Angie's new car......

[KenS]

Mike, one reason of S2 Elans having problems with charge light on some new/reconditioned alternators is because they are fitted with Regulators that cannot support the additional load from the O2 sensor that is powered via a spliced connection from the alternator charge connection. Unmodified SE Elans without O2 sensors are less fussy so should be free from this issue. More details are here:
https://forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27159&hilit=kens+alternator&start=20#p372121
But there will be other reasons for illuminated charge light, such as a damaged regulator or wrong configuration of regulator.

[dapinky]

Well, despite my post of 26th April saying how i was going to prepare the car for the first attempt at firing it up......... well, you can probably guess that I didn't quite do it that way.

But that's jumping the gun, so I'll come back to that in a bit.

Having got the sump beaten to a similar shape to how it should have been, bearing in mind that there isn't enough space to get a decent dolly in to the shape, so it was a bit of hardwood stick with a rounded end...... an ideal use for a (retired) Bristol Constabulary truncheon!!! It all looked a lot better, and filling it with paraffin failed to leak anywhere after leaving it for a few days, so i decided it was intact. I did give it a bit of extra thickness with a smear of Chemical Metal anyway, then sprayed it all black and refitted it. Unfortunately, I knackered the small gasket between the oil pick-up pipe and the block, so spent ages looking for my pack of gasket paper before spending 2 minutes cutting a new piece (it's only 1mm paper gasket, so no dramas).

Still, it all went on easily enough, then the exhaust pipe was refitted, and the plate which covers the bottom part of the flywheel and I remembered to tighten up the engine/gearbox mounting.

The suspension went on next, and took a bit longer than expected as the GAZ shocks were built up on the bench to the correct (ish!) ride height and when I went to fit them, the top rubber mounting had squished just enough to prevent it passing up through the hole in the chassis leg. No matter how I greased it and tried, it just wouldn't go - I had 3 choices - cut the hole bigger (No!), Trim a bit off the rubber bush (Also No!) or drop the spring platform to take the pressure off the top bush (a bit of a pain to do, but the only 'proper' way to go). It would have been nice if you can get spring compressors on whilst the shock is in situ, but mine are a bit chunky to do that.

Having fitted the shock, tightening down the centre shaft nut is easy, then winding up the base is a bit of a ball-acher with 'C' spanners as there isn't much room to get a good swing, so it's 1/6th turn each time, and it needed 21 full turns.

Then I had a bit of an epiphany (having knackered myself out doing the off-side one the hard way)... with the 3 top mounting bolts done up to prevent the shock moving, and before attaching the 2 halves of the lower yoke, it is actually quite simple to just rotate the whole shock body, keeping the platform stationary (actually, the spring pressure holds it, so you don't need to wedge a 'C' spanner in there anywhere). It can be done by hand, but sticking a screwdriver through the hole where the yoke attaches gives far better leverage as it gets tighter the more the spring is compressed. Doing it that way took about 3 minutes instead of the 30 minutes doing it the 'hard' way, and was far less physically tiring.

I rebuilt it with the same caster & camber shins as came off, and will worry about getting it correctly set at a later time. Obviously the whole lot needs to settle down before finalising the ride height, toe-in and camber/caster anyway, and there is no point trying to do it before the back end is done, then it'll be out with the string and spirit levels.

I used Bilt-Hamber Dynax-UC wax everywhere (a few thin coats is better that a single thick one, but done over a few days whilst doing other stuff is no problem). I like this particular wax (even though I was tempted to try Lanoguard as the adverts make it sound good) as it dries to a consistency similar to candle wax and is clear (with a very slight amber colour if it is applied too thick). It creeps into every gap and protects the newly painted metal bits. You can get it in black as well, but I like to be able to see any corrosion before it gets too bad to remove simply, and with the nice shiny new shocks and all the new bolts, it looks pretty!!!!!

I made the schoolboy error of fitting the rafts before I put the tubular cassis support bar in, and decided that I could get the cut-down headed bolt in past the CV boot - well, yes, you CAN do that, but only if you are prepared to risk damage to the CV boot...... so I then had a few days delay whilst the new CV boots were being sent out!

Still, it is all part of life's rich tapestry, and on the other side, I did it properly and dropped the raft out..... of course, I'd already fitted the shock, so getting to the top raft mounting bolt was impossible, so I basically dismantled the whole lot (again!).... at least I knew the quick way to fit the shock at the right height

When the new boots arrived (I ordered 2, so now have a spare on the shelf.... which I thought I already had, so I may have 2 spare ones, and still won't be able to find them when I need them next time) fitting one to the (already dismantled and cleaned) driveshaft was easy enough - I simply took the split boot off the tulip and pulled the outer half of the shaft (with the tripoid bearing) out, then dismantled the joint on the bench.... which all sounds very exciting, but it's only a single circlip to undo, then slide the tripoid off. With it all cleaned up, the new boot slips on the shaft, refit the tripoid. add grease and squirt a load into the tulip, then refit it, fit the stainless bands and bobs yer uncle.

By now I was getting bored of fitting, removing, repeat many times, the top ball joints/wishbones bolts, so as it was all together it got a final squirt of wax on the bolts and job done.

The bolts that the wishbones pivot on (and the one the shock mounts through) can't be torqued up until the weight of the car is on them, so were finished off once the car was off the axle stands - job (nearly) done.

With the wheels on, it is time to torque up the driveshaft nuts (new ones as they shouldn't be refitted, and only cost a couple of quid each anyway!), then jack it up again, whip the wheels off, pein over the edge of the nuts to stop them moving, and refit the wheel centre caps.

A very final spray of wax on the bits I'd torqued up (top wishbone pivots), then fit the cleaned-up discs and callipers - fit the brake hoses to the pipes, nice new 'U' clips and ready to bleed.

The Prongeron cleaned up rather well, and only a tad of surface rust to clean/treat..... unfortunately, someone has previously ignored the "Do Not Jack" stickers (clearly visible) so it needed a few whacks with a hammer and dolly to get it back to the right sort of shape. A coat of paint and ready to fit - only held in with 2 bolts at the rear and one at the radiator frame initially, so that I could smack a sheet of 3mm aluminium into the right shape to function as a sump guard. Then fit that with 3 M4 screws into the flange of the prongeron before removing the prongeron again to beat the edges of the sump guard to align with the curved edges of the prongeron, trim the corners and drill/tap some extra holes to hold it securely. The fiddly bit of this is to ensure that the holes go through the double-thickness sheet steel of the flanges, but avoiding the spot-welds - not hard, but difficult to do with the prongeron fitted to the car. 6 M4 button-head setscrews are enough to hold it securely, but I'm under no illusion that they will keep it in place if it is smacked really hard on a sharp edge at speed. The whole point is to deflect the car over any obstructions without the sump getting whacked, and aluminium will 'give' without causing damage to the prongeron or sump. I'd rather replace a cheap sheet of aluminium than a sump. As such, the M4 bolts have more than enough grip on the flanges without needing to bond a nut on the top side.

So, with the car back down on it's wheels, it seemed a good time to check that the electrics all work - not really been tried since I got the car. The new headlights work fine, but (as expected) the pods don't operate due to the low load of the LEDs - must fit the resisters once I know which wires they go on!

Everything else works (with the minor exception of the tell-tale light in the hazard switch - I can sort that out another day with a bit of a wiggle of the socket, and if all else fails, fit my spare switch).

Even the (previously missing) cigarette lighter works.... I had a Vauxhall one in a crate, so that went in. The mirrors all move as they should, windows work in both directions.

So, it would be rude not to see if the bloody thing will run, as it hasn't done so for 7+ years.

Obviously, the old oil has drained down (and out!) of the car, so just starting it wouldn't be a great idea. I chucked fresh oil in (10w40) having fitted the new oil filter whilst the prongeron was off.

As the car arrived with red (OAT) coolant which was drained a few months ago, I filled it up with just water. No point in putting blue antifreeze in at this point, as it may not be water-tight - also, it makes sense to use water to mix with the remaining coolant before draining it again to get as much red stuff out as possible.

I am still waiting on my ordered Samco hoses, so it can have blue antifreeze after they are in...... it won't be going anywhere before then anyway.

So, with fresh oil, water and PAS fluid - and a fully-charged battery, the only thing to worry about was petrol..... anything in the tank would be 7+ years old, and not great. The 'best' thing would be to drain it all out, throw a fresh gallon of Super Unleaded in, and then see about it..... but no-one has ever accused me of being sensible.

Still, to just try and start it would be foolish, so having tripped the fuel cut-out and ensured that the pump wasn't running, I turned the key to just make sure the starter motor is working - I've never known one to seize, but better to know now than later. It turned over very easily, so a few short cycles of the key got the oil circulated and after about a minute of such process, the oil light was out and I was happy that oil was where it should be. Checked the level on the dipstick, added another half a litre - all good.

Pushed the fuel cut-out down and turned the key (okay, so what happened to the new spark plugs, leads, cleaning the injectors and new petrol????)

And on the second whirr of the starter motor, it fired right up on all 4 cylinders, and settled almost immediately to a steady idle at about 1K revs on the tacho. No clatter from the tappets or noises from anywhere else.

Turned the steering lock-to-lock a few times to bleed air out of the PAS system, then turned it off. Added some more PAS fluid up to the right level, bled the radiator and topped up the water to the 'cold' level, checked the oil again and made sure that I can't see any fluid puddles on the floor.

Then it was time to sort the really important stuff - yep, the stereo works, and set the radio to the right channels!

Fire up the engine again to make sure it wasn't a fluke - first time fire!

I had previously changed a couple of (obviously failed) vacuum lines (and fixed the broken vacuum take-off for the MAP sensor.... some clumsy idiot had snapped the plastic bit off whilst removing the PAS reservoir!!!!) - these haven't been available for many years, so I was going to use the one from my spare engine - except the spare engine didn't have one, so I've either already used it, or given it away (Nick - did you have it???). Still, a dab of superglue to hold the broken bit in place (having unscrewed it from the inlet manifold and taken the short rubber pipe off), followed by a good blob of Chemical Metal to support the repair, and it was reattached with a new silicone hose).

So, removing a known good vacuum hose made the idle speed alter and settle, so I don't think there are any more leaks in the remaining pipes, but I'll change them anyway when I do the Samcos.

Well, that's enough writing for now - suffice to say, the beast runs and drives, front end all sorted, carpets are back in, next is the rest of the interior then on to the rear suspension. Only then will I worry about bleeding the brakes to change the fluid (no point until I've done the back brakes anyway - new prop valves and braided flexi hoses are waiting to be fitted, along with 2 new discs/hubs).

Bottom line, it's still a project, but now it's a rolling/running restoration, not an abandoned basket case!

Oh, and the 75A alternator works a treat - red light goes out as soon as the engine fires up, voltage gauge shows it to be charging correctly, so I'm happy that the Rock Auto unit with the slightly larger pulley is fine for the Elan.

[nicowalker1]

I had previously changed a couple of (obviously failed) vacuum lines (and fixed the broken vacuum take-off for the MAP sensor.... some clumsy idiot had snapped the plastic bit off whilst removing the PAS reservoir!!!!) - these haven't been available for many years, so I was going to use the one from my spare engine - except the spare engine didn't have one, so I've either already used it, or given it away (Nick - did you have it???). Still, a dab of superglue to hold the broken bit in place (having unscrewed it from the inlet manifold and taken the short rubber pipe off), followed by a good blob of Chemical Metal to support the repair, and it was reattached with a new silicone hose).

Nope, not guilty.

[dapinky]

Nope, not guilty.

I didn't think so..... maybe the same ham-fisted mechanic who broke this one broke another one in one of his cars and robbed the spare one then - it shall remain a mystery!

[HJ2]

Quite an update!

Although this looks like just one easy but long lap of tekst, in my (tiny) boardcomputer between my ears, i can visualise all the work involved here, including the swearing, wounds and everything that comes with it. You have my sympathy!

This top job is worthless without pictures though.

[dapinky]

More progress today (some was done last week) (and an issue that I need help to sort )

I've now got the "up and over" one piece 'A' pillar and header seal fitted - far easier to fit than cleaning the old crap out - but that is to be expected..... no idea how it fits with the roof, because I don't have one of those at the moment (well, I do have 2 of them, but not fitted to the car!)

Started to clean up the interior, (the plan is to work backwards through the vehicle) - carpets are back in, 'B' post covers, seat belts and sill covers fitted, speaker enclosures fitted and all working. Removed the sub-woofer, gave it a good clean and replaced it - again, all working.

The centre console was a bit of a mess - switches held in with a mixture of silicone, butyl and gravity - now all cleaned and fitted properly, along with the mirror switch (all working!).

The centre console needed some fettling - every metal bracket had detached themselves from the foam/plastic body, so it all needed a good clean and re-stick with polyurethane glue - but now all fitted.

Drivers side door card is off, all the big globs of silicone are cleaned off, and the metal bracket for the door handle is soaking in phosphoric acid as it was a tad rusty - will be painted and replaced tomorrow.

ECU removed (not touched the wiring) and MEMCAl replaced to run closed-loop.... O2 sensor fitted to exhaust and plugged in - no engine light when car starts, so it looks like I am again in the group who have a 'complete' wiring loom - that was a bonus.

Now - the problem.....

..... Headlamp pods are doing things that aren't right (but all the joints and motor internals have been sorted).

With the pods raised by hand, the lamps illuminate as expected - inner ones full beam, outer ones are dipped (they need aligning, but that isn't important) - but they don't go down when switched off.

When down by hand, switch on the lights, and the pods raise (and motors stop) - switch off lamps, and wind down by hand.

Another issue is that when the pods are down, and I connect the battery, the pods raise (no lights illuminated).

I've tried tapping the module, but gone no further than that as I am not an electrical diagnostics expert at all.

I have got LED units fitted, and know that they may not draw enough current to register the need for the lamps to raise - but because they do, why don't they go down? I have tried fitting a 10W 100-Ohm resistor across the dipped beam wires and it made no difference... now I'm wondering if it needs fitting in series, not parallel - but it seems to matter not if it's there or not - pods go up, but not down.

Suggestions appreciated!