Plus 2 battery earth

[TonyA]

I want to take out and clean up the bolt that comes into the boot from the chassis and to which the battery earth goes..If I remove the nut, washers and battery earth terminal, does the bolt drift out or is it in a bobbin so as to need unscrewing from underneath..? Thx as ever..Tony

[reb53]

I have an Elan rather than a Plus 2 but I'm guessing it's the same.
It'll be screwed up into a bobbin so will require unscrewing.
If it's already slightly loose it won't be making the best contact with the chassis which is why, on my car, I ran a drill through the bobbin to remove the threads.
Now the bolt clamps the chassis to the earth strap really tight.
I did this 40 years ago and it's been fine since.

Ralph.

[andywatts]

Tony - sorry, but originally it was a threaded bobbin. I can imagine that many owners will have drilled the threads out (as I have). You need electrical contact between the bolt and the chassis, and of course if the shank of the bolt is locked in the bobbin the head of the bolt may lose contact with the chassis. Good luck removing it - WD40 several days in advance recommended.

[prezoom]

my Plus2 has 2 bolts fron the chassis. After cleaning, I bridged the 2 bolt, doubling the ground connection.

[mbell]

I moved the earth connection up to the right rear cross brace bolt...

[stugilmour]

I moved the earth connection up to the right rear cross brace bolt...

Same for me. Very good ground as the bolt is directly threaded into the frame. Also no road dirt in this area. May have to drill out the ground cable and/or replace with a longer one as the tower bolt is 7/16” UNF x 1 1/2” long.

I thought my Plus 2 bolts on the boot floor did not use a threaded bobbin, but could have been modified before I owned the car.

The parts manual calls up two only ‘set screws’, hex head 3/8” dia UNC x 1 1/4” long. The bolt stacks, inserted from below, include a shakeproof washer and a plain washer. They are topped with Nyloc nuts, and apparently no washers. The same setup is used on the front mounts by the steering rack, although on the front they actually specify the hex bolts in 1 1/4” and 1” lengths, presumably to accommodate a front ground connection on the longer left side bolt.

The parts book pictures don’t include any packing washers, which may have been required to get the frame to body attachment level. Be mindful of any packing washers so they stay aligned when the bolt is removed.

HTH