Lotus Elan

Which Driveshaft?

PostPost by: persiflage » Tue Aug 20, 2024 5:21 pm

Can anyone identify this driveshaft?
Car came with a pile of bills covering a a major rebuild in 2015 and since but nothing mentions driveshafts.
No identification on the shafts.
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PostPost by: elanman999 » Tue Aug 20, 2024 7:03 pm

It's an early Spyder shaft. I had those on my +2 for a good few miles. They work well.
There can sometimes be an issue with them causing the disc to run out but that can be fixed with a lathe or by shimming.
Cheers
John.
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PostPost by: Billelan » Wed Aug 21, 2024 1:40 pm

I agree, looks like an early Spyder drive shaft with a UJ at one end and Rotoflex at the other. I always thought you needed UJ in pairs to keep the rotational velocity constant. Maybe this is why they later went for a CV joint.
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PostPost by: Andy8421 » Wed Aug 21, 2024 4:44 pm

Yep, its got everything wrong with it.

Hooke joints need to be installed in pairs to avoid speed fluctuation when the joint is at an angle. One Hooke joint and one constant velocity joint (if a Rotoflex can be described as such) will vibrate if at an angle.

The sliding spline will lock under load, feeding horizontal loads into the Rotoflex that would normally be shared across two Rotoflex.

The Rotoflex is up at the Diff end, in the hot, oily air that comes down the transmission tunnel. It usually seems to be the Diff end Rotoflex that fails.

If you are only doing limited mileage, and keep an eye on it, you will probably be fine. If you find you have strange vibration when cornering, it might be worth replacing the shafts.
68 Elan S3 HSCC Roadsports spec
71 Elan Sprint (still being restored)
32 Standard 12
Various modern stuff
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PostPost by: persiflage » Sun Sep 01, 2024 10:43 am

Thanks for the responses.
It’s a long time since I drove the Sprint on 4 x doughnuts so my memory of the drive experience is somewhat faded.
I’ve done 800 odd miles this year in a Plus2 with these shafts and can’t say I particularly like the feel of the drive. Other than minimal but still noticeable experience of wind up and intermittent clicking which I think is coming from the rear and is only heard when driving close to a reflecting wall, It’s just not what I expected.
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