Plus 2 Heater Overhaul

[bob_rich]

Hi Graham

I think U should be able to fix the motor bearing with a small drift U could tighten up the spring fingers and then U should be able 2 push the bearing back in. If on re-assembly the end float on the motor shaft is a bit high disassemble and put some washer to pack out the shaft so there in so end float but not so tight as to put the motor current up to much from its idle ( no fan value) bit of moly grease as well on the bearings and all should be OK,

best of luck

Bob

[mikealdren]

Hi Graham,
I'm in Kenley (near Purley)

Mike

[tonycharente]

Bob,
...However the front half casing simply would not come off the end of the shaft. There was about 4mm protruding and it simply would not go any furhter. Following my success with the hammer and punch on the fan, I decided these useful tools should be applied again.

WARNING ? DO NOT USE A HAMMER AND PUNCH TO REMOVE THE FRONT HOUSING OF A HEATER MOTOR.

What had happened is that the end of the shaft had got a little rusty. Hardly noticeable at all. However, it was enough stop the shaft sliding free of the bush. My hammering forced the bush out of the claw type retaining ring and there is no way of getting it back in. (see picture). The sad thing was a little rib with emery cloth on the shaft and the bush slides up and down it perfectly. So lesson learned. I?ve bought another motor of ebay for a 60s Land Rover. So I hope Bob was right and most cars of that era shared the same motor. I will take this one apart carefully and note where all the internal parts are located and therefore I will know where to fit the parts that fell out when I took the motor apart as mentioned in my earlier post.

The parts are all now in primer and I started finishing them in satin black tonight. I will let the paint harden for a couple of days and hopefully get the unit back together at the weekend.

Regards
Graham

Hello Graham,
I wish I'd found your post before I took MY heater motor apart !!! - I have exactly the same problem with the bush sticking on the shaft and pulling itself out of the claws when I pulled the cover off and now I can't find a way to get the bush back in.
Did you ever find a solution, please?
Many thanks,
Tony

[elansprint71]

You need a heater near Blaye? Last time we were there it was 44 degrees! Centigrade.

[tonycharente]

We had MINUS 17?c overnight earlier this month...

[gwiz22]

Tony,

any of the cars built in the UK around that time used a heater made by Lucas. Whilst the heater boxes, flaps, etc. were different, the heater motor was typically the same. I scanned ebay looking at all heaters to find one where the motor looked the same as the one from my Plus 2. There were a few but in the end I took a gamble on one from a Land Rover. And it was ok. I believe you should be ok with heater from most Fords of the era and British Leyland cars, such as Morris Minor, MGB, etc. However, I cannot guarantee this having no experience of using those heaters.

Good luck in your search.

Regards
Graham

[tonycharente]

Hello Graham, thanks again, and Hello all.

Since my last posting I have done two things, which leads to some further questions... First a confession, though. I am not actually talking about an Elan heater but the heater from my recently purchased 1966 TR4A. However the motor looks to be exactly the same as that used in the Elan. ...and in most other English cars that decade, no doubt, as you suggest!

I managed to find a way to get the bush back in place and thus rebuild my existing motor - I was able to carefully tap / prise out the sort of rim that holds the claws in place, then I inserted the little bush, put the claws and the rim back in place, and used a vice and a 23mm socket to push the rim firmly in. My brushes were showing very little wear, and I managed to clean up the commutator nicely. I put it all back together and it now works just fine.

However thinking that I would never get it working again I had in fact ordered a new one from a Triumph specialist. The one I have just rec'd is EXACTLY the same as my existing one, just in a closer to new condition, so I'm not sure whether it's NOS that's been on various shelves for years, or whether it's a recon. one. Either way it also works just fine and is, I think, a little smoother than my original one, (which of course still has its old bushes).

Now, at last, my question. My original one has virtually no end-play (i.e. you push/pull on the shaft and it hardly moves unless you pull quite hard when it moves 1 mm at most) whereas my new one has a lot of end-play (i.e. you only need to pull very gently on the shaft and it moves out by 2 or 3 mm). Which is "normal" - and is there a problem with either?

And finally one more question. When I took my original motor apart there was a sort of paper, perhaps some kind of plastic, disk 73mm (a bit under 3") in diameter located in the end casing where the bush/claws/rim are, which just fell out but which was presumably originally stuck in place. When I reassembled my original unit I forgot to put it back. Does anyone know what on earth this disk supposed to do, and does it matter that I've left it out?

Many thanks to all,
Tony

[tonycharente]

Hello All,

In partial response to my own first question:-

Now, at last, my question. My original one has virtually no end-play (i.e. you push/pull on the shaft and it hardly moves unless you pull quite hard when it moves 1 mm at most) whereas my new one has a lot of end-play (i.e. you only need to pull very gently on the shaft and it moves out by 2 or 3 mm). Which is "normal" - and is there a problem with either?

On my original one I had tightened the two little nuts gently but until they would turn no more. I have just loosened them off a turn or so. This has allowed the springs on the long thin bolts to push the cover back a fraction, which in turn has given me a bit of end-play - I presume this is the whole purpose of those springs - they enable you to adjust the end-play (or end-float). But this still leaves the fundamental part of my question - what is the "normal" (read "correct") end-float? Does anybody know?

Many thanks
Tony

[Sea Ranch]

But this still leaves the fundamental part of my question - what is the "normal" (read "correct") end-float? Does anybody know?

Nope.

But it is my considered opinion that there should be some, as opposed to none. This is not a "precision" device, and being an electric motor, the com and stat tend to center themselves due to the magnetic forces. So leave some float (probably the amount is not critical).

Did I mention that I don't really know what I'm talking about . . . ?

Randy

Edit: of course, given the absolutely impossible access, once installed, one would like to get this correct . . . I know.

[tonycharente]

Thanks Randy,

Yes, it's the effort involved in ever removing the motor again that has made we want to know!

I feel that you are right that there should be SOME end-float, so my initial fully tightening the nuts was clearly wrong.

However I'm not sure that the com and stat will actually entirely centre themselves due to the magnetic forces, since I would have thought the fan would tend to push in or pull out the shaft quite a bit. Perhaps there needs to be enough end-float to enable the centring due to the magnetic forces to balance the axial movement caused by the fan so that there's no actual "touching" of the little bushes at either end?

Cheers
Tony

PS I thought you spelt centre "centre" in Canada ???

[Sea Ranch]

Right. Good point, Tony.

I think you may be able to find the info you need on a non-Lotus electric motor website. I totally agree you want this "right".

I believe "centre" is British spelling, no? Mostly, in Canada we use British as opposed to American spelling. Somehow, "center" just sort of slipped through

Randy

[tonycharente]

I believe "centre" is British spelling, no? Mostly, in Canada we use British as opposed to American spelling. Somehow, "center" just sort of slipped through
Randy

"Centre" is of course the CORRECT spelling - as in ENGLISH English. The Boston Tea Party has a lot to answer for !!!