Boot (trunk) release cable- potential nightmare !
Discussion
Has anyone everhad their boot release cable snap. If so, how the heck did you get the tailgate open to fix the problem ? My last car, one of the last X1/9s, had a small , designed for very occasional use only, emergency boot release catch in the form of a wire running into the engine bay with a ring pull. So, main boot cable snaps. Open engine bay and pull emergency release. Empty contents of boot and then close boot. Do not use until repair day, open once more with emergency cable, fit new one. Sorted. The engine had a separate cover. Should the engine cover cable fail, the lock was accessable via a large removable panel in the bulkhead between the engine and the rear luggage bay. (also dead handy for getting at the back of the engine, see "engine access" thread)I know of no such contraptions in the Esprit.
What do you do if your tailgate cable snaps !!???! It would not be possible to remove the boot floor due to the two anchoring bolts at the top of the bulkhead (allen bolts, one each side) and also, the water header tank is anchored to the bulkhead. Is this one of those "It's never happened so don't worry things or am I just deluded???!!
Surely it would be easy to run a couple of lengths of wire from the boot catches to the engine bay, accessable from beneath. I'll go and firkle for a bit
MEANWHILE !!!! Has anyone seen the acute angle the cable goes through at the second catch (left side for |RHD), (vice versa for LHD). I must design a a widget immediately to ensure the cable arrives at the end plate mechanism perpendicular to the plate and not a cable chafing parallel withe cable bending by 90 degrees. Maybe it's just my car but I'd go and look if I were you. It's much easier with a mirror under the latch with a torch pointing at the mirror. If it works, I will try and venture once more into the stormy sea of hosting pictures of the construction and design of the widget !
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:45
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:45
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:46
What do you do if your tailgate cable snaps !!???! It would not be possible to remove the boot floor due to the two anchoring bolts at the top of the bulkhead (allen bolts, one each side) and also, the water header tank is anchored to the bulkhead. Is this one of those "It's never happened so don't worry things or am I just deluded???!!
Surely it would be easy to run a couple of lengths of wire from the boot catches to the engine bay, accessable from beneath. I'll go and firkle for a bit
MEANWHILE !!!! Has anyone seen the acute angle the cable goes through at the second catch (left side for |RHD), (vice versa for LHD). I must design a a widget immediately to ensure the cable arrives at the end plate mechanism perpendicular to the plate and not a cable chafing parallel withe cable bending by 90 degrees. Maybe it's just my car but I'd go and look if I were you. It's much easier with a mirror under the latch with a torch pointing at the mirror. If it works, I will try and venture once more into the stormy sea of hosting pictures of the construction and design of the widget !
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:45
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:45
>> Edited by toyroom on Monday 13th February 22:46
I'm pasting this from an email I wrote a long time ago.
_________________________________________________________
I've broken two different hatch cables.
The frist one broke right as I got home from Log 22. My car had
been in Lew's garage, since we trailered his X180-R. I opened the
hatch to pack all my travel gear inside, and just as the hatch came
unlatched, the cable broke. It broke at the pull handle in the
cockpit, so I attached a pair of vise grips to the cable and used
that for a few months
So then I bought a new GENUINE Lotus cable and installed it. I
tested the cable before closing the hatch, and the cable broke on
the first try!!!!!!! ONE TIME!!!
So then I was very reluctant to buy a new cable and trust it, so I
didn't. I ziptied the latches open and didn't latch my hatch for
about a year! It never opened, the weight of the wing and the dead
struts kept it closed. Nobody every broke into it either.
I finall bought a new cable and installed it, aligned it, greased
it, and it worked fine. But then I thought I could adjust it a
little better... So I adjusted it and closed the hatch... And the
right side wouldn't open, AT ALL!!!
And it gets better-----------------------------------
My entire set of tools were in the trunk!!!!!!!!!!
All I had were some of my roomates SAE tools, and a Dremel.
I remembered that I hadn't ever glued the rear trunk floor back in
from the time that I replaced the tranny output shaft seals.
So I removed my exhaust system and hanger, and I dremeled (from
under the car) off all of the blind nuts that the trunk floor bolts
go into. Once I got those off I could remove the infill panel (the
one you take out when you remove the tranny) by unbolting it from
the underside.
Not able to push up the trunk floor, since all my heavy tools were
on it, I was able to reach my skinny arms through enough to grab the
latches with a pair of pliers. But they wouldn't budge!!!
So I had to undo the nuts, that hold the latches in place, with my
arm stuck through a small opening in the floor.
Talk about a whole lot of fun!
_________________________________________________________
I've broken two different hatch cables.
The frist one broke right as I got home from Log 22. My car had
been in Lew's garage, since we trailered his X180-R. I opened the
hatch to pack all my travel gear inside, and just as the hatch came
unlatched, the cable broke. It broke at the pull handle in the
cockpit, so I attached a pair of vise grips to the cable and used
that for a few months
So then I bought a new GENUINE Lotus cable and installed it. I
tested the cable before closing the hatch, and the cable broke on
the first try!!!!!!! ONE TIME!!!
So then I was very reluctant to buy a new cable and trust it, so I
didn't. I ziptied the latches open and didn't latch my hatch for
about a year! It never opened, the weight of the wing and the dead
struts kept it closed. Nobody every broke into it either.
I finall bought a new cable and installed it, aligned it, greased
it, and it worked fine. But then I thought I could adjust it a
little better... So I adjusted it and closed the hatch... And the
right side wouldn't open, AT ALL!!!
And it gets better-----------------------------------
My entire set of tools were in the trunk!!!!!!!!!!
All I had were some of my roomates SAE tools, and a Dremel.
I remembered that I hadn't ever glued the rear trunk floor back in
from the time that I replaced the tranny output shaft seals.
So I removed my exhaust system and hanger, and I dremeled (from
under the car) off all of the blind nuts that the trunk floor bolts
go into. Once I got those off I could remove the infill panel (the
one you take out when you remove the tranny) by unbolting it from
the underside.
Not able to push up the trunk floor, since all my heavy tools were
on it, I was able to reach my skinny arms through enough to grab the
latches with a pair of pliers. But they wouldn't budge!!!
So I had to undo the nuts, that hold the latches in place, with my
arm stuck through a small opening in the floor.
Talk about a whole lot of fun!
teigan said:
actually i am a gynecologist, but this is my lunch hour. my cable went awry, and i was able to get in without making any new holes. that method suggested on LEW is nothing short of a cesarian.
That's why Kato also posted my alternative way... No new holes, just need to replace the bolts and expanding nuts.
A joke I saved from somewhere:
A gynecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance and was on the verge of being burned out. Hoping to try another career where skilful hands would be beneficial, he decided to change careers and become a mechanic. He found out from the local technical college what was involved, signed up for evening classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could.
When the time for the practical exam approached, the gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%.
Fearing an error, he called the instructor, saying "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wondered if there had been an error which needed adjusting."
The instructor said, "During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total grade. You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the grade." The instructor went on to say, "I gave you an extra 50% because you did all of it through the muffler."
A gynecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance and was on the verge of being burned out. Hoping to try another career where skilful hands would be beneficial, he decided to change careers and become a mechanic. He found out from the local technical college what was involved, signed up for evening classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could.
When the time for the practical exam approached, the gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%.
Fearing an error, he called the instructor, saying "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wondered if there had been an error which needed adjusting."
The instructor said, "During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total grade. You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the grade." The instructor went on to say, "I gave you an extra 50% because you did all of it through the muffler."
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