Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All

I?m reassembling my front hubs and can?t locate the steering arm spacer associated with one of the bolts that secure it. I can?t find an old one or where one would fit

31 050C6013 2 Nut, Dust Cover, Caliper Plate and Steering Arm to Vertical Link
050C6104 2 Spacer, Dust Cover, Caliper Plate and Steering Arm to Vertical Link
050C6015 2 Bolt, Dust Cover, Caliper Plate and Steering Arm to Vertical Link


Thanks Phil

Welcome Phil

Thanks for the welcome.

Already found some very useful info on this site . Looking forward to completing my restoration with further support

Phil
Sorry I don?t have the answer but your thread caught my attention. I reassembled a hub on my Plus 2 recently and there was no spacer between the steering arm and the upright. Having said that, once back on the car it did strike me that there is very little clearance between the disc and the track rod end, maybe 3-5mm from memory, so maybe this is why the parts manual refers to a spacer? I can only assume if a spacer is required there would need to one at both mounting points otherwise the steering arm will not be sitting flush.
Will be interested to hear others wisdom on this?
Regards
Steve

Thanks Steve

Your experience mirrors mine. I also couldn?t figure out why there would be only one

Also, agree that the clearance is tight on the rod end.

On another note how was your experience of fitting the dust shields without the disc rubbing ?

No spacer on mine, either. TRE-disc rotor clearance was tight but I think that has more to do with the size of the TRE joint, it was a larger casting than the one I took off. The steering arm passes through the hole in the upright, though, so there's not that much scope to fit a wide spacer. Maybe try a washer or two under the arm?

About the dust shields: Make sure you fit them the right way round. I swapped mine accidentally and they fouled the rotor (although they did fit, sort of). Examine the schematic: http://www.lotuselan.net/wiki/CA_-_Fron ... nsion_%2B2 - the dust shields should be fitted with the convex side facing away from the engine.

Thanks for the answers. Here?s a picture of this area prior to restoration

All very tight fitting

That's interesting. I can see the dust shield looks the right way round. What I did when I fitted mine back to front was to bend them slightly after fitting so they didn't foul. Obviously when I corrected the fitting I bent them back! So you should be OK with some fettling.

Is the photo the current state or have you got it all apart now?

This thread might provide some guidance, if you need it: lotus-suspension-f42/front-end-overhaul-t40806.html

This was when I bought the car a year ago. Everything is now blasted and painted and on the bench for reassembly. I took the pics for reference.

From memory the spacer is there to make up the gap because the sheet steel disc backplate is not being used.

Pictures of mine attached. Leaving out dust shield does not need the addition of a spacer. If you have big diameter track rod ends, adding a washer between the arm and upright on both bolts would give a little more clearance. Just putting one washer under the front bolt would give more clearance but puts twisting strain on the arm which I would avoid.

Many thanks to all for the very helpful reply?s