88 Esprit shifting problems.

[rusty3096]

My friend has a 88 Esprit US with problems shifting into reverse 4th and 5th. I have not seen the car yet. IS this just a linkage adjustment,or something more serious ?

[Alphonse]

Could be the cables are stretched out and need to be replaced. Mine were shot at 65k miles in my 89 Esprit.

[carbuff]

The North American '88 Esprit used a Citroen gearbox. (primarily linkage...one cable)

The Rest of the World's 1988 Esprits used a Renault 'box with cables as Al mentioned.

BUT

The first thing to do when experiencing shifting difficulties is BLEED/FLUSH THE HYDRAULIC CLUTCH system. The clutch line is LOooong, and moisture buildup over time (two years max) will result in poor gear selection, especially in hot weather.

Any leakage/seeping in the clutch system (master or slave cylinders) must be repaired. Another thing to do is to replace the OE plastic hose (the Red Hose) with a stainless steel hose (available from several of the usual Lotus parts vendors).

+++++++++

Once the hydraulics are working well, shifting problems on the Citroen 'box might need a cross-gate adjustment...it's in the manual.

[rusty3096]

I checked the car . the problem is no reverse. found that the cable was not pulling the selector shaft out far enough . I lengthened the rod at the end of the cable . now
I have reverse but lost 1st @ 2nd . Do I need to adjust the cable housing instead .

[escondidoron]

Rusty said:

I have reverse but lost 1st @ 2nd . Do I need to adjust the cable housing instead .

Probably not. It's likely that you've just adjusted too far in the direction of the 5th/reverse gate. Try adjusting the the cross-gate cable 1/2 turn at a time. Don't tighten the jam nut until you have both 1st/2nd and 5th/reverse all working. A good indicator that you're in the ballpark is that the 3rd/4th gear gate should be where the shift lever is centered when the shift lever is hands free in neutral. That is, you have to press the lever sideways toward the driver's knee (on left hand drive cars) to engage 1st/2nd or sideways towards the passenger side to engage 5th/reverse from the center position.

Keep at it. I've done this adjustment on several Esprits. It takes a little trial and error to get it just right. You'll get there with a little patience.

Regards,
Ron Schramm
'77 S1
'84 Turbo (x2)

[rusty3096]

Well I readjusted the rod back in , till I just have 1st & 2nd. But I can't get enough travel for reverse , I think the cable is stretched . has anyone seen this ? If so where can a cross gate cable ?

[lotus4s]

Do you have the Service Notes for adjusting the linkage? If not, pm me with an email address and I'll send them to you.

There are quite a few bushings in the linkage, are they all in good shape?

[escondidoron]

Rusty;

It is not likely that the cable is "stretched". It is a wound steel cable approximately 4-5mm in diameter. Not the kind of thing that is likely to stretch. Unless the threaded end is coming off the cable where it is joined. Theck for witness marks on the cable that would indicate that the threaded end has moved from its original position.

Have you checked the tie down point for the cable on the transaxle bellhousing? Bear in mind that the cable has 2 adjustment points under the car at the transaxle. From your earlier posts it would appear that you have been adjusting the clevis at the cable end where it attaches to the cross-gate arm on the transaxle. If you follow the cable forward you will see that the cable is anchored to the transaxle bellhousing near the starter motor. At this location the cable passes through a hole in the bellhousing and is anchored there by a pair of nuts that threat onto the end of the cable sleeve.

Are these nuts tight? If the cable is not securely anchored here you will give up travel in the shifter in the form of "slop" or "free play" due to not being fixed at this location. This mounting point determines the range of adjustment that is available at the clevis on the transaxle cross-gate arm. The shorter the amount of the threaded end of the cable sleeve that is exposed at the back end of the bellhousing mounting hole, the greater the range of travel. This could equate to a "stretch" like situation.

Regards,
Ron Schramm
'77 S1
'84 Turbo (x2)