View single post by discogodfather
 Posted: 02-08-2020 03:29 pm
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discogodfather



Joined: 09-17-2007
Location: San Francisco, California USA
Posts: 221
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I found a kit on ebay by Garry Kemp at Lotus Engine parts in the UK. I found the old thread in which Qwerty tried this kit out a few years back, but concluded it needed a spacer to make it work. Basically, this kit is designed for a newer Esprit 910 or 912 engine to get rid of the spring loaded tensioner and convert it to a manual adjuster like our JH 907 style tensioners, but with a newer Felnnor flat wheel style integrated bearing.

The unit is different than the JH design and has a longer shaft where it attaches to the engine. I contacted Garry and he said he would include a spacer ring to make it work. I rolled the dice and it works great, the spacer makes up the difference and puts the wheel in exactly the right alignment to the original. Note in my photos the front of my old pulley wheel is ground down from an incident where it slipped off the bearing and ground itself into the crank pulley and there is about 2-3mm missing from the edge. If you can imagine it with that extra metal, it's a 100% perfect alignment to the original pulley.

The Kit:



Differences in the design:



Wheel Alignment:



Installed:




Nicely machined and it looks to be hard chromed. Stainless hardware. I didn't use the stud but it's a nice stainless upgrade to the stock stud. With the spacer it seems to be a 100% bolt on to the JH. I really like the integral bearing and the single piece design with a nice robust 19mm adjuster size. Pricey at about $130 shipped to the USA but well worth the multiple upgrades from the early stock design. Garry had it to me within a week to, great shipping. The integral bearing is pretty standard Lotus part from what I understand and is available for $50 from multiple manufacturers.