Europa twin cam Driveshafts

[vito84]

Hi guys

The gearbox 352 of my Lotus europa twin cam should be overhaul because there're oil leaks, so i need to remove it from the car.
How can i remove the driveshafts from the wheels and especially from the gearbox?
Thank you

Edoardo

[BDA]

Your tranny may not need to be overhauled. You might only need to open it up and then apply new sealer and then button it back up.

There is a roll pin that holds the inner U-joint on the output shaft of the tranny. Drift it out and you can take the half shaft off. It is not necessary to take the half shafts off the upright, but if you want to do that, you'll need to take the radius arm off and take disassemble the U-joint from the stub axle.

Here's the S1/S2 Workshop manual (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2work/index.htm) that has most of the information you need to take it apart. Here's the TC supplement (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/tcwork/index.htm).

Let us know if you have any questions.

[EuropaTC]

Where are your oil leaks coming from, the split casing joints, the rear seal around the selector shaft or the output shaft seals ? 

If they are only from the output shaft seals then you can do that in-situ by just removing the inboard driveshaft coupling like BDA said. Technically you should unscrew & remove the oil seal holder but I managed to do mine, including the inboard O-ring seal by simply levering the old seal out and using a magnet to lift the spacer & get to the O-ring.

Any other leaks and I'm out of my depth....   

Brian

[vito84]

The oil leaks come from where show in the pictures
The workshop manual says that To remove the roll pins from the inner universal joints on the transmission shafts i need this (Part No. X046F6171Z)
Can i use another kind of tool?

Thank you

Vito

[EuropaTC]

Hi Vito,

I can't help with advice on leaks from that particular joint but I can on how to remove the inboard drive couplings.

All I use is a simple drift, and in my case that is a 1/4" diameter steel bar which I have crudely turned down to match the diameter of the roll pins for approximately the last 1/2" or so of it's length. Once you have the pins moving and they have cleared one side of the drive coupling then the rest should come out quite easily.

Before you start dismantling, check that the end-float on the output shafts is zero or thereabouts (I think 0.005" is allowed ?) If it is in specification, make sure to label the shims for both driveshafts so you don't get them mixed up.  If you have excessive end float, then you'll need more shims for replacement, they are generally available from engineering suppliers and not "Lotus only" parts.  The roll pins are reusable but again they are cheap so I tend to replace with new ones.

Brian

[Grumblebuns]

The oil leaks come from where show in the pictures
The workshop manual says that To remove the roll pins from the inner universal joints on the transmission shafts i need this (Part No. X046F6171Z)
Can i use another kind of tool?

Thank you

Vito

From the picture, it looks like the stock type pin has been replaced by a bolt securing the shift u-joint to the tranny selector shaft. I have never done it, but believe that the seal for the gear selector shaft is behind the rubber boot. Remove the bolt, pull off the shifter u-joint and remove the boot to get to the leaking rear seal.

The front leak appears to be from the rear cover which is bolted the main tranny case. Depending on how bad the leak is, is it worth the time and effort taking the rear cover off to put in a new gasket (if it has one).

My non running TCS has been sitting in the back of my garage of about 15 years with a leaking rear selector shaft seal. Over that time period, my catch cup has collected around 400-500 ml of gear oil. Is your tranny leak bad enough to attack it now?   

[BDA]

Vito,

As Joji notes, it is very common for oil to leak out of the selector shaft seal. Most Europa owners keep a flat drip pan under the rear of their cars. As for the leak from the end cover, you might consider this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C3L5NO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I have used it on my NG3 for a leak from my end cover. I don't have a lot of history with this stuff, but my initial application seems to have slowed the leak substantially. It's hard to describe how bad my leak was because I don't know if it made a difference that it was running or if just sitting there was the same thing but it would lose about a half quart in about 400 miles or after about a month. This stuff is for temporary fixes so it will only postpone your day or reckoning, but that might be useful to you.

I have opened up a 365 and successfully put it back together. I don't know, but I would think the 352 would not require any special skill. If the leak is really bad, you could take it out and reapply sealant and put it back. It's a huge pain in the a$$, but maybe you need something to do this winter! 

As Joji says, it all depends on how bad the leak is and what your tolerance is for it.

[vito84]

Hi guys
All yours information are always useful!(i solved the matter with the thermostat and electrical parts).It's very satisfactory work myself on the Europa with yours help, however the next month i'm going to do the work on the gearbox because now I 've little time.
My last question is about the dampers, do you know if there're on sale standard dampers for Europa TC(not expensive parts)?
Thank you
Vito

[BDA]

Vito,

IIRC, the original shocks were from Monroe. I have no idea if they are still available. There are several alternatives: Spax, AVO, and GAZ (and maybe others). I checked Banks and they sell AVO. I think that speaks highly of AVO. I have Spax that work fine for me. The minimal looking around I did seemed to show that GAZ were very reasonably priced.

Hopefully that will get you started. Good luck!

[Lou Drozdowski]

Ciao Vito, Volevo solo farvi un messaggio.
 Mio fratello che vive anche in Italia, ha volute condividere i suoi consigli e aiuto se avete bisogno di esso. Ha completato il suo restauro 3522r. Se ne avete la possibilita, ho un posto in auto utente chiama "il collegamento Italiano".
 Puo ere raggiunto a 0039 333 447 8909.

Saluti Lucio