"Ticking" noise when accelerating

[greg.harvey]

Hi Graham,

Sadly I (finally) sold my Lotus to a nice Frenchman living in Cambridge (so if anyone lives Cambridge way and sees a dark green +2S, give him a wave!) without resolving the issue. He's a keen tinkerer though and was looking forward to getting his hands dirty - and he wanted to sort it out.

I'll ask him how he's getting on. Perhaps I can persuade him to sign up and join the conversation.


Ps - He used to have an MGB GT, so he's driving around with a fixed grin right now. He can't believe how quick the Lotus is!

[alexblack13]

Hi Guys,
Common noise on the twincam this. Almost certain to be blowing manifold to head gasket(s). Bit of a pain to fix right. You need to check the flanges are flat. If not new gaskets won't last long, even covered in silicone sealant, which does help by the way. If they are not flat, its a manifold out job to flatten them. Refit with the best quality gaskets you can buy and lightly coat both sides with silicon sealant. Check the nut tightness every now n then. keep them tight. Use the correct brass (long as poss') nuts and washers.

The 'clicking' noise is always louder under load. A dead givaway. Well spotted!

Alex B....

[gwiz22]

Alex,
A good tip, however, I've already bolted the manifold back on. I was going to take it completely out of the car but after removing the alternator and the near side engine mount, I still couldn't get the whole thing out. I think my problem is that I can't seperate the two manifold pieces from the Y-piece.

Has anbody had experience in removing the manifold on a Plus2 in one piece? I can't take it out from the bottom as I have the car on a hydraulic lift and one of the lift's cross beams is right under the manifold.

I hope the gaskets I used will be ok and I plan to give the bolts a tighten every month or so to amke sure those washers are seating firmly against the manifold flange.

I've seem some "Competition" exhaust manifold gaskets available on ebay. Has anybody used or had experience of these to establish if they are any good?

Regards
Graham

[alexblack13]

Yep. A pain in the A**.. Not sure about having to seperate the two parts but I think you do. Might be an idea also to remove the mounting and fuel pump on the other side. Lets you then move the engine fully towards the drivers side. I also took out all the mounting studs for the exh' man', gives that bit more clearance. All the more reason to make sure the repair is right 1st time.

Some comp' gaskets I have seen are exactly the same but with bigger bore dia.... There will be a good quality item out there. TTR? Burton? QED? Ask their advice they will not get it wrong.

Sounds like you fixed it anyway..

AB...