Summary of Dedion tube failures

[Nick Green]

Ian,

 

Are you at, er, liberty to divulge any more about the court case yet ?

 

N.

[David Ward]

OK Mike, Dave et al I'll put you out of your misery...but only if you stop being rude about my suspension 😬

 

I'm disappointed that none of the BC tech heads recognised them as Eibachs I bought them used off an SLR racer 4 years ago and on the rare occasions when my engine allows me to do anything with the car they produce a fine handling setup.

 

I hadn't appreciated the difference in their bottom mounting compared with stock(not fitted by me...) - they've got spherical joints and a spacer to "fill the gap" but I see what you mean about the longer lever. I had assumed that my 6 year old de Dion had given out just through attrition and the bum design of the add on bushes but I wonder if the setup I've got accelerared the problem

 

Unsurprisingly I can confirm what Johnty says about interesting handling and tyre wear patterns as it start to fail! Only glad they didn't pull off altogether round Coram at speed...

 

V7 HPD

 

[nickh7]

6 is mine Freestyle Avos, new Dion Tube is totally differant and I would add that the damper on the photo is at a stange angle because the tube peeled away. The mounting was identical to the original Bilstien Damper.

 

Nick h

 

 

[David Ward]

More confusion!

 

Nick I'm sure photo's 6 and 19 are mine right and left. The numbering was a bit confusing initially but I think is now clear

 

V7 HPD

 

[jerrypike]

ian

thanks for the update

as i'm listed as 6. and david's already confessed to photo 6 being his car i should say that my de dion PLATE cracked and only noticed at service-no handling problem

my car is a 1999 kit SLR (Reg 2000) which has V3 of DD tube, but changed from Bilsteins (under mount) to Nitrons (through mount)

had a good look at my tube after david e-mailed the pics of his tube (photo 6) after snett (when i was ) and all OK

hope that sorts any misunderstanding

 

jerry

[Mike Bees]

Oh lordy, I guess I've cooked my goose as far as any more cries for orthopaedic help go 😳 😬

 

Nicky - I've never seen any stock Bilsteins which aren't hard against the threaded/weld-on bush, so maybe there is some confusion over the pictures?

 

Mike

[Dartmoor7]

Is it safe to assume that if you have a car old enough to use the 'through the middle of the tube' damper mounting, rather than the awful bodged-on lower one, you are fairly safe from DD failure?

 

Jerry Parker

L7 SVN

1400 Supersport

[Graham Perry]

I would say not necessarily. Mine is of the version 2 type and after 10 years of road and sprinting but only about 9000 miles I had it crack tested and several cracks were found around the corners of the central buttress and it had rubbed on the diff slightly when I had a radius arm bush weaken which had caused a slight crack there as well.

 

Edited by - Graham Perry on 11 Nov 2005 11:00:48

[tiddy1]

I have the older tube design and mine cracked but this was due to the bolts holding the end plates on being slightly too long, the end of the bolt went through the plate and pressed against the end of the tube leading to a 2 inch crack. I drilled it and welded it up and it has been good for the last 20K miles

 

Simon

[EFA]

MIke, The stock Bilsteins have a much narrower dia body and a 1" wide bush. Those in pic 6 are much fatter and the rose joint is likley 1/2" wide.

 

I would suggest the dampers in 6 are not really suitable for mounting the way they are shown, and should use the central pick-up rather than the underslung one, assuming the damper length can accomodate the reduction in distance between the mounting centres. This is thenm much more like the setup I run, using fat body dampers. Also the large washers on either side are likley inhibiting the operation of the lower rose joint as the suspension runs through its full arc.

 

 

[Ian B]

Oh dear 😳

 

In my efforts to protect the innocent I seem to have completely mucked up the photo numbering .

 

I'll see what I can do to sort it out when I get a chance

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[Ian B]

*arrowup*BTTT.

 

Not had a chance to sort out the photo numbers yet I'm afraid 😳, however I have been, and will continue, pressing Caterham for a more accurate summary of what changes were made when, so we all have a better chance of identifying the tube type and know what to look out for.

 

First request was 8th november 2005, and I keep chasing whenever my reminder pops up!

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[Ian B]

I've added a 'Version 6' to the 1st post and the photos.

This one is known to have been manufactured in Sept 01, and was the type fitted to my SV around Dec 03.

 

I'm still chasing Caterham (since Nov 05 and now every 2 weeks!) so I can provide a more accurate list of the changes and when they were made - nothing received as yet

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

 

Edited by - Ian B on 13 Mar 2006 15:51:47

[Ian B]

BTTT - Caterham have been "double checking" the draft information against the manufacturers records for the last couple of months ☹️

 

All I can say is please check yours

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[mikevernontalktalk.net]

Ian

Have I missed something?

I thought November 9th was the big day, after which the full story and the need for all the secrecy would be revealed.

Are you going to tell us the outcome?

[Ian B]

Mike, the original thread here related to an upcoming court case I was involved in relating to an accident.

 

I didn't get round to explaining what happened in that thread, mainly as I was particularly disappointed with the court system at the time.

 

I started this thread as a reference resource to try to point people at the things to look for with their Dedion tube to give advance warning of failures (which may, or may not, have been the cause of my accident).

 

However, as you ask, and so as not to 'pollute' this thread with discussion about my court case or accident, I've summarised what happened in a new thread here (since I closed the old one 😳).

 

Hope that helps , but lets please keep this one for Dedion failure info only Thanks.

 

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[Ian B]

OK, After continued chasing since November, I've now received the list of Dedion types and modifications from Caterham, and have added it to the end of the 1st post on this thread.

 

When I get a moment I'll try to collate and cross reference the first list of 'types', and the photos, to the Caterham list.

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

 

Edited by - Ian B on 12 May 2006 17:33:09

[Alex Wong1697456877]

Interesting stuff. Thanks

[Ian B]

BTTT just in case anyone missed it Frday afternoon

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[WILL FLY]

Can't see the point of deleting the through tube mounting and why increase the width by 8mm ? was this to stop watts linkage fouling wide tyres ?

 

Roy.

[Midnight]

I think my De-dion failure was number 3 on the list. One point I would draw attention too is that the tube failed 20 minutes after havig my car MOT'd!! I was under the car with the MOT tester in the Pit and all looked perfectly fine!

Those who know my car will also know that I'm a sad twat that such is the level of care I take in looking after it, that you can actually see your face in the underside so all looked as good as new. The point I'm making is I think a failure could occur with little warning even after a careful external look at the tube. On my way TO the MOT test centre I'd been baiting a Porsch 911 on a road I know very well. Hate to think what would have happended if the tube had let go at the pace I was using then.

[Ian B]

Being a cynical chap, it's interesting to note that when Caterham were aware of many of these failures, which were due to design faults that they were responsible for, they didn't make a recall; however when there is a manufacturing fault, that they are not responsible for, they arrange a recall

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

 

Edited by - Ian B on 8 Nov 2006 17:50:37

[Johnty Lyons]

Exactly Ian my point entirely but its still not being handled correctly and far too many folk who are not directly involved are befending the factory once again. What is about Caterham owners who seem to worship at the Dartford Temple to the God who bleeds them dry and can do no wrong.

[Ian B]

Time for a BTTT for anyone whose missed it

 

 

Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳

[Dobuy]

Just had a mate of mine have his tube fail at the A-frame mount out here in Dubai. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but what is the difference between the narrow and wide buttress. His is a '94 K-Series, need to make sure we order the correct tube. Not sure if the A-Frame is OK, as he says the wheel has movedquite a lot and has a load of toe-in. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Dubai Duratec SV