strange noise that seems to come from rear left wheel

Hi all,

1st subject opened for me as a new owner of a Lotus Elan S3 from 1968.
I have a strange “ching ching” noise that seems to come from my rear left wheel.
Anybody already had a similar issue? This noise is easier to hear at low speeds, it comes and goes, and it can disappear temporarily right after a bump/hole in the road…
I posed a small video here: youtube.com/shorts/jkHkRkSim40

Please also check this picture i took from the rear left disc that seems to have scratches on it. Maybe it could come from there?
Or maybe from a bearing? Based on my experience, bearing are not really this kind of noise when worn but who knows… :unamused:

Thanks,
Nicolas

Check the castle nut on the shock insert, the one that holds the insert onto the tube. You should be able to see it when the springs are extended.

Thanks very much for your answer.
I’m basically discovering this car and want to make sure i understand.
Why would this nut grip on the disc as it seems that something is touching it?
My assumptions was to look at the disc integrity itself and/or the handbrake pads that would be partially stuck on the disc.

I’ve noticed that the read disc is very (very) hot when i use the car normally…

The rear disc should not be hot with normal road driving. It sounds like something is rubbing on the disk, most likely a siezed rear piston or the hand brake calipers. With that chip in the disc i woulkd replace it to avoid the disk cracking and failing

cheers
Rohan

I agree that you should replace the disc.
But the sound may be coming from the shock tower and have nothing to do with the disc.
If the disc was causing the sound it would be rhythmic and at every revolution of the wheel.

Thanks a lot for your answer.
The noise is cyclic and does correspond (except if i am mistaken) to every single revolution of the wheel since it changes with speed +/-

Thanks for your insight Rohan. I’ve been through the same issue with another old car…
I have noticed other things that could guide towards a siezed brake caliper : the brake pedal has vibrations on strong brakings.
the car tends to naturally go on the left as well. If the disc is touched by something, i guess it brakes on the left side and pushes the car to go left…
The centralizing clips on the handbrake pads got rearranged the last time i brought it to the repair shop, so theorically, it could be a siezed Brake caliper on the rear left wheel.
I have seen on the invoices that the caliper got renewed in 2017, but the car has not done a lot of miles since…
I hope to be able to discover the source of all this, and finally enjoy the ride on this fun British machine.

Brake pedal vibration is a distorted Disc.
Caused by one Cylinder ceased in the Caliper. Worn bearings can distort Disc and also the 3 pads for locating Disc not running true.
Alan

It’s worth checking the tightness of the rotofkex coupling bolts.

Thanks. If it is due to a cylinder ceased in a caliper, can it come from the handbrake caliper, the « generic » rear brake caliper or both? This rear left wheel seems to be partially slowed down sometimes after waiting at a traffic light for instance.

I cannot offer advice with the problem however I have noticed that the caliper mounting bolts have not been lockwired as specified in the manual.

Brian.

Bonjour,

as indicated by Rohan above, the disk getting very hot should be addressed without delay: I don’t suppose the car (S3) being equipped with a tandem master cylinder, so in case the overheating disk eventually gets the brake fluid boiling you’ll have no braking at all (pedal to the floor), a feeling that can get one by surprise (approaching the pay line at speed on the highway etc… ).

Handbrake pads and general “emergency brake” operation adjustment can be done sliding below the car, but these pads being relatively slow I doubt that alone would be a cause to the disk getting hot (while a sticking piston would).
Servicing the brakes would be the number one thing to do when taking ownership of an elan, it’s not difficult and imho essential for peace of mind and proper car enjoyment…

keep it on the road !

Very clear, thanks for your input.
To be honest, i’ll not drive the car anymore until the day when i’ll drive the 3 kilometers to the repair shop to have it fixed.

FYI i’ve asked the repair shop if the rear caliper was seized and the answer was no.
Apparently they already checked this and the caliper was not stuck.

SO the other options would be :
-handbrake caliper touching the disc
-Bearing?

Nicklas, I seem to have had exactly the same issue.

m.youtube.com/shorts/3RnUCAZfC9Q

This started happening about 300 miles after my full restoration.
It bugged the life out of me but it disappeared after roughly another 700 miles.
Brake pads anyone ??

Ian

From the video, i can hear a ‘tap tap’ type noise that sounds like it gets faster as you accelerate. Have you:

  • checked that you don’t have a nail or screw stuck in the tyre or a stone embedded in the tread?
  • checked that there’s nothing catching on the lower wishbone where it bolts to the upright?

I’ve had a similar noise following wheel balancing where a stick on wheel weight was just catching on the outer end of the wishbone…

There is something definitely wrong and your mechanic should be able to diagnose it . We are just guessing

cheers
Rohan

Hi all,

I had the chance to discuss with Old English white yesterday evening who told me to check the screw that is on the triangle on the rear left side of the car.
This screw may be a little long and rub the inside of the rim. I’ve also noticed that the inside of the rims is indeed marked. This is an issue that he encountered in the past, and he had to reduce the length of this screw.

I’ve also noticed that the problem only appears at low speeds (e.g. under 70 km/h).
I think that once the suspensions ‘settle’ under the effect of speed, this problem no longer appears dur to the slight wheel camber

My garage advises me to change the rotoflexes to fix this issue, but these are not very old (2017) and don’t show any cracks or tears. I asked him to check the tightness of the Lilstop screws on the rotoflex, but he told me that they don’t loosen.

I’m going to get another opinion from another garage that is specialized in old English cars tomorrow morning and I’ll keep you posted.

Good day to you all,

Good catch, i’ll have this checked tomorrow morning.

Similar issue here recently. One wheel had its stick on wheel weight slightly too far ‘outboard’,
hence it would hit the suspension arm bolt, the one that is already at ‘half head size’.