Giugiaro gear linkage thoughts....

[Pat H]

I recently had a mail from Pomoz, who is having a few issues with gear selection on his Series 3 Esprit.

Pomoz said:

Gday Pat. I tried to take it out early Dec. 1. Put it in neutral, start car. 2. Ok lets go... 3. Put it in gear ...... wont go ... crunch shit 4. Turn off. ... clutch pressure ok When is not started gets into all gears no probs. Only when i try to do it when engine running i have probs. Also .... my gearlever is really sloppy now. Apart from normal lateral slop, I have lots of vertical slop. (I guess a bolt or such has come apart)

I sent him the following reply, which I have posted here in case anyone has any thoughts on the matter, or indeed is suffering from sloppy gear selection with their Giugiaro Esprit....

Pat said:

Alex. I am afraid I sold my Esprit a while back. It wasn't for sale, but someone emailed me asking to buy it. I told him that I would only sell if I could get all my money out of it and that I'd paid a dealer top whack for the car. He went away to think about it and then came back to me with an offer. To cut a long story short, I bought it for £14950 and sold it nearly three years later for £14800. I felt rather pleased with myself at the time, but I regret it now, as the car was absolutely perfect and had only done about 25,000 miles. In actual fact, I think that Steve had the better end of the deal.... Anyway, I'm sorry you are having problems. Sounds like the linkage and the best place to start is at the back, cos that's the easier end to get to. Bear with me, cos it is three years since I did this job and my memory is fading. The gearshift is managed by a rod and cable system on Giugiaro Esprits. The crossgate cable manages lateral movement. It is just like a clutch cable and at the back of the car it screws into the crossgate extension rod, which is about a foot long. This in turn runs to the gearbox. The standard crossgate extension rod is attached to the selector on the gearbox casing with a really nasty clevis pin that catches all the muck and filth off the road and quickly wears loose. It is best to replace this rod with a stainless rose jointed version from SJ Sportscars. The rose joint is bolted to the selector arm on the gearbox and the other end of the rod is internally threaded so that the end of the crossgate cable can screw into it. The lateral position of the gearlever is governed by how far the end of the rod is screwed onto the crossgate cable. You need to get it right, otherwise you will find that you can't get 5th/reverse or 1st/2nd. I have a vague recollection from previous mail that you already have a rose jointed extension rod on your car.... Anyway, the crossgate cable with SJ's wonderful stainless extension rod controls lateral movement of the gear lever and this is not what is causing your problem. I reckon you either have a seized clutch plate, or that the fore/aft linkage has disintegrated. If you start with the linkage, you will find that it runs forward from the gearbox along the right hand side of the engine. Near the front of the engine it attaches to a pivoting lever which I think is mounted on the chassis. This pivot reverses the fore/aft movement in the linkage. Think of it as a see saw with the linkage attached to each end. From the pivot, another rod runs to the gearlever. At each junction there is a nasty nylon bush arrangement which wears and becomes a source of slop at the gearlever. SJ Sportscars sells a replacement bush kit which is cheap and is money well spent. If I remember correctly, there is a bush at the gearbox, a bush on each end of the pivot and a bush at the lever. The first three are easy to change and the one on the lever is a bastard. I have to confess that I left the one one the bottom of the gearlever well alone, but as it stays nice and clean in the transmission tunnel, it shouldn't wear like the others. The pivot itself is worthy of a few words. If my memory serves me correctly, it is attached to the car on the front right hand side of the engine bay. It is mounted with a pin that has a metal bush. Make sure this is serviceable, though on my car it was not even slightly worn. I ought to mention a simple and free modification that can be effected whilst the linkage is off the pivot. The pivoting lever is eccentric in that the arms are of different lengths relative to the fulcrum. Looking at it, you would hardly notice, as we are talking of maybe half a centimetre. By rotating the pivoting lever through 180 degrees and reconnecting the linkage, you noticeably reduce the fore/aft movement at the gear lever. It is a simple and free quick shift modification that is worth doing. It marginally increases the effort needed at the lever, but I didn't find it too much. Once you have attended to the back of the car, you need to see if you have fixed the problem. If you are still in difficulties, then you need to delve into the transmission tunnel at the gearlever end. This is awkward, if only because of the amount of interior trim that needs to be removed to get to the underneath of the gearlever. This is a fiddly job, as the heater controls need to come off, along with the central part of the dashboard. I think that the stereo needs to come out as well. You need to refer to the manual to see exactly how to proceed as I just can't remember. Once you are in there, you will see the front of the crossgate cable and the front of the fore/aft linkage where it connects to the bottom of the gearlever with that inaccessible nylon bush I mentioned earlier. If the fore/aft linkage is intact and you have serviced the rest of the mechanism as described, then your problem lies elsewhere. Incidentally, if you get as far as removing enough trim to get to the linkage under the gearlever, then you ought to consider replacing the crossgate cable itself, as they do stretch with age. Again, there is a knack to doing this. The front of the cable attaches to the gear lever with a steel roll pin. This will be as tight as hell and is difficult to remove. Roll pins are usually extracted with a hammer and drift, but there isn't enough space to get at it. I modified a bicycle chain link-splitter that I had bought from Halfords a few years earlier. It is a tiny screw press that nicely pushed out the recalcitrent pin. Once this has been done, it is time to pull the crossgate cable out from the back off the car. Before you do this, tie a length of strong string to the eye on the front end of the cable. You tie this to the eye in the new cable, so that you can draw it up along the transmission tunnel. As the Haynes manual might say, reassemmbly is the reverse of the above procedure. There is a big grommet at the rear end of the transmission tunnel, which is awkward to get back in. While you are under the car, have a look to see if the red plastic clutch hose has been replaced with a braided stainless hose. If you still have the dreaded red hose, then bin it and replace it with SJ's stainless replacement. It is not a terribly big job and makes a great difference to gear change quality when the car is really hot. For the sake of thirty quid, SJ also sell a replacement clutch slave cylinder with a nice stainless piston, which is worth changing whilst the hydraulic system is drained. If you still can't get any gears, then it looks like an internal problem with the clutch plate or the release mechanism. Either way, it looks like the transmission will have to come out, which probably means a trip to your local tame specialist. Good luck. Let me know how you get on.

By the way, I don't have shares in SJ Sportscars, but they were unfailingly helpful when I was fettling my Esprit and were reasonably priced and very quick.





>> Edited by Pat H on Monday 1st May 11:44

[Autocross7]

I ran into this a while back on my 88' (which being federal has the Citroen tranny). I pulled it in the garage... not hard really. The problem turned out to be hydrolic (master cylinder was bad but not leaking) but I wanted to be sure so I pulled the tranny anyway - put in a new pressure plate because I had one on the shelf. Friction plate was okay... looked almost new. It was new. Seems the previous owner had the clutch done by a lotus dealer (nameless) according to the record book... cylinders included... before selling the car for an E Type jag. Anyway, this is what I found...

The master Cylinder had not been replaced... simply billed for.

The slave cylinder boot was new and the housing looked clean, but the inside parts were not new and the score pattern on the inside suggested years of use.

The stainless steel input shaft sleeve had been left off the shaft, causing the roller pin pilot bearing to shred.

The fly wheel bolts were not torqued... at all... as one of them started to spin out by hand!

So... the dealer put in a friction plate. That is about it. AND that was not done correctly as the bolts were just put in place...

Point. Unless you really know your mechanic, trouble shoot it as best you can on your own!!! The Citroen tranny, once out of the car is not a terribly complicated thing. There are not a bunch of shim plates etc... like a Porsche. So most trustworthy tranny shops can put it together pretty quik. If hydrolic repairs do not correct the issue, pull the box and take it to a transmission shop. The above covers everything really well (some stuff I would not have thought to add). Please, just be sure of your mechanic...

Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[pomoz]

Pomoz here again

We ... myself and good neighbour Mal...has looked at Clutch operating system.
Have come to the conclusion that everything seems ok .... linkage wise and hydrolics.

Clutch operating lever is travelling well as according to workshop manual.
Now we are suspecting a seized clutch plate......
The car has been sitting for a while ... is this a common ailment and if so how to remedy it?
We have tried running vehicle with wheels off ground and engine running in 2nd gear with clutch applied and everything running at speed.At this point applying brake ..engine grinds to a halt ... no clutch disengagement.

What next gurus
I am typing ...as MAL DICTATING as he is the master im the monkey

The car is so close to getting on the road again

ALL help appreciated
many thanks
Pomoz and MAL

[Autocross7]

Hi guys... this was a common issues with my Austin Healey... still is actually. The best way I have been able to free the clutch up is to put the car in a middle gear like 3rd... motor off... and then push it. Let it rock back and fourth. If it does not free up, put the car in 1st and do the same thing. Sounds quik and easy - and it can be. However, it can also take some cussing and resting. If you still cannot get it free, pull the plug wires, put the car in 1st, and with the clutch depressed, bump the motor with the starter. THIS will work if the problem is a frozen clutch. However, I suggest trying the "push/pull" method first just because if the clutch is "just stuck", the started will apply a lot of force all at once.

Good luck... I hope it is this easy for you!
Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[pomoz]

Thanks autocroos7

Wonder what 2 day will bring ....waiting for MAL to come home....
Many Thanks.. i am now learning a lot about my Esprit even having it 4 over 4 years.
Its life started in UK ... then i made it seasick ..... it was put on a ship to OZ

Keep thoughts coming in Gurus
Pomoz 87 S3HC na

[deecee]

Red Clutch Line Syndrome?

There is a Material Defect in the Clutch Lines of the Esprit, that causes the Clutch Lines to Swell, rather than apply the Full Hydraulic Pressure to the Clutch Slave Cylinder.

Do you still have the OEM Clutch Line?

[Pat H]

deecee said:

Red Clutch Line Syndrome? There is a Material Defect in the Clutch Lines of the Esprit, that causes the Clutch Lines to Swell, rather than apply the Full Hydraulic Pressure to the Clutch Slave Cylinder. Do you still have the OEM Clutch Line?

The twerp that signed off that red plastic clutch line ought to be shot.

I bought my old Esprit on a really hot day in August 2002. The drive home was about 150 miles and by the time I got back it was impossible to select any gear at all.

I couldn't believe what I saw when I ripped off that plastic hose.

Fortunately it is pretty straightforward to replace it with a proper braided hose.

[deecee]

I think he was also the guy that approved the first V8s...

They had Cast Iron Bell Housings and a Hydraulic Clutch that actually Pulled the Slave Cylinder in, rather than Pushed.

The Quality Control was so poor that, Arnie Johnson, one told me they had one that the Casting Sand from the Exhaust Manifold had pile up and Stopped the Turbo from Spinning.

...what do they say about never buying the First Year of a New Production Model?

[teigan]

lotus has never admitted the part was faulty. my car has the original hose, and it does have a slightly squishy action. however lotus owners tend to attribute any problem to the red clutch line, when it's usually only a minor contributor to the problem. when you replace the hose, other equally poorly sourced parts will be stressed to handle the more efficient clutchline pressure. wait and replace the whole chain of parts at the same time. you should however replace the lotus engineer as soon as possible.

[Pat H]

deecee said:

...what do they say about never buying the First Year of a New Production Model?

My Esprit was one of the last dozen Giugiaro Esprits built.

By getting one of the very last ones I thought I was being clever.

In fairness, the only time the car ever let me down was because of the red hose, and even then I managed to limp home.

Otherwise it seemed pretty well sorted.

Pity the poor sods that bought an S1 back in 1977, or the first of the V8s.

Come to think of it, my late father bought one of the very first Eclats back in 1976 and it was a shocking car. It completely fell to pieces, particularly the rear suspension.

He spent more time in the Sports Motors courtesy car than he did in the Lotus. Fortunately it was a BMW 2002, which wasn't a bad swap for that rattly Eclat.

[pomoz]

Gday Gurus

Many thanks for all your contributions

Gcar is back on the road!!!!!!!!

Bloody clutch had seized up !!..LACK OF USE

Though with some help with spannerman.... he "bumped" the car for 15 mins and 15klm
Till the clutch freed itself

So i am now driving

So next project will be to delve into the console ... where the gearlever lives......
To see what has happened to make it so sloppy
Then with that fixed ... work my way up and along the crossgate cable ... back to gearbox....
Wonder how many hours that will take and how much$$$$$$$

Man Thanks
pomoz 87S3HC na

[Autocross7]

Good deal!!! As far as the time and money... what ever you have the most of... it will take more of the other. That is the Esprit rule... hahahaha....


Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[pomoz]

Thanks autocross7
Youd be right there
also ... another saying " the mind makes appointments the body don't keep" lol lol

pomoz 87S3HC na