John Vine Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 IIRC from your earlier posts, didn't your original rad have the four mounting bolts already inserted through the brackets? (That is, the rad was welded that way?)JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garybee Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Assuming the bobbins have a female thread... make a stud, thread stud into bobbin, use a nut behind the bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Thanks as always for the support. John, only the top two are already in the place the bottom two need to be inserted between the end tank. This was the same on the original rad. The following image illustrates the issue, even with the bolt cut down.I spoke to Oakmere in the end, to see what the options were, they offered a replacement rad, but also suggested grinding the bolt head, or cutting the bracket into a slot and supporting with an additional washer. I'd also thought along the same lines as GaryBee, I was going to lock tight a bolt into a bobbin and then cut the bolt head off, then insert it through and use a nut between the bracket and end tank. Ideally I wanted to use a nyloc but there didn't seem to be the space for a nyloc.In the end I went with Oakmere's suggestion of slotting the bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garybee Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 I prefer the way you did it actually. The only reason I suggested the 'stud' was that it wouldn't require you to modify the rad'. I tend to avoid fitting parts in a way that could potentially give suppliers a 'get-out' in the event their product turns out to be junk. That's just the pessimist in me though. It's good that Oakmere are happy for you to modify it to allow easy fitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 It’s hard to fathom how CC get into these quality issues and how they go on for so long. Don’t they learn at all? Not only is that a poor design in the first place they then compound the issue by executing it poorly and inconsistently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Well, full points to Oakmere for supporting the sensible, practical solution.But having to modify a brand new, CC-supplied part to get it to fit can't be the intended long-term solution. What do CC do on factory-built cars? And what rad do the latest 420 kits contain, I wonder?JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 My favorite is the fact its no longer possible to remove the font pads on the 4 pot setup without removing the caliper, because the pins holding the pads hit the wing stays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Oh, yes, that’s a good one!Added to the fact that the calliper bolts are some odd sort of Torx bolt that Torx sockets don’t quite fit properly and they use a thread locker that makes them difficult to remove even after started them off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 John, I understand all kits now have the ‘420 Race’ rad set ups as CtrMint. I don’t think we ever found out why it changed from the more simple, original, set up which seemed easier to fit and/or change and certainly seemed to work just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 John,My original radiator is the same design but didn't have this issue. It seems like a manufacturing precision and QA problem. The person that built this particular instance of the radiator created much larger welds, and the overlap between the bracket hole and the end tank seems much greater. I'm not sure why that might be, again possibly precision.I've yet to try and fit it under the nose cone........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted July 25, 2019 Area Representative Share Posted July 25, 2019 Having home built three cars I can unequivocally state that CC do not appear to carry out percentage Q&A checks on a fair number of components that are outsourced.Neither, I would imagine, do the contractors that manufacture the components to CC spec carry out continuous Q&A checks against a master jig or drawing.A 'Continuous Improvement Programme' is something CC obviously avoids.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Should you be interested, my blog post covering this activity has just gone up, hope you enjoy.https://www.caterham7diaries.com/post/caterham7-replacing-leaking-radiator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 Guess why I'm picking up this thread!!Been for another fantastic run in the car, got back into the garage and thought I'll double check everything under the bonnet following my work on pedal box cover. Also I've put a bit of heat shrink on the bonnet where it touches the cam cover, so wanted to see how that's going. Anyway I spotted some coloured spots of water down the offside chassis rail. So took the nose cone off, would you believe it!! This radiator might be leaking. Coolant in the nose cone again and spray all around the return oil cooler pipe. I'm praying its from the hose, but I don't think so. I've tightened the lower return hose. Am I incredibly unlucky or doing something wrong. I handled the radiator with such care! Not happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 My 420 would leak from the expansion tank because the hose is 19mm ID, but the expansion tank is 16mm. It would only happen when the car cooled down. It’s worth a check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 Thanks Chris.I’ve cleaned everything up and left the nose cone off. I’ll check tomorrow , see if your suggestion is likely. If not it’s another session running the car in the garage to fully pressurise the system. I think I’m going to start tracking some stats, hours spent driving vs hours spent working on the car. It will make for an interesting blog post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted August 5, 2019 Member Share Posted August 5, 2019 ... hours spent driving vs hours spent working on the car.vs hours spent writing it up for us?:-)Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve got another leaker but it’s worth checking the hose connections. I had a persistent, very small, leak from the bottom hose connection. Only stopped by sliding on a short piece of bicycle inner tube before fitting the hose. That worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve got another leaker but it’s worth checking the hose connections. I had a persistent, very small, leak from the bottom hose connection. Only stopped by sliding on a short piece of bicycle inner tube before fitting the hose. That worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtrMint Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 If it was a small leak from the union I wouldn’t be too bothered, but it’s still a pig as you can’t top up the expansion tank without removing the nose cone. Plus it means the chassis is constantly wet, not good for corrosion.I still need to identify where it’s coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 I don’t think any of the newer cars can be topped up without removing the nose. Or the oil level checked. Hopefully it’s a pipe or fitting that can be sorted easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 I don’t think any of the newer cars can be topped up without removing the nose. Or the oil level checked. Hopefully it’s a pipe or fitting that can be sorted easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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