Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,

Any recomendations for the engine oil to use in +2S130. I live in Cambridge UK so would be handy if I could get it locally, unless places do mail order.

Also getting my lotus going that has been unused for a year. Any things that I should do in particular. What I have done so far;

Blead clutch - wasn't working before now works OK.
Drain old fuel
clean fuel filter
new spark plugs, correctly gapped
turned over with no plugs to get oil pressure up
started engine. Ran amazingly smoothly!

As it is now running OK what should I be doing beyond changing oil and filter. Run the conplete service as in the workshop manual or anything else I should try. I know that it was serviced by Peter Day just before it was put away for a year. This included getting valve clearances adjusted.

Any advice appreciated. I am not going for a concourse car but a practical car to be used regularly rather than just on a nice day.

Thanks

Ed

Ed,
If Peter Day didn't flush fresh brake fluid through the system, that would be my next move.

Greg Z.

I would flush through the brake fluid. I lay up my S4 for the winter then as a matter of routine, flush the brake and clutch fluid through in the spring.

Oil for the engine should be 20W50, do not use the very thin modern stuff like Mobil 1 0W40 it is too runny and will give oil pressure problems and tend to leak out more. You can get 20W50 by mail order direct from Castrol. Also have a look at Millers oils who specialise in older grades. At a push I have used Castrol Magnatech 15W40 from Halfords and it worked OK.

Genrally just check everything over following the service details in the workshop manual. Oil/Grease trunions, check timing, mixture, ignition advance etc......

Better to go over all these things in your workshop with all the tools at hand than by the side of the road in the pouring rain

Thanks for the responses, very usefull to me. I see SJS sportscars (a lotus specialist sell 15/50, does that sound right?

Another area I am unsure on is exactly what oil/greese should I use for each of the points in the manual. I do not have the manual to hand but I think at least the following are mentioned;

trunions
steering rack
universal joint on drive shaft (how do I access that?)
Wheel bearings
any others I have missed?

I also have a question on the wheel bearings. I have over hubs to fit revolution wheels on my car and I can find no way of getting these off. Do I need to take them off to regreese or can this be done with the whole wheel bearing assembly in place.

Thanks for all the advice its worth a million to me!

Cheers

Ed

Change your coolant, flush the cooling system. After about a year the alkalinity changes with long term detrimental effects on aluminum heads. To really get all the coolant out of your system I have attached my shopvac and simply vacuumed all that remained.

Mike geiger
66 S3 Coupe'

Millers Lubricants do a 20w 50 'Classic Sport' Motor Oil they claim is designed precisely for pre-80's sports cars like Lotuses or Aston Martins. if you check out their web site you can order online or refer to their list of local suppliers; the web site is: <a href='http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html' target='_blank'>http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html</a>

>Millers Lubricants do a 20w 50 'Classic Sport' Motor Oil they claim is designed >precisely for pre-80's sports cars like Lotuses or Aston Martins. if you check out >their web site you can order online or refer to their list of local suppliers; the web >site is: <a href='http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html' target='_blank'>http://www.millersoils.net/index2.html</a>

Good grief! At ?5.25 per litre, I'd expect it should be perfect for nearly anything.

?5.25 a liter does not sound that bad! Mobile No1 is around ?35 for 4 litres unless you bring it back from France. Why is oil cheaper there??

How about Halfords own brand 15W50 at around a tenner for 5litres. I've been using it for a year now (20 miles a day) and it leaks out the twink just as good as all the others!! Don't dismiss just 'cos it says Halfords on the can, you oil snobs you.

Simon