Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

as an elan novice, I might be just optimistic......but removing the brake master cylinder [on my own] took a bit of acrobatics, and a few swear words.......putting it back in will no doubt be a joy.....any tips?
PO suggested that the car has never been restored.....judging by the state of this he could be right...

fred

Most jobs are a fiddle

You can create more room by removing the carbs first , I also find an easy bleed kit helpful as it removes the need for a second person

Steve

Try removing just the brake master cylinder on a +2

Assuming you're going to fit a new master cylinder, the usual hint is to remember to transfer the operating rod (runs from the pedal to the MC) from the old MC to the new one, because the new one is likely to have a different/wrong length rod.

In my case I found that this was not the case (MC purchased from R.D. Enterprises in the US), and that the old rod was quite worn - so the holes for the brake pedal pin/clevis were oval rather than round. So I used the new rod, thereby removing some of the free pedal play. As far as I could tell the hole in the pedal was minimally worn, but no doubt it contributes to some play.

I had to do mine twice because, although the MC was fine, the new/modern seals started breaking down and turning the brake fluid black within a few months. So I fitted another set of seals - some New Old Stock (NOS) Girling seals purchased off eBay. They have been fine.

To make the MC easy to remove/replace I can recommend a LHD Elan!

Nick

I took a ring spanner of the right size and heated the shaft with a blowlamp and then bent it in a curve so that it can undo the lower nut relatively easily.

I will try take a photo of that spanner for you soon.

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Ah, you can buy them ready bent, it looks something like these:

thanks bill
those look useful...
I eventually used a couple of sockets with extensions, one, gaffer taped to the carbs, to hold the nut, and undid the bolt from the footwell....

fred