Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

After 6 months or so of working hard at it (ably assisted by you kind people people on this forum), I finally have the Elan S2 ready to hit the road for the first time in 14 years. :rolleyes: But now its raining so hard, I'm not taking her anywhere, and there is one minor task to do.

Had a rather depressing last minute glitch when I tried to drive her away at about 3pm. Got in, fired her up, released handbrake, selected 1st gear, engaged clutch, attained movement...tried brakes, car stops...engaged clutch again...and again...car goes nowhere :angry: The servo had jammed on! Fortuitously, the nose had edged only 8 inches through the garage door, because it then started raining, so I'm very glad I didn't get her outside before the brakes jammed on! (no hood!).

The servo has now been serviced and returned to the vehicle and I renewed all the vacuum pipes while I was at it (have a vacuum leak somewhere - lights only stay up 1min after engined stops). So tomorrow morning will involve some brake bleading and then she's ready to go. B)

Then there's the small matter of the MOT and getting a tax disc. According to DVLA they will need some proof of the vehicle's age before giving a free tax disc out - does anyone know if they will accept the fact that it has been registed with them for 40 years as proof of age?

Well, she's now been up and down the road a few times and is running well. This shake-down has identified a few more snags that will need attention, although thats as I expected.

However, I still have a problem with the servo. It now releases, but it does so too slowly, meaning that when I apply the brakes, they stay on for a few seconds after I release the pedal. I had the servo apart and it looks in great shape, really clean inside, smooth slave cylinder. Anyone come across this before?

Had my first experience of working on the car while at its normal ride height, instead of the trestles I've had it on for the last 6 months. Damn, its low!

Hi Matt

Congratulations. Well done. I hope that you enjoy the car. Before I took the servo out again I would give it a good few brake applications. You might find that it frees off. My friend had the same problem and it went after a few drives. Not saying that it will be that easy for you but if you can find somewhere safe to trundle about its got to be worth a try.

All the best

Berni

Had my first experience of working on the car while at its normal ride height, instead of the trestles I've had it on for the last 6 months. Damn, its low!

Yup, you have to kneel down next to it inorder to work on it just like a sports or formula racecar.

after 30 years of bending to work on these cars you walk that way all the time -------ed law

Matt

I assume you have the original servo. There has been a fair amont of discussion on this problem of brakes locking on in the past on this site and the Yahoo site so I suggest you search the archives. It normally relates to the need to install a small additonal spring in the vacuum control system to ensure it releases. Cant remember the exact details as never had this problem with the servo on my plus 2.

Rohan

PS Agree they are low, normally put mine on stands to do any lengthy work

"Then there's the small matter of the MOT and getting a tax disc. According to DVLA they will need some proof of the vehicle's age before giving a free tax disc out - does anyone know if they will accept the fact that it has been registed with them for 40 years as proof of age? "

That's enough you'll need the blue V5 registration document, MOT, Insurance and a form V10 from the post office.

M100, thanks for that confirmation. I'll be taking a trip down to Bristol DVLA office just as soon as I have the MOT certificate.

Rohan, no I don't have the original servo as mine didn't have one fitted at the factory. I think that on the S2 the servo was an optional extra: the original owner of 4276 was obviously a cheapskate! The servo that is on there is a Lockheed aftermarket affair of about 15 years vintage, although it is similar to the Mk2b. However, I was discussing this with my brother-in-law who works for Ferodo, and we agreed that the problem is most likely in the vacuum control system not releasing quickly enough. In my case, there is an additional small diaphragm above the slave cylinder (similar to the Mk2b), so I'll have a look at the sometime soon. For the future, the brother-in-law has a good contact in Lucas, who might be able to source an original Girling servo for me. A returned favour, I believe!

Matt

ah the servo prob inside the servo is a small piston remove this there are 2 orings fitted.remove one put back together should solve the prob of sticking breaks regards mike

I've also heard tales of brake flex lines breaking down inside and preventing the release of hydraulic pressure.

Hi! I think you'll have trouble with the lockheed servo sticking on after releasing pedal if white plastic part is not uppermost. don't know why, just peculiar to this type of servo. try it and see!
Martin

My Lockheed was fitted by the DPO with the white valve to the side.
Brakes stuck just like you discribe.
A guy on one of these newsgroups sent me a spring to go inside the white valve case, and it works perfectly, and was easier than moving the whole lot around to get the valve uppermost!
Cheers
Tim