Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I shimmed and fitted rack and have tracked it up near enough to drive car for proper set-up when I've finished project (booked in for August 2021 )

Whilst car is still in the air it's still easy for me to adjust things and I just wanted a couple of questions answering to put my mind at ease.

1) How much thread is really required to go into the Track rod end?...There was no measurement given in manual and I had to balance up how much thread the extension needs against how much the Track rod needs......I've ended up with about 15mm into the Track rod.....OK?
Are there any set measurments for extension/trackrod settings which I've missed somewhere?.

2) I did not use scientific instuments to centre the rack but I'm within 5 degrees or so on the steering wheel when I centre it after its 3 and a bit turns from left to right....does that seem ok.

Sorry about the first daft question but as with everything on the project it came in boxes so I never had the fortune of seeing how it originally went.

Thanks for any comments offered guys.

Cheers,
Kenny

Kenny,

I believe you want at least a solid thread engagement of at least 1.5 times the diameter of the thread. So, I think you need a little more that 15 mm. Having said that and assuming the thread engagement is solid, the locking nut is tight, and you take it easy, you should be ok to get to an alignment shop. Once there, I would explain the situation to the mechanic and he should be able to sort it out as part of his alignment procedure. Definately talk to him about the situation.

Bill

You can get the tracking pretty damn close with a couple of bits of string

No really, you can. See http://www.steveww.org/index.php?id=99

Thanks for those replies, most helpful.
I was hoping someone might have a measurement of how much thread they have in the TRE and how much in the extension.....I don't suppose it makes an awful lot of difference if you're a thread or 2 out.

As for the tracking with the string..........I actually did this but had the string touching the back wheels and lining fronts up off them......probably miles out thinking about it

Kenny

Hi Kenny,

My +2 Workshop Manual has a section X - Overhaul and Rebuild.

In that section it states "screw up exactly 25 turns", thats each TRE.

It so happens that I am rebuilding my +2, so I checked the measurement re 25 turns.
With my new track rod ends (Lotus) it measures 34.4mm.
Lotus used Triumph parts

Please note that measurement may vary due to different TRE manufactures.

Trust this helps

Teejay.........exactly what I was looking for, many thanks.

Kenny

Obviously the more threads engaged the better.
But as a general rule 6-8 complete turns for a fastener gives you good strength.
If you think about it your average nut spun onto a bolt gives you that amount of turns.

Clive