Re: Zetec-R and 5 speed Lotus Box,
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:30 pm
CBUEB1771 wrote:I don't want to beat this to death but a neighbor who had an Elite with the Lotus five speed went through two gearboxes in short order and that was the cars death knell. I can't speak to the details of maintenance so I accept there can be quite a range of experience between this and what Rohan has reported. I agree that modern lubricants would likely help quite a bit. Keep in mind the that Lotus five speed uses internals from the Austin Maxi, 1750 cc, 84 or 95 bhp and 2200 lb. I have not found a torque specification for the Maxi but at 95 bhp at about 5500 rpm it is not a big number.
Russ,
As I see it:-
The duty cycle of the Elite/Eclat with me in it at 1200Kg against an Elan at 800Kg is a significant difference for similar power and torque figures.
The Maxi gear set has a capability much greater than that used in the Maxi itself, and will not be that dissimilar to a T9. What is different are the sychros - the Maxi baulk rings are small and fragile, and if not bedded-in correctly are known to fail/break - and that is it's weakness.
Alex Black and I were told by our tame guru on these boxes that it can take 2-3k miles to bed-in the baulk rings, and it can only be done correctly when lubricated with standard 20w/50 oil. Only when the box has completed about 3k miles should synthetic oil be considered. Both Alex and I now run with 20w/50 oil. The Redline I originally put in is now in a plastic bottle waiting for the right time to get used.