Not Going in.

Drivetrain problems

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Postby blake » Mon 23.01.2006, 13:34

Ive got a 1990-H Elan SE which wont go in to 1st, 3rd, and reverse and occasionally will not engage 2nd, and it seems to me that the gear stick has moved from it usal position and has gone back in towards the back of the car so when you go in to 2nd or 4th your hitting the plastic centre consol, someone suggested that it may be the gear shift selector, has anyone had this problem or know what the cause might be.

Any help or advise would be greatful.

James
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Postby Enright » Mon 23.01.2006, 14:00

Gear cables. Or at least one of them.
It could be that the fore/aft one has either frayed, or the plastic retaining part has crumbled. Check where they attach to the selector mechanism on your gearbox - it's below the expansion tank.
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Postby blake » Mon 23.01.2006, 15:19

Thanks Neil

Could the cables also explain the movement of the gear shift from its normal possition.


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Postby TStevens » Mon 23.01.2006, 15:52

Most definatley.

when mine went the car was stuck in 4th.... merde...

WillB can source the ABMotorsport uprated versions that have all the plastic parts replaced with brass.
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Postby Enright » Mon 23.01.2006, 16:00

I reckon so.

The system is no more complicated than a gear cable on a bicycle - just a bit heavier duty! There are 2 cables, one controlling forward/backward movement, and one controlling left/right. Each cable shroud ends in a plastic piece, which is stopped from moving by a BIG circlip next to a bracket on the gearbox casing. Over time the plastic piece gets brittle and eventually fails.

You have 3 options (in order of price):
1) Joe Shannon who was recently breaking an Elan had a complete set of cables left - check out near the bottom of the "Items on eBay" thread. This will get you running again for £40+P&P, but they are no better than what you already have, so they will fail again at some point.
2) S2's had a slightly more robust system, and the cables can be bought singly for about £120 from any Lotus dealer. But it's just as easy to replace both, and if the other cable fails later then you'll have to do the whole job again.
3) Go for the custom made AB cables, which are supplied by WillB (check for his posts). These are a real upgrade (all plastic bits eliminated), and although I haven't tried them myself I've heard almost nothing but good reports. They are around £250 for the set, which is just about the same as the OEM cables, but you HAVE to buy them as a set. I've never heard of any of these breaking and the feel is supposed to be a vast improvement.

I think there is a section in the repairs part of the site which shows how to do the job. From that you can judge for yourself if you are a good enough mechanic to do the job. I've done it once, and it involved a lot of swearing and skinned knuckles, but it's do-able.
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Postby blake » Mon 23.01.2006, 16:46

Thanks, you guys have been a great help, more so than Lotus who really didn't know to much about what i was saying, its nice to put somthing on and people know what i am saying.

James
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Postby Monty » Mon 23.01.2006, 19:56

James,

U can buy the AB cables direct from AB, Dico and I got them for £150 + postage and got the extra bushes IIRC for another £16, send them an e.mail asking for a price they will send u bank details to do a bank transfer.
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Postby blake » Tue 24.01.2006, 09:32

Thanks Monty

Stupid question where can i find there email address,

can you PM me it if you dont mind.

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Postby Monty » Tue 24.01.2006, 11:55

blake wrote:Thanks Monty

Stupid question where can i find there email address,

can you PM me it if you dont mind.

James


Thought a put i link in my last post :roll: must be losing it :-D

http://www.abmotosport.com/Elan_products.html

sales@abmotorsport.com
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