Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Is there any way to tell FROM THE OUTSIDE if the alloy diff casing is the stiffer later version, as fitted to Sprints and 130's ?

Also, if the diff output shafts have the fail-safe pin, does this automatically mean they too are the later strengthened versions ?

Regards,
Stuart.

Stuart, I believe the only difference in the early vs late cases are the ears. The thicker alloy at the top and bottom of the ear provides the stiffness The late case will look like this:

Stuart,

It's safe to say that a diff output shaft and rear wheel spindle with the fail-safe pin is made from the higher tensile strength steel compared to the original parts.
However, if you've uprated your engine to say 150/160 bhp range, then it would obviously be much safer to fit the billet shafts and spindles from the usual sources at a their eye watering costs.