As an aircraft structural repair engineer (University Degree'd and Licensed Professional/Chartered Engineer), that is pretty good but there are a couple of things that you MUST do to save/protect the aluminum structure during the crash structure removal. The first thing is the blade preparation for cutting the crash structure off. With knife sharpening stone (NOT a grinding wheel, that will leave gauges large enough on the reciprocating blade to scratch the aluminum!) round off the teeth of the vibrating blade on the bottom side ONLY…the side that goes up against the aluminum. You want that one side just dull enough so that when you run the blade over your finger, it will not be sharp. It is VERY important not the leave gauge marks/scratches in the aluminum…this is very, very important!
NEVER cut through the crash structure and into the aluminum as you had done! Get a thin, flexible paint spatula and slide in between the crash structure and the aluminum structure to protect the aluminum. Also "dull" the edges of the spatula on all sides like I had described for the one side of the reciprocating saw blade. I can not stress hard enough how important it is to NOT scratch the aluminum as you are doing the work. Sliding in the spatula will protect the aluminum because the reciprocating will only cut into the spatula instead of the aluminum.
A paint heat gun is hot enough to anneal the aluminum. Be VERY careful not the heat the aluminum structure. ONLY heat the crash structure you are removing. Even put your hand on the aluminum to know when you are heating the aluminum instead of the crash structure. Actually, put water on the aluminum when using the heat gun. If the water boils, you are annealing the aluminum and destroying the integrity of the aluminum. Soaking a rag in water and placing it on the aluminum structure would be a great technique for this portion.
NEVER, EVER pry against the aluminum like you had done in the video. That prying will dent the aluminum structure. You had shown to use a wood chisel and screw driver placed in between the crash structure and the aluminum structure. DO NOT DO THAT!!!! Any dent, ding or scratch will destroy the aluminum structure. This is one technique taught in aviation schools around the world. Even razor blades are not allowed in any aviation technician's tool box near an aircraft.
Never use sand paper on any power tools on aluminum structure. Sand paper may only be used by hand and no coarser than 400 grit! This is so the aluminum structure does NOT get scratched. Again, VERY important NOT to even scratch the aluminum structure. 3M makes ScotchBright pads for a drill that are made specifically to remove adhesives from aluminum structures.
You can probably find cheaper ones at Harbor Fright…
One of the most important is a Die Grinder, Air, Mini, 90° Angle, 1/4" Collet (20,000 RPM) (Blue-Point®)
Aluminum corrodes and Lotus anodizes the aluminum parts to protect it from corrosion. The aviation industry alodines (chemical conversion coat) the aluminum. Once you have removed the crash structure and scotchbrighted and sanded it, you have removed the corrosion protection layer. It is very easy to paint on the alodine, let activate for about 90 seconds and then rinse off with water. This is also a very important step for longevity of the aluminum so that it won't corrode! This corrosion protection must be put on before a new crash structure is bonded on.
Please make these changes/additions and replace this video before more people destroy more Lotuses. There are not many of them in the world and we have to protect them. Or at least place a big warning first!
HI, ik zie dat je van België bent. Ik heb ook een Lotus met schade aan de crashbox en ik denk ook chassis. Zou ik eens mogen komen kijken hoe je het allemaal gedaan hebt? De kosten bij de garage lopen op tot 17 000€ en ik zou het zelf willen doen. Groeten Sam
Hey! Nice video, top tip, you should replace the tow strut with a new stainless steel one while the car is in pieces, the original lotus one is carbon steel and becomes very weak and will not hold the weight of the car and will just break when you need it! I know from experience! Then when you least want to you have to remove the clam to fit a new one….. €100 now will save a lot of time and money later on…..
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As an aircraft structural repair engineer (University Degree'd and Licensed Professional/Chartered Engineer), that is pretty good but there are a couple of things that you MUST do to save/protect the aluminum structure during the crash structure removal. The first thing is the blade preparation for cutting the crash structure off. With knife sharpening stone (NOT a grinding wheel, that will leave gauges large enough on the reciprocating blade to scratch the aluminum!) round off the teeth of the vibrating blade on the bottom side ONLY…the side that goes up against the aluminum. You want that one side just dull enough so that when you run the blade over your finger, it will not be sharp. It is VERY important not the leave gauge marks/scratches in the aluminum…this is very, very important!
NEVER cut through the crash structure and into the aluminum as you had done! Get a thin, flexible paint spatula and slide in between the crash structure and the aluminum structure to protect the aluminum. Also "dull" the edges of the spatula on all sides like I had described for the one side of the reciprocating saw blade. I can not stress hard enough how important it is to NOT scratch the aluminum as you are doing the work. Sliding in the spatula will protect the aluminum because the reciprocating will only cut into the spatula instead of the aluminum.
A paint heat gun is hot enough to anneal the aluminum. Be VERY careful not the heat the aluminum structure. ONLY heat the crash structure you are removing. Even put your hand on the aluminum to know when you are heating the aluminum instead of the crash structure. Actually, put water on the aluminum when using the heat gun. If the water boils, you are annealing the aluminum and destroying the integrity of the aluminum. Soaking a rag in water and placing it on the aluminum structure would be a great technique for this portion.
NEVER, EVER pry against the aluminum like you had done in the video. That prying will dent the aluminum structure. You had shown to use a wood chisel and screw driver placed in between the crash structure and the aluminum structure. DO NOT DO THAT!!!! Any dent, ding or scratch will destroy the aluminum structure. This is one technique taught in aviation schools around the world. Even razor blades are not allowed in any aviation technician's tool box near an aircraft.
Never use sand paper on any power tools on aluminum structure. Sand paper may only be used by hand and no coarser than 400 grit! This is so the aluminum structure does NOT get scratched. Again, VERY important NOT to even scratch the aluminum structure. 3M makes ScotchBright pads for a drill that are made specifically to remove adhesives from aluminum structures.
You can probably find cheaper ones at Harbor Fright…
One of the most important is a Die Grinder, Air, Mini, 90° Angle, 1/4" Collet (20,000 RPM) (Blue-Point®)
https://public.snapon.com/R_RRD/ItemDetailImages/AT109.jpg
And the main attachment will be the 3M 05539 Roloc 2" Disc Pad Assembly
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71WKRVEMgzL._SL1500_.jpg
The abrasive wheels used on that 2" Roloc disc will be the following…
2" Scotch-Brite™ Roloc™ Bristle Disc and only use the white one on aluminum.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/z/QlAAAOSwwo1XcnSi/$_57.JPG
and the 3M 07515 ROLOC Surface Condition Disc 50mm Very Fine 25 pack
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDE1WDUwMA==/z/xwUAAOSw-kdXxsH5/$_12.JPG
Aluminum corrodes and Lotus anodizes the aluminum parts to protect it from corrosion. The aviation industry alodines (chemical conversion coat) the aluminum. Once you have removed the crash structure and scotchbrighted and sanded it, you have removed the corrosion protection layer. It is very easy to paint on the alodine, let activate for about 90 seconds and then rinse off with water. This is also a very important step for longevity of the aluminum so that it won't corrode! This corrosion protection must be put on before a new crash structure is bonded on.
Please make these changes/additions and replace this video before more people destroy more Lotuses. There are not many of them in the world and we have to protect them. Or at least place a big warning first!
HI, ik zie dat je van België bent. Ik heb ook een Lotus met schade aan de crashbox en ik denk ook chassis. Zou ik eens mogen komen kijken hoe je het allemaal gedaan hebt? De kosten bij de garage lopen op tot 17 000€ en ik zou het zelf willen doen.
Groeten
Sam
Well made and informative material, big like from me!
Ill be doing my crash box shortly on a 2008 what a crash box worth in the uk ?Any luck with a used parts
I would love to hear the comments for those who issue a thumb down. It can only help improve the video's
Hey! Nice video, top tip, you should replace the tow strut with a new stainless steel one while the car is in pieces, the original lotus one is carbon steel and becomes very weak and will not hold the weight of the car and will just break when you need it! I know from experience! Then when you least want to you have to remove the clam to fit a new one….. €100 now will save a lot of time and money later on…..