rear suspension inner toelink

[AZReason]

I am not too keen on the idea of removing a stud that holds on one of the attach points for the lower A-arm with weight on it. Also, one needs to move the tire back and forth to remove the toe link and line up the holes for the new bolt. A lift that raises it on the tires or ramps should not be used for this process in my opinion. BTW, I change my oil without lifting the car.

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by AZReason

I am not too keen on the idea of removing a stud that holds on one of the attach points for the lower A-arm with weight on it.

It was meant to be humorous...

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by sleepless

FYI - The toe link nuts were found to have loosened on my car after EVERY track day.

[edit - they loosened only slightly; but they did need a small amount of re-torquing. I always assumed it had to do with vibration since I had several other bolts fall of the car and it is one buzzy beast]

Sleepless, what other bolts fell off, for us track guys, what else should we be checking with regularity?
TIA
Josh

[APOGEE]

Originally Posted by fishguyAZ

Azreason, can you post a link where to get this brace, I want one, but havent found where to get it. how long was the install time?
Josh

We allways have the motorsport brace in stock ( mounts to the subframe )
and we sell it at the same $ as the track-pack unit. Call my parts guy Eric
@ Newport European Motorcar L.T.D. The Install time depends on who is
installing it and setting the toe. I have installed many of these on track cars
and a few street Elise.(The latter may be driving faster then the posted speed limit).
All the best, Don

[sleepless]

Diffuser bolt, enigine lid hinge bolt, both bolts on the connection between the Arqray muffler and cat.

Other things that fall off: front mud flaps, front inside wheel liners if your run Hoosiers, plast air ducts in the engine under panel, aftermarket intake scoops... that's all I can remember.

Exhaust hangar welds break; at least on the titanium mufflers; had 3 break!

Basically, the car is a buzz bomb so things just vibrate loose.

The front wheel well liners will get ripped off the car by the large bits of wadded up rubber that flies off Hoosiers on straights; had to have mine riveted on!!!

[AZReason]

By the way if you install this yoursely you will need an uncomon size wrench. I happened to already have a 16mm wrench but a 5/8 inch will work just as well.

[®ob]

Originally Posted by AZReason

By the way if you install this yoursely you will need an uncomon size wrench. I happened to already have a 16mm wrench but a 5/8 inch will work just as well.

You enjoy livin dangerously huh?

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by MyElise

Do Heim joints require lubrication? If so, with what?

They are usually "sealed" for life with no way to lubricate them. Most have some type of Teflon type of coating on the wear surfaces. Some heavy duty types have Zerk fittings for greasing them, but the grease easily comes out. I don't believe the ones supplied by Lotus have any type of greasing capability.

[AZReason]

Originally Posted by AZReason

By the way, these end links do have a protective rubber piece to keep the grease in and the elements out on both sides, unlike others have reported.

It is clear rubber material and I could see the grease inside.

I love to quote myself.

[pixlpush]

here's a link to some photo's of the Lotus rear brace kit - LOTAC05377

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...39&postcount=1

enjoy!

[babak]

Checked mine today. 1/8 of a turn loose on each side. 8K miles, about 600 or so miles on the track.

[zvezdah1]

babak, since it was loose did you put new threadlok on it? I'm under the impression if you have to retorque it you have to put new thread lock or did I misinterpret that?
Chris

[Jim Itin]

Originally Posted by zvezdah1

babak, since it was loose did you put new threadlok on it? I'm under the impression if you have to retorque it you have to put new thread lock or did I misinterpret that?
Chris

Chris,
Threadlock is like an adhesive. It prevents movements in fasteners when dried, but if the fasteners are separated, it's just old dried glue and does little to keep fasteners in position. If a fastener is removed, the threads should be cleaned, then fresh Threadlock applied, and finally the fastener should be
re-torqued.
Jim

[babak]

Originally Posted by zvezdah1

babak, since it was loose did you put new threadlok on it? I'm under the impression if you have to retorque it you have to put new thread lock or did I misinterpret that?
Chris

I did not. I plan on doing this once/month. I typically go to track twice/month for about 60 mile'ish each. I'll drop the belly pan and check it on regular basis. I'm a bit uncomfortable with taking it off and 'reinstalling' the thing. I'm still kind of new to this stuff so I'm threading cautiously.

[eliseowner2b]

Babak,
You are thinking right!

Here's a stripper alert:

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...7&goto=newpost

[Jim Itin]

I'm still kind of new to this stuff so I'm threading cautiously.[/quote]

Babak,
When dealing with critical fasteners, it's always best to thread cautiously.
As for the tires, it's best to tread cautiously (Sorry, couldn't resist)
Jim

[FlyLo]

I'm seeing references to left-handed threads in various track brace threads.

I just torqued my inner toe link bolts and they behaved like regular bolts. Please tell me that these are the standard righty-tighty.

IIRC I turned the passenger side 1/4 turn and the driver side 1/2 turn. It was difficult to get the torque wrench in the right spot, because I was using an old-school one with the big analog gauge on the end of it. I'll buy a small click-style for better access.

[MattG]

I thought I'd add one more data point here:
My car had its 1k service done at a dealer. I chose to do the 7500 mile service myself (well, except for the brake fluid flush, I took it to the dealer for that). At the time, I didn't know enough about which bolts to check; I saw those nuts but didn't think they were the ones, and the rest had the lock plates. So at around 9k miles I finally check the inner toe link joints. One was tight, the other needed about 1/16-1/8" of a turn. Not bad at all.

(AD07 tires, one track day, half a dozen autocrosses, all since the 1k checkup)

[babak]

Thanks, I just caught up with this thread/tread and I needed a monday a.m. chuckle.

I'm still kind of new to this stuff so I'm threading cautiously.

Originally Posted by Jim Itin

Babak,
When dealing with critical fasteners, it's always best to thread cautiously.
As for the tires, it's best to tread cautiously (Sorry, couldn't resist)
Jim

Originally Posted by eliseowner2b

Babak,
You are thinking right!

Here's a stripper alert:

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...7&goto=newpost

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by FlyLo

I'm seeing references to left-handed threads in various track brace threads.

The toe-link ball joints have two threaded parts (the Heim joints have one). One part passes through the chassis, a-arm, and chassis - this is the one that needs to be tightened and is a normal right handed thread.

The left handed threads are the part that connects to the toe-link to the wheel (for both the ball joint and the Heim joint). Basically one of the toe-link has right hand threads, the other has left hand threads. You loosen the jam nuts on the ball joints (or Heim joint), and rotate the toe-link ("hollow tube") to adjust the wheel/tire's toe (move it in or out). It acts like a turn-buckle.