A few questions from an Elan newbie.
Discussion
Hi all 
The temp gauge in my Elan hardly ever reads above C and only gets up near to the first notch when stuck in traffic, is this normal?
I have an intemmitant front bulb fault on the near side dip, how easy is it to access?
What oil should I run?
The wheels are lovely and straight but the paint is wearing inbetween the spokes so I would like to get them re-finished. What are the hubs off as I would like to put another set of wheels on whilst mine are being done?
What is the correct procedure for operating the roof?
I could do with some tyres soon, is the standard size the best to stick with?
Thanks in advance.
Corin
The temp gauge in my Elan hardly ever reads above C and only gets up near to the first notch when stuck in traffic, is this normal?
I have an intemmitant front bulb fault on the near side dip, how easy is it to access?
What oil should I run?
The wheels are lovely and straight but the paint is wearing inbetween the spokes so I would like to get them re-finished. What are the hubs off as I would like to put another set of wheels on whilst mine are being done?
What is the correct procedure for operating the roof?
I could do with some tyres soon, is the standard size the best to stick with?
Thanks in advance.
Corin
Corin Denton said:
Hi all
The temp gauge in my Elan hardly ever reads above C and only gets up near to the first notch when stuck in traffic, is this normal?
When warm, should only read upto the 1st notch(about 1/4) BUT when in heavy traffic should rapidly rise to 3/4 mark and the fans MUST cut in and rapidly bring temp down to 1/2
I have an intemmitant front bulb fault on the near side dip, how easy is it to access?
Never tried
What oil should I run?
A good quality Fully synethetic (mine uses mobil one)
The wheels are lovely and straight but the paint is wearing inbetween the spokes so I would like to get them re-finished. What are the hubs off as I would like to put another set of wheels on whilst mine are being done?
I have a mate who can exchange you a set of refurbished wheels mail me for more details
What is the correct procedure for operating the roof?
Always lower the roof with the windows down to avoid damaging the seals.
as to procedure, unclip catches, fold back roof, lift up back section, release hood cover and lift, drop back section down and fold into recess, close hood cover
I could do with some tyres soon, is the standard size the best to stick with?
Yes, unless you wish to upgarde to "16 S2 alloys (quite expensive even 2nd hand)
Thanks in advance.
Corin
The temp gauge is an Elan quirk
Bottom mark is around 60 deg F
1/4 is 84 deg F
1/2 is 98 deg F
3/4 is 108 deg F
Fan cut in is around 3/4 mark
Normal operating temp is around 1/4 mark unless in traffic where it will rapidly rise. If it is above 3/4 mark for more than a couple of minutes you probably have a cooling system problem (usually either a faulty fan or a header tank cap) The fans are not available new, the caps are from Vauxhall Nova/Astra/Cavalier circa 1990.
Headlamp bulb is easy IF you release the headlamp pivot, If you don't then you will probably slash your hands because of very limited access (unless you have small hands when you might just manage it without unbolting anything)
Make sure the headlamps are OFF - wind up the headlamps by hand (the ridged knob just behind the headlights) Then look from the centre of the car to the gap under the headlights - there is a linkage with a bolted pivot / swivel joint in mid air (not on the headlamp pod itself) - remove the nut with a 10mm socket , then remove a thin spacer - then pull off the pivot rod connected to the bottom of the headlamp pod - now remove the wider spacer (you will loose it otherwise) Now you can pivot the pod up and have loads of room in which to work (all the above is assuming you have the later style "non opera glass" pods)
Oil - any synthetic - I run Mobil 1 /Castrol 0W40 in winter and Mobil 1 15W50 / Castrol 10W60 in summer)
Hubs are standard 4 x 100 PCD Vauxhall BUT the offset of the rims means you are limited in choice in aftermarket wheels - You need an ET of 60mm
As a temporary measure you can run something like Astra 14 x 5.5 steel rims with 175 65 14 (an absolute hoot to drive at a track day!)
Side windows can stay up if you are folding down but must be lowered a few inches if raising the hood.
15 inch SE rims are much lighter than the 16 inch S2's, the car is massively overshod on 16's
The tyres need a stiff sidewall - stick with something like Michelin Pilot Sport /Pilot Exalto and get the tracking set to toe out around 0.1 deg total (which is less than the top limit of the original spec but your tyres will last much longer)
Run tyres on the road at around 26psi for 15s and 29psi for 16's
>> Edited by M100 on Friday 12th November 21:12
Bottom mark is around 60 deg F
1/4 is 84 deg F
1/2 is 98 deg F
3/4 is 108 deg F
Fan cut in is around 3/4 mark
Normal operating temp is around 1/4 mark unless in traffic where it will rapidly rise. If it is above 3/4 mark for more than a couple of minutes you probably have a cooling system problem (usually either a faulty fan or a header tank cap) The fans are not available new, the caps are from Vauxhall Nova/Astra/Cavalier circa 1990.
Headlamp bulb is easy IF you release the headlamp pivot, If you don't then you will probably slash your hands because of very limited access (unless you have small hands when you might just manage it without unbolting anything)
Make sure the headlamps are OFF - wind up the headlamps by hand (the ridged knob just behind the headlights) Then look from the centre of the car to the gap under the headlights - there is a linkage with a bolted pivot / swivel joint in mid air (not on the headlamp pod itself) - remove the nut with a 10mm socket , then remove a thin spacer - then pull off the pivot rod connected to the bottom of the headlamp pod - now remove the wider spacer (you will loose it otherwise) Now you can pivot the pod up and have loads of room in which to work (all the above is assuming you have the later style "non opera glass" pods)
Oil - any synthetic - I run Mobil 1 /Castrol 0W40 in winter and Mobil 1 15W50 / Castrol 10W60 in summer)
Hubs are standard 4 x 100 PCD Vauxhall BUT the offset of the rims means you are limited in choice in aftermarket wheels - You need an ET of 60mm
As a temporary measure you can run something like Astra 14 x 5.5 steel rims with 175 65 14 (an absolute hoot to drive at a track day!)
Side windows can stay up if you are folding down but must be lowered a few inches if raising the hood.
15 inch SE rims are much lighter than the 16 inch S2's, the car is massively overshod on 16's
The tyres need a stiff sidewall - stick with something like Michelin Pilot Sport /Pilot Exalto and get the tracking set to toe out around 0.1 deg total (which is less than the top limit of the original spec but your tyres will last much longer)
Run tyres on the road at around 26psi for 15s and 29psi for 16's
>> Edited by M100 on Friday 12th November 21:12
JonRB said:
On ours:
Bottom end stop = engine cold / just started up
1 millimetre above bottom end stop = normal running temperature
3/4 way up = reached in heavy traffic at which point the fans kick in until it rapidly falls back to aforementioned normal running temperature.
It might be worth running the car from cold and seeing if the top rad hose gets warm straight away as it sounds like you have a faulty thermostat (could be the temperature sensor/gauge though)
hand book quotes
".... under normal running conditions, the gauge will stay around the 1/4 scale mark, with fluctuations occuring as the operating conditions change. During peroids of idling or in heavy traffic, the needle will rise to just over 3/4 mark before the cooling fans cutting in. If however the gauge rises well into the top quarter for more than a fem mins the engine is in danger of overheating..."
Thermostates do commonly fail, mine when i got it would struggle to get of the minimum mark, this was replace prior to collection and now functions as above
".... under normal running conditions, the gauge will stay around the 1/4 scale mark, with fluctuations occuring as the operating conditions change. During peroids of idling or in heavy traffic, the needle will rise to just over 3/4 mark before the cooling fans cutting in. If however the gauge rises well into the top quarter for more than a fem mins the engine is in danger of overheating..."
Thermostates do commonly fail, mine when i got it would struggle to get of the minimum mark, this was replace prior to collection and now functions as above
Never seen one like that that didn't have something wrong with it, the rubber seal on the thermostat seat has a very short life. Might be worth connecting it to Elanscan (or a Tech 1 at a dealer)
The thermostat is 82 deg, if it leaks you'd expect exactly the symptoms you've observed, even perfectly good thermostats can be wedged open by cooling system debris.
The thermostat is 82 deg, if it leaks you'd expect exactly the symptoms you've observed, even perfectly good thermostats can be wedged open by cooling system debris.
me they like this cool air! 
Bugger me, coinicidence or what the sodding thermostat stuck open today on my daily runner!
They like the cold air mustard but cold water - or more to the point water that fluctuates from 65C to 100C+ like mine did today is a surefire way to get a head gasket failure.
The oil temps take a long time to come up in this weather too so take it easy before you trash it
They like the cold air mustard but cold water - or more to the point water that fluctuates from 65C to 100C+ like mine did today is a surefire way to get a head gasket failure.
The oil temps take a long time to come up in this weather too so take it easy before you trash it
Rob, thats interesting, do you have a part number?
Unless things have changed very recently Lotus cannot source the correct size fans anymore (neither the steel or plastic shrouded ones) and the the new radiator fans from Lotus only fit the US spec cars due to a difference in the mounting arrangements and diameter.
The two part numbers originally fitted were interchangable and fitted both spec cars, now the new one - I think its A100K6030S is for US spec cars only. The only option is get the original ones working or modify an aftermarket fan or build your own custom unit
Sodding marvellous - 500 odd cars supported and 4000 out in the cold (or hot!)
>> Edited by M100 on Saturday 13th November 23:41
Unless things have changed very recently Lotus cannot source the correct size fans anymore (neither the steel or plastic shrouded ones) and the the new radiator fans from Lotus only fit the US spec cars due to a difference in the mounting arrangements and diameter.
The two part numbers originally fitted were interchangable and fitted both spec cars, now the new one - I think its A100K6030S is for US spec cars only. The only option is get the original ones working or modify an aftermarket fan or build your own custom unit
Sodding marvellous - 500 odd cars supported and 4000 out in the cold (or hot!)
>> Edited by M100 on Saturday 13th November 23:41
JonRB said:
Surely it can't be beyond the wit of man to find a suitably sized fan and fabricate an adaptor or brackets to make it fit?
Bodges are always possible, getting a fan that fits and puts the same amount of airflow through the radiator as original is the difficult bit. Most of the aftermarket fans are either too deep (especially on aircon cars) or have through radiator mounting arrangements which can lead to core failure.
Lotus themselves (and many others) have searched for a direct replacement fan that fits the UK/RoW models and failed, so they have been effectively been NLA since about 98/99 when the previous part number ones ran out.
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