New car and lumpy idle G60

[Chris Ellis 0]

Hi.

I'm hoping I have put this in the correct forum as I am a new member to the site and getting to grips with the layout as I normally have my head in the Lotus forums.

I bought my long term dream car at the weekend (G60) with a known lumpy idle. I've searched the forum and found items relating to Lambda sensor and vacuum hose but wondered if it could be anything else? Car is a J plate Mk2 and determined to get it running smoothly at the weekend.

Chris.

[Keyo 47]

2 hours ago, Chris Ellis said:

Hi.

I'm hoping I have put this in the correct forum as I am a new member to the site and getting to grips with the layout as I normally have my head in the Lotus forums.

I bought my long term dream car at the weekend (G60) with a known lumpy idle. I've searched the forum and found items relating to Lambda sensor and vacuum hose but wondered if it could be anything else? Car is a J plate Mk2 and determined to get it running smoothly at the weekend.

Chris.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your G60 purchase. Lotus esprit is always a car I have my eye on. 

Take off ISV and clean it out with carb cleaner - its the round cylinder object on top of the inlet manifold. 

Always worth checking leads and dizzy. 

If you cant suss it out best take to an expert like Stealth racing or Jabba sport as they have seen this issues before and should be able to identify the problem. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Keyo

[Chris Ellis 0]

Thanks for the quick response Keyo. I'll take a look at this and report back.

[ger040 3]

What camshaft does it have - an uprated camshaft depending on profile can give a lumpy idle

 

[Dox 23]

Pull plug leads off one by one, if you find one that has no effect on idle you’ve found the cylinder with the issue.

 

plug, lead, cap, (coil unlikely as other 3 are ok), injector or compression.

 

cam a tooth out will also give poor idle / low on power 

[Chris Ellis 0]

Ger040 - I believe it is all standard with the exception of a stainless back box. The guy I bought it from has owned it 25 years but it needs some tic on the bodywork. Already love it and not even had chance to take it out yet 😀

Thanks Dox - i'll go through this process at the same time as the ICV. I'm not that technical but it does make sense so far.

 

 

[Chris Ellis 0]

On 4/5/2022 at 4:43 PM, Keyo said:

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your G60 purchase. Lotus esprit is always a car I have my eye on. 

Take off ISV and clean it out with carb cleaner - its the round cylinder object on top of the inlet manifold. 

Always worth checking leads and dizzy. 

If you cant suss it out best take to an expert like Stealth racing or Jabba sport as they have seen this issues before and should be able to identify the problem. 

Keyo - I spoke to Jabbasport today (very helpful and knowledgable) to get a quote for the charger, belts, service etc doing. Determined to getting it running smooth at the weekend and get it MOT'd and after that ship it down to Jabbasport in the coming weeks for the work then at least I know engine wise it is in a good place.

[Keyo 47]

48 minutes ago, Chris Ellis said:

Keyo - I spoke to Jabbasport today (very helpful and knowledgable) to get a quote for the charger, belts, service etc doing. Determined to getting it running smooth at the weekend and get it MOT'd and after that ship it down to Jabbasport in the coming weeks for the work then at least I know engine wise it is in a good place.

Jabba are good - dont get me wrong they will have your car for a whiles so don't expect back in a rush - Brian is a good mechanic though and little touches like he chalks all the bolts when torqued . his got mine running lovely - did a good run the other day and the boost was going up around 2000 and above on mfa - this video explains- may well be worth getting you charger serviced first before driving the car about which also needs a to have a 500 mile break in before giving it the beans.  I was crapping myself in mine as the last service was in 2012 but now serviced . 

Mine is a stage 4 ported and a miltek cat delete - rsr kit- I would like to see it up to 2200 which i think some new boost hoses and clamps will do the trick as got a new cooler all ready on car. 

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Keyo

[Chris Ellis 0]

Thanks Keyo and for the links to suppliers too. Will give me plenty of research to do this weekend.

I cleaned the ICV, put some fresh VPower in and it was still lumpy. Mate popped in and we cleaned the plugs as they were quite rich and the cap and arm look quite old. Cleaned them up and it is better but still a bit lumpy. We think it's the cap and arm but might leave it for Jabbasport to sort as I am not expert.

I'm in no rush for the car but want it right before I get it on the open road.

 

[Corroda 11]

Hi Chris,

I would recommend getting the fuel injectors serviced in the near future if they have not been done recently. It’s probably not related to your lumpy idle, but my ‘91 G60 was down on power for a while and then lost compression on one cylinder. Injector service is reasonably cheap, and worth doing on a car if that age.

[Chris Ellis 0]

Thanks for the advice. I'll mention it to Jabbasport when they take it to do the charger service and all belts etc. 

I was cleaning under the bonnet today as I was bored and still itching to drive the thing and noticed the earth strap/bonding strip loose on the left hand side that is attached to the wing. Not sure if that will be helping things but also not sure where the broken end should have gone?

 

[seanl82 23]

8 hours ago, Chris Ellis said:

Thanks for the advice. I'll mention it to Jabbasport when they take it to do the charger service and all belts etc. 

I was cleaning under the bonnet today as I was bored and still itching to drive the thing and noticed the earth strap/bonding strip loose on the left hand side that is attached to the wing. Not sure if that will be helping things but also not sure where the broken end should have gone?

 

It should be attached from the wing to the bonnet bracket, but very unlikely to cause any issues if broken. They were surprisingly expensive when I last looked (about £30). I just got a braided earth strap from eBay for a couple of quid and put some heat shrink over it for a perfect replacement. 👍

[Chris Ellis 0]

8 hours ago, seanl82 said:

It should be attached from the wing to the bonnet bracket, but very unlikely to cause any issues if broken. They were surprisingly expensive when I last looked (about £30). I just got a braided earth strap from eBay for a couple of quid and put some heat shrink over it for a perfect replacement. 👍

Thanks Sean. I’ve seen them online for circa £40. I’ll go down your route and go for the eBay option

[Chris Ellis 0]

Quick update on the car.

It is booked in at Jabbasport in early May for the Supercharger service and all belts and fluids doing to get it back to its best again. Carole was really helpful and is also arranging for the MOT too so I can finally get to drive it. It will be in for a few days but really looking forward to it.