Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have a pair of CV rear drive shafts on my Plus 2 - I think they were bought from Sue Miller but I'm not 100% sure. There is some axial play and I've stripped one and it appears to be the internal spline on the joint rather than the spline on the shaft. Does anyone know where the CV joints are from so I cold buy one and try it to see if it removes the play. There are part numbers etched on the outside of the joint bodies - L9 21 for the inboard end and L9 23 for the outboard end.

I don't have these shafts by CV joint are likely one used on VW Beetle/Bus etc.

Can possibly figure it out from:
https://www.jbugs.com/VW-Tech-Article-C ... Specs.html

The later cv shafts from Sue Miller used Shaftec cv joints but I don't know about the early versions.
I purchased replacement Shaftec from Kelvedon
Ed

The CVs used in the aftermarket driveshafts seem to have had either Ford or VW parentage, and ultimately were manufactured by GKN Lobro. I am 'offshore' at the moment and can't seem to get to the GKN online catalogue, but you may be able to cross reference the part numbers there.

If you can, I would try to get genuine GKN parts, rather than parts that may have questionable lineage.

The early shafts sold by Sue Miller had CV joints from the Ford Granada
100mm o/d
32mm deep
25 splines

Hi Simon
The problem with the Sue Miller driveshafts is that the CV joints are a sliding fit on the shaft rather than an interference fit so, even when new, there's always going to be axial movement as you describe. This is a problem as over time it will wear the splines on both the joint and the shaft.

If the joints are really badly worn then replacing them may take out excessive rotational play but it won't help with the axial movement, you'd need new shafts with tighter splines to do this and then press assemble them

My solution was to shim under the retaining circlip to take out as much play as possible then use Loctite high strength retainer to glue the joints to the shaft. It may seem a little gash but it's worked for me for the last ten years. If necessary (i.e. to replace the rubber gaiters) the joints can be remove from the shaft by dismantling the joint and then pulling the joint inner off the shaft using a bearing puller after first applying some heat.

Regards
Andy

The standard splines on a shaft to CV inner should be a light press fit. The CV shaft should be fixed in place with essentially zero axial movement with a shoulder on the shaft and a circlip. This press fit plus circlip ensures no movement of shaft versus CV inner and is how the VW shafts and GKN CV's I have used for 40 years are designed and i have never had to change them. I guess use of a suitable loctite on the splines can help prevent movement and wear if needed but i have never needed to use.

cheers
Rohan

Thanks to all for the useful advice. I don't like the idea that on my driveshafts the CV joint is not a tight fit onto the splined shaft prior to fitting the circlip. I feel I should replace the whole assembly.
Rohan - you mentioned that you have successfully used VW driveshafts and GKN CV joints, do you have part numbers and/or a supplier that I could contact for my Plus 2?
Thanks again.

Hi There

I looked into the possibility of getting new shafts made to suit the CV joints but there were problems. Without original factory drawings for the CV joints it's very difficult to work out to what tolerance the splines should be manufactured to and without this information it's very difficult to make shafts and be certain to give the correct interference (and unlike a simple hole, measuring an internal spline accurately is very difficult). You might easily finish up with a fit that is too tight or too loose and be no better off. I imagine this would be a problem for any outfit making items in small quantities and they'ed err on the loose side to ensure parts could be assembled. You could cut-and-shut original Ford or VW shafts which would get around this problem but I wouldn't like the idea of a welded driveshaft and that's why I chose the Loctite route.

Of course, none of this would be a problem for the likes Ford or VW who'd be buying parts in the hundreds of thousands as they would easily have access to the CV joint drawings or, more likely, simply order shafts and CV joints complete from someone like GKN.

Regards
Andy

Hi Andy

I've had Sue Miller CV joints on my +2S130 for 21 years without fault. They are as Rohan states a push on fit, not press fit.
Mine are the original shafts with all bolt fixing.

Demon tweeks can supply correct type GKN and also light weight joints

Hi There

Yes, it's only necessary to have a fit which is sufficient to ensure that when the joint is moved, all the articulation occurs within the joint itself before the whole joint moves on the splines. That wasn't the case for me

Regards
Andy