Getting black Elite back on the road

[EXCEL V8]

The bearings are lubricated by diff oil - no need to grease.  Have you rebuilt the output shafts with new shrink-fit collars etc.. or bought exchange units?

Pete

[Lance]

Hi Pete, I have bought all the parts to replace the bearings and seals. I was about to start reassembly when the grease question came up. My plan is: Press the new bearings on making sure I put the retaining plate on first (new seal). Then heat the collar in a small oven I use for reflow soldering. It should be able to get to the required 330 deg. I can measure the temperature with a thermocouple. I'll let the collar soak for an hour or so. Once hot press the collar on. Hopefully I won't drop the hot collar. I got 6 O-rings, one would hope I have worked out how to fit them before using that many. I have bought enough parts to do both sides, but I am waiting until I get the first one right before taking the other side apart.

How does that sound? What have I missed?

Lance.

[EXCEL V8]

Yep - sounds like you're sorted.  I used a mapp gas blow lamp to heat mine up - let it get to dull red and it just dropped on;  held in place on the press until cool.  Does the manual say 330? - dull red is twice that!  I wouldn't want to get the collar half way on and find it was cooling too quickly!

I also put a small chamfer on the diff casting using a small diamond file to let the o-rings slide in more easily - mine had pretty sharp edges - I could se the o-ring getting cut.

Pete

 

[Lance]

Ah, the manual actually says 363 C. Yes that's a long way off red. And yes I'd hate to get it half way on. That's why I'm doing one side at a time. Perhaps I'll just see how hot my oven will go.

Win, loose or draw I'll post some photos.

Lance.

[Lance]

Well, I have lost the first leg. I got the collar up to 360C. But not for as long as I would have liked. The thermal fuse on my oven blew after about 20 minutes. The collar slipped easily over the splines, which it would not do cold, so I quickly pressed it down on the bearing. So far so good. I put the assembly back in the housing. Yes that O ring is a bit of fiddle. I thought I had pinched it so I back off a bit to check, it was fine, until I jiggled it and it fell off! About half an hour later I had it back in place. The problem appeared once the bolts were tight. The output shaft was locked solid. @^#%!^@&#*@!!!!!! I compared the old collar with the unused new one and the new one is about 1.2mm longer. Just enough to bind up on the housing. I am contacting the supplier for assistance.

Next time I'll use a flame to heat the collar and I'm sure I'll win the next leg, even if it comes down to penalties. At least I know the O ring went wasn't pinched and I'm certainly glad I decided to do one side at a time.

[EXCEL V8]

I don't think the length of the collar will make any difference - it just holds the bearing onto the shaft.  Have you checked the "nip" on the retaining plate?  it has to be just right - check the manual for dimensions.

Pete

[EXCEL V8]

You're right Lance.  I just dug out my spare diff casing to remind myself of the internal diameter of the output tubes - they are much narrower than I'd remembered.  If the collar is too long it will hit the counterbore in the output tube.  Well spotted!

Pete

[Lance]

I have managed to get a bit further along since November. I have ground down the tall collar to be similar to the original. Then I machined the other one down and did the other side. Much easier! I then had a problem fitting the rear diff cover. The gasket I ordered with the new seals and bearings was the wrong size!!!! So I got some gasket paper and cut out one that fits. Not a major problem, but when you buy parts from a specialist you expect them to fit. Anyway the diff is reassembled with new brakes, and I've added a breather to the rear cover as suggested. It should all be ready to go back in the car.  I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down  bit before I try fitting it back.

 

Happy new year to all.

Lance.

[EXCEL V8]

I had the same problem with cover gaskets from SJ's 2 years ago - I had to send a photograph to prove it didn't fit before he would refund me!

Good progress though Lance!

Pete

[Lance]

A bit cooler today and laying on the cool concrete floor was quite nice for a while.

I am having trouble getting the diff back up into the chassis. I have pre fitted the new flexible brake pipes before putting the diff in the car. I can't see how I can get them past the chassis as the diff is raised. There is another post somewhere in these forums that says the diff must be rolled to clear each side. I think this will get the bleed extension pipe around the chassis, but the flex pipes stick out a lot further. I have attached a couple of photos taken through the holes in the body. But if I take them off then fit the diff I can't see how I could screw them back in the cylinders.

So my question is: Should the flex pipes be fitted before or after the diff is in position?

[Lance]

So some more progress: I decided trying to balance the diff on a single trolley jack was not going to work. As  has been noted elsewhere in these forums the diff weighs about 67 tons. I'm not keen to drop that as I would be under it. So I have built a diff dolly. There are 3 small jacks on an MDF base with caster wheels underneath. There are 'C' cups welded to the top of each jack to hold the diff securely. They are made of sectioned nuts from 2" irrigation pipe. This allows the diff to placed in almost any orientation and to easily be moved in any direction. All this without worrying about dropping it.

With this setup I was able to move the diff into place and tilt it to get the pipes on one side over the chassis frame and secure the flexible pipe in the chassis. I was then able to slide the diff sideways and jack up the other side. This is where the problem begins. It is not possible to move the diff far enough across to get the other side pipes to clear the chassis. I think the cause of this is the solid part of the new flex pipes is about twice as long as the originals. I'm going to get some news ones made locally with shorter hard ends like the originals. I think once I have these the diff will have enough lateral movement to get the pipes of both sides over the chassis. Once this is done it should be (relatively) easy to finish fitting the diff. Once I get the new pipes I'll try again.

Lance.

[Lance]

Hooray!!!!! I have the car back on it's wheels. I had some flexible brakes pipes made locally with a shorter swaged end. This made getting the diff back in MUCH easier. I guess it might be possible to do it with the long ones, but I'm much happier with the short ones. The bend of the hose when in place is a bigger radius. I have made panels to cover the access holes in the body and put the seats back in. So now all I have to do put some weight in the boot, tighten the the suspension bolts and take it for drive.

 

Thanks for all advice along the way. Lance.

[Lance]

Finally got to go for a drive. Mixed results:

The extra bit of 'C' channel between the lower diff studs made a big difference. No more vibrations. Please with that.

For about 20 minutes the car was doing well. Brakes worked nicely Engine pulled well. Idle not so good, it would stall after about 30 to 60 seconds if left alone. It's not been run for so long I'm not too surprised about that. Then It started to smell a bit hot. I was expecting the brakes to smell a little bit as every thing is new, but this was too much. There was even a little bit of smoke. The rear brakes were binding. I let it cool down for half an hour or so and they freed up. I slowly rolled home and parked it up. Next problem is to work out what I did wrong. I don't think the handbrake is always on.

I also found some pesky rodent had made a nest in the center part of the dash and had bitten thought one of the wires to drives window lift motor. I have pulled the center panel out and am cleaning the area and looking for damaged wiring. It reminds me that not long after I bought the car I refinished that panel. There was some badly cracked veneer over the steel. I scraped all this off and replaced it with a new American Blackwood veneer. I put a few coats of epoxy to seal it then had some custom Letterset (any remember rub down lettering?) made to recreate the standard lettering. A few more coats of resin and then flattened off with fine sandpaper. I don't have the chrome surround so settled for rubber. I still have to remake the bit around the heater controls. Bad photo attached.

Any hints on brake binding appreciated.

Lance.

[Escape]

Great news you had her back on the road! And not too bad a result either.

That console looks really nice. 👍

[Tony D]

Console looking very tidy and your test drive is positive given the time off the road.

Back to your console, if you bond 2 flat rubber strip to the rear, with a horizontal slit for the slide controls to poke through, you'll loose the view of the cables. That's also how Lotus did it originally.

The black trim looks good. I'm looking for a decent chrome edge if anyone has one (even tatty one) but black rubber could be good alternative.

Tony

[EXCEL V8]

Lotusbits are in the process of having the heater control decal panel remade - it may even be available now.

Assuming you have no residual pressure in the hydraulic system from a badly adjusted servo pushrod it has to be a mechanical problem with the brakes.  Although it will affect the operation of the handbrake for a while try backing off the ratchet assembly on the brake cylinders.  If that doesn't help check the handbrake cable/link bar adjustment.  Do you know that the pistons are OK in the cylinders - steel piston + aluminium housing - never a great combo when surrounded by a hygroscopic fluid!

Pete

[Lance]

Hi Tony, thanks for the suggestion about the black rubber. I fitted that while fixing the rodent damage. I pulled a bucket full of dry leaves and bits of paper out of the console. There were quite a few wires with the insulation nibbled away and a couple chewed through. Kindling and an ignition source in my dash, what could possibly go wrong! I have seen smoke appear from there just after I bought the car. The PO added spotlights, but not the relays to control them. The light switch is just not up to that and filled the car with smoke. Anyway the wiring is repaired and the kindling removed.

Pete, I think you are right about the badly adjusted servo pushrod. I thought I had that right as I measured the old one before sending the booster away for rebuild. Once returned I made sure the measurement was the same. My mistake was I measured it with no master cylinder attached. If I remove the master cylinder I can feel pressure from the pushrod for a mm or so. This would mean there is force on the master cylinder all the time. Other forums also mention this as the cause of the brakes binding after a few km's. The master cylinder was not attached to the booster when I put it back in. I thought the pin went in too easily!!

To prove this I put a couple of large diameter washers between the master cylinder and the booster. A test drive later proved the brakes no longer bind. So now to fix it. I am temped to put a proper spacer between the booster and the master cylinder knowing how hard it is to get the booster loose and adjust the end at the pedal. Does anyone know if I could adjust the pushrod from the front of the booster? I thought if I loosened the lock nut at the pedal end and removed the master cylinder perhaps I could rotate the pushrod from the front of the booster. This raises a couple of worries:

Is the pushrod a single piece?

Can the pushrod be rotated without damaging the internals of the booster?

Thanks again for your comments, Lance.

[EXCEL V8]

The pushrod can only be adjusted from the front - adjacent to the master cyl.  It is not harmful to rotate it.  You may need to make a special tool to hold the pushrod hexagon while screwing in the adjustable bit.  ISTR I made one from an old spanner (8mm?) - welded it into a crows foot style.

Don't be tempted to leave a spacer in place - the servo front seal is held in place by the master cyl.

Of course you also need a small amount of play at the pedal end as well.

Pete

[Lance]

Thanks Pete, I did the adjustment. It was refreshingly easy. Just got back from a test drive. All good now.

The drive highlighted that the rear passenger window is not well bonded to the car and rattles annoyingly. Does anyone have experience of removing and refitting these windows?

I thought I'd add these couple of photos. The first one was taken just after I bought the car. The second one, same car same place same son is about 22 years later just before the diff removal saga.

Lance.

[TAR]

Wow, your car has shrunk considerably, maybe too much rain