soldave

Have had a garage refurb the power rack on my Eclat over the past couple of weeks as part of my front end overhaul. The main part of the rack is all sorted but one of the track rods themselves needs replacing, and the garage can't seem to find the right match for them. I'm sure they're not going to be Lotus specific and the rack is a Ford one (Granada possibly), but does anyone know what track rods would work? Just to be clear, it's not the track rod ends I'm looking for; it's the rods/drumsticks themselves.

Took it to a place this afternoon who specialises in classic car radiator refurbs and is reasonably well known in those circles. The guy was optimistic about giving it a refurb and clean until he saw inside it! Then He said he hated turning down work but after he found out how much a new one would be he said that would be my best bet. Yet another SJ order coming in!

Very nice. I will get an original one from SJ if this place tomorrow think it's too far gone or can't do a decent refurb on it. Would be a no-brainer but they're 110 pounds plus VAT from SJ.

Yeah I get your point. There a local car radiator place near me - might go there on Monday and see if they can check it and give it a bit of a refurb. Will get them to drill those bolts our too for me!

Do we think this coolant tank is on its way to coolant tank heaven, or still plenty of miles left in the old girl yet? Had to take it off and was forced to cut through the nuts & bolts under the wheelarch to get it off so am wondering if it's worth the effort of drilling through the bracket bolts and cleaning it up or not If it helps with the decision, after it was emptied I was shaking it around and there was a fair bit of rattling and rust chunks coming through, along what looks like the bottom of a previous radiator cap and spring!!! Also, the air bleed h

Really cool colour. These cars already stand out but with paint like that even more so! Good luck with the project

Finally the front suspension and steering is all apart. All it took was a breaker bar, a crowbar, a heat gun, a blow torch, and a carbide saw blade, plus the usual set of tools. Need to take the lower links to a garage to get the outer race of the bush out; managed to kill the rubber bush with fire(!) but am replacing with poly bushes so need the outer out too. Another order going in with SJ today or tomorrow for some final bits but then we should be ready for putting things back together. Only other decision to make is whether to have the springs powdercoated. Yes, it'll look nicer

Not sure whether it's because the exhaust runs on that side of the car so it'll be hotter, but taking apart the suspension on this passenger side has been a pain. The damper will come off this weekend once I have the tool kindly lent by @Trunnion 74, but I've come to a grinding halt at the lower link pivot bolt, which has become seized to the metal distance tube inside the bush. So I can get about 45 degrees of movement (and can even see the rubber bush moving) and then it just goes tight and I can't get any more rotation out of it. Can't get a dremel or grinder in as there's not enough s

Yeah they flop around like a dead fish too so have got new ones!

This is going to seem like a really strange question, but is there any reason why this power steering fluid wouldn't be good for a Lotus Eclat power rack? Seems to be good value from Euro Car Parts but other places seem to say it's for older Mercs. https://partsfinder.bilsteingroup.com/en/article/febi/08972

The holes make it easier to do a better job. Access to that adjuster above the diff though is hellish either way. Good luck!

Does anyone know if the insulator on a power steering rack is the same size as the larger insulator on the manual rack? Can't seem to find any listings for the power rack insulator and as I'm replacing the rack itself I thought I'd replace the insulator at the same time.

Another day and a tiny bit of progress. Didn't get steering rack out of the car but I did get the intermediate shaft off which took a fair bit of effort. Looking at the u-joints and one of them looks to have a bit of red around the joint (see photos). Am wondering if it might be seeping grease and needs replacing. The other looks dirty but good, but maybe I should do both at the same time. Plan is hopefully to get the rack out tomorrow, and I'm hoping I can pull put the wishbone stud too using a spacer and nut. Wish me luck as I'll probably need it!

Got a wire wheel on some of the rust just now and cleared it up a bit. The grinding noise had almost gone; replacing it a bit of gurgling sometimes when I compress or expand the shock. Doesn't take much effort to compress but expanding it takes a bit of force. But then one time out of around 20 it will come very easily for an inch or so as if there's no resistance and then will feel like it's got "normal" resistance again.

Steering rack is going to have to come out and be rebuilt (if I can get hold of a power steering track rod) or replaced. Cutting through the track rod end to get it off and of course I cut a chunk out of the track rod itself too. The kicker is the track rod end still won't come off Given the rebuild kit is £54 and I'd need a new track rod or two... I'm wondering if the £200 +VAT for a reconditioned rack (exchange) from SJ might not be a bad option. They or Lotusbits may charge even more if one of the track rods is damaged. Better do some Arthur Anderson style accounting to keep the co