Lotus Europa Community

Been derailed by some serious dentistry, having been given strict instructions about limiting physical effort I've left the doors until I've healed a bit. Instead of which, I managed to get the dash out, and can look at it in all its (ahem) glory. Crash pad looks ok, but might get a covering of vinyl to freshen it up. Fascia panel has me in two minds, I'm not a fan of the OE lacquered floorboard look, and although the walnut veneer looks ok, i might try stripping the panel back and painting it matt / satin black.

So, onto stupid question time. My radiator was crumbling to bits as I removed it, but as luck would have it there was a Europa rad on eBay which looked decent, even had a Spal fan fitted (mine looked like it had been submerged with the Titanic). It arrived today, and is in evidently good nick, but doesn't have a hole for the Otter switch - it has an indented circle where it would be fitted but no hole. So I was wondering if everyone on here had an otter switch, or is there an alternative to switch on your fan when the radiator gets... otter?  And yes, I am getting ahead of myself buying parts at the strip down stage, but it was retail therapy.

Yea, the axles seemed fine. The play is definitely from the hole. I do not know why I never checked before. Like you said it is a tight fit (even now), until everything is apart and you put only the bolt back in without the shock and link. Then the bolt wobbles. Its worn like an inverted cigar. The center is tight, but the ends are enlarged.
I was thinking of an aluminum bushing too. I can make my own and get a perfect fit. The other reason I asked is that I read (I think in Dave Bean's catalog that you cannot bush the bearing housing for a bearing - it has been tried and cracks.

I say it's serious in that it is unusual (I'm unaware of anyone else complaining about that hole being worn) and could denote a problem such as being hit or improper assembly/disassembly. That 1/2" bolt shouldn't rotate or otherwise move once installed. I've had mine in and out several times and they still require a hammer and punch to get them out of upright.

Of course, that's not to say that it can't be worn (or that the next time I have to take mine apart, it might won't be worn!) and if yours is, I would certainly have a bush pressed in. I think I would have an aluminum bush pressed in. Given that the bolt should be tight in the hole (bush) I might worry that the steel bolt might "grab" a steel bush and when pounding the bolt in or out, it might tend to drive the steel bush with it. On the other hand I might be worrying about noting and steel would be fine. I would consult the person installing the bush.

I would also always use anti-seize when installing the bolt and I would always back it up when tightening or loosening the nut on it.

In any case, checking the condition of the hole should be easy enough and if you've done everything else, it would be a good next check.

Have you checked the condition of your stub-axles? I found one of mine was worn from the bearing (see attached picture). I would expect that you would notice something like that when you changed the bearings but it caught me by surprise.

With a 3-D printer and some stamping dies...
Sounds like a business case for ash tray customers. 

If you have play for the lower link/lower shock mount bolt in the upright, that is very serious. The remedy would be to sleeve the hole with something but that should be a rare occurrence I would think. I think normally, any play there would come from the rubber bushes in the lower link and the lower shock mount bush. Looking at your previous posts, unless the rubber bushes are in obviously poor shape, they wouldn't be the cause of the play you experience at the wheel.

The thing you haven't mentioned is the shims between the inner u-joint and the tranny. Is that properly shimmed?