Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Right first of all apologies in advance for these all being simpletonesque questions, i'm hoping someone out there might be able to give me a bit of assistance or at least clear a few things up for me!

I bought a +2 about 6 months ago and thought it was in fairly good condition all round and understand that it is a lot older than me now so will have a few minor health complaints here and there.....

Firstly i can't keep it dry inside the carpets themselves are dry but the "underlay" beneath them is damp to sodden so I don't think it's rain leaking down through the dashboard, either water getting up through the bottom of the car or leaking from the doors/sills area (it is a lot wetter towards the door). Has anyone else had similar experiences and any ideas of the best way of fixing?

Secondly, it seems to leak petrol - via the top of the petrol cap - after I have filled up and driven around for a bit i see it escapes and dribbles down the side of the car. Which is rather annoying....any ideas on how this can be fixed?

Apologies if these are questions that are asked a lot or if I am being a numbnut - any help would be appreciated!

Water can be getting in in any number of places. If it's wet around the door area first try checking the door hinges where they mount to the body or the door seals themselves. Also check the closing plates in the wheel arches are sealed up - road water splashing onto these can, if they are not sealed, enter into the car in the footwell.

As far as the fuel cap is concerned, it's a common problem. Mine had a vented cap that has a small hole drilled in the seal plate. A blob of solder filled it up and now it doesn't leak. Worth a look to see if yours is the same.

Hi

Firstly get a new seal for the fuel cap I got the seal after much searching from SJ sportscars, I think it was about ?2. Everyone else tried to make me pay ?45 for a new cap!

Water leaks= I get leaks from the bulkhead, from the almost 40 year old wiring grommets and the pedalbox seal. Also the rubber on windowscreens are hard so these leak and the door quarter glass channels rot through and these leak.

Basically, anything that is rubber will go hard and leak, if the rubber is in the engine bay/ bulkhead the water is going to run down the bulkhead and under the carpet.

The best thing to do is replace all the rubber seals and grommets under the bonnet and go from there. I am slowly doing mine (I have told the wife the car is a 10 year project) although I think the main leak is the pedalbox.

At least the floor will not rust

Jason

The easiest way I've found to deal with leaks is a product called Goop, it's RTV but is has a very low viscosity. It will seep in wherever water will, then it 'sets' up. It's clear and any excess can easily be trimmed. My leak was the near side windscreen, thirty years ago.

I quite agree about the bulkhead area being the main source for leaks as I have the same problem and have had to take ll underlay out and tend to not leave carpets down. I have siliconed up all the holes I can find and yet it still got in with the pedal box looking like the main culprit. Am still trying to figure out a way to deal with it personally, I will replace the gasket at some point, but has anyone else found a good way to stop this leaking area, as there seems to be more than one of us with this problem?

Has anyone heard of a similar product over this side of the pond to the one being sugegsted from the states? I have heard of waxoyl being used for this purpose on landrovers to some success but wouldnt like to try it on GRP or anywhere near a hot Twink.

Cheers

Andy

I used Prestik, as suggested in the manual, which worked but the stuff I have is grey which I didn't like. So the next time I took the pedal box out I used black silicone, which also seems ok. You have to put quite a lot on as the finishing of the fibreglass in this area (on mine anyway) is a bit rough around the edges.

Didn't use a gasket - there wasn't one on when I first took the box out. Don't even know if you can buy them, but quite easy to make I imagine.

I used silicon recently, will see how it goes
Tim

Andy,


This link might get it to your side of the Pond, it's really great stuff! http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102 ... &x=11&y=20