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Lotus Elise / Lotus Exige. Manual - part 48

Page 11

Lotus Service Notes

Section FJ

FJ.4 - DRIVE SHAFTS

Each of the two driveshaft assemblies comprises a steel shaft with a constant velocity joint at each end,

and is used to transmit the drive from each differential output gear to the rear wheel hub. The two driveshaft

assemblies are similar, but the inboard joint of the right hand shaft is supported in an outrigger bearing bolted

to the right hand side of the cylinder block, and uses an integral extended shaft to reach into the transmission

housing. The inboard joints are of a plunging 6-ball double offset design to accommodate driveshaft length

variation with suspension travel, whereas the outboard joints are high efﬁciency 8-ball ﬁxed type.

Replacement outboard joints include the main driveshaft (longer on the RH side), outboard C.V. joint and

gaiter. Replacement inboard joints include the inner C.V. joint and gaiter kit, with the extended stub shaft of

the RH joint also including the support bearing and mounting bracket.

The joints themselves are packed with grease on initial assembly, and are maintenance free. It is however

vitally important that the protective gaiters are carefully inspected at service intervals, to check for splits, tears

or punctures, since the joint will deteriorate very quickly once contaminated with dirt or water. Damaged gaiters

should be renewed immediately, once the servicibility of the joint has been established.

CAUTION: The outboard C.V. joint gaiter can suffer 'pinch' damage if the joint is subjected to extreme articula-

tion off the car, or during driveshaft removal/reﬁtment.

RH Driveshaft Assembly

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Outboard joint Main shaft Inboard joint Extension shaft

Support bearing

LH Driveshaft Assembly

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Outboard joint Main shaft Inboard joint Circlip

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Lotus Service Notes

Section FJ

Page 12

Clicking noises, torque reversal 'clonks', or shudder and vibration when accelerating are all possible symp-

toms of worn C.V. joints. It should not be possible to discern any free play in a joint, but care must be taken not

to confuse this with transmission backlash, which may be considerable. Any symptoms that could be due to

worn driveshaft joint assemblies, should be investigated and rectiﬁed without delay, since safety considerations

are always of paramount importance.

The inboard C.V. joint is equipped with a male splined spigot shaft which engages with the female splines

of the differential output sun gear, with the LH shaft retained by a round section spring circlip on its end, and

the RH shaft retained by the extension shaft support bearing. Each of the two transmission output oil seals

runs on a stepped shoulder on the C.V. joint spigot shaft. The stub shaft of each outboard joint is splined into

the wheel hub, and retained by a nut on the threaded end of the shaft.

Driveshaft Assembly Replacement

Removing a driveshaft assembly from the transmission will result in some loss of transmission lubricant.

It may be preferred to drain off some oil via the transmission drain plug beforehand.

1. Remove transmission drain plug and drain off approx. 1 litre of oil into a clean container for re-use.

2. Remove the rear road wheel.

3. Remove the split pin from the hub nut and remove the nut and washer (right hand thread on both sides).

Before the shaft can be withdrawn from the hub, the top ball joint plinth must be released from the hub

carrier (note camber shims ﬁtted), and the toe-link ball joint separated from the carrier. This will allow the

hub carrier to be pulled away sufﬁciently for the driveshaft to be withdrawn, but take care not to strain the

brake hose or wheel speed sensor harness.

4. LH Driveshaft: The left hand driveshaft inboard joint is retained in the transmission by a round section

circlip. The joint may be removed by applying a shock pull to the C.V. joint body using a slide hammer

with a forked end.

CAUTION: Do NOT attempt to remove the inboard C.V. joint from the transmission by pulling on the

driveshaft. The balls of the inboard joint are restrained for transit purposes only, by a circlip at the end of

the ball tracks. Applying an extension force to the joint will damage the balls and require joint replacement.

Apply pressure only to the outer body of the joint.

RH Driveshaft: The right hand driveshaft incorporates a bearing for the extension shaft and it is this which

retains the shaft in the transmission. Remove the two bolts securing the bearing bracket, and withdraw

the complete shaft assembly.

When withdrawing either driveshaft from the transmission, take care not to damage the output oil seal.

6. Before re-ﬁtting a driveshaft, ﬁrst renew the round section circlip on the end of the left hand inboard joint

spigot shaft, and lubricate the circlip with grease. Also, check the condition of the transmission output seal,

and renew if necessary. Lubricate the lip of the seal with transmission oil, and grease the corresponding

shoulder on the driveshaft (C.V. joint) spigot, to reduce the danger of damaging the seal on assembly.

7. Carefully insert the driveshaft into the transmission, with, on the left hand shaft, the two ends of the circlip

positioned lowermost, and rotate the shaft if necessary to engage the splines. Press the inboard joint outer

until a click indicates the engagement of the retaining circlip, if necessary using a brass drift and hammer.

Pull on the body to ensure its security. On the right hand shaft, ﬁt the bolts securing the extension shaft

bearing to the engine mounted bracket, and torque to 64 Nm.

8. Fit the outer end of the shaft into the hub, and reﬁt the top ball joint plinth to the hub carrier with the cam-

ber adjustment shim pack in position. Apply Permabond A130 (A912E7033V) to the threads of the two

socket head bolts and torque to 45 Nm.

9. Reﬁt the toe-link into the hub carrier and torque the retaining nut to 55 Nm.

10. Fit the washer and castellated nut to the driveshaft, apply the parking brake and tighten the nut to 220

Nm. Fit a new split pin to lock the nut.

11. With the car on a level surface, top up the transmission oil to the ﬁller/level plug hole.

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Page 13

Lotus Service Notes

Section FJ

Driveshaft C.V. Joint and/or Gaiter Replacement

The outboard C.V. joint is supplied complete with main driveshaft to which it is ﬁxed by a spline with a small

helix angle to eliminate any potential backlash. Separation of the shaft from the joint should not be attempted.

Note that the RH main shaft is 22mm longer than the LH shaft. Replacement of the outboard joint gaiter entails

removal of the complete driveshaft assembly from the car, and removal of the inboard joint from the shaft.

1. Remove the driveshaft assembly from the car (see above).

2. Remove the clips securing the inboard joint gaiter without damaging the gaiter if it is to be re-used. Pull

the gaiter off the joint outer body, remove the circlip in the end of the joint outer body and match mark the

body to the joint inner race before sliding the body off the shaft assembly.

3. Remove the circlip from the end of the shaft and match mark the inboard joint inner race to the shaft before

pulling or pressing the race from the shaft. Slide the inboard gaiter off the shaft.

4. Remove the clips securing the outboard gaiter, and slide the gaiter off the shaft.

5. Inspection & Cleaning: Complete disassembly of either joint is NOT recommended. The separate com-

ponents are a precision ﬁt and develop their own individual wear patterns, such that any interchanging or

re-orientation of parts is likely to result in premature failure.

If the grease in the joint is contaminated with dirt or water, it is likely that the joint is damaged, and should

be replaced. If the grease is not contaminated, the joint should be degreased by soaking in a suitable

solvent (NOT petrol), and then carefully inspected. Tilt the inner race to one side to expose each ball.

Severe pitting, galling, play between ball and its cage window, any cracking or damage to the cage, or

pitting, galling or chips in raceways, call for joint replacement.

If the joint is found to be serviceable, it must be repacked with the special grease provided. Pack the

grease into the joint itself and also into the inside of the new gaiter.

NOTE: The grease provided in the kits is specially formulated for wear resistance and durability. DO NOT

use substitutes or mix with other lubricants. The grease speciﬁcation and quantity also differs for inboard

and outboard joints:

Inboard: 140g NKG 205 99-1089#BJ95

Outboard: 130g NTG 2218M 99-729#BJ100 (inboard grease is also supplied as the inboard joint must

be removed before ﬁtting outboard gaiter)

6. Slide the new outboard gaiter and smaller retaining clip onto the shaft. Fit the gaiter into the grooves on

the outboard joint body and the driveshaft, and secure with the clips provided.

7. Slide the new outboard gaiter and retaining clip onto the driveshaft and press the joint inner race onto the

driveshaft splines with the match marks aligned (if re-using joint). Retain with a new circlip.

8. Fit the inboard joint body to the shaft assembly with the match marks aligned (if re-using joint), and ﬁt a

new circlip into the end of the housing to retain the joint.

9. Fit gaiter into the grooves on the joint outer body and driveshaft and secure with new gaiter clips.

10. Reﬁt the driveshaft to the car (see above).

Extension Shaft Support Bearing

The ball bearing supporting the RH driveshaft extension shaft to the engine block is mounted in a housing

which is bolted to a bracket on the engine block. The bearing is sealed and maintenance free, and is included

as part of the inboard C.V. joint assembly, but may if necessary be renewed by the following procedure:

1. Remove the RH driveshaft assembly (see above).

2. Using a press, remove the dust shield from the inboard end of the shaft.

3. Remove the circlip from the outboard face of the bearing housing, and press or pull the housing from the

bearing.

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Lotus Service Notes

Section FJ

Page 14

4. Prise or pull the bearing dust shield off the shaft.

5. Remove the circlip retaining the bearing and press or pull the bearing from the shaft.

6. Press a new bearing into the housing,

and retain with a new circlip. Then use

special press tool T000T1438F to press

the inner race of the bearing up to the

shoulder on the shaft, and retain with a

new circlip.

7. Use special press tool T000T1439F to

press the bearing dust shield onto the

shaft and position as shown in the illus-

tration.

8. Press the inboard dust shield onto the

end of the shaft to the dimension shown

in the illustration.

9. Refit the driveshaft to the car (see

above).

FJ.5 - TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT

The transmission may be removed from below after removing the left hand rear suspension assembly,

both driveshaft assemblies and the exhaust system. Release the clutch release fork, gearchange cables, earth

braid and reverse light switch.

The engine must be supported to allow the engine and transmission mountings to be disconnected and

the power unit tilted as necessary to allow the transmission to be withdrawn. The clutch bell housing is secured

to the engine by 8 bolts as shown overleaf.

86.5 ± 0.5mm

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f125

f126

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