauge was one of the first additions I made many years ago and has saved my bacon on a number of occasions by giving early warning of impending electrical doom. It was water pump life that I wanted to comment on though. My current one was fitted somewhere in the mid 90's, so around 15 yrs so far. It's showing signs that it may not be long for this world but it's been doing that for the last two years and is still functional.

In that 15 yrs I've got through three other cars, never mind water pumps - including one that we bought new in 99 and which qualified for the scrappage scheme last year. That's a complete car from production line to metal cube in less time than the Elan pump has lasted so far, yet I think of it as a short lived component. OK it hasn't done the mileage that the other cars did but they didn't have to cope with sitting around for long periods rusting in peace.

[vintrace]

Here you go JP... This is the full Burton Water pump/front cover assy... very nice piece of kit... good luck doing it in the car....

[JPMohr]

Thanks to Stuart for proof his Lotus water pump can last, as did mine, and to Vintrace for the jpeg. I decided for the Burton anyway, having read some blogs for problems with ear despite fitting a good Lotus pump... hoping it is the last time I'll be down below the head in my career with this, may last Lotus.
On another note, anyone with experience digging out the forward wishbone-to-chassis bolt? When I did my rear Koni replacement, I discovered the bolt head facing inboard/forward as shown on page DA of the Elan Service Parts List. I suspect it was installed during chassis stage of manufacture, then the body installed. After removing the nut and trying to push the bolt forward, I was unable to get the wishbone to clear the bolt. I was also unwilling to use a Sawzall for worries I might cut the frame edge and thought a Gigli saw might not cut all the way thru the bolt. Bolt removed, I could have removed the wishbone, pressed in the new bushings and reinstalled, bolt head facing rear. So, although flush with bushings, I still have the same wishbone(s) in place. It's no good telling me I should have done a chassis change and the bolt would be readily accessible...I had the body off decades back after discovering a tiny oyster shell had found its way into one front turret and salt-rusted it. We plated the sides, oiled it all well, and all has been well since. When I inspected a Spyder chassis as an option, I was uneasy about the body-to-chassis holes relationships and passed on the job.
Don Tingle, my source for all my years with Lotus, is now retired and an author of at least one unsettling novel, no less, titled Imperishable Bliss.
Thanks for the collegiality from sites near and far.
JP Shelter Island NY

[billwill]

Gerry
Thanks for the tip. Ordered the Burton and await it arrival and the task ahead.
...

Since I'm planning to do the job engine-in-place, my plan in removing the head was to lift it enough to insert he new gasket a the end of the job, turning or rotating the head as little as possible. This effort from reluctance to disturb the heater control valve and the thermal tubing for fear they have well seized themselves into the aluminum head and cold break off if I tried their removal. Any experience with such difficulties should I decide move the head clear of the engine bay and thus have to attempt their removal? Thanks for any reply.
JP

You do realise don't you that the Burton water pump modification requires their new back plate and front plate of the timing case so you are going to need to get the timing chain out of the way and may need to remove the cam sprockets to get the backplate in.

I think you will find this a VERY difficult operation if you don't lift the head off.


You don't actually need to remove the heater valve from the head, just take the rubber pipes off and disconnect the control wire. In fact if it is in the rear hole (as per original) I suspect it is very difficult or impossible to get it out in situ because it fouls on the bodywork while rotating it.

The temperature guage can be more tricky. the bulb on mine has firmly corroded itself into its housing, so I have to take the whole bulb housing out. this involves arranging all the spare coil of the tubing gently in a long U shape over the wheel arch an then unscrewing the bulb holder from the head in small movements because you are twisting the copper tube. Pray it doesn't crack as I do.

On refitting the holder later, (assuming that you were still unable to get the bulb out of the holder) pretwist it in the opposite direction before you screw the holder into the head so that when the holder is screwed home there is no twist left in the tube, Then you can carefully coil up the spare length. Use several layers of plumbers PTFE tape on the thread to secure the gauge bulb holder in, because that will not leak or melt and will not stick the next time you want to get it out.

Use PTFE tape for the heater valve too if you take it out, for the same reasons.

[paddy]

On another note, anyone with experience digging out the forward wishbone-to-chassis bolt?

I had this problem and took a reciprocating saw to it to cut the head off. It's possible without damaging the chassis if you're careful. I seem to remember removing the other wishbone bolt, and pushing the offending one out far enough that it would clear one side of the bracket, and then you can move the wishbone around a bit to optimise the orientation of the bolt and give a bit more clearance.

Paddy

[Jeff@Jae]

The last time I encountered the troublesome rear A frame bolt, redoing a friends S4 rear suspension/diff, I simply used a hole saw in the body just ahead of that bolt. I was able to remove the bolt, reinstall the rebushed A arm with the bolt right way round, and glassed in the hole in a jiffy. I suspect those bolts were installed by the factory that way before the body was dropped on as I've seen this a few times. It's a tribute to the OEM bushings that I've encountered this on fairly high mileage cars with original bushings. I still wonder what all the Poly bushing fuss is all about !

[Jeff@Jae]

The Burton/LCS front cover water pump conversion is excellent and so far the very best way to do that conversion. I've never had mush trouble with the OEM style water pumps but I do my own work on the Elan. If I was an owner that pays others I wouldn't hesitate to do the water pump conversion as it will simply save a ton of money if a water pump needs attention. That goes for anyone racing a Twin Cam as well. The agony of doing a water pump in a less than ideal paddock on a busy weekend of track time will turn an otherwise great weekend to a memory best forgotten !

[JPMohr]

Thanks to all for helpful suggestions.
Yes, am aware of the need for the full Burton kit and have it on order.
Have had prior experience with the temperature tubing but not its removal from the head since the 1980s. Am aware both items are likely to be frozen in place so am pleased to learn others share the same experience and will spare me mine.
The idea of the hole saw for the front wishbone bolt may get applied when I finish the pump job and tackle the driver's side rear Koni removal...electable task postponed for the present.
Mention of voltage instrument prompts the painful recall that, in hot weather, the Elan often failed to start. I traced it feeble output of the British Lucas coil, but after 3 of them also failed, British Wiring in Illinois suggested all would be cured by a full rewiring. The kit took quite some time to install, especially since the factory did not follow their own color-coded wiring diagram in some places.
I used the opportunity to replace the dashboard and some of the switchgear. Unaware others may have had the same problem, after having removed most of the switches, I discovered on re-installation that the Lotus wiring diagram gives no indication which poles on the switches take which Lucar plugs. Each had to be fault-traced and tested. Almost enough to prompt a trip to the crusher but finally sorted.
The end result? No improvement in hot-weather starting. Then I installed a Japanese-built Lucas-type coil with 7+ Ohm resistors, and the car fired up immediately. Any brave enough to follow in my path on a full rewiring is sternly admonished to be prepared by enlarging the diagram and labeling each terminal for each switch.
As Car & Driver said in their 1967 review of the Lotus Europa series 1, "Old Colin Chapman is a laugh a minute".
JPMohr

[alan71]

This is how I got the bolt out, I didn't want to risk using a saw or grinder. I started with a small drill and worked up until the head came off. Put a metal plate behind so you don't drill into the chassis.

Alan.

[summerinmaine]

Why not just pull the body off?

It's a two hour, or so, job and gives the opportunity to fiddle with a lot of other bits at your ease and leisure.

[billwill]

Its odd, but I don't recall any difficulty with the front wishbone bolts and I took them out & put them in again several times when I was fixing chassis-turret rot a year or so ago.

I'll find the link with the photos & put it here:

Ah, here it is.
http://www.datahighways.co.uk/photos/og ... repair.htm

Those are STUDS on mine, not bolts, so I'm not sure we are talking about the same pivoting point.

[JPMohr]

Bill:
Was referring to the front bolt system for the rear suspension wishbone.
The front bolt for the front wishbone is no problem.
Summerinmaine
Takes several people to lift the shell off and I am working in a small garage alone. Good suggestion tho.
JP