Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Apparently I need to pull the Weber carbs on my 1969 Elan +2 in order to access the fuel pump. My goal is to blow out the main fuel line that supplies the pump before attaching it to my new fuel tank. The old tank was weeping petrol and possibly allowing corroded material from the tank into the fuel system. I am looking for the easiest way to remove the Webers. The bottom 4 retaining nuts can not be seen, only felt. The idea of trying to reattach the spring washer combo and insert a feeler gauge in a hard to reach invisible spot intimidates me. Is there a YouTube video or some other advice regarding the easiest technique for pulling and reinstalling the carbs? Is there any other way to get to the fuel pump?

LHD, non federal, #2305

I use one of these:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-35-Piec ... et/3387640

To access/remove the nuts coming in from the front and under carbs. A little tricky but only few minutes to get them off

I have the rubber mounts so haven't had to try set the during gap.

It's easier than it first appears. Once the air box and front carb is removed, access is much improved to the rear one. While you really don't need a feeler gauge to set the clearance on the Thackeray washers (you can get close enough visually on the gap), it's still doable.

A myth has somehow arisen about setting the gap for the o-rings between the carbs and the intakes on the head.

It really isn't critical (IMO) you just tighten the nuts until the o-rings are visually lightly compressed.. that's it.

I've never used feeler gauges or any measuring device for that gap.


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The bottom nuts of the rear carburettor are easily removed or tightened with a suitable sized socket head on a flexible screwdriver drive.

Hi
Easier than you think.

Remove outer air box
Slacken top nuts using open ended spanner
Slacken off lower nuts with 1/4" drive socket extension
when the nuts are slack there is more movement of carbs this allows hands in to remove lower nuts and washers without dropping them. beware there is a black hole between the chassis and body to loose them in.

Dexterity is required good luck

Thanks guys. I am fearful of that black hole!

+1 to billwill's flex drive advice. I've used the 1/4" one for awhile and it seems made for carb nuts.

bitsobrits wrote:It's easier than it first appears. Once the air box and front carb is removed, access is much improved to the rear one. While you really don't need a feeler gauge to set the clearance on the Thackeray washers (you can get close enough visually on the gap), it's still doable.

I can set the clearances on the rubber type blindfolded.

If you can just get a fingernail in the gap, they are just right !

As an alternative a clever trick, that came from someone on here but I can't remember who, is to fully tighten the carburettor fixing nuts and then slacken them one turn to give the correct Thackery washer gap of 0.040 inches.

The way this works is that the thread is 5/16 in UNF which has 24 tpi, turning the nut one revolution moves the nut 1/24 = 0.042 inches.

As already stated by others, remove the air box front and rear, you’ll need to disconnect the throttle cable. Only the front carb needs removing to get enough access to the fuel pump. Worth removing the pump to clean it properly. Disconnecting the pipe at the tank end can be more of a challenge depending on what access holes happen to be in your car! You’ll need to balance up the carbs when replacing the front one, if you have a carb balancer it helps but is not essential. New washers on the carb fuel connections are also a good idea.

Hi there

Check that the studs are are all screwed in the same amount i.e. with the same length protruding, then with the thackeray washer, a plain washer and the nyloc nut in place, I find it's easy to judge how tight the lower nuts are by feeling how much of the stud protrudes through the nuts and comparing this with those on top.

I've found that on my engines when the nuts are tightened so the studs is flush with the top, then the spring washer gap is just about spot on

Regards
Andy

That is an interesting point Andy. I did find one of the studs protruded further than the others. Of course, it was one of the hidden underneath studs.
Using my newly acquired flexible extension I was able to remount the carbs. I used a combo of the "fingernail in the gap" and the "back out one full turn" techniques on the underneath fasteners. Tried to error on the side of looseness vs. being too tight.

Thanks to all for your advice,
Craig

Just for info our local Aldi store had a hand held endoscope with flexible scope for very little money. It has a small hand held screen with controls for zoom and adjustable led light brightness and is great for this type of thing. I originally bought it to check out the inside of my fuel tank for corrosion, but have found it ideal for looking at awkward to see things such as these bolts under the carbs.

Bigbaldybloke wrote:Just for info our local Aldi store had a hand held endoscope with flexible scope for very little money. It has a small hand held screen with controls for zoom and adjustable led light brightness and is great for this type of thing. I originally bought it to check out the inside of my fuel tank for corrosion, but have found it ideal for looking at awkward to see things such as these bolts under the carbs.

You can also buy USB ones that plug into a phone for very little money. Likely not as good but still useful.

I feel stupid asking this, but I assume there is a port in the intake where I can screw in fittings for carb synchro balancing tubes. If so, where is this? I am studying the Weber carb diagram in the workshop manual and am lost among the 93 numbered components.