rubber shifter boot.. anyone get a new version one/??
Discussion
here is some copies of emails between JAE and my self.
can any one help sort this out?
-----------------QUOTE------------
Dear JAE,
I am aware that some time has passed since you shipped me the rubber shifter boot for my Esprit S4s… I received it in May of this year.
I have only just taken it out of the package today, only to find that it is not the same size as the original one.
The hole in the centre is much too small to pass the shifter through, and the lower circle is smaller than the Metal ring that secures it to the tunnel.
I suppose I can make the centre hole bigger but it may make the boot too short. I don’t know how I can attach the boot to the tunnel though.
Have you had this problem before? Is it possible you sent the wrong boot?
Seems like the gods don’t want me to have this boot .. been almost 2 years now of trying to get such a simple repair done.
Bruce Harling
Good morning Bruce
That boot is the only part # for all Esprits,1977-2004.I know the bottom hole is small and has to be forced over or trimmed to fit.The upper.large diameter is free floating to just seal on the underside of the trimmed boot.I still don't know why they are that expensive(we are looking at having them made right now)because Lotus doesn't really mark their parts up very much.Meaning it costs Lotus a lot.We want to have ours larger on the upper diameter for a trim to fit positive seal.
Jeff
Jeff,
The boot needs to make an airtight seal between the body ( tunnel) and the shifter Handle. If not airtight then exhaust gasses enter the cabin. I don’t know what you mean by Free Floating on the boot.
The entire part you sent is really quite different than the original one. There is a ring with 6 screws that mean to hold the rubber tight to the tunnel. The boot is mean to have a flat base and spread out under the ring and have 6 holes in it for the screws to pass through.
I don’t know what happened…. The part is clearly not the same as is needed,,, if u are just selling a supposed Lotus part then I think you need to talk to you supplier and find out what has gone wrong. The part that you sent me was clearly hand trimmed from a bigger piece of rubber. There are knife marks around the boot that show this.
If I stretch the boot over the shifter handle It will obviously crack when the rubber ages. Rubber can only stretch a small amount if it is going to last a long time.
On one hand I don’t want to pay such a price for a part that wont last.. On the other I want to get this done..
Can you please let me know what I should do? Can you check your stock in case my part is defective?
Can you contact your supplier and tell them that you have a customer that claims the part does not fit… ask them what to do? Can they send another? Can they offer a refund and then I can use the one you sent as a temporary solution???
Bruce
Well,we get those boots from Lotus.B082F4114F is the Lotus part number.The new"B" prefix number is supposed to be a better material.That boot is supposed to be installed with the small diameter hole at the bottom,the big diameter hole on top.Sort of upside down compared to the upper trim boot.I don't know if that will help but that's the only lower boot we ever get,and they come from Lotus.You are free to return it if that's best for you.
I don’t want to be a pain here but that makes no sense to me…
When you refer to the upper trim boot do you mean the leather shifter boot? Or are there supposed to be an upper and lower rubber boot? I don’t see this in the parts list that I have.
if I put the rubber boot on upside down then the reverse inhibit thing will be all jammed up… and that still does not address that problem that the other end of the boot is smaller than the ring that attaches it to the tunnel… are there instructions that come with this new upside down installation? Do you have a picture of how it is installed?
I think that I have been extremely patient here with you on this and I am doing my best not to get frustrated.
I ordered this part from you back in May of 2005, after waiting for a year for the local dealer here to get one.. ( the first year of waiting is not your fault) but then somehow you did not ship it and you forgot about it for over a year.. when I reminded you I had to wait again for a boot and then pay for shipping a second time. I really don’t want to return a small piece of rubber and pay for shipping a 3rd time. That is kind of ridiculous.
Now I have this thing and I have the shifter apart and now after several messages I don’t know if I have the right part and/or how to install it…
What is the big diameter supposed to measure? There is the possibility that the boot you sent me is badly cut and is defective.
Bruce
----------- end Quote ---------------------
can any one help sort this out?
-----------------QUOTE------------
Dear JAE,
I am aware that some time has passed since you shipped me the rubber shifter boot for my Esprit S4s… I received it in May of this year.
I have only just taken it out of the package today, only to find that it is not the same size as the original one.
The hole in the centre is much too small to pass the shifter through, and the lower circle is smaller than the Metal ring that secures it to the tunnel.
I suppose I can make the centre hole bigger but it may make the boot too short. I don’t know how I can attach the boot to the tunnel though.
Have you had this problem before? Is it possible you sent the wrong boot?
Seems like the gods don’t want me to have this boot .. been almost 2 years now of trying to get such a simple repair done.
Bruce Harling
Good morning Bruce
That boot is the only part # for all Esprits,1977-2004.I know the bottom hole is small and has to be forced over or trimmed to fit.The upper.large diameter is free floating to just seal on the underside of the trimmed boot.I still don't know why they are that expensive(we are looking at having them made right now)because Lotus doesn't really mark their parts up very much.Meaning it costs Lotus a lot.We want to have ours larger on the upper diameter for a trim to fit positive seal.
Jeff
Jeff,
The boot needs to make an airtight seal between the body ( tunnel) and the shifter Handle. If not airtight then exhaust gasses enter the cabin. I don’t know what you mean by Free Floating on the boot.
The entire part you sent is really quite different than the original one. There is a ring with 6 screws that mean to hold the rubber tight to the tunnel. The boot is mean to have a flat base and spread out under the ring and have 6 holes in it for the screws to pass through.
I don’t know what happened…. The part is clearly not the same as is needed,,, if u are just selling a supposed Lotus part then I think you need to talk to you supplier and find out what has gone wrong. The part that you sent me was clearly hand trimmed from a bigger piece of rubber. There are knife marks around the boot that show this.
If I stretch the boot over the shifter handle It will obviously crack when the rubber ages. Rubber can only stretch a small amount if it is going to last a long time.
On one hand I don’t want to pay such a price for a part that wont last.. On the other I want to get this done..
Can you please let me know what I should do? Can you check your stock in case my part is defective?
Can you contact your supplier and tell them that you have a customer that claims the part does not fit… ask them what to do? Can they send another? Can they offer a refund and then I can use the one you sent as a temporary solution???
Bruce
Well,we get those boots from Lotus.B082F4114F is the Lotus part number.The new"B" prefix number is supposed to be a better material.That boot is supposed to be installed with the small diameter hole at the bottom,the big diameter hole on top.Sort of upside down compared to the upper trim boot.I don't know if that will help but that's the only lower boot we ever get,and they come from Lotus.You are free to return it if that's best for you.
I don’t want to be a pain here but that makes no sense to me…
When you refer to the upper trim boot do you mean the leather shifter boot? Or are there supposed to be an upper and lower rubber boot? I don’t see this in the parts list that I have.
if I put the rubber boot on upside down then the reverse inhibit thing will be all jammed up… and that still does not address that problem that the other end of the boot is smaller than the ring that attaches it to the tunnel… are there instructions that come with this new upside down installation? Do you have a picture of how it is installed?
I think that I have been extremely patient here with you on this and I am doing my best not to get frustrated.
I ordered this part from you back in May of 2005, after waiting for a year for the local dealer here to get one.. ( the first year of waiting is not your fault) but then somehow you did not ship it and you forgot about it for over a year.. when I reminded you I had to wait again for a boot and then pay for shipping a second time. I really don’t want to return a small piece of rubber and pay for shipping a 3rd time. That is kind of ridiculous.
Now I have this thing and I have the shifter apart and now after several messages I don’t know if I have the right part and/or how to install it…
What is the big diameter supposed to measure? There is the possibility that the boot you sent me is badly cut and is defective.
Bruce
----------- end Quote ---------------------
it's impossible for that lotus part to fit cars from 1977 - 2004. on the original vehicles, both the leather cover and the gaiter dip down in center, making a concave shape; quite the opposite of the later cars.
i've bought far too many genuine lotus parts which JAE were told fit my vehicle that had to be mailed back. it cost me the return shipping, and cost JAE even more i suppose. it's up to lotus to provide acurate information about the compatibility of the parts bearing their name on the packaging.
and why does the exhaust gas need to come up through the center tunnel? that is entirely avoidable in the hands of a qualified engineer.
i've bought far too many genuine lotus parts which JAE were told fit my vehicle that had to be mailed back. it cost me the return shipping, and cost JAE even more i suppose. it's up to lotus to provide acurate information about the compatibility of the parts bearing their name on the packaging.
and why does the exhaust gas need to come up through the center tunnel? that is entirely avoidable in the hands of a qualified engineer.
teigan said:
it's impossible for that lotus part to fit cars from 1977 - 2004. on the original vehicles, both the leather cover and the gaiter dip down in center, making a concave shape; quite the opposite of the later cars.
i've bought far too many genuine lotus parts which JAE were told fit my vehicle that had to be mailed back. it cost me the return shipping, and cost JAE even more i suppose. it's up to lotus to provide acurate information about the compatibility of the parts bearing their name on the packaging.
and why does the exhaust gas need to come up through the center tunnel? that is entirely avoidable in the hands of a qualified engineer.
i've bought far too many genuine lotus parts which JAE were told fit my vehicle that had to be mailed back. it cost me the return shipping, and cost JAE even more i suppose. it's up to lotus to provide acurate information about the compatibility of the parts bearing their name on the packaging.
and why does the exhaust gas need to come up through the center tunnel? that is entirely avoidable in the hands of a qualified engineer.
My car is missing the leather gaiter altogether and the rubber one is severely split. I don't notice exhaust fumes entering the cabin although there is a marked draught of hot air, I presume from the coolant pipes passing through the tunnel...
Incidentally the rubber gaiter appears to be a fairly normal item, I guess the reason it's inverted in the middle is because you push it down the gearshift to make it so
I seem to recall the last time I saw a gearshift gaiter this shape it was on a 1970-ish Ford Escort van
an aerodynamic car that generates downforce should have negative pressure under the car. that means that on one hand it should suck air down from the cockpit.. on the other hand it can suck exhaust gas under the car from the rear.. where it ends up will depend on the pressures under the car.. there is no question that I get smelly stuff in through the gaitor... when i tape my torn one up with duct tape the car smells like leather inside.. when it gets a leak in it, i smell exhaust..
I tried for a year - visiting the dearer monthly trying to order this part.. they were useless.... now a year waiting from JAE... and fer f's sake. I am 2 years into the problem and I am not a single step farther forward than before.
I have heard a Jeep CJ gaitor. works better. SHEESH>>>>
B
I tried for a year - visiting the dearer monthly trying to order this part.. they were useless.... now a year waiting from JAE... and fer f's sake. I am 2 years into the problem and I am not a single step farther forward than before.
I have heard a Jeep CJ gaitor. works better. SHEESH>>>>
B
Can you post a pic of the rubber gaiter you have?
I replaced mine a couple of years ago and it is similar to what you describe. You have to trim the small hole slightly and use a lubricant like dish soap to slide it over the gearshift knob. There were no holes in the bottom edge, those are made by you when you screw it in with the trim ring. I remember having to stretch the bottom slightly but not a lot to get it under the trim ring.
If it's that big of a problem send it back, get your refund and buy the CJ one, it works.
I replaced mine a couple of years ago and it is similar to what you describe. You have to trim the small hole slightly and use a lubricant like dish soap to slide it over the gearshift knob. There were no holes in the bottom edge, those are made by you when you screw it in with the trim ring. I remember having to stretch the bottom slightly but not a lot to get it under the trim ring.
If it's that big of a problem send it back, get your refund and buy the CJ one, it works.
I decided to use the boot as is... I removed the reverse inhibit stuff from the shifter, and then was able to get the small inner hole onto the thinnest part of the shifter. I tried it upside down as suggested by JAE, but the only way it seems to work is in the standard position. I put the reverse stuff back on and screwed the ring down to the tunnel, with the boot held just inside the screw circle... I did not stretch it and poke holes in it. Looks like it will say in place the way it is. I went for a short drive (with my spare wheel - still need to find a new S4s wheel..) and was finally after 3 years able to enjoy the ride with the windows open and no exhaust gasses coming in... I acutally smelled leather ... Car back in storage for now.
Bruce
Bruce
Yhe rubber gaiter is the same one used to seal the side marker lights against moisture on the back side. If you want the exact one use the one you got from JAE to replace the side marker back cover. The reason why the top is small is all it is for is to pass 2 wires for the side marker lights. When the gaiter is used for the shift boot the top is trimmed down to make the hole larger so the stick will fit through it.
Calvin
Calvin
I found a boot from a late 80's BMW 3-series (5-speed) that looks like it will work fine. The problem with the CJ Jeep part is that the rubber is very thick, and might impede shifting a little bit. The BMW part is the thinner rubber like the original Lotus part. Worth a look if you have access to a self service wrecking yard.
The rubber boot is just one more of quite a few parts that Lotus does not seem to have a friggin' clue about. A short search through a couple different parts manuals indicates that the part is in fact the same number. However, the part is not the same. Gas caps are another example of this type of number/part error seemingly on the part of Lotus. My best guess is that the part changed with the year, but the blokes at Lotus simply "inserted" the part into the same number as the "old" car was no longer made...
At any rate, the real problem with some of this stuff is poor information on the part of Lotus coupled with a lack of knowledge regarding the differences over the years at the parts suppliers (not really a fault so much as a problem).
My car is an 88' and the rubber boot is secured with 4 screws (not 6 as some others), and must be forced over the top of the shifter. I would say it is inverted once in place.
Drive topless!!!
Cameron
At any rate, the real problem with some of this stuff is poor information on the part of Lotus coupled with a lack of knowledge regarding the differences over the years at the parts suppliers (not really a fault so much as a problem).
My car is an 88' and the rubber boot is secured with 4 screws (not 6 as some others), and must be forced over the top of the shifter. I would say it is inverted once in place.
Drive topless!!!
Cameron
Gassing Station | Esprit | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff