Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

My Elan gearbox shifter rattles when driving the car in third gear. Advice on how to fix it would be appreciated. I plan to pull the motor and trans this weekend for maintenance.

Eric

Have you tried driving it without the shift boot, to discern the source of the rattle (e.g. is the shift rail worn, or the ball of the shift lever in the socket)?

I would be interested in what you find. I have a rattle in second gear.

I think this rattle/buzz is the reason Lotus introduced the "anti-sizzle" lever in the later Elans, with a rubber bushing to isolate the shift lever from the mechanism. Or it may just be wear.

Is there a detent adjustment on these gearboxes?

I had, what was called a buzz, not a rattle, in third and later in other gears. The plastic shift cap was so loose that I could not get it into reverse. I solved it by tightening the plastic dome cap down. It has happened twice over the last 5 years. The second time I knew what to do. I was thinking of a new aluminum cap that might hold up better than the plastic ones. I was worried I had a real problem but was happy for a simple solution. The transmission works great.
Sarto

mac5777 wrote:I had, what was called a buzz, not a rattle, in third and later in other gears. The plastic shift cap was so loose that I could not get it into reverse. I solved it by tightening the plastic dome cap down. It has happened twice over the last 5 years. The second time I knew what to do. I was thinking of a new aluminum cap that might hold up better than the plastic ones. I was worried I had a real problem but was happy for a simple solution. The transmission works great.
Sarto

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Even though my plastic cap is just fine, I want to get one of those because it is sooooooo beautiful!!