RC40 - Remote Housing Clearance

[111Robin]

While the car is up on the lift for winter jobs I noticed that the RC40 is contacting the remote housing at the rear end where there is a raised section on the alloy housing. Along the full length there is approximately 1/16" clearance until this point where it contacts. It doesn't look like an alignment issue, is this just a section of the housing that has to be dressed back to achieve clearance ?. I didn't notice this when I fitted the RC40 some ten years ago, only when lying underneath with my nose up against the floor. I'm sure it must be causing some resonance.

[Rolandino]

What exhaust manifold are you using ? It could easily be made wrong and unless the downpipe is wrong as well....

[111Robin]

I don't remember what manifold it is but it would have been bought at the same time as the RC40 so is theoretically a match. As you say it could just be a manufacturing oddity, I can do what Lotus do in the factory, whack the exhaust with a hammer to "effect clearance"

[Polarsilver]

i struggled to get ideal clearance with a new from MS ,,RC40 full system on my 1071 .. having a 4post lift helped as it was not difficult to see what was going on ..but i still had to "turn the through pipe" beyond correct alignment to get the clearance to the remote channel.. my thoughts were buyer beware ..but it will do

[Rolandino]

Some of the manifoldsfrom Maniflow leave a lot to be desired. Only just found out that the large bore lcb they sell only fit rod change gearboxes, on a remote type gearbox the manifold fouls the male/female linkage.

[111Robin]

I think it is the Maniflow freeflow manifold, bought from MS and is stated as direct replacement for Cooper S LCB so doesn't foul the linkage. I'll take a closer look, perhaps a small rotation of the downpipe might give a bit of clearance to the housing, doesn't need much.

[Alex]

I had this with the Hornetto, and ended up with almost every single combination of manifold and system to try and get it to clear...

A Cooper Freeflow manifold with the original RC40 centre section (bend on the front end) fits beautifully.
A Freeflow manifold with the LCB centre section and the Freeflow adaptor won't fit.
An LCB will eventuall fit with the LCB centre section, but it has to be application specific - there is a different LCB manifold for cars with rubber driveshaft couplings. There can also be clearance issues with the LCB clamps.
The RSP/MG Metro manifold will fit with a cut-down Freeflow centre section, but the downpipe joints need to be welded not clamped as there's not enough clearance.
The Maniflow 'Magic-pipe' with a std exhaust manifold and an LCB centre section fits nicely.

The position of centre and rear hangers are also critical to getting the centre section to clear the remote and not burn the battery cable. I've ended up fabricating the rear bracket.

[Andrew1967]

I had this issue with a centre pipe from Minispares on HOY.

I ended up getting an old stock centre pipe as the bend on the front of the pipe was too long causing it to foul the remote.

Luckily I ‘black built’ the power unit, manifold and centre pipe off the car.

[Peter Laidler]

If that was me Rob, I'd try loosening the exhaust clamps and rotate the exhaust a bit, move left and right......., what you'd call 'jiggle it a bit' and see if it clears. I'd say a 1/10th of an inch is more than enough clearance.

Failing that....... Mark the pipe to suit the problem. Machine/file a HALF exh pipe radius into a 4" long block of wood to support the opposite side and a flat 1" block of hardwood. slightly rounded at the ends on the fouling side and gently squeeze in a vice. Job done.

No hammer marks and the short block of wood will the rounded ends will leave a gently curving clearance.

Nice satisfying Christmas break job. One of the benefits of having a newly dug pit in my garage

[111Robin]

Sorted. The rubber on the rear mounting had parted company with the bracket. New mounting fitted and there is just enough clearance with the housing. There is a lot of strain on the mounting to achieve this though, presumably why it failed in the first place, so pipe shape isn't quite right but should be ok for a while, depending on the quality of the (MS) new mounting.

[Rolandino]

111Robin, the downpipe y shaped, is TOTALLY different from the other that doesnt foul the linkage. Trust me, had the engine out 3 times till I found out!

[111Robin]

Ok, I'm not sure which manifold I have then, it certainly doesn't foul the linkage. I'll search back through the invoices out of curiosity.