Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Good afternoon,

Jumped into my +2 to drive to work yesterday, and I could not engage reverse to drive it out of the garage!

Looking on this forum, the problem may be the gear lever cap is loose, although I am open to other suggestions. Anyway, I was hoping I could get to this from inside the car, but as you can see from the photo, this would not be possible. Not wishing to pull the gearbox out, would it be ok to cut the top of the transmission tunel fibreglass to make the hole bigger? Would the chassis restrict access anyway?

I would only be looking to increase the size of the hole the absolute minimum amount. Judging by the quality to the craftsmanship of the existing hole, I definately got the friday afternoon car!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,

David

Another issue could be the reversing light switch, if somehow that has moved it can prevent engagement of the gear. Awkward to get at also.

..if it's the 5-speed box..

John

Sorry, I should have mentioned it is a early four speed box without a reverse switch.

David

Hi David,

I have a plus 2 with a 4 speed box. A po had enlarged the hole over 16 years ago around the gearlever - to the extent that the top cover of the gearbox can just about be removed from inside the car. I have had no issues with cracking around the opening. However, looking of your picture the gear lever is closer to the dash than on my car - so that might not be possible.

If you enlarge the opening slightly less, then it should be possible to check and tighten the nylon cup.


Dave Chapman.

Exactly what happens?
hit a wall like there is no reverse?
will shifter lift up enough?
shut off car, will it go then?

if the 'ball' is too loose generally you will pull up out of the gate and get 'lost'

Thanks for your replies. The lever pulls up and across into
the gate to the left but is being restricted to moving back to the rear of the car to "slot" into gear. This is even if the engine is not running. forward gears work ok.The nylon cup does not appear loose but it was on my list as the first thing to check.
Ta.
David