[northernthing]

Just purchased a 1974 Elan 250E single and started standard maintenance. Opened my chain case access hole to change oil and saw grease all over the inside case. Can someone tell me if it's grease or very old chain case oil. Suspect previous owner had chain case oil leaks and decided to put bearing grease instead. Any input appreciated.

 

[Old Sled Nut]

IMO that is grease thinned somewhat from leftover oil.
Agree with you that he was likely trying to seal up some leaks.

 

[northernthing]

Put in a bit of case oil and leaked not long after. Will look into changing seals

 

[Old Sled Nut]

Not an expensive job, just a bit time consuming. I would think new bearings would be a good idea also.

 

[northernthing]

Was hoping to get my cross country tracks set this year and rebuild the sled in spring... wondering if I could run with grease this winter. My drive clutch is also making a weird grabbing sound when it engages.

 

[199Mods]

Low gearing would help with pulling groomer. I would fix clutch before it shreds belts.

Order parts, get after it. Seek mechanic if need be..

 

[northernthing]

Understood, will park it until bottom chain case seals and bearings come in. Should I worry about upper chain case bearing cones and seal? Are they lubricated by chain case oil?
Any suggestions for parts in order to lower gearing?
Thank you!

 

[Old Sled Nut]

Understood, will park it until bottom chain case seals and bearings come in. Should I worry about upper chain case bearing cones and seal? Are they lubricated by chain case oil?
Any suggestions for parts in order to lower gearing?
Thank you!

Yes, cone bearings lubricated by chain case oil but are quite durable.
The front axle bearing (housing side) gets lubed via chain case oil flowing through hollow front axle so wonder if grease is making it there?

 

[northernthing]

Ok, will clean chaincase/front axle with gas and install new bearings and seals on both sides.
Thanks again

 

[john170950]

have you done axle bearings and seals before? Its not that hard, I made a guide about it a few years ago..

To lower gearing in the chain case can increase the teeth on the lower sprocket or reduce on the upper sprocket, but you have a single and it is torky already, I would focus on getting the clutch working well, or even replace it with a comet duster (94C I think is the model), where you can tune it for low end or high end performance with different weights if you want.

 

[Rbig18]

There was an old trick to stop these from leaking. You actually coat the rubber caps in grease. Looks like maybe someone did that over and over again and it left it looking like that.

 

[northernthing]

have you done axle bearings and seals before? Its not that hard, I made a guide about it a few years ago..

To lower gearing in the chain case can increase the teeth on the lower sprocket or reduce on the upper sprocket, but you have a single and it is torky already, I would focus on getting the clutch working well, or even replace it with a comet duster (94C I think is the model), where you can tune it for low end or high end performance with different weights if you want.

Agree with you about gearing. My groomer is quite small and drag is not that much, also don't use it often. Will take a good look at the clutch and post pictures when opened.
I completely rebuilt a Safari moteur a few years back with good success but by no means a mechanic. Thank you for the guide! Will definitely use it

 

[northernthing]

Any suggestions for what type of lube to use for the clutch maintenance? Skidoo clutch lube for Elans is impossible to find

 

[Old Sled Nut]

Any suggestions for what type of lube to use for the clutch maintenance? Skidoo clutch lube for Elans is impossible to find

Keep an eye out for Halvor-Lube as it was made by the same company and from what I can see is the same product.

 

[199Mods]

Try Bill Fullerton in Bracebridge On. He ships all over the world. Specializing in obsolete SkiDoo and BRP

Fullerton PAC 705 646 0051

 

[Lucas123]

I bought a '74 Elan single last summer, it has one of those two roller clutches; the brass bushing that the inner part slides back and forth on was all worn out so that inner face was wobbling around. I was able to pick up a replacement from my parts guy near Masham, QC. I cleaned it up and lubed it with a bit of ceramic automotive brake caliper lube seems to be working ok.

 

[Rbig18]

I have two Elan's but I have never heard of greasing the clutch. Anybody care to explain or show where to grease these? Thank you in advance

 

[northernthing]

Here's what the 1974 owner's manual says for the clutch

 

[northernthing]

Removed the drive clutch to do maintenance and noticed wear on the arms inside the governor cup. The arms made marks inside clutch. Not sure of the term, but where the arms engage seems well worn down.

Is this clutch gone or salvageable???

Also found a washer that dropped from the clutch when I opened the governor cups. Suspect it was in the location on the image bellow in red. Maybe to compensate for the arm/clutch wear ? The parts diagram doesn't show that washer, unless I'm missing something...

 

[Lucas123]

That looks like a clutch from an older model. I have one of those on my Olympique with a '68 299 motor. I put a thin layer of grease on any of the parts that rub together always thinking that none can get on the belt surfaces. Make sure the rivets that hold those weights are not worn to badly (the weights will be very wobbly side to side) they could separate. I would look for a replacement clutch in better condition from a boneyard or invest in a new Comet.