Loose Nose Cone?

[revilla]

Having just got my car back from Caterham Midlands who fitted a new sump, I've noticed that the nose cone seems to be rather loosely attached, in that you can lift the front edge of it up and down by a couple of inches. Is this normal or should I worry about bolts missed out? How is the nose cone normally attached? Not had the car long enough to know whether it was like this before it went in.

[Jonathan Kay]

There are four Dzus fasteners, each of which should be tight. There won't be any play between the nose cone and the rest of the car when they're done up.

 

Jonathan

[spiderlane]

Hi revilla

 

Depends upon the age of the car. My first Caterham (SV, 2004 vintage) had no fasteners at the bottom; the nosecone just rested on the horizontal chassis rail. It moved alarmingly when you rattled the nosecone about, but never came off. My current Caterham (SV, 2010 vintage) has dzus fasteners at the bottom which make the whole arrangement much more stable.

 

Suggest checking if you've got fasteners which haven't been done up properly.

 

Cheers

Mark

[revilla]

Thanks guys for your prompt replies. Mine is a 2005 SV VVC and I think it's just like your 2004 Mark - I can find two Dzus fasteners at the top (which are done up properly) but nothing at the bottom. No fasteners in the cone and no mounting points on the chassis. Like you say it just rests on the chassis rail and to an extent can pivot around thew two top fasteners. Seems a bit of an odd way to do it, but if that's how it's supposed to be, I'll stop worrying!

[spiderlane]

Agreed it does seem a bit of a poor arrangement. I assume when they made the change to metric chassis, they took the opportunity to do something about it and added the lower fasteners.

 

On my earlier car it started to rub the powder coat off the chassis rail, so I added some foam strip for the nosecone to rest on which improved the situation a bit.

 

Is yours an SV? I seem to recall that this fixing method was only used for SVs (but could be wrong). EDIT : just re-read your post, yours is an SV.

 

Cheers

Mark

 

 

 

 

Edit : typos.

 

Edited by - spiderlane on 9 Sep 2012 08:54:21

 

Edited by - spiderlane on 9 Sep 2012 08:57:26

[kenny.]

It must have just been the early-mid 2000 cars that only had the 2 zeus arrangement then.

[Roadsport06]

April 2006 car here with the fasteners at the bottom. (Imperial Arch chassis)

[Nick Chan]

If it rattles a lot and you are concerned, you could drill two small holes in the lugs and nosecone and use a couple of small cable ties to secure it. Just remember to carry a couple of spare ties and a pair of clippers if you have to remove the 'cone whilst you are out.

 

Nick

[spiderlane]

@Roadsport06 - SV or S3?

 

 

[Roadsport06]

I'm SV but the car is S3.

[Grubbster]

My 2003 S3 has the 2 lower fasteners, on the new cars it looks like the nose hooks round the lower chassis rail somehow, it also covers the lower wishbone bolt heads as well.

[kenny.]

Weird this. My 2002 SLR (S3) was the only 7 I've ever had with just 2 fasteners..........however it did hold itself as you say on the chassis rail and the 2 side mounted zeus completed the job................Having said that I never do the 2 underneath fasteners up anyway on the cars that have them.

[Surreptitious]

You could always bend the lower mounting tabs up very slightly and have the lower edge of the nosecone fit underneath them.

 

[Jerry Auton]

My 2005 SV has four fastners & fits under the chassis rail at the bottom. Have stopped using the bottom two (one did not line up & was pig to do up) & padded it out with foam strip - nice & snug and easier to remove now.

[Ian B]

Original SV's (and nosecones) just rested on the bottom chassis rail, no fasteners present.

Nose moved around a lot when the bonnet wasn't on, but when the bonnet was done up the movement was much reduced and it didn't 'rattle'.

 

Current SV nosecones have been redesigned (different shape grille and opening so old grilles don't fit new nosecones ) and have no lip at the bottom and two fasteners.

I understand no 'original' SV nosecones are now available so if you need a new one you have to have the lower fasteners added to the chassis (and a new grille as well).

 

[NickK123]

I have an older SV which had just 2 Zeus fasteners at the top and a lip on the nosecone which engaged on the cross member . It did move about but tightened up with the bonnet on - as mentioned on previous posts. My point in posting was to highlight that owing to an unfortunate incident, I had to have a new nosecone replaced. The older type is no longer available; hence, the new type was fitted, with brackets made up for the lower Zeus fasteners.

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

I have a split length of heater hose over the front chassis tube on my 2002 SV - this helps stop the nosecone rattling around too much.