Red hot gear stick and centre console

[murrayarnold]

Good day all.
This is an issue i noticed a few years ago before the car went off the road for a transformation. I have put it back on the road this week and after an average run noticed the heat coming through the center console and the gear stick getting extremely hot. my first thought was the exhaust but after thinking it through i have ruled this out as i believe the heat from the exhaust will be expelled by the car simply driving and the wind blowing the heat out the rear of the car. So i am off the thought that the heat is being generated by the gearbox. If so then my next thought is the fluid needs changed.
Am i the only one experiencing this problem. Also does anyone have any pointers regarding this issue.

thanks guys for any positive feedback.

[RRoller123]

Heat in the gearbox only can come from friction (no combustion in there), so you are right that it points to the lubricant as being a likely cause. I like the Redline MT90, amazingly slick stuff. Maybe the level is low or the lube is completely broken down.

[4uall]

Like RRoller123 said I would start with this

http://wwwe.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopi ... ansmission

then cover the tranny hump/floor with this

http://wwwe.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopi ... ilit=floor

[murrayarnold]

I was just reading on one of the links you attached and found some people are installing silver foiled insulation with the foil side facing into the cabin. If its double sided foil then this is fine. If its single sided foil then this should absolutely be reversed. The foil side should be down. I am in construction and this is a huge failing of many people who install single sided foil insulation. The foil is a thermal reflector. Its not there to look pretty and stop your hands getting dirty. Its specifically designed to reflect thermal heat back in the direction it came from. Hence the reason it goes face down on the floor. I have even seen it been installed wrongly on custom car programs. Oh yes, it looks great. But your loosing the efficiency by wrongly installing. Thermal reflection is not the same as direct sun reflection.
A good example of its use so you understand is putting a panel of cardboard at the back of a wall mounted radiator and wrapping it in tinfoil. This is only required where some poorly installed radiator has been mounted directly under a window or outside wall. This cheep remedy reflects the heat from the radiator back into the room making it more eficient.
I hope that's understandable.
So to summarize. If its only single sided insulation and your trying to keep heat OUT of your cabin. Make sure the foil faces the source of the heat.

[weekend warrior]

Have you noticed if it only happens when the windows are down?

[djape1977]

most of the heat is comung from the hot air flowing around engine and tru transmission tunnel. just install all the factory parts that insulate pasanger space from the gearbox and hot air won't get into centre console.
hot gearstick is mainly because of lack of rubber and plastic bushings in between shifter and gearstick

[leeputmanjr]

I had this issue with my '83 Spider, turns out it was missing it's inner shifter boot.

Replacing that solved the issue

[RRoller123]

Keeps the stink out too, what a difference it made in my 80 FI!

[vandor]

If the exhaust runs next to the transmission like on the non-catalyst Spiders then it is also heat from the exhaust. I drove a long trip during a hot summer and only had a layer of carpet on the floor. The passenger side got so hot my GF could not keep her legs there. The driver's side was not that hot.
The exhaust pipe was 5-6cm from the body and I would have thought that air flowing under that car would keep the floor cool, but apparently not. Maybe it was because the air flowing there had already gone through the radiator.

[murrayarnold]

loads of helpful info guys. Sounds like a multitude of issues cause the additional heat. I was especially interested to hear the passenger side was so hot your girlfriend could not keep her legs there. Where exactly did she then put them

Ok so back on the serious side. I need to do all of the following to ensure a cool cabin. ( by the way, the windows are constantly down)

1. foil thermal reflective heat insulation on the floor.
2. wrap the exhaust under the floor in asbestos wrap or paint with ceramic paint.
3. install a rubber gator between the shifter half that exits the box and the other half with the knob attached ( that's not me by the way, its the round bit on the end

All these together should ensure a cool cabin. And seeing they are warm weather used cars a cool cabin is preferable.

Thanks guys. Oh i will also hunt down some MT90 for added measure.