Mellow Yellow

[lotos]

Dropped the Elan off at the local dealer (also a Ferrari, Maserati & Bentley dealer so some nice eye candy in the showroom) last night for the big service - replacing the belts and water pump. Will end up over $800... but I have been scared to even drive the car because the belts were all original still. I asked them to return all the old parts, it'll be interesting to see how they look.

Driving it again makes me wish someone were making me a short-shift kit...


I can't wait to put the top down. Driving in slow traffic with the top up is not the Elan experience I'm after.

[Enright]

Driving it again makes me wish someone were making me a short-shift kit...

I bet AB have plenty on the shelf that you could just buy and fit.
It would be worth doing the gear cables at the same time - it would totally transform the feel of it.

[lotos]

I'm just teasing - the Doc is fixing me up with a short shift.

So I got my parts back - the belts look absolutely brand new to me. So does the water pump. I guess 15,000 miles (and 17 years) in a humid environment keeps the belts in pretty good shape. Still, I am happy I can now drive with some peace of mind.

[nitroman]

- the Doc is fixing me up with a short shift.

So I got my parts back - the belts look absolutely brand new to me. So does the water pump. I guess 15,000 miles (and 17 years) in a humid environment keeps the belts in pretty good shape. Still, I am happy I can now drive with some peace of mind.

Maybe they gave you the new belts and the old ones are still on the car.

I'm just teasing.

The two drive belts are far easier to change than I thought. The hardest part was devising a method to tighten them.

[Doc Fizzix]

I'm just teasing - the Doc is fixing me up with a short shift.

Randy, I have been working none stop to the point that time has just passed by faster than I realized. We will be closed Thursday so maybe I can drop the parts off at the shop. Sorry for the delay

[lotos]

Geez, you've really let me down.

Nah, I haven't even driven the Elan for a few weeks because the old timing belt had me all paranoid.

[lotos]

Nothing to report yet, other than S2 wheels en route from some island. I have reconnected with an old friend who is a service technician at a car dealer nearby, and he's mentioned the possibility of us using the lift there when needed, as well as the wheel/tire machine. (Would make installing an exhaust a lot easier too....... )

[lotos]

Quick wheel questions (S2 wheels):

1) Should I wait until the Lotus centers get here before installing? Or can it be done from the outside of the wheel without dismounting them?

2) They came with no bolts or hardware - do I need anything special?

3) Can someone help with the correct torque specs?

Thanks!

[Elanlover]

Quick wheel questions (S2 wheels):

1) Should I wait until the Lotus centers get here before installing? Or can it be done from the outside of the wheel without dismounting them?

2) They came with no bolts or hardware - do I need anything special?

3) Can someone help with the correct torque specs?

Thanks!

If memory serves me correctly you'll need to push the centres in from behind the wheel. So, yes, install after the centres arrive. Specs call for 59-65 lbs./ft of torque. Do you have the original bolts for the car? If not they are cone seat bolts - can't recall the length though.

[lotos]

If memory serves me correctly you'll need to push the centres in from behind the wheel. So, yes, install after the centres arrive. Specs call for 59-65 lbs./ft of torque. Do you have the original bolts for the car? If not they are cone seat bolts - can't recall the length though.

I do have the original wheels on the car still, any reason to put new bolts on with new wheels?

[Elanlover]

None that I can think of unless they're stripped, rusted or faulty in some way. Unless you just want nice new bolts to go with your nice new wheels.

[Paul.P]

With regards to the wheel bolts, i believe the S2 wheels used a different bolt, in the fact that the head was smaller, which allowed you to get a socket in without scratching the paint off the surrounding area. I'm not sure if you can still use the SE bolt & avoid this ?????????

[Elanlover]

With regards to the wheel bolts, i believe the S2 wheels used a different bolt, in the fact that the head was smaller, which allowed you to get a socket in without scratching the paint off the surrounding area. I'm not sure if you can still use the SE bolt & avoid this ?????????

Good point. The bolts on the standard Fed SE are a larger head size than the SE (19 vs 17mm seems to ring a bell). Now, if the hole size is the same between these wheels then you'll be fine. However, if the holes size on the S2 wheel is smaller due to the smaller bolt head then you'll need to order some new bolts. No problem though as ebay is full of nice bolts at low prices.

[Enright]

I would suggest verifying that the taper is the same between SE and S2 bolts (and whatever you're looking at on eBay).

[Elanlover]

I would suggest verifying that the taper is the same between SE and S2 bolts (and whatever you're looking at on eBay).

If you're referring to the cone seat taper they are all pretty much 60 degrees unless you have a "special" car with "special" needs Stock bolts on the Elan were 60 degrees as were the ones I bought off eBay to replace them. You may have to check the length though. You don't want the bolts protruding out the back of the hub and hitting the suspension parts which they can do.

[Jackonicko]

The SE and Fed use a 19-mm HEX, whereas the S2 uses 17-mm.

The bolts are otherwise the same - thread (M12 x 1.5), length (23 or 25 mm i think, but I can't remember off hand!) and conical taper (60°).

The torque should be 80-88Nm / 59-65 lbs/ft

[lotos]

Hmmm... hopefully a USA driver who's done this swap can pipe in here....

[Doc Fizzix]

As for the center caps, on the S2 I thought the snapped in from the front side not from behind like the FED wheels. I just sold a set of S2 center caps and they did not look like they would go in from the rear

[nitroman]

Hmmm... hopefully a USA driver who's done this swap can pipe in here....

Randy, if you wanna wait for the weekend I'll remove one bolt from each, then post a side-by-side photo along with measurements.

[DeeAitch]

As for the center caps, on the S2 I thought the snapped in from the front side not from behind like the FED wheels. I just sold a set of S2 center caps and they did not look like they would go in from the rear

My car came with S2 wheels and they still have the 19mm AF bolts - Geoff posted a nice spanner fix to protect the paint from the spanner a while ago