GEAR CABLE SETTINGS

[Pascal]

Hello,

after reading some wiki and topics and the service manual of course, , i still don't feel confident in playing with that cable settings without more advice .

i have no problem with gear 1 and 3 , 2nd and 4th are more difficult to reach.
Rear is definitely a challenge when engine is hot.

Someone told me the gear cables should be replaced, but trying to make a setting is a first step, worth to do i think.
considering the wiki : i did not find (visualy) cracked/defective parts.

So setting, according to service manual ...
I wonder ... after "unlocking the adjuster sleeves of both cables" , could i be lost for the setting ?
There is a procedure in the manual with a clear beginning (gear 3) ... but no end.

So next step can be ...
- " do it , it's easy " or
- " you don't know you shouldn' t touch"

Any experience is welcome.

Pascal - France

[Brit-Car-Nut]

I think it is pretty straight forward (but read the rest below the picture):

Yes, you will alter the existing adjustment, but since it isn't working for you, follow the 4 steps. If you don't like the results, try again.

After actually setting the gearbox into 3rd gear, determining where 3rd gear should be is very subjective. Think about it for a minute and see what feels best for you. Remember you will need to go left and right one position to get the other gears as well as back to get the remaining gears so don't get too far off center.

You will need to get a helper to hold the shifter while you lock the cables or make a jig to somehow hold your desired position.

There are also stories about the 5th gear nut coming loose and causing gear shift issues, so try to read some of that to first see if that identifies your issue instead of adjusting the cables.

Try: http://forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewt ... 80#p191268 to start...

[Pascal]

Thanks, this confirms and complete what i imagined,

access to the "lock-unlock" parts has to be done by under the car i guess ?
And it is necessary to have a teamwork mate to coordinate the work (or very very long arms) ?

Pascal - France

[Jeemy]

AFAIK, the lock-unlock part may well not be on your car, instead, you will have 2 x 24mm nuts either side of the cable bracket - per cable.

You'll see clear picture on my thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=79&t=20848&start=200#p278380
download/file.php?id=18261&mode=view

You can access by moving the coolant tank out of the way - you do not need to disconnect the coolant hoses or drain the coolant.

I think its absolutely necessary to have somebody co-ordinate the work and I would be interested to hear how you get on. I also think its pretty necessary to have a 'crows foot' spanner to tighten the nuts - unless you actually have these quick-release sleeves.

For me, when I flipped the lever to put it into 3rd gear, the gearstick moved right into the correct position.

So I wasn't sure whether to force it a further 5 degrees fwd and 10 to the right and then tighten. Everything was pretty tight as it was - I had followed the setup instructions from the other side pretty closely.

In the end I gave up on this, and did it by eye and feel until all gears felt like they selected solidly.

I had the distinct advantage of having the dash out - so I could see the gearstick move through the windshield. I'd thoroughly recommend setting up a video camera or something so you can watch the effects of the movements within the engine bay, it makes it far easier to work out what factors affect stick travel & position.

I cannot of course speak for how successful I was until I bring the car down from her ramps.......

[Brit-Car-Nut]

If he has the correct, stock cables then as a 1991, he has the early cable setup. The S2 (1995?) was delivered with the other type of cables (locknuts at the gearbox end) and then the aftermarket cables (AB Cables and Bob B.) are different again but still use a locknut concept.

Very few have the Bob B. cables which have a very large locknut (24mm?), AB cables locknuts are 3/4" or 19mm.

The process is the same for all cables: shift into 3rd; twist to unlock the early plastic locks or unthread the later locknuts; set the shifter in the correct location for third gear; twist to lock or tighten the locknuts to make that location fixed; test to see if the shifting has improved. Redo as required.

All can be done from the top side but unless you have very long and elastic arms, you will need a helper or some mechanical way to hold the shifter in it's proper location while you lock the cable positions.

[epipete]

I acquired some of Bobs cables last year, as yet still unfitted! Does this mean that it is possible to swap them out without going underneath the car as raising it up has been my concern and has caused me to delay over this?

Pete

[Brit-Car-Nut]

All work required in swapping cables is done from the top. You will want to move the radiator header tank out of the way along with the intake hose to get better access to the gearbox connections.

[Jeemy]

Pete, its totally possible to do that. My thread has pictures of when I did it.

Apologies for any misdirection on the locking nuts, it appears my car already had an older version of the short-shift and metal cables. I didn't know what I was looking for so I assumed they were all like that!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Apologies for any misdirection on the locking nuts, it appears my car already had an older version of the short-shift and metal cables. I didn't know what I was looking for so I assumed they were all like that!

My guess is you had a Dave's Short Shift and a set of AB cables. Unless they are damaged, the cables should still have so life in them...

[Pascal]

Hello everyone,

my gearbox cables setting problem was solved for a while ... comes back again .

Thanks to your explanations, i know what's going on.
One of the two parts called ''adjusting sleeve'' ( gearbox side) or nut or ... (depending sketches) is broken, and the small steel wire clip does not hold in place.

Do you know if this "adjusting plastic sleeve" can be replaced, or if the entire cable +tubing is to be replaced ? In that second case, at least I shall try to repair with epoxy + kevlar fiber or twisted metal.

Thanks for any info.

Pascal - France

[Brit-Car-Nut]

No, the SE cables are one piece design and not repairable. You might be able to "jam" the sliding bit with something and then live with the final position of the shift lever, but how long before that breaks again? Your options really are Used Cables from a another owner or breaker yard - but those cables will be 10 years old or older, New cables from Lotus - they only sell S2 cables but that requires a PAIR plus a different mounting bracket since the attachment at the gearbox is different, or one of my Replacement Cable Kits. I use heavy duty, teflon jacketed cables and custom metal adapters to attach them to the car. It is a direct bolt on kit. To see my cable kit, you can start reading around here: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=22461&start=40#p286095. There is a link to the installation manual further on, so you could look at that too.

Maybe someone in LEC has some used cables they will offer. That is a reasonable option, but plastic dries out over time and broken flanges and adjusters is a common problem.

Good luck.

Part numbers and current prices from Lotus for the S2 cables:

B100F0030F Gear Change Cable £356.86 + VAT
A100F0031F Crossgate Cable £238.05 + VAT
A100F0033F Abutment Bracket £5.18 + VAT

[epipete]

Pascal,

Seems you have a problem, I think that you may be able to resolve this by some sort of repair - folk have done so before.

To be sure though you probably need to consider, seriously, replacing the cables. The cables you describe are SE cables and will, most probably, have failed due to age; there was a design change for the S2 cables which incorporated a bracket on the gearbox through which the revised cables threaded on their way to the gearbox linkages. Many people have, over time, developed cables to improve on this S2 design.

Your options, it seems to me, are:

1. Repair your existing cable if possible (but it may only be a temp fix)
2. Obtain a replacement for the damaged SE cable, I think you will need to go used for this and Douglas Valley may help.
3. Upgrade from SE to S2 cables (you will need to do both as they aren't backwards compatible)

If you go for the upgrade, I believe that your choices are:

1. A 2nd hand set - Douglas Valley! I went this route and it didn't save me anything
2. A new set from Lotus or a Specialist which I believe cost up in the high hundreds of pounds
3. A new upgraded set from John C (Brit-car-nut) in the States. He is currently supplying these to the UK and has been of great help to me in my recent gear cable problems. I can't recall his prices, but they are the best kit out there at present,and more than half the cost of New Lotus cables. You will need to check his threads but this would be my advised long term solution.

Pete

[epipete]

Oh! You beat me to it!

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Your's reads nicer...

[HJ2]

John, our Cable guy

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Apologies for any misdirection on the locking nuts, it appears my car already had an older version of the short-shift and metal cables. I didn't know what I was looking for so I assumed they were all like that!

My guess is you had a Dave's Short Shift and a set of AB cables. Unless they are damaged, the cables should still have so life in them...

I went back and enlarged Jeemy's pictures to get a clearer picture and he did originally have one of Dave's second generation short-shift kits as well as a set of AB shift cables that he replaced with a set of Bob B. Cables and a Bob B. short-shift kit. It is one of the aluminum short-shift kits Bob was developing that never got off the ground. It is the only one I have heard of actually being installed.