Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Gents.
I have removed all the rear suspension from my sprint as I am in the process of renewing all the bushes on the car which has stood for a long time. It has all come apart easily except for the passenger side lotoclone fixing bolts. They are SOLID. Anyway, after liberally soaking as best I can, over period of days, with penetrating oil they still will not shift. I am coming to the conclusion that they may have to be drilled out. The problem is there is not much room. So, having had a look I thought I may be able to remove the parcel self and drill from the top down. HAs anybody come across this? And apart from the hood fasteners what else hold s the parcel shelf in? The chassis is galvanised by the way.
I also intend to remove the diff mounting bushes also, but have not put a spanner on them yet. Is this a job where the bolts seize in the alloy casing? I noted that the bolts have been inserted downwards rather than upwards as the manual shows. Is this a problem too? Any help and suggestion from people who have tackled this would be appreciated.
cheers
Mark

Mark,
Getting the parcel shelf out is no problem, just take out the Tenax hood fasteners and the fasteners between the front of the parcel shelf anf the interior trim panel. These fasteners (don't know what they are called) are made from ally and some of them may crumble to dust but they are available. With the shelf out you can see the towers easily. I imagine that this job is a pain on the fixed head.
I found that one of the large long bolts through the diff top mounting had actually sheared leaving the broken bit stuck into the diff ear, a sharp crack with a punch shifted it. I can't think of a reason why it matters which way the bolts are fitted.
I understand that Tony Thompson sells heavy-duty diff mount rubbers, I wish I had known this last year during my chassis change!

Cheers,
Pete

Mark,

I'm not familiar with the Elan, but in the Plus Two, if the diff bolts are mounted heads down, they can be withdrawn from below. If they are mounted heads up, the fuel tank has to come out.

Sean Murray

Had the same problem (re Lotocone bolts) on my +2. Combination of 2 things go them out.
1) drilling from the underside with the strut removed.
2) using a socket with the open end filed down to allow maximum purchase on the bolt
Hope this
Helps
Cheers
Tim

Air Impact Wrench works wonders in breaking free rusted fasteners in these situations! At the very least it's good for shearing off the head of the bolts so the strut can be removed to allow the maximum room for the drilling operation. This is assuming the threaded end of the strut is rusted into the lotocone also though. If it shears away the nut welded to the chassis instead that can be a problem though.

If you put the diff. mounting bolts in downwards they can foul the doughnuts under acceleration. Result: a hammering noise and an expensive replacement job.

Gents,
Bushes and screws off and out! Turned down a socket for a better fit.
Many thanks
Mark