I have located a used ball end assembly with bolt intact, but is is quite expensive and I cannot find a “lock washer,” one of which was missing from my assembly.
So, I’m thinking about replacing the entire assembly with a direct lever assembly that eliminates the “anti-sizzle” bushing. I understand this direct lever arrangement is more common in racing Elan’s.
Does anyone have experience using the direct lever for street driving in terms of vibration and noise? If so, can you describe the level of noise and vibration for the direct lever and how it differs from the anti-sizzle?
For what it is worth, I tend to generally like more direct mechanical connections and often favor them over connections that provide additional comfort and isolation from noise and vibration.
I have an Alan Voigts T9 conversion, which is basically a development of the original Lotus/Ford gearbox. My gear lever is welded solid, and does not have an ‘Anti sizzle’ bush. There is no vibration at all.
I fitted a couple of discarded copper spark plug washers either side of the rubber bonded insert in my S4 gearstick within a few days of building it from a kit. I prefer the direct feel and have never been aware of any sizzle. For any purists, its reversible anyway.
Brilliant. Thanks to you both. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. I am leaning heavily toward doing this, but solicit anyone else’s experience on the subject.
Cheers,
-John
Mine hasn`t got the anti sizzle gear lever and I think nothing about it. It just feels right to me. I do have an anti sizzle type as well, but have never thought of any reason to fit it.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC
I have both types, and would say its just a different feel, no real change in noise level.
Personally I still can’t decide which one I prefer, the solid stick does have a more confident feel, the anti sizzel can feel a little vague but does the job
Yes, I’ve gone back to the solid stick on my Sprint and…hated it! Drove me crazy on the highway with the
sizzle. Went back to the bushed, oem stick and it’s fine. Actually, thinking about it, it feels great compared
to the Lotus 5 speed box I have in the car now!
I modified my 5 speed lever mainly because of the soft rubber bush making gear changes vague, Selecting fifth gear meant the gear lever knob was almost touching the dash, and the excessive lever movement would distort the lever gaiter so it would contact a switch and operate it inadvertantly. I also wanted to keep the gear lever straight as it should be and not bent as so many are, and I also wanted to maintain its anti sizzle qualities. I therefore removed the lever and separated the two halves by destroying the rubber bush. All traces of rubber were removed from the lower half of the lever, and also from inside the upper sheath. The inside of the sheath was accurately measured and an aluminium plug was made 0.010" smaller in diameter than the sheath, giving 0.005 clearance all round. Two O ring grooves were cut and O rings fitted. These rings meant the ally plug could not touch the steel sheath so preserving the anti sizzle qualities, and the O rings being stiffer than the original bush meant a more positive change and if the O rings deflected on gear changing only 5 thou would be possible. Two 6mm grub screws were fitted between the O rings ensuring the ally plug could be securely located on to the lower shaft, then the upper shaft was pressed home. My car has had this mod for two years no problems encountered. I can’t see why a similar arrangement wouldn’t suit a four speed car.
Chris
Thanks all. I?ve decided I?m going to install the non-bushed stick this week and see how I like it. I am wondering whether different engine/transmission combos provide a different level of sizzle and vibration. Anyway, I?m going to give this a try and see how it goes. I?ll give you a report in about seven days.
Greg and Chris, I envy your five speed gearboxes! I?ll have to say, I do get a little fatigued from 4000 RPMs on the interstate. Frankly, though, it?s quite amazing it?s not much worse. These cars and their engines are absolutely incredible.
Still trying to wrestle the excessive exhaust note to the ground. Once I fix the gear shift, I?m taking my car down to the local muffler shop and have them install the smallest Thrush glass pack I could find to see if that quiet things down enough.
John, good thinking! My solid stick with my stock Sprint engine barely sizzled, not enough for concern. When I upgraded to a stroker, ie, more hp and torque, that’s when the sizzle came through.
Not based on knowledge of this particular shifter but thick. heavy, sticky grease can help. Likewise, alternate weight gear lever knobs alter the resonance factor. I think the original is small, light and made of wood. Many will have larger and heavier ones, so owners who use anything other than the OEM one might care to comment.
Derek, Thanks for your comment on the shift knob. I’ll look into that.
I’m intrigued by your “heavy, sticky grease” suggestion. I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to grease things up when I reassemble the mechanism with my direct shift lever. I assume you mean to grease all of the components I’ve circled here as I assemble, but please confirm.
Can you or anyone suggest what grease I should look for that will best accomplish our goal?
At the risk of hijacking my own thread, while we’re talking of lubrication, I’d like to change the oil in my gearbox while I’m at this. I assume I add the oil at the place indicated below, but would someone please confirm that? If so, is there a port in the side of my interior I can remove to access the fill hole? If no port, how do I get to it?
I was thinking of boat trailer wheel bearing grease. You can refill the gearbox by pouring in the measured amount down through the gearstick hole I think. Do the greasing after you have refilled the box.
John, yes, the side plug is the filler hole. I use an oil gun like the one below to fill it from beneath - but since you’ll have the gear lever out you can fill from the top. Remove the filler plug anyway, and add MTL until it flows out of the filler hole.
My understanding of the anti sizzle gear stick is that item 65x2, one top one bottom, as shown by John Beach, was to limit the movement of the bush, but give just enough compliance to stop sizzle when the leaver is not in use. I think this is what your mod achieves.
My car had been worked on before, and many of the gearstick components were missing. I didn’t realise parts were missing until someone posted this section of the parts book! I spoke to a friend whose experience and judgement I value, who explained what the various washers are for. In particular the outside diameter of item 65 needing to be a few thousandths less than the inside diameter of the gearstick where the anti sizzle bush fits.
Richard, The five speed lever is completely different from the four speed in that it is not bolted together, and items 65 x2 are not present it is a purely pressed together unit and as such has no adjustment. You are correct in assuming the nuts and washers can be used to control the amount of rubber bush flexing on the four speed lever.
Chris
On Sunday I found the time to install and test drive the new "direct’ shift lever I purchased from Ken at Dave Bean. I took Derek’s advice and, after a thorough cleaning, coated the assembly’s relevant parts with a good, thick, heavy-duty grease.
The result? In a word: Perfection. I have no vibration and no “sizzle” - up to redline in 1st through 3rd and 4,500 rpm on the nearby Interstate.
What I do have is an amazing tactile experience where I can almost feel through my finger tips every part in the transmission fitting smoothly into place every time a shift. To be clear, the experience is not harsh by any means - only completely linear and, well, direct. And, of course, with no more chance of gear lever twist!
I assume this varies from car to car, and I feel very lucky it has worked out with mine. But if your car is generally smooth with your current “anti-sizzle” gear lever, I highly recommend this modification if you need to address gear lever twist or some other issue that might call for a gear lever repair or replacement.
Thanks to each of you for your valuable input and advice.
Thanks, John, glad to hear it worked out. I think I’ve gotten my gear shift tendency to rotate solved with proper washers, but will keep this in mind if it returns.
