Transmission Tunnel/Gearlever heating up

[colin.newton@boc.com]

Is it normal for the transmission tunnel and gearlever to heat up on an Esprit ?

I have a 1990 carb Stephens and it happens after aboout 10 miles or so

Regards

Colin

[Bibs]

No - ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!

PS That means your thermostat is open, the water pipes from the engine run to the rad through there, it's perfectly normal!

[ozontour]

Yep

sure is mate

to my knowledge they all do it. you can put some additional insulation in the tub an make sure that the gator/boot aroudn teh gearknob is not leaking heat to the cabin but not sure you canfully illiminate

HTH

Justin

...oh...maybe i am wrong?

mine has always done it Bibs, I have a thermostat fitted, is there a possibility of something else or is it operational?

Justin

[Qavion]

and make sure that the gator/boot around the gearknob is not leaking heat to the cabin

Apart from the leather gaiter, there is a neoprene gaiter underneath. Sometimes this is missing (too hard to fit back on.. or has been torn). The metal collar which holds the neoprene gaiter in place has serrations on it.. and eventually, it tears the neoprene.

I replaced my neoprene gaiter recently which I bought from a Lotus stockist, but it was a poor fit (the hole wasn't big enough to go over the lever... and it had no holes for the mounting screws. You have to be very careful what you use to make new holes).

[Road Stone]

I too get nice warm air coming up through the gator, which is not so welcome at the moment given the temps here in Brisbane at the moment!

Cheers, Jerry

[CNH]

If you use the OEM rubber gaiter the hole that the gear shift level goes through will have to be enlarged. The gaiter has 2 uses in a Esprit. the 1st for the shifter and the 2nd as a back seal or cover for the side marker lights on the inside face of the body. The hole is small so the power wire for the lights pass through the opening, when used for the shifter one usually enlarges the hole.

[colin.newton@boc.com]

Thanks guys

I'm planning to change the gear knob in the new year so I'll get a rubber gaiter and do it at the same time

Regards

Colin

[waynef]

If you do change the gear knob be careful which one you opt for.

I went for a really nice brushed aluminium one. The only draw back is in the summer it heats up so much its uncomfortable to hold. But me being me the looks outweigh the discomfort so I still have it three years on.

Yep as the others have said perfectly normal.

Waynef

[colin.newton@boc.com]

Great, super, smashing

Lovely brushed aluminuim gear knob sitting in the garage and its gonna be too hot to use !

I wonder if putting a cold air feed up into the transmission tunnel will help or perhaps I should just wear gloves

Regards

Colin

[Daniel]

You don't get the problem on the aluminium gear knob in the sport 350.......there must be a reason

[ozontour]

I have a custome made Aluminium knob that i put a poly plastic sleeve into to insulate the issue and this seems to have worked fine.

The only exception being that when the car sits in the sun for a period of time, ( anything over a minute), it does get a bit hot. I usually get around this by putting a small felt bag with a drawstring on it. this is the bag that my portable sat nav came in.

I dont think its any more inconvenient than how hot the steering wheel gets when left in the sun

Justin

[colin.newton@boc.com]

Oh well, let you know how it is when I put it on in the new year, As per waynef I think the look potentially outweighs the mild (?) discomfort

Have a good xmas all

Regards

Colin

[Glyn Harper]

The problem with the alumiunium gearnob is not getting too hot.. It's getting too cold at this time of year! Leave the car parked outside at night, and your hand more or less sticks to it in the morning.

[fflyingdog]

Is it me or does this thread slightly err...........................i mean all this talk of knobs getting hot or cold is a bit err worrying personally i like my leather one........

Merry Christmas all !

[ozontour]

I must admit, it does conscern me too. i wasnt going to mention the original one, you know the woody one?

there were no issues with it apart from the fact it looked like it came from a circa 1960's Elan... oh hang on I think it did

Justin