Tony Whitley Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 That was one of my suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Thanks all, I'll ask Caterham how much an exhaust gasket is for a RoadSport A with the competition exhaust - it probably won't hurt to have one anyway, just in case... Jason, if it is the injectors, what sort of mileage/time did yours take to go back to being quiet? I really don't want to drive the car unless I know for sure that I am worrying about nothing Kevsta is right in that I could hear the tappety sound more when I first put the engine under load - it was so loud I could hear it clearly with my helmet on at 40mph - must have sounded like a right racket to anyone else! Cheers, Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangely Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Den, my injectors went quiet again after driving up to and around Scotland, over the course of about two days. That's about 6 months usage for you, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Maybe a bit more than that Jason! Perhaps I need to book another decent trackday - and if my engine is still running at the end of it, the injectors will hopefully have quietened down 😬 Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian R Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Den There is a Rover dealer in Fleet, 10 mins drive away! Take the car out for a damn good thrash and see if it still does it. Give me the keys , I'll help you out 😬 Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Somehow I don't think I'll be driving my car to the Rover dealer 😳 I don't really want to drive it until I know what's wrong with it ☹️ Actually, I can't drive the car at all - it now doesn't have an MOT. Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevSull Too Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Don't worry Den, my Land Rover always sounds like that.... 😬You laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at you because you're all the same. 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budjuggler Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 So what did it fail the MOT on then Den? Nothing serious I hope? C7 GON - There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 Mainly emissions Andy, which I was kind of expecting, but I put it through anyway to see. Garage suggested a new lambda sensor as they think it might have got cooked by the exhaust - it got fairly close to passing on the 2nd fast idle test. The other stuff is all easily solvable (either by me or by taking it to have the work done), once I've found out what this noise is. Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Isn't there a friendly ex Rover dealer you can take it to for a possible diagnosis on the tappety noise? it is, after all, only a standard K series engine, albeit with a few Caterham specific parts. Brent 2.3 DURATEC SV Reassuringly Expensive R 417.39 😬 Edited by - Brent Chiswick on 22 Mar 2006 16:51:53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Give it a damn good thrashing before the test to clear all the coke etc out (a run on optimax should help too), seems to work for me...having said that...my MOT is soon 😳 ☹️ Is fun thrashing it there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hi Brent - Unfortunately I can't drive it anywhere because it doesn't have an MOT now. I really want to avoid starting it & running the engine if I can, just in case. I'm hoping someone would have a listen for me but if the worst comes to the worst, I'll trailer it and get it checked at the same time as replacing the gearbox seal that needs doing. Hi Kevsta - I only ever use Optimax or BP Ultimate. Actually, that's a good point - I wonder if it could be caused by a dodgy fill of BP Ultimate that I put in just prior to taking it to the test? But I would have thought that if it was duff fuel, the problem would have occurred reasonably quickly and not waited until after the test/the drive home? Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 Thanks to Ian R for coming round tonight and having a listen We have found the cause of the noise, hopefully I haven't made it worse by starting the engine since (here). Sometime ago I changed the spark plugs. All of the plugs were tight and needed a good spray with WD40 to release them - they were really in a bad way and it seemed siezed up. One of the plugs in particular was a right pain to undo - it transpires that it was threaded and when I undid it, I threaded it further When doing up the new plug, the plug got semi tight, so I gave it a little bit more (being mindful not to overtighten with the ali head) and left it at that. We've found that the plug wasn't really tight because of it being threaded before and subsequently, the plug had worked loose - that was the rattle we'd heard. I guess the drive to the test station, the emissions test and the drive back caused the plug to loosen in the now defunct "thread". The plugs that came out were Rover NLP100290 and the replacements were NGK BCPR 7ES - I believe these are a straight swap? So, now I have a threaded head on the cylinder and have got to get it sorted - but that's a new Techtalk topic I think Thanks all for the help, especially Ian! Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian R Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 The tiny tapping noise was the air escaping past the spark plug in no.1, as it wasn't done up tight, cos the thread was knackered. The reason it was probably louder when you were driving it was everything had expanded and the gap round the plug was bigger. In your garage the engine was cold so the gaps shrunk between plug and head, hence the noise was diffult to hear and trace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Glad you found a definitive cause. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazerBrain Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Phew - at least you know the cause. I guess if there's incomplete combustion and air escaping from the cylinder that could affect the emissions reading... The MOT tester did tell you that the readings were changing in a strange manner. cheers, Darren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 When you say threaded...do you mean cross threaded or that you've stripped the thread? Talk to Dave Andrews if you need a new head....he has loads and could suplly one with it flowed too! 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Sorry Kevsta, I did mean cross threaded. Speaking to Dave Andrews was my next port of call. I had bought some verniers from him a long time ago (but not fitted them yet) and it would make sense to have those fitted at the same time Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian R Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I think the thread has been stripped, not crossed (not that it makes much difference!) Does anyone know if a helicoil can be done with the head in place? Seems unlikely but might be worth a check? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I guess the problem there would be swarf getting into the bore. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Whitley Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Try "the Thread Doctor" 07831 345 804 though I had some trouble getting him to answer when he did my sump about a year ago. "Caterham" was the magic word - up till that point he didn't want to talk to me, apparently some trouble with the VATman... He lives in Yately just down the road from Steve but it's a mobile service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Find somewhere that know what they are talking about and that does MOT's - book a test, drive it there 20mins early, get it checked and then cancel the test if you need to do some more work on it.... Phil Waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 But most importantly.........clear its throat before you get there by driving it like it was designed for ❗ ❗ ❗ You could always get Tony W to drive it there for you, he knows how to beat these K series engines into submission. Brent 2.3 DURATEC SV Reassuringly Expensive R 417.39 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Thanks Phil, Brent - I did drive it there and I did use an MOT test place that was recommended. Cheers, Den http://www.dens7.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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