Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

hi folks,

It's been a couple of months since I've had the time to do a bit of tinkering but as it's half term i thought I'd finish off what i started in the summer . Never did get to the bottom of why when taking foot off accelerator there was a big delay in deceleration. Nothing wrong with throttle cable ....( indeed i had my younger son running along beside the open bonnet to see what was going on with the throttle).. and carbs were pretty much balanced throughout the rev range confirmed with a flowmeter.
A good piece of advice was offered regarding checking that the weights in the distributor for sticking so I've just stripped it down and washed with petrol. Nothing obviously wrong here i think. the marking on the weights is 10 degrees ...is this the right set?
Markings on the casing are 23D4 with 41189 A below (is this last number a date mark or something else?). Before I put this back there is something else I need to sort i think...

Looking at the drive gear I notice PO had inserted a new locating pin at some time and been a bit heavy handed with a centrepunch and hammer as there is a stress crack on both sides of the gear running from top of the gear to the pin hole and extending a similar distance down toward the gear teeth...... so, how easy is it to get replacement drives?
How common a problem is this ? With the very limited amount of mileage that i will be doing until next year i was wondering what was the worst that could happen if i drove it in current state.... the gear is not loose on the drive .
cheers!
RichC

HI RICHC
change it
________ if it breaks apart from causing the dizzy to stop rotating bits of drive gear will no dought damage the jackshaft drive which drives it
regards phil

RichC wrote: how easy is it to get replacement drives?

Go to the Burton website and search DSE023D its about ?30 for a new one.
I remember years ago making one fit from an old oil pump, think I had to turn up a bush as I think the oil pump drive has a slightly larger inside diameter but the outside drive teeth are the same.

Rich, before getting your dizzy fixed,may i sugest speaking to Tony of Tony Thompson Racing, im getting an electronic system for a motor up to 150bhp from him.if you go to his web site the price list on on there. i have spoke to other people/company's about this upgrade and he seems more knowledgable, friendly, and cost wise on the money. no connection to me other than me being a happy customer, Paul

RichC wrote:Markings on the casing are 23D4 with 41189 A below (is this last number a date mark or something else?).

It's the "despatch number" of the distributor. 41189 was supplied with Weber carbs on S/E and Sprint versions according to the manual.

Many thanks folks. I'll get on to tony thompson and burton websites ,
I had thought to keep things as original as possible. However , I do understand that for "original" you can also read "problematic"
RichC

so, having ordered the drive gear from Burton's , it should be with me tomorrow. the part referenced above is given as having an i/d of 1/2" which matches the shaft o/d so it would seem no bushing will be required.
Apparently it doesn't come with a hole for the roll pin so this has to be drilled and a roll pin has to be found from somewhere else . with my very limited tools I am unable to 1. knock out the old knackered roll pin 2 . identify the o/d of the old roll pin ...is it 3/16" ?? and 3/4" long?
If there is anyone who has knowledge or experience of doing this job or point me in the direction of someone who has, i would be grateful.
I can call up a few precision engineering places in Colchester but it's unlikely they will have done this before which always introduces an element of risk don't you think?
On the face of it , it seems like a pretty straightforward job to pass on to someone , but what do I know??
RichC

http://www.aldonauto.co.uk/shop/

Neil

Hi Rich

From memory it is just a roll pin, so you just knock it out with a hammer a punch.
If you want to pop around over the weekend I am happy to knock it out for you?

If the pin is NFG then halford sell a box of different sizes for ?7 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165562

If the gear has no hole I am not sure how you would drill the hole in the right place for the pin to pass through the gear and align with the already drilled dizzy shaft?

Jason

thanks Jason .
here's a picture of the offending article ( pls note there were no symptoms , I just had the urge to remove distributor for some reason!)

Hi Rich

Ohh That's a scary looking crack.

It looks as if the drive has had it; I would split the drive with a hammer and chisel to save the pin. You can then take the pin out and file down the belled over edges and reuse it.

Nice pic of how the dizzy should like from SJ Sportscars website.

The offer still stands if you want a hand over the weekend.

Jason

Cheers Jason,
what time would suit you?
PM me

Did you get the standard drive or the bronze one?

Neither is cheap was just wondering what the benefit is from the bronze one? anyone?

You have a PM

Jason

The bronze drive does not wear down the drive on the idler shaft at the same speed as a steel drive.
You may have to change the bronze drive erlier than a steel drive but you can go on with the old
idler shaft.
Petter

i got the standard one. I'd imagine you'd have to have pretty high mileage (or racing conditions?) to warrant upgrading.
RichC