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Check your toe link!

110K views 180 replies 82 participants last post by  shinoo 
#1 ·
Please be sure to check yours. Had a track day on Thursday, today I changed oil and checked the links. Both were lose. Be sure to check or they could ruin your day.

-Rob
 
#3 ·
How to check toe links?

WildCJ5 said:
Please be sure to check yours. Had a track day on Thursday, today I changed oil and checked the links. Both were lose. Be sure to check or they could ruin your day.

-Rob
I know that we're supposed to check our toe links, and I've searched this forum for a good picture of toe link and not found one. As a beginner I'd hate to be fruitlessly checking the wrong thing. Does any of the undercarriage need to be removed to check the toe links? Does anyone have a good picture of the operation?
 
#4 ·
viacondotti said:
I know that we're supposed to check our toe links, and I've searched this forum for a good picture of toe link and not found one. As a beginner I'd hate to be fruitlessly checking the wrong thing. Does any of the undercarriage need to be removed to check the toe links? Does anyone have a good picture of the operation?

same....
 
#8 ·

Attachments

#9 ·
Note that on the diagram in post # 8, it indicates that the toe-link ball joint stud should be torqued to 37 ft-lb (50 NM).

That torque value has been revised by Lotus - the new corrected torque is 44 ft-lb (60 NM).
 
#10 ·
I thought I read somewhere that if it is loose, the damage has already been done and it should be replaced. Is this not correct?
 
#11 ·
Ian said:
I thought I read somewhere that if it is loose, the damage has already been done and it should be replaced. Is this not correct?
An accurate version of that claim would be, "If it is loose, damage MAY have already been done depending on how loose it is and what forces it has been subjected to, and it would be a very reasonable idea to replace it."

xtn
 
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#12 ·
I will continue to check mine, but on neither my current Elise nor my first one did they ever work loose. Not saying you shouldn't check them, you should because the results of them being loose could be deadly. All I'm saying is you shouldn't necessarily expect them to be loose.
 
#15 ·
I do it every oil change. Of course this information is worth exactly what you paid me for it.

xtn
 
#16 ·
I think it depends if you track your car. Really, one should check a number of critical fasteners before each track day. Perhaps after also. Otherwise it is a periodic thing. For street use... who knows? Maybe once a year or 5000 miles? :shrug:
 
#18 ·
RegGuy said:
Is this considered a "standard" maintenance check when the oil is changed or is it more frequently needed?
No one knows for sure, though I think there has been at least one failure of a car that had the joints checked at regular service intervals (the blue Elise at Buttonwillow last year). I'd recommend checking it more frequently when the car is new and before/after track days. Over time, if you're not seeing any changes in it I'd scale that back to just checking it at every oil change.
 
#22 ·
Again, just to be clear - for the rear, it's:
 

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#23 ·
The first dealer oil change was around 1,400 miles so the dealer should have checked then. Since the first oil change it has had street time, one auto-x and the full day at Buttonwillow which was Thursday. Sunday is when I found the lose bolts and mileage was at 3,140. So in 1,740 miles mine came lose, assuming the dealer did their check.

-Rob
 
#24 ·
Sec111 has locking washers for the toe links.....
does the same trick as a locking tab, if not better,simple mod.....
a took a load of these courtesy of shinoo and neil along to the stargazing
meet......if your close to CA shay2 may have a few left over...
 
#25 ·
ducatiexigeowner said:
Sec111 has locking washers for the toe links.....
does the same trick as a locking tab, if not better,simple mod.....
a took a load of these courtesy of shinoo and neil along to the stargazing
meet......if your close to CA shay2 may have a few left over...
My toe link's were a 1/4 turn loose after every track event - until I installed the S111 Nocklocks locking washers.

I still check them for tightness - but they haven't been loose since - and that was last summer...

Highly recommended!
 
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