Headlamp Pod reassembly

[Lotusfab]

Hi all,

Time to reassemble the headlamp pods. Like all things Esprit my manual has practically no info on how to do it!

Do the bearing housings pop rivet to the body?

Does the Glacier bush sit between the two bearing housings? Can't see how the pod rotates freely if this is the case, it's a tight fit.

Cheers.

Any pictures, appreciated.

Bearing housings = part 7

Glacier bush = part 8

Bearing housings 7, glacier bush 8

[molemot]

I believe one housing pop rivets to the body and the other to the pod...the bearing fits into both housings and the tube fits through the bearing...part 11 is the bonnet hinge, and the whole is retained by the split pin and the R pin. Part 14 on your diagram is a rivnut which forms the fixture for the other bearing...on my turbo, this is a plate with a crude spherical bearing which is fitted by 4 pop rivets to the bodywork. My memory of putting this back is vague...but you do have to be careful rivetting to the headlamp pod, otherwise you can crack the corner off.....(!)

[Lotusfab]

Thanks, thanks a great help, will give it a go!

[Paul Coleman]

I modified my S1 as the hole in the bodywork which accepts the rivnut had enlarged over the years and the rivnuts just kept falling out. So I made a rectangular bracket with the rivnut fitted to it and pop riveted it in. The bodywork is a bit too thick in that area for rivnuts to work properly...

 

Not too much of a bodge and I then used a regular M6 bolt and locknut for the hinge. I dispensed with the original double ended bolts as there wasn't enough clearance with my new bracket fitted.

 

I also fitted a rivnut to the headlamp pod because mine had enlarged and misshaped holes.

 

Paul.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Paul Coleman

[Lotusfab]

Looks like a nice job to me, probably better than the original.

[Paul Coleman]

I think that's how it was done on later cars and it seems to work pretty well.

 

Paul.

[molemot]

Anything that good can never be described as a "bodge". Re-engineered from first principles, perhaps.... as has been said, that's how later models did the job.

[Lotusfab]

Hi all, still working on this. The shim part 8, is a very tight fit in parts 7. Are there two of these, one in each housing as a friction fit?cheers.

[molemot]

There are 4 of the bearings, two per side of the car. They fit inside parts 12 and 13 ( or 7, in your diagram...I'm looking at the official parts list) and they provide the bearings which rotate on the hinge pin, part 15...(10 for you). I remember reassembling these pods as needing a bit of "sitting and thinking"...(!)

[Lotusfab]

Have finally figured this out with a little help from Steve at S and J. There are four bearings they are not identical!they must be paired correctly as they are brazed at different angles. There are sixteen possible combinations of bearing position! They can' only work in one of the ways. There are 4 glacier bushes which are drifted into position in the bearing housings- this is not clear on the diagram. A lot of patience is required and dry fitting till you stumble across the correct pattern.