Rear wheels wont turn!

[jbcollier]

Yes, my point exactly.  Use better steel and thicker walled!

[jbcollier]

There is/was a chap in the US who makes replacement stub axles for single-seat race cars from the 60s which used the Imp/Minx rear wheel set-up.  Here's the spacer he supplies:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-BCMxN3J/A

You have to machine it to suit your application but it is quite the step up from the piece-of-crap, thin-wall, mild-steel, and-even-f-ing-seamed, tubing that Lotus used.  The Lotus spacers are so weak that Lotus specified replacing them every time the rear wheel bearings were serviced.

[jbcollier]

Here are photos of the stub axles mentioned above:

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-cQpwGW8/A

https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-qpK59M9/A

[BDA]

There's a set available on ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lotus-Europa-TCS-rear-hub-bearing-spacer-Twin-Cam-Special-TC-S2-/222075472524?hash=item33b4baca8c:g:exIAAOSwJQdXAv3A&vxp=mtr


All the usual disassociations apply (i.e. I don't know the guy)

[jjbunn]

Thanks guys ... I bought a couple of the Ebay ones.

[jjbunn]

I received the outer spacers, and have been test fitting them. With the spacers installed, there is no longer any contact between the drum and the backing plate, so the wheel turns freely. Hoorah :-)

However, there are now minimal threads exposed for the hub nut to engage with, especially if I use the D foldable washer with the nut.

Here's a photo without the D washer:



It seems to my inexperienced eye that the stub axle isn't long enough. I wondered whether the bearing assembly had shifted down the stub axle because the suspension has been fully extended due to the car being on jack stands for so long. So a couple of days ago I lifted it up with a jack to see if the axle would move outwards or not - but this doesn't appear to be the problem.

I may have to resort to tearing down the whole assembly, as jbcollier advised, but I'm really loathe to go to all that trouble (it looks like a major operation) if it's not necessary.

Can anyone think of what the problem may be? What is baffling me the most is that when I got the car I was able to push it around the yard without issue: the rear wheels turned freely, and I'm certain that there were no outer spacers on them!

[Roger]

The problem may be the previous owner's messing about, as you put it.
You don't know what's inside your hub carrier, and I'd be nervous about that if it were me, and I would definitely take it apart and find out. You've done the hardest part of the job since your hub is free on the stub axle. Now, to strip it you need to drive out the roll pin on the inner u/j, remove the trailing arm from the hub carrier, take off hub and outer spacer, and it should all come apart. Nothing difficult.

[jbcollier]

My guess is still that you will find the missing spacer inside the hub.

[jjbunn]

OK! I'll take it apart. I recently replaced the roll pins, so know how they work ... so to strip it, is the following procedure good:

1) punch out rollpins on inner u/j
2) remove trailing arm from bottom of upright/bearing carrier
3) remove outer spacer
4) remove hub

At that point should the axle pull out of the bearing carrier (towards the center of the car) easily?

[BDA]

Not quite. Review the workshop manual (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2work/d/s2d.pdf). Disconnect the half shaft from the tranny output shaft. Take the hub off the stub axle. This might (should) require heat to break down the loctite down (don't forget to get new loctite to use in reassembly - Loctite 35 or modern equivalent for splines). It will also require a puller. Pull the stub axle through the upright. Disconnect the shock from the upright. The upright can now be unbolted from the radius arm. Chances are that whatever the problem is, it will become obvious in this process so you may not need to take the upright off the radius arm. I believe that the bearings in the upright are a weak point on the S2 in part because the spacer between the bearings is not hard enough. At this point, it might be a good idea to get some hardened spacers from one of the usual suspects. This would require taking the upright off the radius arm by undoing the eight bolts (four on each side of the radius arm).


I think I've gotten the major steps and issues correct, but someone more familiar with S2s might want to check me and correct me if needed.

[jjbunn]

I extracted the half-shaft complete with stub axle. I think I see the "missing" outer spacer in the upright, but I'm not sure (and haven't tried to extract it yet):



Here's the stub axle (sorry for poor focus):

[Roger]

You mean there's an inner spacer AND an outer spacer in there? Or just an outer? I can hardly believe the former, and the latter is just plain daft.

[jjbunn]

You mean there's an inner spacer AND an outer spacer in there? Or just an outer? I can hardly believe the former, and the latter is just plain daft.

I don't know yet - haven't had a chance to explore further. My understanding is that in the carrier there are two bearings separated by a (rather long) spacer. The outer spacer fits over the splines between the hub and the hub carrier. Should there be another spacer, between the inner bearing and the u/j on the stub axle?

The parts diagrams are not very readable, and I've searched through all the photos in the Yahoo Lotus group looking for a good image, but drawn a blank.

[jjbunn]

Update: I looked closely inside the carrier, between the bearings at each end there is a long spacer and what appears to be the MIA outer spacer!

So, now I just need to extract the outer spacer, somehow.

[BDA]

That's right. There should be a spacer between the bearings and a spacer between the hub and the bearings (i.e. upright). The hub has a counter sunk surface on the outer bore and Dave Bean (I believe) sells a 'conical' washer to go between the hub and the nut to help center it. I don't think that was ever a stock bit. I don't believe there are any other spacer type things.


I don't know if this picture from the TC shop manual will help, but it might...