Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I took my +2 for a spin today and in addition to the fuel gauge suddenly not working (grr..) I noticed a thud a few times when changing from 1st to 2nd when pulling out of junctions, etc. This also happened when driving slowly through my undulating garden on the way to my garage. It doesn't seem to do it when cruising along or during the other gear changes. My first thought is worn engine/gearbox mounts, from a visual inspection the engine mounts look fine (replaced in 2012, driven 5k since then), although I'm not sure a visual check can be too useful. I did notice the engine wobbling a reasonable amount whilst I adjusted the idle, but I am not sure whether this is still in the normal range. Next step I plan to check movement at clutch bite point. Any advice will be welcomed.

Cheers,

Bob.

How are the propeller “U” joints
Drive shaft gonuts or solid
Any loose bits and bolts, suspect not. But worth a check.
Can you get under the car, long pry bar/screw driver to try to wiggle things?

There is certainly more torque in 1 and 2, as your rolling usually by 3-4.

Thanks for your reply H20.

I have solid driveshafts. Nothing seems loose, I got under the car and pushed against engine/gearbox but no alarming movement evident. I suspect whatever is starting to go is in the early stages given it doesn't happen ion higher gears.

A few more things to check.

Cheers,

Bob.

Robstre you should change your username away from your email address - once the spam bots get hold of that you’ll be inundated with spam.

Bottom of Diff hitting Chassis. Diff top Mounts "Frustacones" need replacing.
Alan

+1 on diff mounts. Check the "ears" carefully for cracks too, old aluminium gets very brittle!

Never heard a peep from my engine mounts but here’s the collapsed one on the right and the new one on the left and it’s pretty much just a visual to let you know if they’re no good or not. And the bad one was the one by the exhaust and I wrapped it in reflective material.Of course replaced both. Gordon Sauer

How long did you get out of yours Gordon? Last one of mine I had 800miles

Got the car in 89 and hate to say that I never did change them and only noticed it because I was in there trying to figure out how my air conditioning compressor had gotten a little bit loose and noticed that—so maybe that way for a long time! Gordon

I saw this post after trying to chase a noise on my +2, possibly coming from the engine mounts.

I used a piece of wood about 2 feet long that just fits inside the head, where the spark plugs are. I could then rock the engine and transmission a good 10mm either way without putting much force on it. I tried not to overdo it as there is some strain on the rocker cover. I was also careful to avoid the thin web at the back of the rocker cover!

Possibly this could help you trace the fault.

Dave Chapman.

david.g.chapman wrote:I saw this post after trying to chase a noise on my +2, possibly coming from the engine mounts.

I used a piece of wood about 2 feet long that just fits inside the head, where the spark plugs are. I could then rock the engine and transmission a good 10mm either way without putting much force on it. I tried not to overdo it as there is some strain on the rocker cover. I was also careful to avoid the thin web at the back of the rocker cover!

Possibly this could help you trace the fault.

Dave Chapman.

Thanks for your reply Dave, so 10mm play = ok, I'll give it a try and also have a look at the diff although the latter is scaring me a tad! From recollection the noise seems to be coming from fwds of the middle of the car, a dull thud rather than a metal on metal sound I'd expect if the diff is slamming into the chassis.

Cheers,

Bob.

My first thought when you said middle was the exhaust maybe hitting the channel in the chassis and perhaps That could relate to some change in torque when you’re shifting which could move the motor/trans around on sloppy mounts. Gordon Sauer

Check your front anti roll bar bushes especially the drop link ones

I purchased both new engine mounts at the beginning of my refurb.

After being installed and the engine not even being run for 3 years the rubber mounting had completely collapsed!

The rubber ain't what it used to be - since the manufacturers removed all the nasty (but necessary) chemicals.

Don't plan on yours lasting like they used to!!

If the engine mounts are causing the problem, check the gap between the air box and the inner wing as per the attached photo, if it’s much less than the picture, try putting a lump of blue tack in the gap and see how much it gets squashed when you next take it for a drive.