Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I obtained a full bush kit from Autobush, and very nice they look too, and a bargain to boot!

However, I am struggling to get the rear wishbones into the brackets on my Spyder chassis - they will force in but becuase of the bush flange protrusion they will bind against the inside of the chassis mounting lugs.

Any advice here and on installation generally as from a quick search they do not appear to be a straightforward fit?

I have seen references to using washers with the crush tubes but where do these go - between the crush tube and chassis flange or between the bolt head/nut and flange?

Cheers for any advice offered

Jono

do you have Spyder rear wishbones? I think there is an issue with poly bushes and the dimensions of the Spyder wishbones.

Alan

Jono, I have Kelvedon adjustable rear wishbones with polybushes fitted into a Spyder chassis. They were a very tight fit first time around, with plenty of lube, some hammering and levering managed to get them into place. They have been in and out a few times now and are tolerably easier to fit. It helps if you taper the end of the bolts, as it is not always possible to get the bush and the chassis hole exactly lined up. Absolutely no room or need for additional washers here (unlike front wishbones and polybushes)

Regards

Gerry

Just don't do what I did when trying to fit these bushes in the rear, which was to cut off about 1/4" of my right thumb! Don't ask how - just keep your hands well clear when "hammering and levering", especially if a floor jack is involved. Now that they are in, they work great.

Jono,
I used a different brand of poly bush, but had the same tight fitting problem. To make the fit easier, I skimmed some of the flange protrusion off using the side face of a bench grinder grinding wheel. It didn't affect the bush positioning, as I didn't touch the inner tube.
Colin.

jono wrote:I obtained a full bush kit from Autobush, and very nice they look too, and a bargain to boot!

However, I am struggling to get the rear wishbones into the brackets on my Spyder chassis - they will force in but becuase of the bush flange protrusion they will bind against the inside of the chassis mounting lugs.

Any advice here and on installation generally as from a quick search they do not appear to be a straightforward fit?

I have seen references to using washers with the crush tubes but where do these go - between the crush tube and chassis flange or between the bolt head/nut and flange?

Cheers for any advice offered

Jono

Cheers guys,

What I am struggling with is that if the bushes are tight between the chassis lugs, will they not bind slightly regardless of the crush tube being clamped by the bolt force? The Autobushes have cross grooves on the external face of their flanges which I presume are there to carry some grease, so I dont' realy want to shave these down.

Perhaps I am worrying unduly and that forcing them in and relying on lube to cause the bushes to move freely between the chassis lugs will be okay?

I thought I?d read somewhere about a problem with non lotus rear wishbones but it seems it?s the outer bushes.
From Superfex website,
Rear Wishbone Outer to Hub; Top Hat Bush & Stainless Steel Tube
Note: Above was developed to fit original Lotus wishbone which measures
145mm between housings; beware of reproductions that measure less.

Alan.

Success

...tried agian tonight and got both sides on with little trouble, just plenty of the supplied grease and some pump action clamps, a bit of wood and big hammer

..they are actually a super fit once and do look to be an excellent bit of kit - full car set for ?60