Rear shock dimensions?

[nebogipfel]

Hi All

I've checked the archive but can't find this info'. My aforementioned friend with a +2 has just bought a new pair of rear shocks which should be for an Elan but he just wanted to check prior to stripping the back of his car.

Does anyone have these dimensions to hand please?

---Total length closed

---Total length open

---Tube diameter

---Diameter of top of shaft (location in lotocone)

Preferably OE dimensions, and not Spax (spits as he writes it )

Thanks as always

EDIT: Having mentioned Spax I should explain that I tried Spax units in the rear of my S4 and they were a very poor fit in the lotocones, I went for Konis as an alternative and they are a better, stronger looking damper and more importantly are dimensionally as OE and fit the lotocones properly (blimey all this spitting is making my mouth dry )

[ardee_selby]

<snip> Hi All, I've checked the archive but can't find this info <snip>

John, What searching did you do? For all of these?

1.0 Rear Shock - 463 results
2.0 Rear Shocks - 418 results
3.0 Rear Dampers - 293 results
4.0 Rear Shock Absorbers - 74 results

WRT "a new pair of rear shocks which should be for an Elan" Do you know make? Part No.?

Good luck with your quest....

[garyeanderson]

Koni Rear insert for Elan

I didn't get diameters, its metric is my guess

[nebogipfel]

Koni Rear insert for Elan

I didn't get diameters, its metric is my guess

Thanks Gary, very useful, I'll pass the info' on.

I think he wanted to know the diameter of the shaft at the lotocone because he was present when I was fitting my (correctly supplied) Spax dampers (spits again) and they were clearly too small and not a correct safe fit in the lotocones. The Konis I subsequently fitted looked like the OE shocks and fit the lotocones like a glove.


Richard, not sure of the make, I will try to find out.

My searches revealed lots of discussion about dampers and surprise surprise ride height but I couldn't find any dimensional info'. To be honest I never have much luck with searching, perhaps it's just me?

[ardee_selby]

Have a look at this thread. Konis' get a mention as having similar interface problem...hole too big, or shaft too small?

elan-f15/lotocone-puzzle-t18961.html

(When I replaced some Koni inserts with Armstrong units & fitted new Lotocones I didn't have a problem...at least I didn't think I had until now!)

[john.p.clegg]

John

Armstrong as follows

Outer tube 17"

Total closed 19 5/8"

Total open 27 7/8"

Outer tube 1 23/32"

Top shaft 3/4"

Top D 21/32" (across flat)

John

[garyeanderson]

Some people want every thing

Hey its still dark. I took 15 pictures to make sure I would get at least one that I could read in a photo. so here you are

.856 shaft
.747 shoulder
.670 flat

[nebogipfel]

Very helpful information gentlemen. Many thanks for your assistance, I'll pass it on.

EDIT: Richard, I found that lotocones and Spax (oh no I just spat on the keyboard) didn't work together but my old shocks and indeed the new Konis fit in the new lotocones like gloves. All parts supplied by the lovely Susan.

[nebogipfel]

Some people want every thing

Hey its still dark. I took 15 pictures to make sure I would get at least one that I could read in a photo. so here you are

.856 shaft
.747 shoulder
.670 flat

Elan Koni diameter.JPG

That is above and beyond the call of duty Gary, Many thanks

[oldelanman]

EDIT: Richard, I found that lotocones and Spax (oh no I just spat on the keyboard) didn't work together but my old shocks and indeed the new Konis fit in the new lotocones like gloves. All parts supplied by the lovely Susan.

This has been said before but maybe worth repeating.......As stated above the original dampers had 3/4" diameter shafts which were a loose fit through the lotocone but were centred by a flange on the bottom of the castellated top nut. Replacement dampers - certainly the TTR ones I have and possibly others too have a 16mm dia shaft and a plain nyloc top nut so not only are they a looser fit through the lotocone but they are not centred by the nut either. I believe that some of the replacement dampers are supplied with a top-hat sleeve which fits under the nut, my TTR ones were not so I had some made.

[Galwaylotus]

Thanks for the clarification, Roger!

[ardee_selby]

John,

Has your +2 mate replaced the lotocones?

Ref: Picture from Stuart in thread below:

Lotocones.jpg (33.49 KiB) Viewed 2408 times

elan-f15/lotocones-t18744.html

[nebogipfel]

John,

Has your +2 mate replaced the lotocones?

Ref: Picture from Stuart in thread below:

Lotocones.jpg

elan-f15/lotocones-t18744.html

Not yet Richard, he hasn't dismantled the car at the moment but wanted to ensure that the items he had bought were correct.

Roger, I note your post about lotocones but as far as I'm aware mine were the correct ones and certainly were the same as those removed from the car. The problem was with the Spax damper dimensions, and if they needed adapters or sleeves or whatever to fit the car then they should have been in the box.
It's worth saying that they also looked lightweight and weedy compared to the originals and indeed the Konis I ended up fitting.

I have mentioned it before but I also intended using Spax on the front but found that they also did not fit correctly and screwed up the front geometry. As soon as I swapped them for a set of OE units sanity was restored.

I will certainly not waste my time and money on Spax in the future.

EDIT: I have just looked more closely at the lotocone pictures and have never seen the one with the big hole (as mentioned in the thread it just looks like the middle has fell out of it). I wasn't aware that lotocone design ever changed, they look more like a dodgy batch to me. My old and new lotocones have the conventional correct size hole. The problem I am referring to with the fit of Spax shocks isn't that dramatic, they wouldn't quite push through, but did not look safe or correct. .......I wouldn't have been happy to use them.

[garyeanderson]

I took these two when I pulled them out for the second time. The nut is a long sleeve nut and a jam grub screw. The perch kit is from Dave Bean, maybe a bit high but oh well.

Gary

Hi John

This is a good topic, I thought it had been covered before but after searching like everyone else for a few minutes (or longer) I gave up. I could not remember if this pair of uprights had been locked home with fluid or not, as it was, there was only a half a turn of engagement. If stuff is easy to get at it takes only a few minutes to cover it pretty well. By that I mean look at all of the info on one page contributed by everyone. Hopefully the next time it come up some one bookmarked it. Hope this helps you're friend and others also.

you're welcome

Gary

[nebogipfel]

Hi All,

Just had feedback from my friend and he is now confident that his new dampers (Monroe) are correct.

He asked me to thank you all for taking the trouble to help.

Once again I'll say it, this is an excellent forum