No gears 1, 3 ,5

[johnj]

Hi
Two years ago I had no reverse or 5th gear. I could see what was wrong, in that case, a broken cable. I bought a short shift kit that I have been using for two years no problems. I now cannot get gears 1, 3 or 5 but can see no reason. It feels like the gear lever comes against resistance and does not move far enough forward. Any thoughts?

[FunElan]

I’d be curious if you can move the cross gate on the transmission itself. That will tell you if it’s linkage or within the trans, right?

[Tuga2112]

gear cables.

exactly same symptoms i had.

lucky fr you. they can be purchased these days... when it happened to me the only option was either the upgrade kit, or secodn hand.

and welcome to Elan ownership. that is the hardest job to do on the car.

[johnj]

Hi Tuga

I hope you are wrong. I had a cable break two years ago and bought a short shift kit with upgraded cables from JC in America so hasn't done too many miles. I had a quick look around the engine bay and could see no obvious problems but the weather was not the best this weekend and there are two ends to a cable. I have no garage and its dark when I come home so I'll have a good look next weekend and test the cross gate as FunElan suggests. I hope its a simple fix

[Tuga2112]

Hi Tuga

I hope you are wrong. I had a cable break two years ago and bought a short shift kit with upgraded cables from JC in America so hasn't done too many miles. I had a quick look around the engine bay and could see no obvious problems but the weather was not the best this weekend and there are two ends to a cable. I have no garage and its dark when I come home so I'll have a good look next weekend and test the cross gate as FunElan suggests. I hope its a simple fix

I would be checking the instalation of the gear cables. Maybe one came loose.

[Saltire]

I’d be very surprised if one of John’s cables has given trouble. IMHO they are exceptionally well engineered and a better design altogether. I fitted mine seven years ago, and have never (touch wood) had a problem.

If it were me, I’d be checking that one of the adjustments hasn’t slipped. And if there is a problem with the cables themselves, please post it on here, because a lot of people have fitted them, and I’m sure John would want to know as well.

[johnj]

I'm sure the mechanic I used is more likely to be the culprit than the cables . Th cables seem to be of excellent quality

[Fredjohn]

FYI I fitted John's short shift and cables some 9-10yrs ago. Never had a problem, except for once, when I lost some gears, can't recall which. I was in France just after the start of a 2000 mile holiday, about 5 miles from our hotel in Nancy.

As I had fitted it all myself, I realised, on inspection, there was a single bolt in the s/s cable connection missing. It was a weird SAE size (9/28ths??). They are really common in metric France (!) so what to do? Turned out an M6 bolt would just fit, so obtained 2, fitted one and it's been fine ever since. Had a good look on returning home, all OK so left it alone. Been perfect ever since.

So maybe this bolt has dropped out in your car?

[johnj]

Hi

Thanks for all the help. It was a loose nut on the counter balance weight shaft. Easy fix when found.