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| The rope seal | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: 05-07-2012 04:56 am |
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1st Post |
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chrisl Member 
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OK I have the old Mk1 engine with the *joyful* rope seal. Engine is out of the car, block split, all other seals re-fitted except for El Ropo. Soaked in oil and threatened to convert it to a noose but naturally it's not cooperating. Is there any trick(s) to getting this thing in?
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| Posted: 05-07-2012 02:10 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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Chris, sorry I cant give you a pointer on how to install the seal but I can recommend on how to get the best life out of it, always use oil with ZDDP in it, that will lube the seal and give it longer life regular oil's dont and you will end up doing the job again. Brett
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| Posted: 05-08-2012 06:45 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Dan (Florida) Member
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Had this joy a year ago and found no advice that worked. The problem is that the seal rope is just too small for the groove it sits in and just mashing it in with the crank shaft wont solve the leak. Plus the seal needs to be mashed in first and then trimmed with a little sticking up on the ends. Thats very hard to do with the crankshaft in place. No room to trim. I built a pressing tool that allows you to press and trim at the same time . Its just a piece of round stock machined to the same diameter as the crankshaft bearing journal . After pressing and trimming there will likely be a void between the seal and the bottom of the groove it rides in. This space must be filled in with some sort of shimming material (brass or aluminum)that will support the back of the seal when it gets hot. Shim this groove until the crankshaft binds and then remove until it spins freely. Soaking in oil doesn't seem to work. I cant stress enough doing a good job on this as the engine has to come back out and disassembled to change this seal. Not fun. This rope seal is made by Ford Motor company. Things that say Ford are about one fourth the cost of those that say Lotus or Jaguar. Also make sure the main bearing clearance is minimal to prevent the crank from whipping around. hth Dan
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| Posted: 05-12-2012 01:19 am |
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4th Post |
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DDrake Member
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I had the same problem !Had the engine rebuilt and the new rope seal leaked like a sieve after about 100 miles . I called Delta and they referred me to a guy in California who talked with my engine rebuilder . My guy was blown away with how helpful this gentleman was NOW 5000 (TROUBLE FREE mILES LATER ) it still doesn't leak . Call Delta and they will refer you
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| Posted: 05-17-2012 02:53 am |
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5th Post |
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chrisl Member
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Well, it seems the trick is to get the correct part in the first place. Tt is a Ford seal, which I found out after buying a genuine Lotus part (number A907E60112, if you ever need to track it down...). It comes with a metal shim which is used to trim the ends of the two pieces of the seal, some vague instructions and a sachet of goop labelled 'Ford...'! The block needs to be split to get it into place, so far the labour costs a lot more than parts, Lotus or otherwise. All fun.
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