Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,

I am about to assemble my front suspension with new polyurethane bushes in the wishbones. Do I need to tighten the wishbone bolts when the ride height is correct (wishbones parallell to the ground), or can I tighten suspension when the wheels are taken of and the car is lifted?

Is it the same procedure with rubber and poly bushes?

/Ulf

According to the manual tighten to the correct torque all suspension nuts and bolts when the car is at the correct ride height.

Mick G

Hi Ulf,

there are different suppliers of those bushes & they may have differing designs i.e operating modes.

You can best help yourself with this question by pre-assembling the wishbones onto the chassis before fitting the spring/damper units & anti-roll bar.

If the wishbones move freely when tightened up then you can tighten the finished assembly at whatever stage suits you.
If however the wishbones bind or are difficult to move then tightening the finished assembly will need to be done with the weight of the car on its wheels.
You shouldn't subject the bushes to shear forces, regardless of if they're rubber or polyurethane.

Good luck!
John

Thought polly bushes were different & u lube the inner ferrule so does not matter when u tighten, where as the o/e rubber is as per the manual at ride hieght. Av got my ttr destructions somewhere so can/will check. Curly 1964 26Rr Forth Bridge style rebuild

I thought the issue was compression rather than friction. If so lube or no lube wouldn't matter.

Poly bushed operate in a totally different way to the original "Metalastic Type" bushes that need to be at the neutral ride height when fixed in position. Poly bushes are effectively loose and really do not need such positioning - especially when lubed.
However, it is good practice to fix suspension parts in the neutral position - IMO.

Just one small point!

I have poly all round except for the front lower shocker bush. It is rubber. For that reason alone I will do ride height to tighten the bolt through that one. You may have poly there.............?

Mike

MickG wrote:According to the manual tighten to the correct torque all suspension nuts and bolts when the car is at the correct ride height.

Mick G

My manual must be an old one, it does not mention poly bushes at all.

My manual is an old one (like me)and doesn?t mention poly bushes. Maybe I'm just too old school and always tighten up the suspension with the car at ride normal height. Right or wrong,Elan or not!