Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Yes the solenoid ends up on the bottom with all the ones I have as I presume they all come from cars with starter on LH side not RH side like the Twin cam. I am not sure if Ford ever had a 3 bolt bell housing version with the starter on the RH side

However not a problem in the standard Lotus chassis in my Elan like you say .In the Spyder chassis of my Plus 2 the handbrake cable mount is higher up and needs to be lowered about 40 mm to put it in the same place as the Lotus chassis so the cable clears the solenoid. I guess this is not an issue on LHD cars

cheers
Rohan

The Workshop Manual also states heating the ring gear until it has a "straw" color. I did this and the ring gear dropped right onto the flywheel with no fuss. Unfortunately I did not measure the temperature so I can't report this. I did this more than 100K miles ago when I replaced the ring gear and have had no problems. I am pretty sure 900 F is below the incandescent condition. I also still use the old Lucas inertia starter.

http://sizes.com/materls/colors_of_heated_metals.htm

John

Mine is the whim whammy rotate the body to any position model . Strong enough to put the ?lan on its roof. Full race , super atomic , super duper triple chrome plated starter ... ..Thank you John .I have not heard from Pliny the elder since the soccer game played on the Goon show vs the Romans ."ere ..very time we get close to the ball they wave these dirty great swords at us "..Ed

Ed, is the plate between engine and gearbox flat where the starter fits? A common problem is that it is slightly distorted and the starter doesn't fit parallel to the crankshaft so only the tips of the pinion engage and so wear the ring gear.

I had a +2 with that problem; it didn't just wear the ring gear, in addition it broke two cranks due to the leverage!

Good point Meg I ordered a new spacer plate as the old one was pretty second hand bent and spindled......ed

Tonight I reread the section of the Workshop Manual dealing with ring gear replacement:

"Heat the new ring gear evenly, to a temperature NOT EXCEEDING 600 F (316 C). DO NOT heat beyond this point otherwise the wear resistance properties of the gear will be destroyed. Fit the ring gear to the flywheel with the chamfers on the leading faces of the teeth relative to the normal direction of rotation. Allow the ring gear to to cool naturally in the air. DO NOT QUENCH."

The capitalization is not mine, this it how it appears in the manual. I am now trying to recall where I heard about heating to a straw color, I think Don Tingle, who sold me the ring gear, gave me that advice. The straw color is consistent with heating to about 500 F.

Oops I had better take he last gear over and see what temp he used .and replace it if he used overs500 degrees .....thanks ..Ed

Ring gear biscuits...

Ring gear in the oven or on a gas bbq grill, set to high.
Heat to 500F

Flywheel in the freezer at 0F

Pull the flywheel out of the freezer and set on a stack of newspapers on the kitchen floor.

Pull the ring gear out of the oven/grill and hammer it over the flywheel.

Biscuits are optional, but do this when your spouse/SWMBO is not around!
(ask me how I learned that)

Regards,
Dan

I think I would be running in the gelding stakes if I did that ..ed

I've always used the "spit" test when fitting new ring gears. Used it many times including on the twincam.

Heat with torch till spit sizzles away in a flash and that is hot enough. The straw color that the manual talks about has to be assessed on a polished surface by someone with good eye's.

I've been banned from the kitchen as well for heating motorcycle cases in the oven.

Kurt.
26/3754

Old second hand ovens should be quite cheap. Might be nice to have one of your own in the garage.

If electric, the second-hand oven is also suitable for powder coating...

wellll I picked up the fly wheel and ring gear this morning and fortunately the machinist disregarded every thing I said regarding temperature for installation .A very smart man ... I think he put it on at room temperature or at least body temp . told me he just heats the ring gear slightly and on it goes . As he does many a year I feel confident my bent tooth troubles are over . Now if I can just remember which way the clutch PLATE goes to the FLY WHEEL GRRRRR ,,,,ED

The plate should have "flywheel side" stamped on it

cheers
Rohan