Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

So I've been noticing a metal on metal grinding (and shavings) up near the steering column assembly when turning the wheel. I removed the wheel and found this:




There has to be some sort of coupler, bushing, or mounting plate that goes on the back of the steering wheel or behind or over the splines that prevent these two metal pieces from contacting.

What is it? I've looked at the diagrams in the manual but can't locate the piece.

Thank you for all your help. This board has been a treasure trove in getting my car running. I just put 50 miles on a car yesterday that 18 months ago was in sad shape and barely running. This is (as of now) the last piece of a big puzzle I have been assembling.

Hi, There is nothing missing from your column, it has been assembled or pushed too far down.
Release the clamp between the two sections and pull the upper shaft up until you have clearance between the wheel boss and the outer column housing then retighten the clamp correctly.
Cheers, Brian

ncm wrote:Hi, There is nothing missing from your column, it has been assembled or pushed too far down.
Release the clamp between the two sections and pull the upper shaft up until you have clearance between the wheel boss and the outer column housing then retighten the clamp correctly.
Cheers, Brian

Thank you, Brian! Simple enough.

Isn’t he missing the horn contact ring that’s attached to the steering wheel and has a copper ‘finger’ that stays in contact with the copper ring on the column?

The problem with the inner column not being far enough up could be that the column is inserted too deeply into the flex or ujoint at the rack. I’ve done that before. The notch at the bottom end of the column is longer than it needs to be, making this possible.

I just removed my dash to install a heater core on my 67 S3 and dealt with the steering column removal/replacement. The steering column length is adjustable, and you need to loosen the clamp near the firewall on the steering column and pull the steering column out by maybe 1/4". You might also have to loosen the intermediary clamp and the U clamp that is secured to the dash to do this. Brian Buckland's book has a good explanation of this.

Update: I just put my steering wheel back on after the dash install, and it was rubbing against the plastic cowling. So just loosen the two 7/16" bolts on the clamp near the firewall, and pull the steering wheel back to gain a 1/4" or so of clearance between the cowling and the wheel. No need to loosen the two other hard to deal with clamps. Then tighten responsibly and you should be free of the rubbing.

billmoore42 wrote:I just removed my dash to install a heater core on my 67 S3 and dealt with the steering column removal/replacement. The steering column length is adjustable, and you need to loosen the clamp near the firewall on the steering column and pull the steering column out by maybe 1/4". You might also have to loosen the intermediary clamp and the U clamp that is secured to the dash to do this. Brian Buckland's book has a good explanation of this.

Update: I just put my steering wheel back on after the dash install, and it was rubbing against the plastic cowling. So just loosen the two 7/16" bolts on the clamp near the firewall, and pull the steering wheel back to gain a 1/4" or so of clearance between the cowling and the wheel. No need to loosen the two other hard to deal with clamps. Then tighten responsibly and you should be free of the rubbing.

Bill,

I just did this. It took me all of a minute to fix, and 30 seconds of that was figuring out it was an 11mm socket. Thanks for the assistance!

MrBonus wrote:

billmoore42 wrote:I just removed my dash to install a heater core on my 67 S3 and dealt with the steering column removal/replacement. The steering column length is adjustable, and you need to loosen the clamp near the firewall on the steering column and pull the steering column out by maybe 1/4". You might also have to loosen the intermediary clamp and the U clamp that is secured to the dash to do this. Brian Buckland's book has a good explanation of this.

Update: I just put my steering wheel back on after the dash install, and it was rubbing against the plastic cowling. So just loosen the two 7/16" bolts on the clamp near the firewall, and pull the steering wheel back to gain a 1/4" or so of clearance between the cowling and the wheel. No need to loosen the two other hard to deal with clamps. Then tighten responsibly and you should be free of the rubbing.

Bill,

I just did this. It took me all of a minute to fix, and 30 seconds of that was figuring out it was an 11mm socket. Thanks for the assistance!

Glad you fixed it ok, but if you haven't already, do yourself a favour and get some UN (inch-based) sockets and spanners. 11mm is close to 7/16", just a bit big, but you won't always get away with misfits.

And almost everything is these cars takes a 7/16.

I found loosening this sliding joint to also be useful when changing the joint in the steering shaft, as the new joint fit a little differently length-wise.