Gear changes

[kevin31157]

Having niggly problems with gear changing. Gears all work, and had the car couple of months now but notice especially in 2nd and 3rd up the gears it catches and doesnt go straight in gear unless i keep clutch down for a couple seconds longer and slide it into gear gently, and the same down the gears especially when first driving from cold, but when i`ve driven a few miles and engine warmed up the gears seem a lot better although not 100 per cent. Going thru the history all the cables were changed 16 thousand miles ago. Also reverse lights dont work and i am assuming the switch is faulty in the gear box as the bulbs and fuses are ok. Is it possible the cables need adjusting in order to get the gears to go in smoothly and could the reverse switch be something to do with it too ??
Any help/answers please from anyone experienced the same.
TKS.

[HJ2]

I would start by checking the cables for failures What type do you have?
And, from my own experience... check the crimps on the cables as well!

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14821&p=197316&hilit=+crimp#p197316

[kevin31157]

hi HJ. oK thanks i will look. I dont know what cables i have . I`ll have to look at the service history, as i remember seeing an invoice and service bill for replacing the gear cables. I have only just bought the car 6 weeks ago and new to the elans so when i`m off at the weekend and have the time i can check the crimps and cables etc.
thanks.

[The Ref]

and the same down the gears especially when first driving from cold, but when i`ve driven a few miles and engine warmed up the gears seem a lot better although not 100 per cent.




It is best to always let the car warm up, then you can drive as fast as the set speed allows.


Billy

[Exbury]

Hiya, agree with the cables, but may also be worth checking the gear oil level and finding out when it was last changed. It is something easily skipped and sometimes for the sake of not much £s getting some decent oil, draining and refilling using the guidence on this forum.

[M100 TWO]

Kevin if the cables are OK I would change the oil to Silkolene Pro SRG 75 it helped me get back to a smother gear change and is recommenced to all those who have a LSD
john

[kevin31157]

Hi everyone, excellent. Thanks for all your replies. I am going to check the cables this Sunday and gear oil level. I was going to ask any recommedations for the gearoil make and thanks M100 TWO for your recommendation with the gear oil i will get the oil changed this next week to put my mind safe, it wont hurt to change it anyway. Brilliant ! I have been looking at the owners manual and although it is very informative i find it to be a little dated now and note that some of the recommended lubricants and other service parts etc are either hard to locate or out of date now. For instance i could not find any 10w/30 motor oil anywhere as it appears it isnt made now but the guy in the garage said 10w/40 would suffice. However, i find this site much better than any garage recommendations and very helpful regarding problems and repairs and i have done a few minor repairs and maintenance myself by looking at the Help pages on here with help and tips from fellow Lotus owners/enthusiasts. Cant wait to go to a meet sometime.
THANKS AGAIN everyone, i`ll crack on with the car now.

[kevin31157]

Hi John, could you possibly tell me where i might obtain the Silkolene oil you recommend, I scoured the net last nite and cannot find any locally in my area. If i could find an online supplier i would order via the internet.
thanks kevin

[GeoffSmith]

Try searching for SRG75 e.g. on Opie. Might be worth checking for club discounts or see if you can get an Opie discount set up for LEC as Dermot suggested.

[Alan_C]

I got a couple of bottles of Silkolene Pro SRG 75 from M & P Direct, they're actually a motor bike mail order specialists, but stock all sorts of stuff once you start looking. Delivery in 3 days costs £4.99 so oil plus delivery was £31.57. Opie inc del is £33.73 but with a few e-mails I think you could have LEC registered and get a discount?

http://www.mandp.co.uk/productinfo/5542 ... -Silkolene

[kevin31157]

Hi Geoff and cutlea,
Thanks for your posts. Yes, i tried Opie and have managed to secure 2ltrs @ just over £12 ltr and postage was £5.21 so overall cost delivered was £30.95 which is a good price with delivery within 5 working days.
Thanks for your help, just waiting on receiving now and i can hopefully get on with the gear oil change, hopefully a straight forward job otherwise a garage in Norwich can do it for a tenner he informs me.
Regards all - kevin

[Jackonicko]

Your symptoms sound just like mine before my cables went 'twang'.........

[kevin31157]

Hi jackonico,
The cables were changed 15k ago so i hope they dont. I will do a new gear oil change when the oil arrives and see if that solves the prob like it did Johns.

[Alan_C]

Changing the oil didn't cure my changing problem, but made it much better. It would crunch changing up or down into third, I could try to prevent this by a slow change, never forcing it, the oil improved this considerably. I have noticed that 1st to 2nd changed when the box is cold also crunch, not sure it did this prior to the oil chnage, but fine once warmed up. Seems typical of these gearboxes, I do have a spare from a low miles crashed S2, but it's a bit of a job to change. I've also got an A B Motosports quick shift to install, I'll report back if this makes any difference to crunchy gear changes.

[kevin31157]

Hi again everyone,
Thanks for all your help regarding the gears. I had the oil changed and since then approx a month ago the difference is quite amazing. When cold there is just the slight catch on third gear but hardly noticeable, but when warmed up the gear change is lovely and smooth and slides into gear up and down freely even at high speed ( up to 70mph max wink wink ) although i still only gear change slowly and smoothly instead of quick shifting. Feels like a car you have to drive rather than the car drives you, like all new cars.
THANKS AGAIN everybody, my baby is now running lovely, and i love every second in it.
Regards Kevin