I’m getting the car up on some ramps on friday so will have proper look then but I’m leaking both oil and coolant.
The coolant is only when the systems hot and therefore under pressure, the puddle is appearing by the passenger side rear wheel but I assume this just means it’s leaking fron the back of the engine?
Also a small amount of oil is leaking from the join between the rear diffuser and the engine undertray in the middle.
So would I be able to spot anything with the airbox off? (and I assume this just bolts on and off?) Or shall I just wait until friday?
Finally any ideas where to look first, any common places for leaks to occur?
You won’t see well just removing the airbox, you’d better be looking into removing both understrays.
You should check all the visible coolant hoses for wear and leaks.
Is the oil coming out between the undertrays thick? if so, it’s most likely the grease from one of the CV boots (driveshafts).
Not really a DUY job, unless you are called Scuffham so should book it to your trusty mechanic to do. And better not drive it meanwhile, you risk knackering the CV or tripod joints.
Well friday it’ll be up on the ramps for a good going over, maybe verniers (but then may take a drive to Dave Walker to fit and remap the emerald )… But oil change again, 82 deg stat and hopefully patch up these leaks
Does the stat need anything else? A gasket or O rings? I literally just got the stat from EliseParts so unsure what else I need
No, nothing else for the thermostat. Ah, yes, some coolant, because you will spill about 2 liters.
You will swear a lot and probably wonder why didn’t you pay 2 hrs mechanic to do it. I spent about 6 hrs and woved never to do it again.
Something about not having fingers with 2 extra reverse joints.
LOL! Sounds like pretty much every job I’ve undertaken! I’ll be doing with my mech so up on a ramp with lots of tools and knowledge about
The worst job I had like that was swapping the suspension over on my MR2’s! Took me best part of 2 days in the end Hands all cut up and mangled, covered in grease and filth head to toe and generally took far too long! Nightmare!
Also a small amount of oil is leaking from the join between the rear diffuser and the engine undertray in the middle.
On my car this also happened and it was the gearbox that was leaking oil when it got hot. Seems like the PG-1 gearbox oil does not have the characteristic smell of gearbox/diff oil like on other cars though…
It was obvious that it wasn’t engine oil though as the traces on the undertray started around the gearbox and got nowhere near the engine (eg. oil filter, sump plug, etc.)
In this case it turned out that the oil was being syphoned out of the box by the connection for a mechanical speedo that’s still on the PG1 (but not attached to anything on the Elise/Exige of course).
You can just see it from the top. It’s a small (1 pence size) plastic white ‘cap’ on top of the differential housing which has a short metal tube sticking out. It’s attached using a plastic tab with one small bolt through it.
This attachment is a replacable unit from Rover, so I went to my friendly local Rover dealer and got a new one for about 10 quid.
No, nothing else for the thermostat. Ah, yes, some coolant, because you will spill about 2 liters.
You will swear a lot and probably wonder why didn’t you pay 2 hrs mechanic to do it. I spent about 6 hrs and woved never to do it again.
Something about not having fingers with 2 extra reverse joints.
Enjoy!
I’ve been there too. You will find it a good move to remove the airbox and the ally plate in front of it. Makes it loads easier to get to the thermostat housing.
I found the same on mine. I was just thinking of putting a dab of Silicone on the tip, but you say there is a Rover part? from which car? because I would suppose it would have been fitted, but it wasn’t.
Makes me think Rover doesn’t make one.
Remove the old unit, rip out the old mechanical speedo shaft, seal the hole where the speedo attachment used to be and re-install (use a new O-ring though…).
Or get a new speedo drive unit and replace the current one in the gearbox. I still have the box and the Rover part number should be TXG100170 “Gear Assembly-Speedometer”
I installed a new one and as a precaution I put a cap that happened to fit over the speedo attachment. The problem seems to be that dirt/sand/water gets into the attachment and corrodes the hollow shaft cuasing pinholes.
This then allows the oil to syphon up and out of the gearbox. So by keeping it clean and dry the problem should stay away… (hopefully… fingers crossed.)