graearea Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 so my car is about to fit 60k miles (thanks John Aston! :D) and my last oil change there was fine shavings on the magnetic plugI'm thinking maybe I should get the bottom end checked out and so I was thinking of removing the engine and taking it up to Rob at RatRace. or should I just drop the sump and have a look? I'm about to drop the oil out so I was going to have a look at the oil before making a decisionanyone seen any guides to remove/replace a duratec from a metric R400? is it easy? I assume I need a engine crane, some ratchet straps and a torque wrench. I was going to buy a 2nd hand one and then sell it again, or just check the club list to see if anyone local has one.thanks!J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 That looks perfectly normal to me, and shows the mag plug is doing what it should be doing. You don't appear to have any larger lumps of bearing materials or anything else. Its looks like simply fine metal particles in oil. Wipe it clean and monitor it would be my suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 just found this!https://www.caterhamlotus7.club/guides/technical-guides/removing-and-reinstalling-duratec-engine-and-gearbox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 #3 I was about to post a link to my Guide (R400D) but you've found it anyway.The job isn't difficult, provided you've got a good selection of tools. A load-leveller for the engine crane helps a lot. Lifting eyes are a bonus (IME fitted to kit-supplied cars only). I removed my engine and gearbox as a unit as the object was to get the box refurbished.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted August 4, 2023 Leadership Team Share Posted August 4, 2023 I agree with Tom, wipe it clean with a clean cloth and inspect what you have on the cloth rather than the magnetic plug which always makes it look worse than it is.Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amos91 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Drop the oil and send a sample off to Motul or similar for analysis. Will give you some idea on engine health before removing it for rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Lots of the bearing material is not magnetic - if you're down to the steel backing then its seriously worn!Not saying its this just that slightly worn bearings won't appear as debris on a magnetic sump plug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative paul richards Posted August 5, 2023 Area Representative Share Posted August 5, 2023 60k miles - just run in! Change the oil. Clean the sump plug. Away you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 One health check with the Duratec that could be worthwhile is checking the inlet valve spring tension vs the exhaust valves. As detailed in my engine failure thread (https://www.caterhamlotus7.club/comment/2421006#comment-2421006), all 8 of my inlet valve springs had suffered spring resonance fatigue failure with 30,000 road and 10,000 track kilometres. This condition looks to be a spring and inlet valve weight mismatch problem for cars that had the same cam and valve springs as my 2012 R400 Duratec. Removing the cam cover and pressing down on the bucket tappets should reveal whether the springs are 5mm or so shorter than they should be due to most of the spring sitting on the broken 1.25 turns of the bottom part of the coil.I didn't notice any engine performance change due to the springs still holding the valves closed, until one spring suffered a second break and the valve dropped in to the cylinder, but small particles of steel from the spring breaks could show up on an oil drain magnetic plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted August 16, 2023 Author Share Posted August 16, 2023 So. I made a massive mistake. That's not the sump plug. That's a diff plug. I dropped the oil this week and the duratec doesn't have a flippin magnetic sump plug. Anyone know if one exists for a wet redline duratec sump? Raceline say no. I'm sending some oil off to millers for analysis this week so hopefully that'll come back clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 If you determine the thread, just buy a magnetic sump plug anywhere on line. Nothing magical about it being in a Caterham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted August 16, 2023 Area Representative Share Posted August 16, 2023 Just finings on the mag plug. Clean it & change the oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 #10 I'm confused now. Are you saying that the engine is no longer suspect, or are you getting the oil analysed just in case? As for the diff plug, that oil looks very black in the pic. Do you have an LSD? A Titan, perhaps?JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 the photo of the magplug was my diff plug from 3 months ago that I'd forgotten that I'd changed the diff oil (suspected quaife diff).the engine oil is with millers now getting checked and I'm waiting on a oil filter and the report before I put the oil back in.the lack of a magplug for the duratec is pretty annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 #14 If you have a Quaife ATB (as I do in my 2008 R400D), I'd be very surprised to hear that it was giving trouble. They're generally regarded as "fit and forget".This website explains how to tell whether or not you have a Quaife.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 Not having problems with the quaife apart from it not working on fast exits of corners. But that's a quaife for you :( same in both the cars I've had them in. Unweight the inside wheel and it just doesn't lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 #16 Well, the Quaife ATB was never intended to work that way. It's a torque biaser, not an LSD.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted August 20, 2023 Author Share Posted August 20, 2023 they're great on road but not amazing on track. I had one in my 130i and it was the same. not always great traction out of corners. which is exactly what they're supposed to be for.A Tracsport is on the cards eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted August 21, 2023 Area Representative Share Posted August 21, 2023 #18 graearea - Good choice of limited slip unit. You will not be disappointed.I would recommend putting the change in your diary as Steve Perks is a one man band so lead in times can be up to three weeks or more as his products are popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakman Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 If you want an ATB diff, try these.http://www.wavetrac.net/different/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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