Dificulty in selecting gears

[BILLY N/A]

having not run my Esprit for 4 weeks , on taking her out of the garage gear selection has become difficult
Initialy the clutch was real sharp ie dragging alittle
this went back to normal after 2 or 3 attempts
Now I have difficulty in selecting any gear ?
Prior to parking the car up the gear selection was perfect both on start up and when the engine was hot.
The weather is very cold at the moment will this have any effect on the clutch operation ?
The car still has the red clutch pipe fitted , could this be the problem ?
Any idias please ??????????

[bher]

Hello Billy,

As we share the same type of car, I would try to help you.
Last september I ask the dealer to change the clutch tube to avoid red hose problem. In the same time he changed the small connections between the two cables and the gearbox itself. Sorry for the poor english, it looks like a lever hanging the spherical ends of the cables. This part was really in bad shape (rusty and missing small dents) You can check this only by looking from underneath just in front of the muffler. The improvement was real but that is the least we can expect after changing the clutch tube, checking the clutch cylinders (no change) and replacing this connection (That is one explanation for your trouble)
Hope this help.
Ben

[adrianmugridge]

Does the clutch pedal feel is stiff as normal ? If you have lost clutch fluid ( normally the slave cylinder leaks ) then the clutch will become very light and it will be hard to get it in gear. This is the only thing I can think off for a sudden gear selection problem as opposed to a gradual one. I had a new clutch in my GT3 a few months ago. It was getting harder and harder to get it in gear ( but it was not slipping ), but as I say, this happended over a long period of time.

Adrian
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk

[armynick]

I had a problem with the gears on my GT3, the gear knob was all over the place and wouldn't go into gear. Turned out to be the gear linkage rose joints popping out, or something like like. Luckily it was still covered by the warranty I had. (Phew!)

I'm now having probs with selecting 1st gear. My Lotus mech says this is easily adjustable, or would be if Lotus would use stainless steel nuts and bolts. He just needs to un-do some to make an adjustment.

[lotusguy]

having not run my Esprit for 4 weeks , on taking her out of the garage gear selection has become difficult
Initialy the clutch was real sharp ie dragging alittle
this went back to normal after 2 or 3 attempts
Now I have difficulty in selecting any gear ?
Prior to parking the car up the gear selection was perfect both on start up and when the engine was hot.
The weather is very cold at the moment will this have any effect on the clutch operation ?
The car still has the red clutch pipe fitted , could this be the problem ?
Any idias please ??????????

Billy,

It sounds to me like a couple of problems, but I must say that your descrption is not very clear. First, have you checked the fluid level in your clutch master cylinder? A low level will give you problems. Also, is there any sign of leakage around the slave cylinder? The fact that your clutch pedal feel improved after several attempts pumping it leads me to believe that you have some air on the system and possibly some leaks or low fluid level. Also, parking it for 4 weeks is plenty of time for corrosion to take place in both the slave and master cylinders. Suspect the slave first as it's the lowest point in the system and water will accumulate there to do it's dirty work. Finally, there has been waaay too much discussion re. the infamous 'Red Hose' for you not to take heed...get the SS replacement and be done with it. Hope this helps...Jim '85TE

[cnh1990]

Also check for fluid leaks around the pedal box in the interior where the push rod goes through the bulkhead wall seal, directly under the master under the front bonnet, and low fuild levels in the master itself. If the fluid levels drop a lot and under cornering you could suck up air also if the levels are too low.
Calvin

[BILLY N/A]

thanks for the posts guys
the problem was no fluid in the resevoir !!!!!!
so much for the "full service history " and to be fair i had not checked the level for my self.
There was no sign of any leakage.
have refilled and bled the system , wow ,what a differance, the gear change had always been good up till my problem but now it feels even better .
Is there another way the fluid level can go down? other than a leak, will it evaporate over a preiod time? the resevoir cap was very tight sergesting it had poss. not been off for some time