The headlamp covers had been fitted with the usual sticky black butyl type adhesive so removing them wasn’t a big problem fortunately. It just requires a little bit of heat to soften it then once I had an edge lifted with my fingers the covers peeled off quite easily. Most of the adhesive was left […]
While I had the Elise apart for the suspension refresh I was on the lookout for anything else that might need some attention. I had already noticed the dirt that had got behind the headlamp covers and that one side was letting water in so I was going to have to deal with that. What […]
One of the Cobra alarm key fobs was looking pretty ropey. It’s something you have to carry around with you and it’s so cheap and easy to deal with I don’t know why people put up with crappy old ones. Yukky brown thing with a cable tie replacing the long since broken rubber and a […]
Having replaced the rods and rod ends of the rear toe links and the track rod ends on the steering it was certainly worth a quick check of the wheel alignment. Plus I don’t know exactly when it was last done or how it was set so I wanted to find out how things were […]
When I test drove the Elise before buying it, it was immediately obvious there was too much slack in the gear linkage. Having already done my research, I knew this would most likely be due to tired bushes in the linkage at the gearbox end. I also knew there are inexpensive kits available to replace […]
The brake caliper needs to come off first, starting with the clamp for the brake hose. Then the two caliper bolts. With the disc off too next was the disc shield. As expected, the bolts were not keen on coming out. After cutting a slot in the head of the bolts I used my drill […]
S1 Elise – Replacing Track Rod Ends When giving the Elise it’s first inspection I noticed some play in the steering joints which seemed to be from the track rod ends so I ordered some replacements from Elise Parts. It’s a nice quick simple job to replace them. The offending article. Nut undone but not […]
First Parts Order Arrived – Getting the Exhaust Back on and New Toe Link Joints I found a few little issues with the Elise when I first got it up on the lift here and now parts had arrived I could get on with dealing with them. Starting with the exhaust. The exhaust was clearly […]
First Time on the Lift for a Mechanical Inspection The Elise had been given all the necessary servicing during it’s lifetime so far with some decent upgrades too. But I think it’s fair to say that servicing work carried out, particularly during the last two owners time, was driven purely by MOT and recommended intervals. […]