Exige Gearbox Problem when hot (downshifting into second)
Discussion
Really hoping someone out there can help.
I have bought a 2007 Exige S. It has been tuned by Lotus in Holland by its previous owner. Not sure what power it is running but it started out as a 220 and was charge cooled, had injectors changed, smaller pulley etc etc. Only relevance to my issue is that as a result of the tuning it is probably putting more torque into the 'box and the engine bay is heating more than a standard S.
Also I am from Malta which is HOT (hovering around 38 degrees celsius today for example).
the problem is that after half an hour of driving, downshifting into second becomes nearly impossible. Then after a further quarter of an hour, the whole gearbox becomes very stiff especially in the traffic. Once i start driving again, the second gear still has a problem but other gears seem ok except first and reverse which become very very difficult to select. It seems like shifting towards the left side of the gear lever becomes problematic in general and i have to push even further left. There comes a point when reverse crunches to go in after struggling with it.
I might have two problems - synchro on second is dead so when oil loses viscosity second gear just becomes problematic. But as to the other gears? it is a mystery to me (and the several mechanics engineers who have helped out on my car).
I have changed clutch, pressure plate and clutch slave cylinder.
I have heat wrapped the gear linkages cables at the side of the engine/box.
I have used race spec transmission fluid (Motul).
I have removed the pipes which push against the yellow zinc coated weight near the linkages at the side of the engine.
NO IMPROVEMENT
1. What could it be?
2. Why does it only do it when hot?????
Had a track day a few months back and it would only give me one lap on the track before jamming.
I am seriously disappointed in this car. Did not expect a Lotus to have such a primitive 'box and gear-shifting mechanism.
Shall be shipping it to Greg at Hangar 111 with the hope that he can fix it once and for all.
Ta.
I have bought a 2007 Exige S. It has been tuned by Lotus in Holland by its previous owner. Not sure what power it is running but it started out as a 220 and was charge cooled, had injectors changed, smaller pulley etc etc. Only relevance to my issue is that as a result of the tuning it is probably putting more torque into the 'box and the engine bay is heating more than a standard S.
Also I am from Malta which is HOT (hovering around 38 degrees celsius today for example).
the problem is that after half an hour of driving, downshifting into second becomes nearly impossible. Then after a further quarter of an hour, the whole gearbox becomes very stiff especially in the traffic. Once i start driving again, the second gear still has a problem but other gears seem ok except first and reverse which become very very difficult to select. It seems like shifting towards the left side of the gear lever becomes problematic in general and i have to push even further left. There comes a point when reverse crunches to go in after struggling with it.
I might have two problems - synchro on second is dead so when oil loses viscosity second gear just becomes problematic. But as to the other gears? it is a mystery to me (and the several mechanics engineers who have helped out on my car).
I have changed clutch, pressure plate and clutch slave cylinder.
I have heat wrapped the gear linkages cables at the side of the engine/box.
I have used race spec transmission fluid (Motul).
I have removed the pipes which push against the yellow zinc coated weight near the linkages at the side of the engine.
NO IMPROVEMENT
1. What could it be?
2. Why does it only do it when hot?????
Had a track day a few months back and it would only give me one lap on the track before jamming.
I am seriously disappointed in this car. Did not expect a Lotus to have such a primitive 'box and gear-shifting mechanism.
Shall be shipping it to Greg at Hangar 111 with the hope that he can fix it once and for all.
Ta.
scode said:
sounds like your car will be pushing out 300bhp, in which case gearbox problems are only a matter of time. normally 3rd gear goes first though
on exiges.com they seem to think the best bet is to cool the gearbox as much as possible, obviously tricky given your location.
Am still awaiting exiges.com membership on exiges.com they seem to think the best bet is to cool the gearbox as much as possible, obviously tricky given your location.
Apparently EVERYTHING to do with Lotus means time, money or most often both!Dear all I have read the replies with interest and I shall try and include my response to all in bullet form. I have spent literally sleepless nights scouring all possible forums in my research on the subject and to save you all a lot of time the following are my findings:
1. The 2ZZ gearbox was taken straight from Toyota and put on the Exige without modifications. It was therefore tried and tested by Toyota for up to 190 BHP Natural Aspirated. Same for torque which is even more relevant to this topic.
2. The Linkages were developed by Lotus and are very poorly heat wrapped.
3. The synchros are referred to on most forums as 'made of cheese'. They speak matter of factly about WHEN not IF the 'box gives in on a supercharged car.
4. Generally synchros and third and fourth gear are most common failures. However second gear syncrhro known to fail (tell me about it).
5. Uprating oil can help but will not solve the problem.
6. The only real alternative gearboxes are another Corolla gearbox which has a slightly longer final gear (and is just as fragile but costs less to replace) and the E153 gearbox from the MR2 Turbo which needs quite a lot of power to work properly and it is 5 gear which is ok for circuit use. alternatively you can go the expensive route and custom fit an Audi or Honda gearbox. Eliseparts had a Honda adaptor kit launched las year but not sure whether it is still in production.
7. General consensus is that a gearbox oil cooler can help a lot towards preventing damages.
8. There is no 100% reliable solution as yet.
9. Linkages are extremely expensive to replace.
Truth be said. It is a fantastic car but I am extremely disappointed in Lotus for a number of reasons. I was prepared to compromise on the build quality to have a fantastic handling car but the fact that I cannot even use it at its limits pretty much makes the car useless to me. I come from a Honda S2000 which didn't have a fraction of the handling of the Exige but at least I could literally do over a hundred laps in a day in scorching temperatures and then just drive the car home without missing as much as a single beat.
I am a happy Lotus owner don't get me wrong. But i am also tired of trying to solve issue after issue rather than enjoying what could potentially be a fantastic car.
1. The 2ZZ gearbox was taken straight from Toyota and put on the Exige without modifications. It was therefore tried and tested by Toyota for up to 190 BHP Natural Aspirated. Same for torque which is even more relevant to this topic.
2. The Linkages were developed by Lotus and are very poorly heat wrapped.
3. The synchros are referred to on most forums as 'made of cheese'. They speak matter of factly about WHEN not IF the 'box gives in on a supercharged car.
4. Generally synchros and third and fourth gear are most common failures. However second gear syncrhro known to fail (tell me about it).
5. Uprating oil can help but will not solve the problem.
6. The only real alternative gearboxes are another Corolla gearbox which has a slightly longer final gear (and is just as fragile but costs less to replace) and the E153 gearbox from the MR2 Turbo which needs quite a lot of power to work properly and it is 5 gear which is ok for circuit use. alternatively you can go the expensive route and custom fit an Audi or Honda gearbox. Eliseparts had a Honda adaptor kit launched las year but not sure whether it is still in production.
7. General consensus is that a gearbox oil cooler can help a lot towards preventing damages.
8. There is no 100% reliable solution as yet.
9. Linkages are extremely expensive to replace.
Truth be said. It is a fantastic car but I am extremely disappointed in Lotus for a number of reasons. I was prepared to compromise on the build quality to have a fantastic handling car but the fact that I cannot even use it at its limits pretty much makes the car useless to me. I come from a Honda S2000 which didn't have a fraction of the handling of the Exige but at least I could literally do over a hundred laps in a day in scorching temperatures and then just drive the car home without missing as much as a single beat.
I am a happy Lotus owner don't get me wrong. But i am also tired of trying to solve issue after issue rather than enjoying what could potentially be a fantastic car.
Car has been shipped to the Uk and today Greg from Hangar 111 starts work on the 'box. I decided to go for jubu 3rd and 4th, synchro replacement, new cables and a gearbox cooler. Shall also be installing a limited slip while we're at it and a truleo quick shifter. Fingers super crossed! Will keep you all updated and thanks a lot to all of you for the input.
UPDATE - Problem finally solved!!!!
It was the slave cylinder bolted to the gearbox with the wrong bolts which were slightly long. When the gearbox heated, the bolts expanded and the motion of the slave cylinder was compromised so the clutch was not disengaging properly.
Hope this helps someone out there as it has been months and months of sagas before finally finding the problem.
It was the slave cylinder bolted to the gearbox with the wrong bolts which were slightly long. When the gearbox heated, the bolts expanded and the motion of the slave cylinder was compromised so the clutch was not disengaging properly.
Hope this helps someone out there as it has been months and months of sagas before finally finding the problem.
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