If your Lotus Elan M100’s headlights aren’t popping up properly, this video will show you how to fix them. The problem is almost always caused by some plastic bushes in the motor which you can replace for less than £10 per side.
If your Lotus Elan M100’s headlights aren’t popping up properly, this video will show you how to fix them. The problem is almost always caused by some plastic bushes in the motor which you can replace for less than £10 per side.
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This is brilliant! and exactly what is wrong with my Elan S2 nr208. As I have two left hands and no tools, who can help do this for me in London??
Just managed to repair the motor on the offside without removing the wheel arch liner. The real problem is that the bolts are accessed and need to be removed through a hole into the wheel arch. Hence removal of the liner seems the only way. However I did find a way by supporting the bolts before they disappear into the hole and into oblivion.
First mistake was to use a ratchet ring spanner. Once it was half out there is no turning back because the spanner cannot be removed – doh! But I continued and guess what the bolt disappeared in the hole. SH*T! However I just pulled the wheel arch liner away from the body and the bolt dropped out on the floor. Start again.
So spend time supporting the bolt – I used a very small pair of mole-grip. Maybe a small tie-wrap would work? And gently slide the bolt out and hold it before it disappears into the hole.
Don't use a ring spanner – just take time with regular spanner a 1/8 turn at a time, changing the way round at each turn.
Next the near-side motor.
Very grateful for this advice.
Thought I’d share a few notes on my experience…
Managed to re-use the top two wheel-arch liner bolts. Actually used them to replace the bottom/front two which I had to grind out (so the new non low-profile bolts went up top out of sight).
Didn’t fancy drilling the bodywork – tried to use an M8 rubber well nut – fits hole perfectly but couldn’t tighten the bolt enough without breaking the well nut. Dunno whether a neoprene (as opposed to rubber) well nut would’ve been any different to the ones I bought. But the 8mm M8 nut didn’t look right anyway. Luckily…
Eventually sourced the right size J-nut. Yes, it was a faff to find, but grateful for these:
http://www.bresco.com/acatalog/-J–nut-retainer-for-M6-screw–long-reach.-General-application.-SJG06171449P.html
Underneath, I had two screws in rawl plugs – same on both sides, so guessing these were original(?) Had to grind one off again but plugs were fine with two new screws.
Some pictures… https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wgueyaz89zauwz6/AAB0YFbgVLf-kFeEu1idvyzka?dl=0
Only problem I had was that things got so hot with the grinding the bolts inside the wheel arch that the liner started to melt! Dunno if I should’ve been using a different wheel on the grinder or something but the damage isn’t too bad – pretty much covered by the penny washers.
Other than that I was surprised when I took the motor apart to find things in ‘reverse order’. Didn’t immediately twig that my driver side motor would be a mirror image of the motor for the other side shown in the video.
Think I may have found some low-profile bolts to closely match the originals btw. But seems they’re in Japan and not sure I can be bothered
Thank you so much for this, brilliantly clear, even for a mechanical idiot like me.
This will change a lot of owners' lives thanks. Any chance of a vid on how to remove the door panels to replace the window butterfly?
Nice one! TBH I'd never managed to get the drive gear out without removing the armature, so it's nice to see that it's possible. I'd highly recommend getting some copper grease and lubricating all of the rods and bearings (which means completely removing the pods). It's a thankless task, but much less strain will be put on the motors, which results in lower current drain, and that will prolong the life of the headlamp lift module.