Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi. I have a Plus 2. Am I the only one who is suffering from petrol leaking from the cold start assemblies on both my Stromberg 175 DC2's, or is there anyone else out there with the same problem. The leak appears to be from around the gasket between the cold start unit and the carburettor body. The carbs have recently been completely rebuilt by EuroCarb, in Reading, but it would seem they have never tested it with petrol, otherwise they would have spotted the problem immediately. If you have experienced this, and have a possible solution, I would be happy to hear from you. I would prefer not to send them back to reading for another 4 weeks! All I have tried so far is tightening up the two locating screws, with no obvious effect. And I can only tighten these so much without stripping the thread...or worse. Thanks for any advice that you can send my way. Chris.

I've had leaks from one of mine but it's usually from where the spindle comes out from the housing, not from the gasket to the main body. The only time I've had a leak there is when I tried hand cutting a gasket as a cheapskate alternative to buying one. The 'factory' one has usually been ok.

Presumably the carbs are now back on the car. otherwise it's an easy fix, but I guess you don't have a spare gasket.

If they are leaking from the gasket it's possible the housings are distorted due to overtightening of the fixing screws or the mating faces are damaged, either way you will need to remove the assemblies from the carbs to investigate. As you have been able to access the screws to check for tightness, you may be able to do that without removing the carbs from the engine. Once removed mark the relationship between the choke lever and spindle before dismantling (it is possible to assemble 180 deg out !) then you can check the mating face of the housing by rubbing on wet and dry paper on a sheet of glass .. that will show up and correct and defects.
Stromberg spares are available from these guys:-
https://burlen.co.uk/
http://www.gowerlee.dircon.co.uk/spares.html#Stromberg
That said you really ought to return them to the rebuilder but I can understand your reluctance if it's going to take 4 weeks and the sun is out now !

Thanks my friend. That all makes perfect sense. I have some very fine wet and dry and several sheets of glass. Wish me luck!!