my Elan SPRINT refurbishment by LOG36 ??

PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri Jul 22, 2016 1:08 pm

Glen, you kill me! :lol:
i only used the saws-all to cut the 4" bolt "length" to the required 3 3/4" length. Not for cutting the "head" down. :lol:
I'll definitely use a grinder for that! :)
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PostPost by: prezoom » Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:25 pm

"Measure it with a yard stick, mark it with chalk, and cut it with an axe" as an old friend used to tell me, when I asked how he machined a specific part.
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:28 am

Success! Got the other side done today, even in the 95 degree heat! :) Had a couple issues though, as always...
7-22-16-001.jpg and

With all the talk and concern about "special" bolts with longer shoulder/shank to avoid shear weakness at the threads on the roto-flex bolts, i figured the drive shaft/prop shaft flange bolts should also be changed out. Seems most of the bolts I ordered and picked up from Fastenal I haven't even used, and/or have changed out to the "special" shank bolts! :) Notice i had to grind a flat edge on the washer against the flange. One of those things you find out as you're doing the project as nowhere it states as such. Well I have "peace of mind" now that the drive line has the proper shear strength grade bolts throughout!
7-22-16-002.jpg and

While inserting the "long bolts" for the roto-flex to include the brake rotor, the first side everything assembled quite nicely, however on this side I had trouble getting the bolt through. It scraped along the hub bearing housing with difficulty and i had to hammer it through. Maybe i should have used a dremmel tool to grind the aluminum hub bearing housing a bit in that area? Interesting how one side was a breeze, but the other problematic.
7-22-16-003.jpg and

Here I am with the spring compressors attempting to install the strut. Another problem I had was that the body work up in the fender well near where the strut goes up through to the rear tray was very tight and the spring compressors could scrape and damage the fiberglass body work there so it was quite a challenge to get them positioned to fit, while compressing the spring evenly. The compressors also slipped/moved down the angle of the spring so i ended up using vise-grips clamped on the spring to keep the compressors from slipping together on one side of the spring. it was quite a juggling act!
7-22-16-004.jpg and

Now the final roto-flex coupling in position to make final attachment. Going by the instructions/guide in BB book, by the very last coupling, was indeed easier to do. the other coupling mounting on the first side was a bear because i deviated from the master! That's how you learn.... the hard way.
7-22-16-005.jpg and

Finished product. Both sides are now installed.
Now i need to tidy up a bit and while jacked up on the housing/lower wishbone, the full weight of the car is in position to tighten/torque the wishbone bolts and the strut damper top nut.

Well now my focus must be on the hydraulics (brakes and clutch slave and master cylinders). After that, then onto sorting out getting it to run w/ gas in tank, check fuel pump, carbs, coolant, fluids, etc.
Do i see light at the end of this long, long tunnel??
TED
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PostPost by: Certified Lotus » Sat Jul 23, 2016 10:43 am

Your making great progress Ted. I foresee your Sprint showing up at LOG36 :D
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PostPost by: billwill » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:08 pm

You have to hold one output shaft of a diff in one position while turning the other to see the input shaft rotate. otherwise turning one output shaft merely makes the other output shaft rotate.

<later> Oh, I see I was commenting agaist an April message, long since resolved. I must remember to check dates on postings. :D

What I said is true, but not very relevant at the moment.
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PostPost by: billwill » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:22 pm

CBUEB1771 wrote:
The Veg wrote:OK, time for the n00b question: why do Weber- equipped engines need to be canted?


In an Elan, Weber carburetors will touch the top of the inner wheel housing if the engine is not canted over to increase vertical clearance. Strombergs clear if the engine is level, meaning same engine mount on both sides. This is not an issue for the +2 where either type of carburetor clears the inner wheel well with the engine level.



Not the wheel housing, the rear carb would touch & rattle against the driver's feet housing i.e. above the pedals. :D
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PostPost by: billwill » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:46 pm

Pity that you didn't find it first but my first posting on this website back in 2008 consisted of full details of how I changed my rotoflexes in the easiest manner I have found. (I've done them several times in 46 years).

lotus-gearbox-f37/replacing-the-doughnuts-t16456.html?hilit=doughnuts

Including the gentle tapping of the disk/rotoflex bolts through the V in the rear casting.

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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:04 am

Between the extreme summer heat (an excuse) and babysitting my 7 yr old grandchild (while his mom gives birth to #3 grandchild), I was able to get back out in the garage to do so more work.

I jacked up the rear end and sat it down on its own weight w/ jack stands under the rear outer wishbones. I torqued the inner and outer wishbone nut/bolts and the strut damper top nut. So the rear end final drive assembly is now COMPLETE and ready.

Before digging into the hydraulics (rear calipers are apart and need rebuilding), i decided to do a couple little things to spur me onto knowing whether making LOG36 is possible or not. We all know once you start working on something, you always find surprises.

I must say, the surprises i found today are all GOOD! I previously replaced the "sleeve" fuel line piece between the gas tank and the plastic fuel line. So following the line up to the pump and onto the "PLASTIC T" !!!!
7-27-16.jpg and

What you see is a crumbling plastic fuel line T at the carbs, quickly replaced with a metal bronze T. Now my curiosity played out and I wanted to know if i can get the car to run on its own for more than a couple seconds. I poured a 1/2 gallon of gas in the tank and checked for leaks. Nothing. I then cranked the starter over and watched to see gas flow quickly up to the glass bowl on the originally equipped fuel pump. Then I started the car which quickly fired off and ran smoothly. Suddenly fuel poured out of the left side carb as it flooded gas all over the place. I dashed over to the ignition key to shut it off. I wiped up the spill and started working on the carb to free the suspected stuck float. Tapping lightly with a hammer, using carb cleaner in every opening I could find. After sorting through that, it seemed to have worked and no longer flooded. I started up the car again to find it running smooth and no longer flooding.
Now here are the "surprises":
The radiator was apparently filled with antifreeze. I found no evidence of the water pump leaking. While running, i found the gas gauge worked, the water temp gauge worked, the oil pressure gauge worked, the RPM gauge worked, everything seems to be working just fine. I let it run a few minutes getting up to temperature with a few revs of the engine too!
It's unfortunate that LE.net can't upload video because a still shot doesn't show you the big smile I had from ear to ear! :)
Now the only thing i believe needs to be done before LOG36 is the hydraulics. Can i get the brake system and clutch slave hydraulics working in time??? We will see...
TED
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PostPost by: Certified Lotus » Thu Jul 28, 2016 9:20 am

I'm a betting man Ted. My vote says you will be driving to LOG36 in your Sprint :D
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri Jul 29, 2016 11:32 pm

Back out in the garage tonight. Ordered some more parts from Ray and they came in. I noticed that i'm missing the rear brake caliper mounting bolts. I just bought four 7/16x20 (UNF) by 1" from Fastenal today. Do I have to drill wire holes in the heads or is that overkill?
another problem found was the hand brake rods are too long! The car came with two sets, so i'm gonna have to change out the rods before mounting the calipers. If it's not one thing, it's another! :)
I'll update progress later tonight.
7-29-16-002.jpg and

Glad I bought new stainless steel pistons!!
But what I didn't buy, and just found out tonight I do not have, are the pad retaining pins!!! Might have to jury-rig something to temporarily keep the pads in place so i can bleed and test the brakes. Does someone know what other cross reference the pins might be for I can buy at the local auto parts store or are they very unique to Lotus Elan?
The grandkid goes back home tomorrow (Saturday) morning, so hopefully i'll be able to make progress. I'm hoping for a test drive soon if i can stay on track without distraction and/or missing more parts! :lol:
Last edited by tedtaylor on Sat Jul 30, 2016 2:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: gjz30075 » Sat Jul 30, 2016 12:21 am

No, not overkill. OEM has the safety wire holes.
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PostPost by: jk952 » Sat Jul 30, 2016 8:55 pm

Ted,
My recollection is the brake bolts also have an unthreaded shank that sits in the alum. strut section, a standard 1 inch bolt likely has no unthreaded shank so I would plan to replace with the correct ( and crossdriled) units. In the meantime for bleeding the brakes the pads just have to be there,provided you remember to put pins and correct bolts in before driving. (I found once at a hardware store pins similar to the correct units, but ordered the correct units anyway)
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:51 am

Grandkid left for home, so I had the whole day to myself to get a lot done.... and I did!
Truly, this is the part I hate when you buy a car that has been taken apart by others. Sure, most all components are there, but my problem has been the fasterners and little "odds n ends" that didn't make it into the boxes.
I rebuilt both rear brake calipers (one was complete and assembled, but the other was totally apart) I was missing the brake pad pins and as you pointed out, the OEM caliper bolts. Seems most of the bolts i have bought are for no good since "shear" and shank design seems to prevail to the engineer. I find it unlikely that my fully threaded bolts will fail, but i am not adverse to replacing them with original OEM bolts if and when i find them.
Since it was the weekend and I didn't realize the parts were missing, and i'm up against a deadline of this Wednesday for the beginning of LOG, I couldn't wait to get the parts from RAY, so i went to the local auto parts store and we sourced a set of pins from a Toyota.
7-30-16-001.jpg and

as you can see, they are too long and the pin retaining clip holes are in the wrong place. A quick hacksaw cut and re-drilling the holes and I have as close to OEM as possible.
7-30-16-002.jpg and

The biggest challenge was installing the dust covers contained in the brake rebuild kit. They were a real BEAR to get on. I must admit to tearing and cutting two of them, even with delicate care with surgical precision. I'm not a swearing man, but you wouldn't have wanted to be in the same garage as I when I was trying to install those boogers!!!
The rear calipers were overhauled and mounted on the car. It was at this time that I came to realize the emergency brake rods were too long!!!! !@#$%^&* UGH!!! Nowhere could i find measurements of what the rod lengths were supposed to be and I had two sets. I knew one set was different length to the other and assumed since these were already mounted to the "tree", then they must be the ones to use. WRONG! I can assume they were the Elan Plus2 parts he stripped down and they got mixed in with my stuff. Again, with surgical precision, I was able to remove the cotter pins and clevis pins to both rods at the tree and successfully installed the shorter correct length rods for this Elan.
I was able to jury-rig an air hose to bleed the brakes and got all the old fluid and air out of the rear brakes. The brake pedal is good and firm, and the wheels turn free with pedal off, HOWEVER the front rotors are locked up. The calipers have closed tight on the front rotors and not retracting, so they are stuck and need an overhaul. I'm prepared since I previously bought the rebuild kits and stainless steel caliper piston/pucks. Thank goodness these are complete and installed on the car, so no missing hardware this time! I suspect by tomorrow, I will have working brakes on the car.
Last on the list is the clutch hydraulics and I have everything I need to do the job.
Four days remaining, but I think it may actually come to pass (that I'll have the Sprint to LOG).
While working on some things, you always seem to find other things that need attention. For example i found the heater control valve connection to the thermostat housing is leaking. I may have to jack up the motor to be able to spin it in/out to be able to seal it correctly.
TED
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PostPost by: elj221c » Sun Jul 31, 2016 9:48 am

tedtaylor wrote:While working on some things, you always seem to find other things that need attention. For example i found the heater control valve connection to the thermostat housing is leaking. I may have to jack up the motor to be able to spin it in/out to be able to seal it correctly.


The trick for this is to drill out the rivet so that you can dismantle the valve. Once the rivet is out you can rotate the outer part of the valve and it will come off. The inner part into the head can then just be unscrewed. Replace the rivet with a bolt.
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PostPost by: pharriso » Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:48 am

tedtaylor wrote:Four days remaining, but I think it may actually come to pass (that I'll have the Sprint to LOG).


I am counting on seeing you there Ted!
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