He-man Clutch & Non-returning Lights

[AndrewKing]

I recently bought a +2, lovely looking car but am dissapointed with both the clutch and the box.

I find the clutch very hard to push down -is this the norm ? or am I just used to modern boxes.

In addition when I take my foot of the accellarator the box makes significantly more noise, which reduces some what when I push the clutch in. Any ideas ??


Finally whilst the headlight pods do retract they do not retract all the way and then after a few hours they rise gently back up. Again any ideas ?

Andrew

[Bill]

The clutch -thats the way it is!

Gearbox noise - that could be a problem!

Headlights risin? Magic!!!

Bill (just keep your stick on the ice!)

[JACKJABBA]

Andrew, Which box do you have?

My clutch is heavy compared to a modern car, but that said it is not that bad. I have tried cars that are almost impossible to hold the clutch in for any length of time. Has the car been sat for a long time. I also have a 1500 spitfire and the clutch on that was heavy after the car had been left for a year.

Is the gear leaver gaiter in position and sealed. If it is not then you will hear all sorts of noises coming from the box, which you normaly wont hear. My box was reconditioned two years ago and that makes some noise when slowing down. My gaiter needs fitting properly, but when you hold it in position you cant hear the noise. It was standard Lotus practice to replace the lower seal and also the felt to cure noise problems.


Headlight pods, you could have a leak on the vac system, sounds like you have the later type (failsafe) which raise when there is no vac to hold them down. Make sure they are free to move to the fully down position, if they are then check the hose from the No.1 inlet manifold, switch and to to the vacuum chamber. If they are all ok then it could be the vacuum chamber. The system is ment to be able to hold the lamps down for at least 12 hours after the engine has been switched off.

If you have not already got a workshop manual, there are some on Ebay at the moment. There is a test procedure for the vacuum chamber on page 64 of the electrical section. If you don't have it I can scan that section for you.

Jack

[john-c-elan+2]

Re: Lights. I have a fairly late +2 (1973) with failsafe light system. The lights began creeping up after approx 2 hrs. Having completed a chassis change I knew
the problem was not the chassis! The problem was the servo vacuum switch, which did not seal properly. I tried replacing the seal without sucess - i made one from a pencil rubber, then one from silicone, but would not retain the vac. The solution for me was to get a replacement vacuum servo switch, which came from a lotus elite
(70's type) which has cured the problem. The lights now stay down for at least 24 hrs before slowly creeping up. Rgds John

[LaikaTheDog]

re gearbox noise;

I have had this...noisy when clutch is undpressed, goes quiet when depressed ?

caused by worn layshaft bearings in the gearbox. Needs rebuild.

rising lights ?
had this also, found it to be perished T piece from the vacuum tube into the chassis vacuum box.

regards

laika

[kevin]

Andrew

I'm in the process of rebuilding my plus 2. I've also found the clutch to be very heavy and work with very little 'slipping', so it works like and on/off switch.

My father-in-law who is an engineer told me that I can improve the situation if I could find alternative slave and master cylinders with different bores to standard. I need to find out from him as to what the internal diameter sizes should be.

One possible source for the slave cylinder is at <a href='http://www.elanfactory.com.au' target='_blank'>http://www.elanfactory.com.au</a> . I believe that they charge $110 Australian dollars plus delivery. I have no connection with the supplier and as yet have not tried their product.

Regarding you lighting situation, as well as checking for vacuum leaks, also examine the condition of the fixing of the arm connecting the two pods together. I converted mine from non-failsafe to failsafe. The bolt holes in the pods had worn and had subsequently become enlarged. Too big a hole may prevent the pod being pulled down properly.

Best of luck

Kevin
www.lotuselan.info

[TonyC]

I'm on my second +2, and have test driving a few others and they all had a beefy clutch action. Sounds normal, unless you are really struggling to get the pedal down.

As to the lights, I have the opposite problem (none failsave system), when I accelerate hard my lamps gradually drop! Highly entertaining when leaving the town and heading onto the country roads at night :blink:
Must eat more carrots.

[LaikaTheDog]

TonyC,

re your pods dropping upon acceleration, I figure this to be a leaky seal inside the vacuum release relay/valve that activates via your headlamp switch.

Laika

[TonyC]

Is this the valve coming off the manifold ?
I have part cured the problem by replacing perished rubber hoses that had been used instead of the T-piece on the chassis. I replaced one and it became less eager. However there are two other rubber pipes that are also perished and I need to replace them. I was hoping that was the simple reason for the failure.

Is there anyway to check the valve off the car ?

Tony