Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: kram350kram on Saturday,January 01, 2022, 12:50:49 PM
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Is there a reference somewhere showing each transaxle type and where it was used? Keep seeing 336, 352, 4 speeds, 5 speeds, Renault boxes, etc... I have three boxes I would like to sell, but really know nothing about them of where they came from?
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I have this. I can't tell you much about it, what it all means, or even why I have it but you might be able to find it useful and if not, maybe someone who knows more than I can tell you about it.
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Thanks perfect! Would you know is there usually a tag, casting or stamping showing the type?
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Wow! I’m glad it was useful!
As far as I know, all Renault gearboxes come with tag that tells you all about it but keep in mind my experience is short and thin (the 365 that came with my car and the NG3 I have now). Briefly reviewing the S1/S2 manual, I don’t see a tag described but they are described in the TC supplement and in the NG3 manual so it’s possible that it it was started after a certain date.
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The tag is usually on an upper rear housing bolt.
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Should look like this.
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Lotus-europa.com has manuals online for most of the gearboxes which help to identify them
e.g. http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2work/f/index.htm#1
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Here are three transaxles that I have. Only one had a tag, 352-00. This appears to be a 5 speed. The other two look similar but no tags. Anyone know what I have there?
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Been way too long for me to recognize one on sight but if any of those are from a PRV V6 I've been trying to find another for a long time.
Not sure I still have a use for it since cutting back on projects.
No longer have the car I built using one but they will survive a 215 BOP V8.
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The first photo shows a 395-00 from a Renault 17 Gordini. It has a very nice 3.4x first gear but a bit of a jump between 3rd and 4th and a 0.9x 5th gear. You can fit a 0.86 5th gear out of a later 395.
The others are four speeds.
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I only have experience with a 365 and an NG3. None of those are familiar to me which should not be taken as evidence that none of those are either a 365 or NG3. I would say that the 352 was a 4 speed box.
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On the last three pictures I noticed the rear covers were all different. The 395 5 speed and on one (dirty unit), the rear covers seem similar in depth, so I thought maybe the real dirty one was possibility a 5 speed too? The one bolted to the engine has a much shorter rear cover, but both have a rear shift selector? Since the one attached to the engine was operating with the stock linkage I would think the deeper unit was from another model car because the shifter link would be too short with that rear cover.
The previous owner gave me a shift linkage which I would need to use with the 5 speed. It is different that the 4 speed linkage I took out of the car.
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The real dirty one could easily be a 5 speed 365-type, the one that was optional for the TC Special. Both the bulky rear cover and the Lotus shifter detent with 2 cams would indicate that. With a screwdriver in the selector shaft you should be able to find 4 selector gates for reverse, 1th/2nd, 3rd/4th and 5th gear, selectable by pulling/pushing the screwdriver (turning the selector shaft in neutral will make the detent cam swing from side to side).
It also looks like the gearbox attached to the bell housing is a 4 speed 352-type, and if so you should be able to measure the distance from the gearboxes front flange and to the selector shaft (when in neutral). The 365-type is about 1/2'' longer than the 352-type, if I remember correctly from years ago when I made the swap to 5 speeds. The rear part of the shift linkage must fit this measurement to keep the middle swivel joint perpendicular to the length axis, and that is why the rear parts are are different for the two types of boxes. (Unless of course your car is a S2 or the first types of the TC which have totally different gear linkages from the later cars, in which case my measurement ramblings are not worth much).
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The real dirty one could easily be a 5 speed 365-type, the one that was optional for the TC Special. Both the bulky rear cover and the Lotus shifter detent with 2 cams would indicate that. With a screwdriver in the selector shaft you should be able to find 4 selector gates for reverse, 1th/2nd, 3rd/4th and 5th gear, selectable by pulling/pushing the screwdriver (turning the selector shaft in neutral will make the detent cam swing from side to side).
It also looks like the gearbox attached to the bell housing is a 4 speed 352-type, and if so you should be able to measure the distance from the gearboxes front flange and to the selector shaft (when in neutral). The 365-type is about 1/2'' longer than the 352-type, if I remember correctly from years ago when I made the swap to 5 speeds. The rear part of the shift linkage must fit this measurement to keep the middle swivel joint perpendicular to the length axis, and that is why the rear parts are are different for the two types of boxes. (Unless of course your car is a S2 or the first types of the TC which have totally different gear linkages from the later cars, in which case my measurement ramblings are not worth much).
Are you saying that the rear half of the gear change rod mechanism is about 1/2" longer for the 5 speed gearbox than for the 4 speed gearbox?
I am having trouble adjusting the length on the left and right thread U/J on one of my gear change rods, so if the 4 speed is 1/2" too short, that would explain the problem. I may be trying to fit a 4 speed rod to a 5 speed gearbox.
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Yes, as far as I remember that was the case when I made the gearbox swap.
I reused the rear part for the 352-box by lengthening it the same amount as the length difference of the gearbox types.
Since the middle joint was already working perfectly, I never disassembled it and more or less concentrated on keeping the joint perpendicular.
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The dirty one definitely looks like the 365 fitted to my 73 Special, and I'm pretty sure that the difference between the 352 4 speed and 365 5 speed gear linkage is just the rear section from the bell housing to the selector shaft on the back of the gearbox. I believe the selector shaft diameter also comes in two different diameters, though dont know if this is just on the 365.
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So a 365 is a 5 speed?
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Yes I'm pretty sure the 365 was the only standard (From factory) 5 speed used on the Lotus Europa Twin Cam engined cars that had that option selected. I'm guessing that is probably most of the Specials.
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There are a number of different 365 transaxles out there: the Lotus modified one, Renault rear shift and Renault side shift.