easy or not ?

[Pascal]

Hello,
i am a new (happy) ELAN French ,51 years old, owner. I may ask questions that seems to be obvious to you, i apologize for that.

I recently purchased an ELAN Turbo 1991, no history. 114 000 km (not miles) , seems to work well.

I feel wise to change the cambelt. Maybe it was change at 82 000 km but more than 6 years ago. No spécial noize.

Is this operation difficult for a professional car repair man (i mean a guy who works alone in a small garage but knows his job) ,
are there special tricks to do this compared to a more common car ?

I have purchased on E Bay the technical documentation, but i cannot conclude if this operation is a mess or not.
I understand that a motor support is to be removed , right ?

I would be please if someone can advise, what parts are to be changed (belt + pulley + waterpump + what else ? ) and if there is a way to buy a complete set ...
or if you suggest that i go direct to LOTUS dealer !

Thanks for beginner help,
regards,
Pascal

[dapinky]

Bonjour Pascal,

I can't speak any more French than that, so I hope your English is better than my French (which, judginbg from your first post, is highly probable)

Welcome to LEC (I'm sure someone will soon demand to see pictures of your car and more information on you and where you live, but I'll just try and help to answer your questions for now)

I would suggest that you look at this thread for a start. There are lots of others on this forum, but Henk-Jan has put most of the information into one place with links to parts and other suppliers (and other articles) in the first posting.

Many of us have done this job, and it is quite straightforward for any competent mechanic (or home mechanic) who has the correct information. There is no need to be a Lotus trained workshop.

DO NOT BUY PARTS FROM LOTUS (unless it is the Head Gasket, or availlable on the 'aftersales' list) as they are all availlable from other suppliers for a lot less money (often from USA, but import to Europe is quick and saves many Euros).

If you want a copy of all of the mauals, there is no need to buy from ebay, as we have them on this site. If you look at the top of the screen there is a link to a form which you need to complete, then you get it all for free!

If there is anything specific to the LHD version which is not listed in the manuals we have on file, then I also have a copy of a LHD parts manual which may assist you.

[bobbrown]

I do not think the job is that difficult and should be with in the capabilites of a good mechanic.

The manual, which is available on this site (see manuals at the top of the page) gives a good discripton of what you need to do.

If you want to pay full Lotus prices then the parts are available to do the job but the other alternative is to buy them from RockAuto

BECK/ARNLEY 1312115 Water Pump
DAYCO 95169K1 Timing Belt Component Kit

Bob

Dave, Your turn to be first

[Pascal]

many thanks for your fast answer. I begin investigations.

my ELAN is red, nothing special, condition is not very good but the engine seems to work properly.

list of problems ... yes i may have some !
- direction is very hard and a bit noisy, seals may be dead.
- it seems that a layer of transparent vernish was protecting the paint or gelcoat, this vernish is peeling ( the car was for long under a plastic cover, never do that)
- 2 wheel are a bit square (but the tyres do not loose pressure)
- one rear bearing is loose
- i feel the braking is not powerfull as it should be (but i have no reference)
-the rest, well, i have seen some comments already on the forum , such as the temperature jauge always in the first quarter, almost at zero.

-ho yes, a question ... changing a front main light bulb, can this be done by a human beiing ? (French version is CIBIE yellow light system, not Lucas).

other informations, i am leaving nearby LILLE, north of France, i like to visit London or Southampton sometimes,
till now i spent most of my week ends about guitars ( i am the proud owner of a one- off John Birch '80 flying V guitar, and too many others).

I love the design of the ELAN and i did not imagine buy one. This one was there ... immediate decision.
I have some guitars for sale now
Pascal

[rip]

Your steering sounds normal, but you can only really tell by comparing with another Elan. They are all fairly stiff & make a wheezing sound near full lock.
The standard brakes are poor by modern standards. New discs, high performance pads & clean/re-greased sliders will help. There are upgrades available but these are limited if you have 15" (38cm) wheels.
I believe it is possible to change headlamp bulbs without taking the pods out. I did mine while the pods were out anyway.

[dapinky]

There are a few other members in France, but your closest ones are probably Belgium and Netherlands if you need to speak to someone or compare your car with theirs. There are also a few members on here who speak fluent French (unlike me!), and so please don't worry if you have a specific problem which doesn't translate well into English - just either post a whole section, or an odd word, in your own language and someone will know what you mean. Even if they can't help directly, if they can help the lazy English speaking people to understand the exact problem, you may get a relevant answer.

To try and help with your questions above:-

The power assisted steering on the elan is not meant to make it really light, and only actually helps a little bit, feeling like it doesn't work. Even in 'normal' condition it isn't easy to turn the steering whilst the car is stationary, unlike modern cars - it's designed to be like that, not a fault.

When you say it is noisy, again this is something we tend to get used to. Mainly it will make a noise which we call a 'bag of snakes' when turned to full lock - it will hiss and squeel a bit. If it is noisy any other time then check the fluid level (there is a dipstick built into the cap on the reservoir and it isn't a 'Min' & 'Max' mark, but a 'hot' & 'Cold' mark). A change in PAS fluid will probably help if yours is anything other than translucent pink/red.

Laquer peeling off the paint is not uncommon (well, mine has come off anyway - and so has lots of others) - it is more usual on the Pacific Blue and BRG colours, but does happen on Calypso red (and anything else). With a non-metalic paint it should be quite easy to do localised repair work, but obviously the best result will be a total re-paint (I haven't bothered!).

For the lights there are a few options, but I don't know which would be best for you. As I understand it, the yellow lights were only for vehicles before 1993 - does that mean you have to fit them to a 1991 car, or can you now use white ones?? If you can use white ones, then there are a few options on replacement units in Europe or USA which will dip to the right (or more acurately, focus to the right as it is a seperate unit for main beam). If you have to use Selective Yellow units, can clear ones be painted? (we used to have to temporarily paint ours when going to France, but i don't know if there is a permanent paint availlable), or maybe just a yellow bulb?

The rear wheel bearing is a conical unit and can be adjusted in about 10 minutes. It takes most of that time to jack up the car and take the wheel off. Just remove the central greasecap, then the splitpin from the hub nut, turn the nut until the bearing is corectly tightened (do not overtighten it), replace the splitpin, greasecap and wheel.

[Pascal]

Hello,

many thanks for all those informations, i have purchased the parts suggested by Dave (and also other belts) to RockAuto, they have a very efficient website.
I shall let you know. About brakes and steering, i read same comments (or questions) on the forum, so i suppose that my Elan is normal.
I have taken contact with french and belgian clubs, let's see what they do and say.

About lights, nowadays we use white lights and i would turn to this, if i can, because white is more efficient than yellow. My mechanic said it is a nightmare to change them... I don(t know if the Lucas or something else can fit ( LHD ).

Thanks again,
Pascal

[ccb056]

Any 5 3/4" round lenses with H1 bulbs should work.
I run Cibie High Beams with Hella Lows.
Relatively easy to replace.

[theelanman]

About lights, nowadays we use white lights and i would turn to this, if i can, because white is more efficient than yellow. My mechanic said it is a nightmare to change them... I don(t know if the Lucas or something else can fit ( LHD ).

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14860&hilit=durite

Durite....although Im not sure if anyone found out if they do a LHD version......the question was asked but no response was added......

[rip]

About lights, nowadays we use white lights and i would turn to this, if i can, because white is more efficient than yellow. My mechanic said it is a nightmare to change them... I don(t know if the Lucas or something else can fit ( LHD ).

I do not agree that they are a nightmare to change. They come apart easily enough & you may find that their mounting rings have badly corroded.
The pods are easy to remove & replace.
Getting the adjustment screw through its securing spring can be tricky. The first 2 for each light are fine but the 3rd takes a little time.
I have never taken the earlier 'opera' style lights apart though. These may be more difficult.

[dapinky]

I found these on the UK ebay site, but I'm sure there would be more options on the French or German sites.
Maybe worth seeing if you can get a set from a BMW or something else which has the 5 3/4" lights - a nice matched set always looks good, even though they never get seen unless they're on, then you can't see them anyway!

[bobbrown]

Cibie 5 3/4" lamps are still available and as these are a French company you may have greater sucess over there.
They are available here Cibie but not cheap, that said I have 4 flat faced Cibies and find the light output very good.

If they need to be yellow then yellow bulbs are available.

Bob

[theelanman]

Cibie 5 3/4" lamps are still available and as these are a French company you may have greater sucess over there.
They are available here Cibie but not cheap, that said I have 4 flat faced Cibies and find the light output very good.

If they need to be yellow then yellow bulbs are available.

Bob

Im guessing there is only one Bob as the others are not flat......also it says no sidelight.......how is the fixing?..any difference or a straight swap?

[rip]

a nice matched set always looks good, even though they never get seen unless they're on, then you can't see them anyway!

Indeed. I have flat dipped beam lights & curved main beams. They have been on there for years & nobody has ever noticed!

[bobbrown]

If it is inners they can be Cibie and a straight swap part number 082378
Outers were surface complex, which I know is no longer available as I asked Valeo last year but they still make a flat outer all be it not surface complex.
The 082378 are available at http://www.laeltd.co.uk/index.html (no on line ordering) Tel 01233 822580 cost from them is £37.19 + Vat + delivery

From a french perspective there is this site link and it seems they were fitted to a few cars of the period and as it's a French site I'm assuming LHD.

Bob

[RayD]

-ho yes, a question ... changing a front main light bulb, can this be done by a human beiing ?

I nearly mentioned this when I changed a bulb a few weeks ago ...

I raised the pod by hand, removed three screws, and lowered the Cibie unit into the well below the pod, thinking it would make the bulb removal a bit easier.

I replaced the old bulb ... then ... nearly turned the lights on to make sure it was working before replacing the lamp in the pod, realising just in time it would have been a mistake with the pods going down the moment they were turned off ... or the prospect of leaving them on while the unit was fiddled back in place, with the attendant vision of the power going off – re-enacting a domestic version of Aron Ralston’s trick.

The episode was slightly more memorable as when I did go to the trouble of replacing the lamp in the pod before switching on ... it didn’t work ... it turned out to be a faulty, brand new bulb. The filament was OK, it was the vague Chinese earth connection inside that was causing the trouble.

Ray