2000E Four Speed Box

[TeeJay]

Hi All
I have now completed the strip and rebuild of the rolling chassis, will post some photos on the original thread.

The next large and expensive job is to rebuild the Weber TC.

Therefore, thought I would quickly check and clean out the 2000E four speed box as this will now have Redline MTL synthetic oil in it.

Is it a question of if its not broke don?t fix it?
When the car was garaged; many years ago; with a broken chassis, the gearbox was OK, or so I thought.

I found that the 1st & 2nd selector fork had some wear (see photos).
The wear rate is not covered in the Lotus Workshop manual or Brian Buckland?s Manual, so after discussion with supplier I found out that the ?pads? on the fork should be as cast @ 6 mm.
I was not sure if the ?pads? had been machined or if it was wear. I learned that it was wear.
The other selector forks had very little wear.

So ooo, unplanned costs of, new roller bearings, bushes, seals, gaskets and selector fork.
O ooo dear, a few more nights in, saving for the engine parts. Hope the wife does not declare herself ?a labour of love? and require similar expenditure.

I still don?t know at what point the amount of wear on the forks require a replacement, but a 1.15 mm loss of material is a lot as the original 6 mm is a lose fit in the grove of the synchroniser gear.
As the project is a complete restoration it was easy to refurb the box now rather than find a problem later.

Anyone have any words of wisdom?

Trevor

[types26/36]

so after discussion with supplier I found out that the ?pads? on the fork should be as cast @ 6 mm.
I was not sure if the ?pads? had been machined or if it was wear. I learned that it was wear.

All the forks I have ever seen appeared to have a machined part where they
locate in the hub, I am not convinced that it is all wear on your forks but I dont have one to measure or check so I could be wrong, I thought I had a Ford manual with specs but cant seem to put my hands on it

[TeeJay]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your input.
When the new selector fork arrives I can check it and make comments.

The item he is sending was on some presentation board as they have nil stock and have a back order outstanding. I forwarded the photos to him and he stated that the one he had, was as cast.

Following your comment.
The issue is, should it have been machined to ensure that the mating surfaces of both components had no rough/high spots?

Certainly don't what to install a problem component.
Thanks again

[steveww]

Difficult to be sure from the photos but the thinner surface looks too neat for it to be wear, more like it was machined that way.

[TeeJay]

Hi,
The new 1&2 Selector Fork arrived today.
As stated by the supplier, the ?pads? show no machining and are 6mm thk.

I checked the clearance in the hub, this measures 0.82mm(0.032?).

Therefore looked my closely at the 3&4 Selector Fork. The ?pads? measure 5.9mm.
Looking at the photo of this selector it can be seen that it shows slight wear on the ?pads?. As indicated at the arrow, there is no wear, as the original casting surface can be seen. The clearance in this hub measures 0.79mm(0.031?).

I think it?s reasonable to conclude that the Forks have no machining on the die cast forks and that it is safe to install the new 1&2 selector fork.

Thanks again to Brian and Steve for your comments.

Now as to why the 1&2 fork has 1.15mm of wear and the 3&4 Fork has little, anyone any ideas?

Trevor

[denicholls2]

I'd look for an answer along the lines of: "If you're sitting in traffic, and you rest your hand on the shift lever, which selector is likely to pick up wear under the conditions of:

- Gearbox in neutral, clutch out
- Gearbox in first, clutch in.

The part IS machined. It is machined by the side of the cog groove riding against the pad. Given that good lubrication is present, there's no reason why this machining (call it wear if you want) would look any different on inspection than any other kind of machining.

[ppnelan]

Now as to why the 1&2 fork has 1.15mm of wear and the 3&4 Fork has little, anyone any ideas?

When you've recently bought into the classic car world and you're 'racing someone away from the lights', which gear do you try to change into the quickest? Answer, SECOND, forcing it into gear without waiting for the synchromesh to do it's job. Third isn't needed as quickly because it'll all be over by then! This wear was clearly evident in my old +2 5-speed gearbox...
After gaining experience running a classic car, a greater degree of mechanical sympathy results...
Either that or you go out & buy racing-spec parts to make your classic tough enough to be driven like a modern car, or track day-ed!

Matthew

[TeeJay]

denicholls2 wrote

The part IS machined. It is machined by the side of the cog groove riding against the pad.

It looks like I jumped to an incorrect conclusion just because the new fork pads clearance appeared OK. On further reflection, the machining could also be associated with the lateral position to ensure correct location and end float.
As the box will be out of the car for sometime I will dry assemble, check that all gears can be selected along with neutral. I will also try to find another new fork for viewing.

Should have taken on board the comments by Brian and Steve. I have seen many posts by them and I have great respect for them. Their contribution as is several others to this forum is outstanding. Sorry.

denicholls2 wrote

- Gearbox in first, clutch in.

ppnelan wrote

you're 'racing someone away from the lights', which gear do you try to change into the quickest? Answer, SECOND, forcing it into gear without waiting for the synchromesh to do it's job.

And

After gaining experience running a classic car, a greater degree of mechanical sympathy results... Wink

Yep, Guilty, Your both right

The car has been in the garage for almost 19yrs.

Back then, when it was in use, my two sons were young boys.
At the lights their faces would light up with grins, lights on red, with yellow and almost green and away. Big smile on Dads face.
Very few cars could match it then.
Also there were no speed bumps or safety camera's.

I am sure that after the lengthy project rebuild, I will have more respect for the mechanics of the classics. Also with age comes maturity and therefore I will not race it away from the standing start.

Thanks to All