Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I had a recurrence of the intermittent blowing of ones horn with the S2 the last couple of outings. It was warm enough yesterday so I looked into it. I found that the inner column had slid down through the pinch bolt, the other reason stated here was casing it. I use the Europa U-joint at the bottom of the column (also noticed that its sloppy so that will need replacement soon) so I loosened it and pulled back on the steering wheel and observed a fat 1/8 clearance between the steering wheel hub and the column bell where it flairs out. I re-tightened the pinch bolt and pushed it back into the garage. I also added a pint of oil for the next outing so I will be ready for a ride, maybe today if I feel the need to get another fix of adrenalin.


Gary

Like 69S4, my Elan's horn operates from a remote button (but it's under the dash not on the face ) - a solution put in place by a previous owner. The steering wheel horn button is jammed whilst in place (no doubt causing a short if it was still connected). It has plenty of movement when removed from the boss....

Hi,

I'm resurrecting this thread because I have exactly the same problem. I want to pull out the wheel and boss so there is no contact between the brass contact ring fixed to the column and the Moto-Lita wheel boss, so I need to create a gap of a millimetre or two. Which is the 'pinch bolt' referred to in the post above?

Thanks

Paul

The bolt that screws into number 3 on this diagram is the adjuster for steering column length. It presses on the upper flat part of number 1 and slides down if your body hits the steering wheel in a collision. It's down near the pedals, so involves contortion to get at it.

Personally I slaken 2x bolt 4 rather than 3. 3 sets the force required for column to collapse so is important to get right. 4 just bolts the two bits together and sound be less critical to get the right torque on.

Gentlemen,

Excellent, thanks. I had just started to undo the 'pinch bolt' when I had second thoughts and decided I might not have identified the correct component to loosen.

Paul

mbell wrote:Personally I slaken 2x bolt 4 rather than 3. 3 sets the force required for column to collapse so is important to get right. 4 just bolts the two bits together and sound be less critical to get the right torque on.

This sounds like the best method as I do not see in the diagram or photo any sign of a locknut mentioned by: Post by: alexblack13 ? Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:01 pm

The nut you see on the side opposite the 2 7/16 bolt heads is a locknut.