Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

In renewing the bushes and washers to the torque rods, have just noticed that the threaded ends are cranked.

So there must be a right (and wrong) way to fit them.

Should the threaded end angle down through the diff lug, or up?

Regards.

Stuart,

Yes, they are handed.

Unless yours are damaged, they should slope downwards & outwards slightly from the front fixing stub/bolt. This makes the threaded end pass roughly horizontally throught the diff lug, so the large cup washer (welded to the rod) is parallel to the face of the diff lug to evenly load the rubber bushes.

They are heavily loaded (approx 2 x the torque at the wheels, I thnk?), and are often damaged and succumb to rust, particularly the cup washer.
Being fitted & used on the wrong side doesn't help - mine were like this, in fact I think I had an identical pair fitted !

Best wishes,
Matthew

Matthew,

Thanks for the reply. I thought there was something wrong when I took them apart. The alignment didn't seem right, but I put it down to there being no load on the rear suspension/driveshaft/diff assembly.

Thinking about it, though, that shouldn't affect the position of the diff.

Have checked. They were fitted incorrectly.

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

Stuart.