Hot gear lever/air blast

[Mileso]

Doing some dash work and currently driving without the centre console in place. Noticed that the hole in shell for lever to poke through is like a hot hair dryer and blasts heat into cab. Gear lever also very hot. Is this standard?
I guess I need to check gearbox oil etc but wondered if normal .

Ta

[h20hamelan]

think so
exhaust is right there, posts about clutch line being too hot rendering clutch useless etc.

[69S4]

Certainly notice the gear lever on my S4 getting hot on a long run in warm weather. The whole central area around the gearbox gets warm eventually as well - you can feel it through the carpet. My guess has been it’s hot air from the exhaust (it gets warmer on the exhaust side) and the radiator blowing back.

[The Veg]

Not sure which car you have, but in my Plus 2 the hole in the body is sealed by a square of rubber sheet that has a 'spigot' in the center that fits around the shift-ball and is secured to the body by a square ring of sheet metal around the edges and some screws into the GRP. Driving around with no console or other interiour trim installed, I found that this bit of rubber stopped a lot of hot air and a fair amount of noise too.

[Mileso]

thanks all. Mine's an S4. After dash work I am going to line the tunnel and mask off hole as best I can with heat ressistant material.

[baileyman]

On my S2 the tunnel gets really hot, and once or twice the shift boot has blown out letting a torrent of hot air through. I know the exhaust gets the blame, but it seems to me to be all manner of engine heat blowing down the tunnel and onto the rear end before finding a way out. Isn't is some 1/3 of the engine heat goes out the radiator, 1/3 the tailpipe and 1/3 move us along? I think it's the radiator.

Anyway, dreaming of a way to reduce it, it seemed perhaps a rubber flange in the tunnel reducing the passage of air might stop it. Or fitting a rear duct to the radiator to direct the output down as in an Eleven.

But I'd expect the shift lever to get hot no matter what from the transmission.

It's possible, btw, that the blast down the tunnel helps the diff stay hot.

John

[Foxie]

When I bought Alan Voigt's 5 speed gearbox many years ago, he advised stuffing a large sponge, with a cut in the centre for the lever, into the gear lever opening.

It works !

[Chrispy]

Not sure which car you have, but in my Plus 2 the hole in the body is sealed by a square of rubber sheet that has a 'spigot' in the center that fits around the shift-ball and is secured to the body by a square ring of sheet metal around the edges and some screws into the GRP. Driving around with no console or other interiour trim installed, I found that this bit of rubber stopped a lot of hot air and a fair amount of noise too.

Mine was missing this bit, and I made a poor mans version from some insertion rubber. Made a big difference!

[fatboyoz]

Hi Miles,
I realise that you are asking about the temperature of the air that blows through the gear lever hole, and all of the comments as to why it is hot are relevant.
However, with your console removed, the rubber shift boot (gaiter) should still remain in place, and you should not be feeling any blast of hot air. There should be a flat coverplate, held down with 4 self tappers, attached to the transmission tunnel. The plate has a large hole in the centre, and the circumferential slit at the bottom of the rubber shift boot fits into this hole forming an airtight seal.
Gaiter:https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-accessories/A036B6186Z.htm
Cover plate:https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-accessories/X036B1038Z.htm
If you are aware of this, please ignore all of the above.
Cheers,
Colin.

Doing some dash work and currently driving without the centre console in place. Noticed that the hole in shell for lever to poke through is like a hot hair dryer and blasts heat into cab. Gear lever also very hot. Is this standard?
I guess I need to check gearbox oil etc but wondered if normal .

Ta

[mbell]

Not sure which car you have, but in my Plus 2 the hole in the body is sealed by a square of rubber sheet that has a 'spigot' in the center that fits around the shift-ball and is secured to the body by a square ring of sheet metal around the edges and some screws into the GRP. Driving around with no console or other interiour trim installed, I found that this bit of rubber stopped a lot of hot air and a fair amount of noise too.

Has any one a photo of this rubber sheet? I have the metal that holds it in place and a nine correct rubber gaiter but have never seen the rubber sheet.

Thanks.

[Mileso]

However, with your console removed, the rubber shift boot (gaiter) should still remain in place, and you should not be feeling any blast of hot air. There should be a flat coverplate, held down with 4 self tappers, attached to the transmission tunnel. The plate has a large hole in the centre, and the circumferential slit at the bottom of the rubber shift boot fits into this hole forming an airtight seal.

If you are aware of this, please ignore all of the above.
Cheers,
Colin.

Thanks Colin - i do have the metal plate so will try to link the gaiter to it (was previously just into console). I am going to add some heat resistant material to for 'belt and braces'!

[Mileso]

To close this out, the reason the gear stick was really hot was discovered during box oil change. There wasnt any, just a cup full of sludge!

Still heat cloth fixed to tunnel and opening etc.
All good now.

[Andy8421]

Possibly an old wives tale, but I have seen it suggested that the inner rotoflex is much more likely to fail than the outer - due to a combination of temperature (hot air down the transmission tunnel) and oil contamination (leaks).