Re: 5 Speed Box: Whirring in 5th after Redline oil change
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:16 pm
Having had a final year Ford Cortina GT I did a Google image search for the gear stick to see what was going on. Didn't realise that the Elan had a dog-led mod to it. A picture for that lead me back to this forum and I found the info in that thread useful. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=31260
I'm not a lotus owner but have a Volvo Amazon Estate, had a few Amazons over the years. They have a very long gear lever and that has a rubber bush in the bottom of the chrome wand that fits onto a stubby piece that is actually the lever that comes out of the box. Buzzing and vibration with that is usually the big retainer nut coming loose but the rubber bush can be made less effective if you fit a heavy after market gear knob, say a big alloy one. There could be scope for tuning out the sizzle by trying a few different weight knobs. Just an idea. I doubt if doing that will alter your whirring noise though. My Amazon gear lever boot has a thickish felt lining to reduce noise transfer and if the Elan has or doesn't have any felt sound barrier in that area it might be worth revising or adding some as long as it doesn't effect the gear change. Too stiff can cause the box to pop out of gear.
Derek UK
I'm not a lotus owner but have a Volvo Amazon Estate, had a few Amazons over the years. They have a very long gear lever and that has a rubber bush in the bottom of the chrome wand that fits onto a stubby piece that is actually the lever that comes out of the box. Buzzing and vibration with that is usually the big retainer nut coming loose but the rubber bush can be made less effective if you fit a heavy after market gear knob, say a big alloy one. There could be scope for tuning out the sizzle by trying a few different weight knobs. Just an idea. I doubt if doing that will alter your whirring noise though. My Amazon gear lever boot has a thickish felt lining to reduce noise transfer and if the Elan has or doesn't have any felt sound barrier in that area it might be worth revising or adding some as long as it doesn't effect the gear change. Too stiff can cause the box to pop out of gear.
Derek UK