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!

[Tuga2112]

but they don't go down when switched off.

.....

I have got LED units fitted, and know that they may not draw enough current to register the need for the lamps to raise

from reading the electrical manual i found the system is designed to rely on "backflow" through the dipped bean to trigger the pods going down. (it grounds from the bulb filament)

but if you got an led, the diodes won't allow the ground to reach back.

i think all you need is a very high ohm resistor in parallel with the dip beam bulb.
the lift module drops the pods when it senses a ground on the UR (blue/red) wire that is attached at the C point (there's 2 UR wires going into the module)

i think the higher the resistance the better because you are trying to avoid any current to pass through that line at all when the LEDS are on.

personally i would try a 1m ohm resistor (half watt) in parallel. it may be too high resistance but i would expect it to work. potentially it could have a delay before the pods going down.
if it didnt work id start stepping down the rate of the resistor to a 100k and then 47k.
before trying anything with lower resistance than that, ill have to check if that would fry the 0.5w resistors. as the lower the resistance, you when will be letting more current past, and at 12v. very little current is enough to get past the half watt the resistors im talking about are rated for

[dapinky]

More progress.

Both seats fully reconditioned (completely stripped, cleaned, added a bit of foam, re-covered (with original leather), cleaned, re-coloured. satin coated, re-assembled and fitted).

Sorted out the (future, not current!) potential problem with the Toad alarm - nowt actually wrong with it at the moment, but when it was fitted the installer 'programmed out' some features that I want/need (boot release being the most annoying!) - and as I don't have the PIN code, I can't do anything about it. So, it follows that I can't add an extra fob (not that I'd want to spend the money on a Toad fob!), change PIN or anything else which I may need in the future.

So I decided that as I don't have the paperwork for it, therefore it can't be classed as a Cat 1 system anyway, it is basically a complicated box of future-problems..... and it doesn't do what I want!

As a result of speaking with Tony at Castle Combe, I decided on just fitting a very basic door-lock controller system, which is operated by a single flip-key with buttons to lock, unlock and release the boot./// it does what it says on the tin, and reduces the keys to be carried.

The generic electronic box of relays arrived from China in just over a week, at a cost of a tenner (all in - with 2 fobs/key blanks).

Fitting it involved locating the Toad box, working out what wire performed which function, and piggy-backing the wiring from the new box into the existing loom with solder/heat-shrink connections, to maintain the original integrity. Sounds simple, but as we all know, nowt is that simple - and access is always the issue. However, the biggest issue to me was understanding the instructions that came with the box from China - it was written in badly-translated English, and words like open/closed & lock/unlock were either duplicated, transposed or simply missing

This resulted in a blown fuse or 2 in the original alarm loom when operating the 'lock' function, as it was sending 12V to earth..... still, after a nights sleep, it dawned on me that I was over-complicating it, and instead of worrying about all 6 wires, I only needed 2 (with 2 other pairs connected at the box) to the CDL module. Job done!

I then added the boot release feature (which meant a bit of re-wiring under the hood stowage area as the system was wired for a +12V switching feed, not the -12V connect-to-earth that the box supplied = no big deal, but it all played havoc on my back!!!!

So, I now have a system which locks, unlocks doors/boot - flashes the indicators as it does so and beeps the siren (if required) - with a flashing LED when the system is "set" - it retains the TOAD immobiliser features (but if the box goes wrong, I now know which circuits are 'immobilised' and can jump the connections in about 30 seconds .... in a convenient place!

Don't know how much it costs to get a key blank cut as I simply chopped an ignition key using an angle grinder and fitted it to the flip fob - it took less time to do that than it would have done to drive down to Timpsons.

I also sorted out the headlamp issue - it appears that a 100 Ohm 10w resister needed to be fitted in parallel to both dipped beams - I had only fitted one to the OS pod, and assumed that would do the job.... clearly not! As soon as I added one to the NS pod, it all worked. As with all these jobs, a fresh pair of eyes makes it all seem obvious, and tying it takes about 5 minutes.... tidying up the wiring/connections/fittings took a few hours, as it involved removing the pods again to stop the wires fowling on the movement, the refitting them so they work.

Still, the interior and wiring are now all done (as far as i know, the only other thing is to fit the battery connection for the battery conditioner - but everything works (including the battery isolator now).

Logically, the next job (working my way backwards) should be the hood - but I'm bored with jobs involving lots of fiddling/fettling so I am going straight into the rear suspension and back to big, oily, dirty bits that I enjoy far more than carefully dismantling and cleaning hood frames.

[dapinky]

Joao,

Thanks for the thoughts on the resistance required, and I know we had the conversation on Messenger, but I will leave it all up here for future reference......

To recap, I fitted a 10W 100 Ohm resister in parallel across each dipped beam lamp, and it works fine with no delay in pods moving up or down. The Wiki mentions a single 100/120 Ohm resister, so that's what I tried.... it appears that it is either Geoff's poor writing or my poor understanding, as a single resister did nothing, BUT a 'single' resister on both lamps works.... so a 'pair of resistors' is what you need.

[Tuga2112]

The Wiki mentions a single 100/120 Ohm resister, so that's what I tried.... it appears that it is either Geoff's poor writing or my poor understanding, as a single resister did nothing, BUT a 'single' resister on both lamps works.... so a 'pair of resistors' is what you need.

Dave, In theory a single resistor should work. i would suggest you test the resistor that didnt work, the wiring diagram suggests any side would work. BUT it also gives me the funny feeling it may not work on the right hand side... there is a line between the 2 fuses... but there may not be a wire actually there in the car

[dapinky]

the only 'test' I did on the resistor is to see that it was actually 100 Ohm - it read 102 on my meter, so close enough!

I was playing with the off-side pod as that is nearest to the bench and thus the electric for the soldering iron - maybe it only needs one on the near-side - but I'm not going to chop a wire just to test the theory!

[Tuga2112]

the only 'test' I did on the resistor is to see that it was actually 100 Ohm - it read 102 on my meter, so close enough!

I was playing with the off-side pod as that is nearest to the bench and thus the electric for the soldering iron - maybe it only needs one on the near-side - but I'm not going to chop a wire just to test the theory!

Dave.

if your going to use 2 resistors in parallel where originally Geoff was saying to use a single.
you would need resistors with twice the ohms.

you may find the lamps are not as bright as they should as twice more current will flow through the resistors.

my suggestion of resistance figures was simply a practical (and as safe as i can think) approach to find out the minimum resistance required.
im surprised to find Geoff suggesting a 10w resistor. for this scenario. are you sure you are not confusing the resistor with one that your meant to use with LED indicator lights ? those would require a bulky resistor as its based on current drain to stop flashing the bulbs too fast while this circuit appears to be of a digital nature from the description

[dapinky]

Joao,

My knowledge of electronics is entirely dependent on my memory of 'A' level Physics back in 1979, so takes a bit of getting my head round..... That said, I am aware of the 'product over sum' system for resistors in parallel.

I decided on 10W ones as that is what I had lying around! - I'm sure that 5W may work just as well, and don't know if there is a drawback to using the 10W ones?????

As the 2 headlamp pods are separate, I don't think that the resisters are actually in parallel (but may be wrong) - the lights seem plenty bright to me! I am just happy that the pods go up and down and the lamps illuminate at this stage.....

...... When it gets to the stage that the car is going to be used, then i will worry about fiddling with what I have got and see if a single resistor on the N/S does the job, and then if a 5W makes any difference. I will get a couple of 5W units ordered to play around with.

[RonR]

Also from my Physics A-level, V=IR and P=IV.
Given the Alternator puts out around 15V-ish:

For each 100 Ohm resistor: I = 15/100 = 0.15Amps, and P = 0.15 x 15 = 2.25 Watts, so 5 or 10 watt resistors will be fine.

If you have 2 resistors in parallel then R = (100 + 100) / 2 = 50 Ohms ==> P = 4.5 Watts. That's the power the resistors will consume in the lighting circuit, but as you're going from 55 Watt bulbs to LEDs which consume much less power it will be OK.

BUT - That power will get dissipated as heat, and in this situation it's best to consume just enough power to trigger the raise/lower module, so it might be worth trying 220 Ohms for total power consumption of 1W per resistor or 470 Ohms for 0.5W.

[dapinky]

Ron,

That makes perfect sense to me (mathematically!) and I understand the theory (ish)....

.... my current thoughts - pun noted, but NOT intended!) - (having spent a few minutes with Google yesterday to understand the 'power' bit of the resistor rating, and how it is calculated) is that the resistors may or may not actually be in parallel at the moment (although they are each parallel to the lamps)....

....so it may be 2 lots of 100 Ohm, or it may be a total of 50 Ohm resistance....... whatever it is, it works, so the 'value' is sort-of irrelevant to me as it does the job, the bulbs (which aren't bulbs, but you know what I mean) are bright, there is no appreciable delay in pod operation either up or down.

So, as for the 'power' bit - I was under the impression that this is a 'maximum' capacity of the unit, not what it aims to use with current flowing..... and assuming a maximum voltage of 14.4V from the alternator, it works out at 2-3 Watts.....

Now, this is where my theory becomes "best guess/hope" as it isn't really my bag, but seems okay to me!!!!!

I have 'assumed' :-
1) that the power is well within the capacity of the 10W resistor, so the resistance will remain constant
2) the resistor will only see a max of 3 Watts anyway, so it won't get as hot as if it were using 10 Watts
3) as I have mounted the resistor (which has an integral aluminium heat-sink casing) to the metal chassis, to dissipate heat as there is limited airflow, this will be sufficient

That all said, I also ordered a pair of 100R5W ceramic resistors from fleabay to have a future play with.

I will then try a single resistor on the NS dip beam and see how that works......

My "knowledge" is in the horrible area where I "know" some things and "think" some other things must therefore be correct.... but all tempered with the fact that I may have known it 40+ years ago, but possibly remember it wrong now - so this is all a mixture of "of course I know that....." and "every day is a school-day".

Still, I've got some big, dirty, greasy, metal bits to do next - and I'm happy with that!!!

[dapinky]

Well, in the process of doing the rear suspension, I took some pictures of the brake calliper lever that needs adjusting for use on the Rear-Right of the Elan (if using the 'stock' item as listed for the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Rear-Left). I know that there is a 'pdf document somewhere on the website showing how the GM callipers needed to be modified to work correctly with the Elan (Jim ), but for the sake of filling this post up a bit, I modified my new one yesterday and it isn't at all hard...... this is posted on another thread about the handbrakes, but duplicated here just for the sake of keeping the info on my car in one place!!!!

It simply needs a bit of metal welding on to the old handbrake lever, so that it 'stops' when the metal hits the mounting bracket (so different to the Elan, where the stop is on the caliper casting), the same as the "wrong" lever already does.

I looked for a chunk of 5mm steel to modify, but then decided that it would be far easier to chop the relevant bit off the brand new lever which was going into the bin anyway, and weld it all together.

As always, a picture is worth 1000 words, so here you go:-

new lever, unused on the Elan - cut off the 'stop' part

fettle and adjust to fit the 'old' bracket you take off the Elan caliper

Weld it together

clean up the weld with a grinder

check it all fits (in fairness, I did check when I only had a single 'blob' of weld tacking the parts together, but didn't take a picture of that stage!)

all done, painted with zinc spray

[dapinky]

Right-side completed, left side stripped, cleaned, painted in primer, some bits painted in top-coat......

.... will finish the painting today, then can start the reassembly tomorrow (hopefully).

I keep finding extra things to mess about with though..... like all the brake pipes...... oh, and swapping old rusty bolts for new stainless ones just for the hell of it....

Not the best photo in the world, and it shows the exhaust up a bit, and it was taken before the hub/disc and calliper went on, but at least it is all clean, tidy and corrosion free now.

Whilst I remember, I measured all the new Samco hoses and purchased all new stainless clamps for them.... not fitted any yet, and not intending to for a while, but thought it may be useful to publicise the hose diameters and clamp sizes required for them, in case anyone else buys a set (or needs to replace a single hose) and wants to have the right size clips on hand before starting....

samcos.jpeg (50.83 KiB) Viewed 23970 times

[dapinky]

Good and bad today - but I suppose the 'bad' isn't really that bad, just a bit of extra work that i thought I had got away with.....

Both sides of the rear suspension are now refitted, just need to torque up the pivot bolts when I drop it down off the stands, however, it was all going so well, i wondered when something would go wrong.....

.... and it was when i was bleeding the brakes through. I decided that a complete change of fluid was required (you should have seen/smelt the stuff that came out of it when i changed the rear pipes - a mixture of water, brake fluid and oil - well, that's what it smelt like)

Anyway, the fluid eventually came out clear (just bled via gravity), so turned the callipers over to get the remaining air out, all good...... so gave the pedal 3 good pushes to force any remaing trapped air out..... and a load of air came out.... then it ran clear again.

All is fine until I pump it through with the pedal... then i get a stream of bubbles.

Clearly this isn't good - and in the absence of anything else to consider, I assume that it must have a bad master cylinder (after being layed up for 7+ years it shouldn't be a surprise), seeing as everything else in the brake system has been replaced.

Still, I have now ordered one, and will be changing it out whenever I get a chance - but possibly not for a while as by the time it gets here, I may be out of time before heading off to Scottishland next weekend. Still, never mind, eh - better to change it now than find that it is defective later.

At least i know I have good fluid throughout the system, so i only need to bleed the air out, not change the fluid (except it will do so by default!) - just trying to justify the hour or so i spent trying to clear the air this afternoon!!!!

[dapinky]

Following on from the above, I had a couple of hours to throw at the car this afternoon, so decided that I may as well make a start on removal of the master cylinder for when the new one gets here - knowing from experience that it is a job that is never easy, and never gets done the same way twice, and that it needs either a lot of luck, with flexible hands - or - removal of a few bits to gain best possible access.

It was with this in mind that I first removed the vacuum take-off/filter from the inlet manifold (otherwise it is really easy to snap off the plastic spigot, leading to a world of pain as they are NLA, so the options are to repair or find something that does the job...... far better to spend 5 minutes taking it out of the way.

Next is removal of the PAS reservoir - simply taking off the bracket will help, but removal makes it all a lot easier..... except that you get PAS fluid everywhere. It is possible to get the majority of the fluid out with a coffee syrup pump (or turkey baster), but there is always about a cupful left once it looks dry (false bottom on the reservoir stops you getting it all out). Then it is a case of undoing the 2 jubilee clips and trying to catch as much fluid as possible. I suppose, removal of the pipe at the pump would get the levels lower, but I decided not to do it that way (now I wish I had!).

That gives as good an access as you are likely to get without removal of either the inlet plenum, or the entire engine.

I then decided to just see how easily the brake unions would 'crack-off' before calling it a day.....

The front 2 are M12 fittings (requiring a 13mm spanner) and the rear 2 are M10, requiring an 11mm spanner..... no room to swing a spanner though (except for the rear upper one which you can just about get a spanner on if you're lucky, and the spanner is short enough to miss the engine, whilst still allowing enough leverage to undo the union - not a great combination of 'required circumstances')

My tools of choice are crow-foot spanners on a 3/8" bar - they are a bit thicker than a 'standard' spanner, so you get a better grip on the union without so much fear of it rounding off.

Ideally, you will remove the brake fluid reservoir from the cylinder first as it means you can see what you're doing, and get to the nuts easier - but for the photos I hadn't done that yet as I only took them to indicate the "angles of attack" for the unions which worked for me...... a selection of extension bars of various lengths means that you can better find a position where you can swing the ratchet handle, but none of them are perfect. Fortunately, once they are 'cracked-off' they came off with finger pressure.

Emptying the fluid is done with the syrup pump, but it isn't possible to get it all out, so expect some drippage when you take off the reservoir (or drain it from the union ports first), Don't forget to undo the electric connection for the level warning lamp - mine was secured to the master cylinder with a cable tie, and the plug/socket is away towards the centre of the car.... easiest way is to carefully lift the electric board out of the float in the reservoir and leave the wiring intact.

With the reservoir out of the way you can see (and get to) the 2 nuts which hold the cylinder to the servo, so it is time to remove the 3 loose unions, then you can undo the outer nut with a 13mm socket on an extension bar. The inner one is awkward to get to with anything other than an offset spanner (13mm) - but you may be able to get a crowfoot in there and a normal spanner once it is a bit looser - be aware that the nuts are 'k' nuts so won't be loose enough to undo with your fingers until they are nearly out anyway......so it's a case of move the nut 1/12 turn with a spanner. then repeat. I could get a flexible ratchet spanner on it, but couldn't get the angle to actually turn the nut, so it was the slow and steady process with an offset ring spanner.

The last connection is the lower rear M10 union, but with the other pipes pulled away (which is why you have to remove the cylinder from the servo first, to give enough room to separate the other pipes) you can get a crowfoot on it by replacing the cylinder back on the servo studs to hold it steady enough to crack off the union.

Then it's 'job done' - lift it out and mop up all the mess you'll have made!

This was the best angle I found to get the lower M12 union undone

Likewise for the upper M12

not much space to swing a spanner on the rear upper M10

all the bits out

.... anyone who's done this job knows what a sigh of relief you get to see this view.

.... and once it was all out and I was cleaning up the reservoir, I noticed how little angle you need to actually stop fluid flowing from the front chamber to the rear one...... so now I am wondering if the air getting into the system was purely because the rear of the car is on axle stands, and the angle of the master cylinder was such that the pickup from the reservoir was running dry enough to allow air in with 3 pumps of the footbrake????

Still, never mind, eh - a new Master Cylinder won't do any harm overall (and the rear of it does look a bit damp, so it may not have gone on very long anyway, if at all) - with a new one on the way for under £30 (plus some more PAS fluid!) it can't be complained about.

[muley]

Well-done, Dave.

Another excellent write up. Time to fit my narrow bore PMCs methinks

Thank you