I've decided to get round to showing where the damage occurs and how I did some quick fixes whilst waiting for my £200+ new cables.
So, If you've ended up reading this thread you'll most probably have one of the following symtoms and would like to know where to go next...
If the Élan has an Achilles heel this is it, the issues were found on the test mules and the problems were never really addressed.
There are four types of cables available:-
Early N/A and SE cables (normally white)
Later N/A and SE cables (normally Black)
S2 cables (more robust than the afore mentioned items)
AB aftermarket cables (Metal mounting)
Your symptoms are normally as follows:-
1) Unable to select a gear, gear stick seems floppy.
2) Some of the gears seem to work and some don't.
3) A quick gear change exacerbates the issue.
4) Slow gear changes sometimes works.
5) Everything seems to move and work fine when viewed from the engine bay.
6) The gear box is stuck in 5th gear
7) The car will not drive in any gear
8 ) Difficulty engaging reverse
The answers
1) Unable to select a gear.a) Broken selector cable.
b) sheared gear stick mounting points, there are four.
c) Clutch assembly failure.
d) Gearbox requires overhaul.2) Some of the gears seem to work and some don't.a) One of the two selector cables has broken.
b) poorly adjusted cables.
c) The adjuster locking ratchet has failed.
d) The crimp has failed at the end of the cable
e) A selector Cable has a cracked plastic mounting bracket .3) A quick gear changes exacerbates the issue.a) A selector Cable has a cracked plastic mounting bracket .4) Slow gear changes sometimes work.a) A selector Cable has a cracked plastic mounting bracket.5) Everything seems to move and work fine when viewed from the engine bay.a) Chances are you can't see the crack because the circlip is covering it.6) The gear box is stuck in 5th geara) The selector box has failed
b) The gearbox has failed7) The car will not drive in any geara) Bugger!!!8) Difficulty engaging reversea) Reverse gear is a crash gear on the Élan, so this is normal, try putting the car in forth this should align the gears and try reverse againSo when it comes to the crunch there are only a few things that give up the ghost when it comes to the gears.
The selector box jamming in 5th gear has been done to death, the 5th gear nut issue has been done to death, So that just really leaves the cables.
So here's the first picture of where to check:-
Fault 1 is ratchet failure, the cable conduit moves back and forth, but the inner "Bowden" style cable does not engage the chosen gear.
Fault 2 is the number one cause of all failures, this normally occurs at the gearbox mount, but can on occasions occur at the opposing end of the cable.
Two tell tale signs are a missing circlip or the circlip is actually in the crack
Fault 3 is the failure of the elbow aspect of the plastic conduit. (I've carried out a temporary repair with a Pink composite resin)
Fault 4 is the failure of the swage that holds the wire in the attachment point.
The two types of circlips that are available, the Wire circlip and the E-Circlip
So how to carry out a temporary repair:-
Fault 1Ty-wrap or locking wire, this should now hold the locking pawls in place.
Fault 2i) Remove the damaged cable and the mount from the car
ii) Use a normal plastic glue and fill the crack, this will enable you to put the circlip back on without it splitting the plastic
iii)Then use an aluminium putty all over the top, this will give the strength back. Please don't be tempted just to use to do step ii) it won't work.
iv) Careful where you put the putty as it needs to go both sides of the mount for strength and yet the cable still needs to be adjustable.
v) Wait 24 hrs, put it all back in.
These Temp repairs lasted for a year or more, until I could be bothered to fit the new cables.
Fault 3Composite resin repair
Fault 4If the crimp fails, remove the cable and re-swage the crimp.
The four mounts on the gear stick mount have been known to crack
Hope that helps...
TTFN
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The N/A-Team.