pinkprincess Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Not quite a 'consumable' item at the 12k service but needs checking Not having had the lump apart since dropping it into the chassis I've no idea what this does, where it is and why it needs checking/changing. Or, is it absolutely urgent to change it or can it be inspected first? If it's OK what should it look like? I don't expect there'll be any clues in the build manual (sorry, assembly guide) TIA RW04FUN Edited by - Rich Watson on 9 Oct 2006 22:22:51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Opens can of worms, stands well back... 😳 Replace it, or bin it. It is supposed to stop oil surge/starvation, but if it breaks up, can block your oil pick up strainer and ruin your engine. Search tech talk and see a whole range of opinions. I still have mine in, and never had a problem with it so far after 50k miles. Only dead fish go with the flow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkprincess Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 Ah, just found a picture of one trawling around the 'net and have a better idea now. Looks 'sump-floor'-sized. Getting warmer? RW04FUN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 If you decide to keep it, change it every 12,000 miles minimum. Look at Myles's website here for some detail. Only dead fish go with the flow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Myles says: "Add lightness"... 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 Alcester Racing 7s Equipe™ 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 Alcester-Racing-Sevens.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 There's a photo of my old one that I changed at 10000 miles. It for a VX XE. No signs of it breaking up - it was like new, apart from being oily. Photo here Hants (north) / Berkshire club here Area meeting pics here My Racing here Edited by - stevefoster on 10 Oct 2006 08:47:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild bill Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Rich If you're inspecting the foam any way you might as well change it as apparemtly they can become brittle after a long time and break up, blocking the oil feed pipe. Better to have piece of mind i suppose. How likely it is to break up i've no idea it could be a vicious rumour. Someone will be along in a minute to tell you to do away with it, spend £1600 and have a dry sump but i've caned my car for 15000 miles and done 4/5 trackdays, BUT changed oil often and it runs as sweet as a nut Touchwood. Also if the worst happened a new bottom end is cheaper than alot of other options. I'd only change it if the sump is off anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mav Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Rich, I change mine annually regardless of mileage, and have so far not had any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irrotational Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I've read quite a few of the old threads on sump foam... and answers are either:- 1 its evil - take it out now! 2 - ive used it for x thousand miles and its fine. has anyone taken it out and then had problems? Specifically people without helier baffles? fwiw my car has had it in for at least 20k miles (with replacements) and hasn't had any problems, but as no-one knows exactly why it breaks theres no guarantee that it wont dissapear in the future. just want to double/triple/quadruple check before i take mine out this weekend....(and drill holes in my gasket....) --- this is a local sig for local people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 You can see the miles we do - we took ours out when we first took the sump off (no idea when, but a good 50,000 miles ago) and it had not broken up, but was the 'consistancy' of crispy chinese seaweed, and crumbled in the hand. We took it out and have never replaced it. It is a bizarre thing - it is often found sandwiched between the underside of the main block (not sure what the part is called, but it is the casting with the 'k' that gives the engine its name!) and the sandwich plate. I suspect people assume (before seeing it) that the foam baffle sits in the bottom of the sump and stops sloshing of oil - it seems that it is more of a 'splash absorber' from oil being churned by the crank above... ..as you have already noticed there is a wide mix of opinion/experience, with no 'definitive' answer (which helps!) Order a new one from caterham (only a couple of guide) then assess what your old one looks like when you see it - then either put the new one back in, or leave ut without - wouldn't recommend putting the 'old' one back in though, as it will have been 'disturbed', IYSWIM. www.mycaterham.com here Videos here 96,000 miles -1st 1.6k Supersport, '95 Motor Show car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irrotational Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 So surge problems (if i have any) shouldn't get any worse than they are at the moment.... I haven't noticed low pressures whilst on track, so may well take it out and then get my next passenger to monitor carefully as we go round. shouldn't make any difference for road use anyway? cheers angus! --- this is a local sig for local people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I have rebuilt engines were it has failed "big time" in just a few month. It would seem that the item has a questionable pedigree, with some owners finding it survives for its intended period and other suffering the calamity of it failing. It you want to risk oil starvation from "seaweed" poisoning, then fit it, if not... bin it. JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotus Boy Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I had mine changed at the beginning of the year (C20XE) after discovering that it had never been changed since new and its a 1994 car I have owned the car for two years, the previous owner who built it wasn't aware that the serviceable item existed. It had reduced itself to hard seaweed that had clearly begun breaking up, when we took it out it disintegrated in our hands. I had a problem with the oil pressure reading on last years Swiss trip and wonder if it was down to some cr4p blocking the pipe. Anyway we flushed the engine through and replaced. I will now change it every year or two. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Mine disintegrated after 2 weeks and clogged the oil pickup pipe. Another alias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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