Ian B Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Time to bring this BTTT again for the winter checks.Apologies again that all the links and formatting in the first post have been lost in the transfer to the new website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted December 30, 2015 Member Share Posted December 30, 2015 Looks better here. Haven't checked all the links but your photos are working.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian B Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Indeed. I've just been through it again and re-added the links, but I don't have the time (or inclination TBH) to reformat it all again Hopefully it will still serve as a reminder to others to check their tubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted December 30, 2015 Area Representative Share Posted December 30, 2015 When I built my R400D in 2012 I retained the label from the Dedion which is the wide buttress type.The label states that it is an 09 Update with part number 82889? No idea what the 'updates' are but all the welded on components are VERY meaty, more so than my previous Year 2000 K Srs car.So what is a 09 updated Dedion if there is such an animal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Boing for all the newby's and those fettling after winter hibernation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Eeek this sounds worrying didn't know it was an issue to look out for, in short what should I be specifically looking for on the de-dion. The thought of the car failing while driving in this manner is slightly alarming. :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted April 7, 2016 Member Share Posted April 7, 2016 See Post #177 above.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian B Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Joseph, it depends on the age of your car (see the link in post #177 as JK suggested).The most common failure is the front of the under-dedion tube damper mount peels away from the tube as hereIt can be quite difficult to spot as it's on the front side of the dedion tube, and has the damper bolted through it, and extending upwards 'over' the crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Hi, have been under the car and got some pics, the suspension mounting to the tube points all look fine no cracks, the whole tube has very very light surface rust, it looks much worse in these pics due to the flash but still concerning, can you tell from these pics what model tube it is? I felt around the front and it has the drilled wholes that mount the pipe fittings as well. /sites/default/files/images/users/13910/IMG_1295.JPG/sites/default/files/images/users/13910/IMG_1301.JPG/sites/default/files/images/users/13910/IMG_1307.JPGThanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpa Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Hi Joseph,it looks like one of the later ones, with the extra flange supporting the front of the suspension mounting boss. The earlier ones didn't have this extra support and in extreme cases, the boss peeled away from the deDion tube.However, I'd strongly recommend getting the tube blasted and checked as soon as is practical, as that rust/bubbling could be hiding a lot. I can't recall ever seeing a tube as uniformly rusty as that..ETA - it looks like an series 5 tube, here: http://213-04.com/t.asp?id=94283HTH - Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks, it really does look a lot worse in that picture than real life, but thinking I may just get a new tube to be safe, its funny the rest of the rear and the rest of the chassis is Almost completely rust free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 My de dion failure made for some interesting handling....... /sites/default/files/images/users/5928/IMG_1657%20-%20Copy.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted April 12, 2016 Member Share Posted April 12, 2016 I can't recall ever seeing a tube as uniformly rusty as that.JosephClarke: Is this the same 7 that has the unidentified wire going to the brake calliper? What's its history?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpa Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 It could be to do with the manufacture time.When Arch made early chassis - before 2001 - the powdercoating was pretty good. There were then a few years when the coating didn't do so well and flaked/rusted.Your car/chassis may be one that lasted better - or may have been refinished at some time. The deDion is definitely newer than the car, so may be from the 'dubious' era, or could have come from a completely different car. A small concern is that your car would probably have originally had a dedion with the shock mounting through the tube instead of under it. If that is the case and you are on your original shocks, then they may not have the travel they should have. Alternatively, the shocks may have been changed when the deDion was. Re: JKs comment above - the wire in the brake pad is a depth sensor. Many pads being sold these days have the wear sensor built in, but not used in the Caterham fitment. The wire can be cut away, where it enters the side of the pad material. However, it it doesn't enter the pad, then it may be a wheel speed sensor. The pad wear wiring tends to be very short and wouldn't reach along the wishbone. A speed sensor may be behind the caliper - it would normally be mounted so that it nearly touches the heads of the bolts on the back of the disc - it counts the bolts as they past and sends a signal to a speedometer. There may have been a bike speedo on your car at some point.Cheers - Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The car is a 2002 K series so I would have thought the tube would be the correct age?Regarding the wire I am going to take the wheel off and investigate at the weekend, the car has a sat tracking system fitted by previous owner, perhaps something to do with that, will see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Yes same car, as far as I can tell very clean, it was built in 2002 went back to caterham for post build checks, has done 13k miles with full caterham/lotus specialist service history including a cam belt change at 10k.3 owners last two knew each other. Now me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpa Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Ah - I see, all adds up then.10k in 14 years is quite impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephClarke Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I know I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't have all mot's and service receipts, I think the surface rust is just through lack of use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 BTTT for any new membersIan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian B Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 Dragging this BTTT for anyone not familiar with the issue.(I know the picture links are broken but I'm afraid I don't have the time to re-host them and redo the links at the moment). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team Shortshift Posted January 14, 2018 Leadership Team Share Posted January 14, 2018 Should there be a 'sticky' about this? Or maybe posted in the "Guides" section?James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Golf Juliet Tango Posted January 14, 2018 Area Representative Share Posted January 14, 2018 Yes, it probably needs to be summarised in a guide. Do we have any volunteers to work through it? Preferably someone with better technical knowledge than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p.mole1 Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Mine is loosing quite a bit of it's powder coating, i think I will remove it now just for piece of mind. I would think Caterham would have to replace a failure free of charge as this certainly comes under the sale of goods act ie not fit for purpose or of merchantable quality. I own a BMW 1200 GS and it was recalled at 10 years old to replace a rear brake disc mount and fuel tank fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricol Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Having welded one up in the car park of an Italian hotel that had a definite failure of the shock mounts (it wasn't mine), I keep a close eye on mine.And after 17 yrs, 40,000 plus miles, mostly on some crap back roads in the UK and Europe, standard springs, sensible tyres, mine is still un-cracked, still remarkably powder-coated and still working well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 I changed mine to the later type and sleep better at night!Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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