I need a little wisdom from the Lotus-wise SOLers, regarding my DMC.
(She is built on the Esprit backbone frame)
After 11 years, she was starting to get sloppy in the turns, and I
decided it was time to attend to the suspension. After having made
some basic modifications by lowering the front end 2 inches (DMC's had
an annoying nose high attitude from the factory, presumably to make
the bumpers meet federal height requirements) and switching to Girling
shocks, it's time for the rear-end.
After removing the access plates and cleaning up the grime and
corrosion (I originally used the car on the east coast before
moving to a more auto-friendly climate) I pulled the trailing
arm bolts to inspect them. These bolts are well known on DMC's
for bending and failing. (Do they have the same problems on the
Esprit?) Sure enough they are in pretty bad shape, and I need to
replace them. I could order new bolts from the DMC supplier
(1-800-DMC-HELP) in California, but aren't these going to
suffer the same problem? Is there a better way to re-work the
trailing arms, or a better type of bolt?
Another problem in the rear-end is an annoying axle clunk.
Whenever I take a turn at better than 30 MPH, it sounds as thought
the entire inner axle shaft slides to the opposite side and bangs on the
housing. (The DMC has an independant rear suspension with a
cobbled-up Renault/Peugeot Trans-axle) Is there supposed to be
a sliding mechanism in the t/a? or am I going to be dismantling
my rear-end to diagnose the problem? If the unit just needs
lubrication, You would think that the leak from my oil pan
would keep it happy ;-)
(After I get the rear-end sorted out, I'll be tackling the
electrics. The DMC will not maintain a charge for more than 1 week
when left sitting. I upgraded (no wise cracks :-) my Lucas relays
to Bosch, but the prince of darkness still lurks somewhere in my
car contentedly consuming my batteries as a living sacrifice.)
Any help with my trailing arm bolt problem (and axle clunk) would be
appreciated.
Regards,
Scott
--
Scott Currier - Scott.Currier@CERAM.COM
CERAM, Inc. 1-800-237-8600
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