Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

If you mean the method we discussed a few days ago, yes- with no result.

If track rod and arm are detached then they could be left to soak in some paraffin for a day or two which ought to penetrate the joints with a bit of luck.
Or failing this cut the joint at the back of the taper with a hacksaw so the arm can be placed on something solid (but with a hole) and then the taper can be driven straight through.

I always assemble taper joints with copper grease in the fond hope that they won't bond together as these seem to have.

Worth a try. I'm about to be away for four days, so I may just leave it soaked until I return.

4 days should do it!
It's easy to say leave to soak but I'm always too impatient!

To release i always hit at 90? to the axe of the taper with the support on the opposite side i hit.
You for sure have a stuburn one here
Would a gas welding torch help on the outside.
Alan

If available the speed of heating and higher temps of oxy/acetylene is great.
Occasionally I remove assemblies from other cars and take to a garage for separation. A few pounds rather than hours of struggle is well worth it.

MarkDa wrote:If available the speed of eating and higher temps of oxy/acetylene is great.
Occasionally I remove assemblies from other cars and take to a garage for separation. A few pounds rather than hours of struggle is well worth it.

Well said, I have destroyed perfectly good assemblies because I didn't have either the right tool or skill.

I do not have access to oxy/acetylene unfortunately. If the four-day soak doesn't help things, then professional help just might be in order. I'm sure it would be less money than new steering arms.

I'm confident that cutting the back off and getting impact right in line will do it if it doesn't pop out straightaway.
When using a joint separator I reckon to leave the nut on to help keep the screw in line.

JonB, to be honest after all the punishment that steering arm has taken, the suggestion of replacing it with a new one is not such a bad idea

It's Veggie's arm..

Mine came out with a forked ball joint extractor and one moderate whack. Looks like I was lucky! My top joints were the same.

@Veg, I'd suggest trying Mark's suggestion first. It can't hurt. If it doesn't work, seek professional assistance. And get a quote for a new arm, just in case.

And incidentally.. I loosened the Lotus track rod extensions, sort of, but I can't get the nuts loose. The track rod arm keeps turning, even when I use a vise-grip on it. Any advice? I'm thinking of welding a tab to each arm so I can clamp it properly.

Jon
Do you have a stilson wrench? They bite tighter the harder you pull.
Providing you can get spare nuts split off with hacksaw or nut splitter.
Mark

Personally, I?d go for either a nut splitter or a junior hacksaw to split the nut off. That would be after heat and copious penetrating oil of course! I wouldn?t want to damage the tie rod as that?s even more of a clat to replace! You can buy thin lock nuts easily online if you don?t have any although a full size one would probably fit just fine. I buy all my nuts and bolts from Kays online and the service is great.

Small world , so do I , great service....

http://www.kaysfasteners.co.uk/

John