Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

When done to torque they do not line up with the split pin hole.

Another tweak or back off a touch? Which is recommended?

Nearly There!!!

Do they ever?
My view is that you don't want any play that would allow the rod to 'rattle' about, so tighten - its only a few degrees and a very stout 'bolt'.
Have you been following the thread on spring seat support at lotocones?

Spring seat support at Lotocones?

New one on me Mark. Give me a pointer.

Only started a couple of days ago

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=45114

Done now. How anyone does it with the rear window in place is a mystery!

Not the hole in the body does not line up correctly. Was this a standard feature or a special added extra?

A free extra which adds lightness as the hole has to be enlongated

Vince
A couple of home made "special tools " makes the job easy ( easier),one is a rod with a length of locking wire attached ,at the end of which is a spring clip.

This spring clip and wire is threaded through a box spanner ( which already has the castle nut inserted ),the clip is dropped down the hole and placed in the top of the strut , which is then wound-up into place , when in place the box-spanner is used to screw the nut on..

Clip removed , nut tightened ,split pin inserted..

John

elated wrote:A free extra which adds lightness as the hole has to be enlongated

I stuck the cutout bit back. Maybe I should have fitted a hinge?

john.p.clegg wrote:Vince
This spring clip and wire is threaded through a box spanner ( which already has the castle nut inserted ),the clip is dropped down the hole and placed in the top of the strut , which is then wound-up into place , when in place the box-spanner is used to screw the nut on..

Clip removed , nut tightened ,split pin inserted.. John

John,
I tried to get thin wire through the hole first and could not get the nut to pass it.
Any chance of an image? (Not that I intend to make the job a regular occurence!)

Art , not my best subject at school...



John

Ah - the joys of traditional dampers!
I've seen the wire tip before and used it in the 80s to lift the rod up through the lotocone and then pull to full extent before quickly removing the wire and attaching the nut.
A very impressive engineering solution John to avoid a bit of a rush.
However don't modern gas dampers default to fully extended?
I seem to recall that my latest Spax adjustables needed a small spanner to hold the rod rather than a screwdiver and had a nyloc nut.
That's progress I suppose!

john.p.clegg wrote:

DSC02659.JPG

John

I see what you mean now John.

As my spring wind right down I was able to simply jack the strut into place and screw on the castellated by hand. No problem.

Getting the split pin in was the awkward bit! I just wondered how the **** you do it with the rear screen in place. Presumably you cannot reach through the door gap AND look down through the screen?

Got a trained gibbon?

That , Vince, was my downfall , decided the easiest bet was an "R" clip , lasted approx 18 months , then had a " rear-end " failure on my way to Newark Autojumble....use a split pin , it's a pain in the bum , but a must.

John

vincereynard wrote:
Getting the split pin in was the awkward bit! I just wondered how the **** you do it with the rear screen in place. Presumably you cannot reach through the door gap AND look down through the screen?

Got a trained gibbon?

It is awkward with the screen for sure, but doable (just) with some patience (and a few choice words).

Small mirror.. and bent fine-nosed pliers...

John

MarkDa wrote:I seem to recall that my latest Spax adjustables needed a small spanner to hold the rod rather than a screwdiver and had a nyloc nut.
That's progress I suppose!

Same with the TTR setup I recently installed.