1970 s2 0453R Reassembly

[BDA]

You’re right to put your foot down. I’m quite sure you’ll want to twist it beyond 3000 rpm on occasion!

[dakazman]

  This is a Engine goal post for all of us ! supplied by yart racing on Instagram.
Dakazman

[dakazman]

  There must be something in the air, I too am starting the crossflow built. This time I installed the crankshaft and torqued all the caps fully. Crankshaft turns with one hand easily. I also placed the head on a will check all the head bolt strength. I know one needs to have a helicoil installed.
   I found out my wedge block needs to be line bored. I confirmed it again by installing the original crankshaft and torqued caps . I could not turn with the center cap installed. I also found out it would cost 450$ to bore 😭, so that went to the back burner fast.
Dakazman

[dakazman]

  Just a little update on the status of my motors.

     The second wedge motor needs to be line bored . At 450$ that’s on the back burner.
 
   The crossflow needs one head bolt tapped out and a insert installed . I was lucky enough to remove an insert from another hole and managed to obtain 65 ft lb on threads in that and all but one other hole. I have An m10 and m12 tap on order but with a delivery date of Dec 17 I’m not happy.

  That leaves me with my original wedge that seemed to tight . I decided to tear it back down today , the pistons and liners are definitely the cause. I guess this is why they sell as sets . The pistons move freely without rings when I was building it up and I had trouble installing as you may recall. Well all that aside a new , old stock set of pistons and liners will be ready next week for install. I will also be adding the mild cam to it.

  Lol I tried to make an appointment with my local lotus dealer so I can have that gearbox backlash check and an estimated cost, but all I got back so far is crickets. I’ll follow it up next week with a phone
 call .
    Dakazman

[jbcollier]

What ring gaps are you running?

[BDA]

Let us know if the dealer will work on your tranny. I suspect they will beg off saying they don’t have any experience with it.

Good luck!

[dakazman]

   JB , I’ll have to check the installation paperwork that came with the ring set. I don’t want to throw a figure out but the gaps were within the range. I purchased them from RD ,  devees I believe.
  One item that was in the manual, that I reread ,after installation was complete, is a statement, hone cylinder walls after piston is installed. I did not re-hone liner walls , it was just done prior.
  After sitting several months now the torque to turn the headless block was extremely difficult even with oil. I’ll have time to sort this out later.
  The new set of pistons and liners with rings move much Aeasier.  Machinist is installing the rods onto the pistons this time.
Dakazman
 

[jbcollier]

You don't hone the cylinders after the pistons are installed.  To what effect?  How could you possibly clean the resulting mess?

[dakazman]

  Thanks JB , I thought it was real. It must have been a nightmare from dealing with these experiences I’m going through.
    I did sit down today and read two different on line Renault manuals, two workshop manual one Renault 15/17 , and our lotus manual and a Renault service manual . I Could not find that reference ! 🤔
 I have another 2 manuals , both PDFs, on line one German , that I wish I could read because it points out differences in all models 807/821/841/843 ... all on the same page or in close succession. It also has more details than any other Renault manual I’ve seen.

    BDA, still crickets! 

Dakazman

[BDA]

I think you’re going to have to find a manual tranny shop that has Renault experience (if possible) or European transaxles if not. Given the volatility in Lotus dealers, I would be surprised if your dealer has been with Lotus more than 20 years.

As for honing your cylinders, I can only guess that they mean to hone the cylinders after you’ve gotten the correct bore for your pistons. As JB says you would never be able to clean that up without talking it all apart and what would be the point then?

[dakazman]

  Oh I understand that completely about the honing.  I don’t know if anyone else dreams of what he wants to accomplish the next day but I do.  😂 maybe that’s why I need naps.

  As for transmission shops , no luck talking with them . I have 1 other shop that deals in gearboxes , but. They are on the other coast of Florida,   Approximately a two hour drive . I have also been reading a lot about backlash and preload. It wouldn’t hurt anything if I set it up and made an effort to go thru the process. It does seem pretty straight forward.  As an adjunct I watched a few you tube videos to further pick up any tips. One was to apply a lubricant to check the path, before and after messing with adjustments.
Dakazman

[BDA]

Does your tranny have adjustable pinion depth? If not, setting them up isn't that hard. I did mine and wrote about it here: http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1960.0. You need a dial indicator and a spring scale and whatever you use to adjust your ring nuts. Some machinists blue, gear marking compound or even a fat marker is good to analyze the contact pattern. There are lots of youtube videos that help you analyze the pattern. If your tranny, like my NG3, does not have an adjustable pinion depth, the only thing there is to worry about is the backlash and the pre-load of your bearings.

[dakazman]

  Thanks BDA,
 I had some eBay bucks to spend so I ordered some Prussian blue and a spring scale. I have a dial indicator.  I can’t wait to get started.
  I enjoyed reading your thread , a lot of good info !👍👍
Dakazman

[dakazman]

  JB , if you’re still there,  with the pistons out I measured the top ring gap it is between.014-.016 at different travel points on two liners. Per deves, it’s about mid range for a cylinder bore of 60.00 - 89.99
 The ring set is std.    Pistons move freely in liners .
 
   My crankshaft now instead and torqued rotates by one finger😃 gauge readings measured just
below .003 on all mains.
Dakazman

[jbcollier]

What type of oil control ring do you have?  One piece?  Or, three piece?