Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,

I am about to remove the engine from my Sprint and was just wondering if is necessary to remove or slacken the gearbox mount and gear stick at all or is there enough movement to de-couple the engine and gearbox without touching the gearbox. I understand I will have to support the gearbox of course.

Many thanks

John G
'73 Sprint 0658E

There is enough movement of the engine up as needed during the removal process to enable it to clear the front cross member without removal or loosening of the gear lever or rear gearbox mount. See my recent post on removal and rebuilding of a twin cam to see it coming out of my Elan.

cheers
Rohan

Many thanks - I had already seen your post and photos - very neat removal, I just was not sure about gearbox since I did not see any reference to it. This helps a lot.

Still taking ancillaries off at the moment.

John G

jgrover wrote:Many thanks - I had already seen your post and photos - very neat removal, I just was not sure about gearbox since I did not see any reference to it. This helps a lot.

Still taking ancillaries off at the moment.

John G

Hi John good luck with the removal - are you planning an engine rebuild ?

Generally with the engine removal and rebuilding post I am doing, I have tried to mention everything that's specifically required or not obvious or makes it easier, so if I don't mention it I did not do it or it was not significant whether you did it or not..... but then again in true Lotus fashion there will always be subtle differences

cheers
Rohan

Engine came out easy peasy, many thanks.

Not planning a rebuild, car was driving well 9 months ago - but I took it out because the clutch would not free even though I tried all the methods mentioned in the forum.

Now I have it apart I can't see anything wrong though - friction plate was stuck, but easily came off, so I don't know if it was the pressure plate not doing its work, but it all looks OK.

Any thoughts?

John G

I have a 1972 Sprint fhc and when the engine was hot i sometimes had vibration with the Clutch.
I tried fitting a new Clutch Kit and Needle Roller for the Input Shaft but still had vibration when hot.
In the end i removed the Engine a second time and got the Flywheel resurfaced. I found the Flywheel was smooth but not flat/bowed.
After the problem was solved and Clutch is now 100%.
Alan

Before the clutch stopped working all was fine - no vibration, good take up. I just left it off the road for 9 months and then clutch would not separate. I had previously had it off the road for 10 years and clutch easily separated after I left it for a week with something wedged behind the release fork and pushed it off ramps while in gear.

?? - I'm just worried that the pressure plate may be faulty.

John G

I have experienced this clutch sticking problem several time during my extended (for years!) restoration project on my '67 Elan S3 when I let it sit unused for long periods. It seems the problem was caused by the friction material used in the clutch plate. Changing to a different material was the only way to prevent the problem from reoccurring.

OK I'm going to change the friction plate anyway, and the clutch is at least 35 years old (since before I bought it ) so that may be the problem.

Cheers

John G

I suggest you check the flatness across the Flywheel with a straight edge and a Feeler Gauge
Even if it is in good condition, on my Sprint it was bowed
Alan

Hi John,

In addition to what Alan is recommending, if you are concerned about the pressure plate (possibly 10+ years old?), then change it.

Unless you plan to remove it all again in the near term I would normally replace the thrust bearing, pressure and drive plates = peace of mind!

Regards
Iain

Yes I have come to the same conclusion - replacing both plates and bearing.

Thanks to everyone for their input

John G

I'd be very careful about the thrust bearing, there quite a lot of report on here of poor quality parts that fail quickly. So be careful what you buy/fit if you replace it, you can't assume that a new bearing will be better than the old one you have.