Check your shifter mounts

[lotusespritse]

(I posted this as a conclusion to another thread, but it may not been seen there by as many as need it.)

While I was trying to solve an issue with my car being difficult to get into 1st gear (turned out to need an adjustment in the reverse lockout block -- thanks again Gonzo for diagnosing that!), I found out that the rubber mounts for the entire shifter box had perished.

As a result, the entire box was moving as the shifter moved. There is no easy way to know this is happening when everything's together. The box just moves with the shifter and you assume any sloppiness is just the way the crappy Renault and shift mechanism are designed.

I did not bother to replace these bushings, I just tightened down the lock nuts to get rid of the play. And I have not noticed any side effects of not having a flexible mount. The shifter is not gated, so it's free to move around if the gearbox moves on its mounts. There are no extra vibrations or noises. The shifter is just solid.

And now when I select gears, it's much more precise. Before the gears were literally in a slightly different place on almost every shift.

My car is a 98 that has lived all its life out of the sun and only has 27K gentle miles. So if they perished on this car, chances are yours are a goner too.

It's a bit of a pain pulling everything out to get to these bolts, but the effort is worth it.

HTH somone.

[jtrealty]

Thanks for this tip, I also have a lot of trouble getting into first, I really have to push it to make it go in. I also figured it was the transmission but now I have something to check! I lubed the cables and it helped but maybe this will fix it better!
David Teitelbaum

[lotusespritse]

My symptoms for 1st gear problems were crazy. It's still hard to believe how well it shifts into first with a simple adjustment to the shifter. I thought I would be pulling the gearbox replacing everything in the clutch and the synchros to get it fixed. Whew!

[irox]

By "Adjusting" do you mean merely tightening the loose nuts? Or did you need to measure throw, movement, clearance, gap, etc?


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[gmendoza]

Im glad it was an easy fix!!!

[lotusespritse]

Originally Posted by irox

By "Adjusting" do you mean merely tightening the loose nuts? Or did you need to measure throw, movement, clearance, gap, etc?


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I mean adjusting the reverse lockout block as annotated in the pics. I am sure tightening the bolts helped too as the box was able to move around.

I remember watching 5th Gear on the 200mph Esprit attempt and he commented how first gear was fine at one stop and impossible at the next. I am sure that car had the same problem.

Not sure if any of this applies to before 98 when they changed everything.


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[irox]

Gotcha; I should have looked closer at pict

Thanks for post

[CarSalesman]

I may have the same problem. How do you open up the console to get access?

[QuadCam]

Worn bushings in the shifter will also cause problems getting into first gear. The worn bushings allow for too much movement in the shifter stick without any movement at the translator. Having to adjust the the reverse lockout block is a sign that you need to rebuild your shifter bushings.

[lotusespritse]

Originally Posted by CarSalesman

I may have the same problem. How do you open up the console to get access?

Remove 2 screws where the fuel filler flap and light dimmer are located
Pull up to remove cover
Remove plugs for switches
Remove 2 nuts holding down shifter trim
Remove shifter knob (pull up)
Undo knot for leather shifter boot
Pull off shifter trim
Removed screws holding rubber shifter ring
Remove the dozen or so bolts holding metal cover plate
Push plate toward front of car and lift up rear of plate and yank it out

Reverse when done making adjustments...


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[Sanj]

Prior to the V8, the shifter was bolted solidly to the chassis. I assume the grommets were an attempt to improve NVH.

[QuadCam]

Sanj,

my 93.5 has those same rubber grommets, and the shifter I bought from a 95 S4S also has the rubber grommets.

[Sanj]

I stand corrected -- it looks like they added them in '93. Thanks!