Removing the radiator, PAS pump and oil cooler

The way usually recommended to remove the motor from the Lotus Excel is to remove the motor plus gearbox in one step. I will add a combined method for this that I assembled from the Lotus excel forum. I'm being guided by this method, but its only a guide because  for several reasons I think it is probably best to remove the engine separately from the gearbox in my case. This is firstly because the motor is already partially dismantled the head has been removed and also some of the ancilliaries; this means that access to the upper bell housing bolts is greatly improved. Secondly my car has no handbrake, brakes and no functioning engine, it cannot be easily moved. What is even worse is that it has to be kept parked parked on an inclined drive and rolling backwards is prevented by means of chocks under the rear wheels and engaging a gear. If I were to remove the gear box this would obviously also remove one of these means of immobilization. Finally, the car is parked closely against the front of the garage and this limits the amount of lift I can achieve with the hoist before its arm jams against garage door frame. I haven't room to roll the car backwards away from the garage and given the lack of brakes this would be tricky anyway. Most of these problems could be overcome if I had more helpers available but sadly this is going to be a one-man job  and keeping everything small, light and moving things as little as possible seems more achievable. Also, when removing the engine and gearbox as a unit its necessary to raise the front of the car by about three inches as the propshaft end of the gearbox has to swing through a downwards arc in order to achieve a steep enough angle to allow the combination to be lifted through the bonnet opening. I am hoping that removing only the engine will also reduce (or even eliminate) the extent of this "swing" meaning that the motor can be lifted out without raising the car and requiring a lower elevation of the hoist arm. Accordingly I set about removing as many of the ancillaries as I could in order to lighten the motor and slim down the unit for more simple removal

The first item on my list was  was the oil cooler. In my case the cooler itself had already been detached from the lower cross member but remained attached to the motor via the two oil pipes connected to the oil filter adaptor of the auxiliary housing unit

Twin hoses connect oil cooler to adapter unit. double 28mm union nuts

Oil cooler unit viewed looking downwards into engine bay in front of radiator. Cooler already detached  from cross member

Removing these unions requires two 28 millimetres spanners, holding the upper nut whilst unscrewing the lower.  I suspect that there should be some rotation in the hose which would make this easier but in my case there was none (possibly due to corrosion) and unscrewing the union nuts simply contorted the hoses themselves. Eventually I did manage to loosen them and some rotation was restored, however I think this process has probably damaged the hoses and I will replace them with new.  Once detached the hoses and oil cooler unit could be removed together a somewhat messy task since residual oil drains are out of the hoses! I could then remove the pipes from the cooler unit using an adjustable wrench to hold the soldered nuts on the cooler whilst the pipe unions (28mm again) were undone.

Unscrewing oil pipes from cooler- hold the welded nut on top of the cooler and unscrew the union below.

Adapter unions once pipes have been removed. Note earth cable attached to right hand engine mounting.

 Having removed the oil cooler I could then see the earthing strap connected to the right hand engine mounting bolts underneath the adapter unit. I detached this wire.

The next step was to remove the power steering pump; this is fixed to  a bracket that is itself bolted along the left hand side of the motor. The pump is attached to the front of this bracket with two bolts; One is a simple hex bolt that feeds through the adjustment slot in the bracket mount and a second is an Allen headed bolt which allows the pump to pivot.

Power steering pump seen from above LHS of motor. The attachment bracket is seen running along the side of the motor (top)  and held by two bolts. The bracket has a 90 deg bend in it and the PAS pump is mounted onto the bent side. This picture shows the rear pipe union that connects output fluid to the steering rack and the input pipe connecting the pump to the fluid reservoir entering the PAS pump from the top

Front of PAS, note hex bolt through belt tension adjustment bracket and Allen both through pump pivot

I removed both front bolts which left the PAS retained by a pipe union to the rear output pipe that feeds the steering rack, and another pipe which connects to the reservoir.

I photographed the pipe union pattern at the rack as this will need to be disconnected later when the rack gores for reconditioning

... and also the hose routing between reservoir (right side) and PAS pump, pipes running around the coolant reservoir.

... and unscrewed the output hose union again using the two spanner method (care some fluid will spill). I also detached the "fluid in" hose.

The fluid inflow hose already had a detached mounting bracket... I am not sure where that should be attached!

After this I set about removing the radiator- not strictly necessary in order to remove the motor, but I will want it pressure tested/restored before I refit it anyway and removing it now at least prevents it from being damaged in the engine removal.

However the way to remove it  at first appeared mysterious... and then just complicated! The radiator fits within a 2 piece box. open at the front to funnel air straight to the rad. The upper box section consists of left and right sides and an upper cross-section. Its attached by three bolts at the front (2 left, one right) and 2 bolts underneath where the sides curve under the body. The lower section is shaped like a tray and clips on at the front being retained by one bolt each side into captive nuts at the rear (i.e. nearest the engine). These enter the body a little behind the lower bolts attaching the box upper section. The radiator occupies the square opening of this composite box and is attached by 4 brackets (1 pop riveted on at each corner). Each bracket carrying a mounting stud. The studs project vertically upwards and downwards to penetrate the fibreglass box above, and fibreglass tray shrouding below each being fastened using large washers and nyloc nuts.  Unfortunately the upper bracket fastenings are difficult to get to but are accessible (just) in behind the ridge of the upper cross section of the radiator box. They are 10mm nyloc nuts and can be unscrewed with difficulty using a ratchet spanner.

Edge of cross member of the fibreglass box crossing above radiator. Mounting nuts are recessed behind this flange above some disgustingly wet/slimy shock absorbing foam. Pic shows LHS

Right hand upper mounting nut also hidden behind the crossmember flange, but  access blocked by radiator hose. Note bolt in body holding RHS of radiator fibreglass box I removed this in an attempt to get more movement.

LHS radiator box mountings- 2 bolts on this side each have a nut on the rear which must be held while the bolt is removed. Note the odd steady stay that fixes onto the lower of these two bolts. Its upper end was free and I'm not sure either what this is for or where it should be attached at the top. I removed both bolts and the stay which...

which has an odd wire clip attached. Again I am not sure what this is for or where it should attach. NOTE have since found that this is indeed a radiator brace and should be fitted horizontally from centre left to fan cowing.

I had now removed the three bolts from the radiator box sides but there was still no movement in the radiator. This was still held by the hoses so radiator hoses were removed from top and bottom positions,

Top hose fits into central switch pipe which carries otter switch... note side mounting rad box bolt now out!

Switch pipe is detached with a single screw to the P clip

Top hose then pulls free, but note overflow union attached on the other side of switch pipe as a small offshoot. This must also be detached.

better view of offshoot pipe, removed by undoing the Jubilee clip.. 

Offshoot pipe is held in clips across the top of the bonnet fairing as it crosses the bonnet and from which it is disconnected.

I was then able to get a 10 mm spanner onto the top radiator mounting studs by reaching up inside the front fairing on each side.However there was still no movement, the radiator being held by the bottom studs trapped in the bottom tray.
In my car both nuts and washers were already missing from the lower radiator brackets. The studs penetrate the radiator bottom tray but I couldn't remove the radiator because its a case of removing the tray first! The tray is held on by a bolt and captive nut at each side. The RHS is shown below and is simply unscrewed with a 13mm spanner.

Radiator bottom tray fairing viewed from below. Radiator bracket stud (without nut) is visible centre left. The captive nut holding the radiator bottom tray 13mm, is visible centre right and the larger 15mm nut below retains the radiator box side

Both lower fairing nuts (box and tray) unscrewed easily on the left, but on the right  the captive bolts weren't quite as captive as they should have been and presented no end of trouble. In the end I could remove the 15mm radiator box lower bolt by removing the headlight and stretching a 15mm socket on an extension down into the cavity from above. In fact, loosening the upper box fastenings didnt really help in terms of giving any more movement in the radiator. I will check as to whether its necessary to remove this box to fix the rotten bulkhead plywood... In which case I should do that now, but if not then I will just clean and refit the bolts.

View inside RHS headlamp pod, 15mm lower box mounting nut visible lower left of centre, the 13mm radiator tray retaining bolt is visible above it and to the left... but this wasn't held by a normal nut, it was instead a strange form of nut probably originally fixed in fibreglass. It was virtually impossible to grip. Note that the plywood bulkhead here is rotten as observed previously and will need to be replaced. 

All attempts to loosen the 13 mm stud retaining the radiator base tray failed,  in the end the nut did start to loosen but it broke the radiator tray lug before it undid completely.

Broken section of radiator tray with recalcitrant locknut

Broken section of radiator tray in position. This will need a fibreglass repair eventually

I attempted repair using fibreglass. First I roughened and cleaned the edges and then aligned them overlapping the join with zinc mesh. The whole area was then covered in activated resin and several overlapping sheets of fibreglass stippled down into it.

When set the repair was solid although it was now noticeably thicker than the original.

The radiator then lifted out and could be removed for checking.
The last part to remove before tackling the bell house bolts is the starter motor and its associated cables. I fitted this used, replacement motor as the original was u/s. The copper terminals are as I recall damaged so its removal may be more tricky than it should be.

Here is the procedure I have been basing my approach on. I didn't write it, just assembled it form various entries on the Lotus excel forum... plus a few bits I have added. No guarantees!

Engine Gearbox Removal Lotus Excel

There are a few threads here which cover this.  It is much easier and better to remove engine and gearbox as a unit, but for the combined unit to clear the ground, the car needs to be approx. 3" above normal ride height at the front. This can be achieved by standing the front wheels on 3" to 4" timber. Care must be taken when selecting jacking points at rear if you are going to unscrew the propshaft from the differential, however in brief remove as follows:

Remove:

1. Disconnect the battery in the boot and the engine earthing strap under the bonnet.

2. From inside the car remove:

Gear stick assembly from inside the car.

Reverse switch wire, (switch underneath, access from in car).

Clutch linkage return spring.

3. Under the bonnet; Remove Air Cleaner Box (Front & Back).

4. Drain coolant, Disconnect all All Water Hoses and remove radiator to prevent damage.

5. Drain oil from engine and gearbox.

6. Protect bodywork around motor then

7. Disconnect cables from (or remove entirely)...

a. Starter Motor

b. Alternator.

c. Remove lead between distributor to amplifier

d. Carburettor cables or detach carbs- leave intake manifold in place.

8. Disconnect fuel pipes (unscrew glands).

9. Unbolt slave cylinder from bell-housing so there is no need to disturb cut/remove the pipe... OR... cut (and later replace) clutch Fluid Hose.

10. Oil cooler adaptor, (under Oil Filter), wrap in poly bag and tie up high out of the way.

11. Remove completely the front section of the exhaust.

12. If you can, remove the Power Steering Pump, if access is a problem disconnect it from the Engine.

13. Unscrew and remove the 4 differential flange-to-propshaft Bolts & Nuts (Not essential for removal but this makes refitting easier as it gives more flexibility for alignment of the prop and gearbox)

14. Fit a canvas sling around centre two Intake Manifold ducts, you will lift it using these! (Fit an additional safety chain loosely around the motor just in case!). Check that there is nothing else attached to the block, head or manifolds.

15. Fit trolley jack under Gearbox - locate carefully.

16. Take weight off engine mounts (lift engine / gearbox), (adjusting trolley Jack).

17. Remove 'intake side' Engine mounting bracket completely.

18. Undo bolts from bottom of 'exhaust side' mounting bracket, from underneath where Exhaust was.

19. Raise engine slightly & place 15mm wooden board between Sump & Chassis.

20. Lower engine, (adjusting trolley jack).

21. Remove the 4 bolts holding gearbox to Chassis, (these are the ones hidden up high).

22. Raise the engine and slide the unit forward, pulling the prop shaft out of gearbox. This may be quite stiff and you will need a receptacle under the gearbox to catch excess oil.

23. When the engine is high enough remove the trolley jack completely.

24. Hoist out engine manipulating it to clear the PAS Pump and radiator if either are still In the car.

25. Move engine clear and stand it level on three bits of wood.