Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Dear all: Unspecified places around hood hoops make chattering noise behind the driver seat when drive my Elan S4 (69).
How do I specify the cause and the palace? Should I strip the interior wall carpet? If anyone has had similar symptoms, pleased help me.

Best,
Mitsu

69 S4
73 Europa TC special

Looks like you just joined, welcome....

Not sure if this is of any value, but I have removed seat coverings in the past and found the side seat bolster wires go into a hole in the frame tube and can come out, maybe there is to be a tack weld on it, but can squeak if loose or has come out of the hole.

otherwise before dismantling..first try the obvious and wrap cloth around things, similar in concept to the ubiquitous flock tape the OEM's use around modern instrument panels

jk

Hello Mitsu and welcome.

Unfortunately squeaks and noises can be very difficult to trace. I would certainly follow JK's advice and wrap cloth around any potential points you suspect.

Re. JK's seat suggestion ..... Does the noise go away when you have a load (passenger ) in the passenger seat?

Is it just with the hood up? or both up and down? If it rattles with the hood up, is the hood tray loose?

Could it be coming from the boot/trunk area (Boot boards, spare wheel, tools etc)

Another known source of rattles in the Elan are within the door such as loose windows, window frames and cables.

I can't think of an obvious noise source from inside the side trim panels but others may suggest something.

Good luck tracking it down

Mitsu,

I have found that with the hood up, you can sometimes get an annoying rattle from the fasteners that secure the hood to the hood rails. Drives me mad. Or it could be any of the tenax on the small tonneaux cover.

Leslie

Mitsu

There is no easy way to find the source of the rattles other than careful detective work. Best is enlist the help of a passenger who can tug, push, press, hold etc the various visible part of the interior whilst you drive over different surfaces.

Once you have eliminated all the suspects the only thing left might be....

the self TAPPING screws!

Ian P

Dear All
Thank you for your valuable advice. I will try to find the cause according to your suggestion.
But, now we have a big storm with snow in Boston. I have to wait for a while.Many thanks!

Mitsu

..or..depending on where and type of noise, maybe the handbake (crosscar) pull rods rattling against the frame?? just a thought, easy to check.

Check archives under hanbrake pull rods - in case link doesn't work...

post151660.html#p151660r

... thanks for taking the snow ; keep it there if you don't mind - so far pretty good here! ...touch fiberglass...
Jack