I took Friday off work so I could spend the whole day lavishing some love on the Lotus, and get it running and on the road after winter storage. At the end of the day I was ready to fire it up. Before doing so I gave a quick check of the oil level and found it to be very high on the stick, and smelled of gas. So I drained it, and removed about 10-12 litres of oil/gas mixture from the sump. The car last ran in November, at which time I changed the oil, filling the sump with 4.5 litres of Castrol 10w-40.
That was late in the evening and I haven't had the chance to investigate further. I suspect the culprit is a failed carburettor needle & seat, or perhaps more likely a carb float that doesn't float. This would presumably allow any fuel volume in the tanks that is above the carb float bowl height to drain into the engine over the course of the winter. I still find this odd, though, as the car was stored with only about 3/4 fuel load, which doesn't leave much available to drain through the carbs. I am curious as to any theories anyone may have.
Questions;
- Is it reasonable to assume that the fuel pump would provide no restriction to the fuel draining theory described above?
- Can the oil pump drive be accessed and driven with an electric drill by removing the distributor? What tool (socket, extension, etc) is needed to do this?
