5 Speed Transaxle

[Footer]

Thanks BDA.   

[Lotuswins]

Don't forget to put the cover over the indent mech, after greasing it up.   I see the rear case has a fairly major weld repair.  If it starts weeping oil back there, you may have to remove it and seal the inside of the case as weld repairs can be porous.
In the video I see that the 5th gear selection doesn't push in the indent ball?? Does 5th still have spring resistance, so you don't select 5th by accident? It appears as though with the given rotation its an either/or on the indent spring force, either reverse (which it is doing now) or 5th (which it isn't now).  Further adjustment may be needed to get spring force in both directions. I can't remember how mine was since I replaced the rear case with a 395 case.  Also, there is an additional spring/plunger that can go on the side of the case for 5th gear spring loading.  It is shown in the Renault manual. 
Good luck,

Jerry Rude
4005R

[Bainford]

Excellent! Glad to hear all has worked out well. Beautiful Europa, but being identical to mine, perhaps I'm biased. 

[Footer]

Well Bainford,  you me and Rob The Hack Mechanic, we just have excellent taste.

[Footer]

 
On Monday I finally got to take my Europa out on the street for my first drive!  Interesting to say the least and I enjoyed every foot of the 8 + miles I had it out for. The maneuverability from side to side is super quick. I've never driven a high end kart but can only imagine that this is very similar to it.  I expected the acceleration to be "peppy" but it clearly surprised me with acceleration.  I had a 1975 914 Porsche and the Lotus would easily have out accelerated it. Except for the high brake pedal effort,  this example of 1970's technology is impressive.  Steering is so quick as to be on the Twitchy side, so it demands your attention  and I'm okay with that.  Alignment seems to be good as it tracks pretty straight.  Hard braking causes it to pull slightly to the right which I think I can adjust out.  All in all, I'm very pleased and now looking for a lonely road with lots of directional changes to drive.  One is in mind and not to far away.

I did have a potential issue pop up.  I had replaced the thermostat with a new one, 74 C/165 F. Although the original radiator looked good, I had it rebuilt and changed the fan temp sensor and the fan did cycle on and off.  Still using the original temperature gauge and sending unit and it appears to be working properly.  I'm using waterless coolant.  During the drive, the temp gauge steadily climbed almost to 130 C.  The rubber hoses were quite hot to my hands and I got some type of leak in the area of the motor front. Looks like high pressure sent coolant past one of the clamps and it sprayed over everything behind it.  During the rebuild I had replaced all of the hoses and clamps. Upon checking, there was some coolant loss.  I have been without a helper so I couldn't look under the running car while it was on the lift.

First thing to do is verify the high temperatures with an independent thermometer that is accurate.  Then if the heat continues, I intend to remove the thermostat and see what I get.  Long term if this issue persists I would replace the radiator with an aluminum one and a higher capacity fan like the Hack Mechanic and some others did.  Originally I was trying to preserve as much originality as possible so the original radiator stayed thinking the refurbishment would render it functional.  Perhaps not a good decision.

In any event, I'm very pleased with my three year effort to get this back on the road.  Should anyone have suggestions for my temperature issue I would certainly appreciate your thoughts.

[Pfreen]

I use an infrared temperature gun for spot checks.  They are inexpensive and you can easily rack down how the cooling system is functioning.

[BDA]

First, Congratulations on your first drive!!! That's great news and I'm really glad it was so positive!

Then, with Pfreen.

I would also suggest that the only time you might have overheating problems is in slow traffic on a hot day - even with the stock radiator.

Check the usual things - burping the cooling system, make sure the thermostat is working, pressure cap, check  your timing and mixture, etc. After that, you might want to look into the coolant.

I have no experience with waterless coolant. Somebody here, I believe it was JB, tried it and didn't like it. I have heard others complain about it. I don't say that to bad mouth waterless coolant but only to say that you might want to include the coolant in your investigation. I also just did a search for "overheating with waterless coolant" and found a post in a forum where the guy says you should expect the engine to run warmer but that the cooling to engine parts is higher (https://forums.aaca.org/topic/175809-waterless-coolant-experience/). I expect you're using Evans coolant so their website may also offer insights (https://www.evanscoolant.com/)

You're a lot farther north than I am so this may not be appropriate for you but I use Red Line Water Wetter and distilled water for my coolant. The Water Wetter has corrosion inhibitors and it reduces the surface tension of the water which gives better heat transfer from the water to the radiator. My car is never exposed to freezing weather so I'm not worried about that but I am concerned about overheating so hopefully the Water Wetter will lower my coolant temps.

Since you're using the standard radiator, I assume you're using an Otter switch. I don't think those are available in different temperature ranges.

If you should decide on an aluminum radiator, you'll have the option of different temperature ranges for the fan switch. I use a fan controller which I like. Some have put their fans on the back of the radiator in a puller configuration since it's more efficient.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[EuropaTC]

130C must be getting near for full scale deflection, or as near as makes no difference. That sounds very wrong, even though waterless coolant has been reported to run slightly hotter I would be very uncomfortable running a TC at anything like that given where the sender is located.

I guess the first job is to check the gauge calibration against some boiling water and see if it's reading correctly. If that passes and the top hose/rad was getting warm by virtue of the fan coming on then in order of impact I'd look at;

1. Water pump - belt tension (you can't, but if it's worn slack) and for leaks. If the engine has stood for a while I've heard comments that there's a tendency for the mechanical seal to stick and fail when it finally turns over.  There should be a bleed hole underneath the pulley to warn of seal failure and if there's any movement in the pulley it means the bearing is on the way out and pump efficiency will be well down. Whenever I've rebuilt a water pump the running temperatures seem to drop noticeably.
2. As I recently posted, I had a heater tube failure the other week. That caused a puddle underneath but fortunately not until I'd arrived home. You can really only check those hoses from underneath the car.
3. Air lock in the system, although if the radiator is getting hot enough to trip the fan sensor it does sound as if the coolant is getting round even if it's going slowly.

Waterless coolant has been debated on Lotuselan.net for at least 10yrs, some like it, some don't. Advocates do say that it runs hotter but I can't recall anyone saying they ran over 100C, so I think you're right to be concerned.

Brian

Edit to add:  John's post below mentions the fan direction, which is an easy mistake but I'd comment that in normal driving the fan never comes on with my TC. And on a 6 mile commute into work (years ago) it never got hot enough to come on. 

If the car's on the move then it's generally around 85C and only moves to 90C if I'm queuing, at which point I have a manual switch to bring the fan on. I've attached a pic showing where mine normally runs and where the 100C mark is calibrated.

[jbcollier]

I went with waterless coolant but could never get it to seal properly.  Drained it and fit 50/50 antifreeze and water, and my problems went away.

STOP DRIVING THE CAR.  Yes waterless coolant won't boil at 130 but other things may get VERY UNHAPPY at those temps.

First, is the rad fan blowing air through the rad into the wheel well?  It is easy to wire backwards and have it pulling air which won't work at speed.

Next, what does the gauge read when the thermostat opens?  (you can feel the hot water flowing through the top hose when it opens)

[Footer]

Although I was confident that I filled the cooling system appropriately, it now appears I was wrong and left the heater circuit full of air.  I think that was part of the overheating problem since I removed the thermostat and checked it in a pan of boiling water and it's functioning appropriately.

As far as the coolant leak is concerned, it could not be much worse.  When I was attaching the radiator hoses, the top tube, the one coming off of the thermostat housing, was a little short and I pulled it forward to allow better coverage of the hose and clamp.  When I did this, the top bend in the hose back in the engine compartment was now pressing against the firewall and compressing the cloth material on it.  I remember looking at it and thinking it would be okay. Bad Decision.  With the motor running in my driveway, everything was fine.  After my two four mile jaunts, there is a rather significant coolant leak on the outside curve of the tube.  From there its running through the firewall material and dripping out the bottom to get sprayed all over the front of the motor.  I lost over a gallon of coolant, significantly contributing to the overheating issue.
 
The coolant tubes are from 1973 and I should have pressure tested them or just replaced them while the motor was out.  I think the vibrations from driving up and down the road were just enough to cause the tube to fail at the pressure point.

So, I see no way to repair the coolant tube and even if I did, there may be another thin spot somewhere else.  Looks like I will pull the motor and tranny to replace the two coolant tubes.  It appears that the old ones just pull out the back and are not attached anywhere. 

Should anyone have a different solution in mind, please let me know.  I'm not looking forward to the effort of pulling the motor and tranny.

However, being the optimist, I'm eager to get it back on the road for some more driving experience.

[EuropaTC]

A leak in one of the main coolant tubes is bad news, it's not got the best access for any sort of temporary fix, has it ?  If the leak is coming from the upper transfer tube then I suppose it's worth checking the small air bleed tube to the header tank in the hope that's passing and spraying onto the firewall but I'll admit that's clutching at straws.

I can see the desire to get a few miles in before ripping it all apart, if nothing else that might add a few things on the "to do" list but I'd add a word of caution. If you're losing fluid then one thing to watch out for is the temperature gauge going from hot to "no problem here". The sender is under the thermostat and if the water level drops below the sender then it's measuring air temperature inside the head. Although the metal is a good conductor of heat, you'll be seeing less than the main head temperature by virtue of the design and that would be very bad news for distortion, head gasket, etc.

Final thoughts.... as I posted elsewhere, I've had a failure on the heater transfer tubes and I've just replaced them this week. It is definitely not a fun job with the engine in place so if you're doing the radiator transfer tubes, do the heater ones at the same time !

Brian

[Footer]

All good points Brain and thanks.  However, are the heater tubes attached inside the chassis frame and if so, how do I get them out.  Perhaps this is in the manual but I haven't looked yet.

You're right, the temptation is very great but the time, money and effort I put into the motor stops me.

[TurboFource]

The heater tubes are tacked to the chassis...I used a Dremel to cut through the welds but have the body off the chassis.

[EuropaTC]

All good points Brain and thanks.  However, are the heater tubes attached inside the chassis frame and if so, how do I get them out.  Perhaps this is in the manual but I haven't looked yet.

I doubt it's in the manual, not a service item and they probably outlast the life of the average chassis.  As a proud recipient of the Scraped Knuckles Award this week I can tell you that it is possible to remove and replace them with the engine and body in place. Just don't expect it to be something you can knock out over a spare lunchtime.

I'll post details/pics to my topic where I asked for ideas but basically it's disconnect hoses at both ends, remove centre console & drop the choke/heater controls into the tunnel. Then using the rear access hole (handbrake) brutally lever the pipes so you can see them & cut with a saw blade. When you've got the tube in 2 pieces you've got enough leverage to twist & break them away. Clean up holes, fabricate new pipes and insert through the same access hole. Took me a couple of hours to figure out how to get them out and then probably an hour trying different methods to get the new pipes in.

Brian

[TVrebel]

Does anyone know it a 395 will hook up to a ZETEC?
TVrebel