Smithy77

I just take mine to the nearest local grease monkey, but I book in person to explain the deal before hand. "It's a Caterham, only I can fit in it and know what the control are so I will be your assistant, and it definitely doesn't need an emissions test. Honest" Just had mine done last week at the nearest MOT place Google found, Tyreland it's called. Was a very pleasant chap and we spoke a bit about the car before he tested it, and on the subject of emissions, I told the tester it was a kit build and didn't have the original engine and that I was 99% sure it was emissions exempt (even though I'm 99% sure it isn't!). He said that as I probably know more about these cars then him we should be OK, and his VOSA computer even seemed a bit confused - I got away with it! He never even tested my new horns (emergency fitment the day before), nor the wipers or windscreen washer, and he even turned a blind eye to my duff/blinding headlight lens! He was just happy to be testing a Caterham for the first time in 25 years of testing, so he was telling me. My point is, no need to travel miles to find a "Caterham friendly" MOT center - 9 times out of 10 any old one will do

I do too, from a 2002 S3

Bit of an old thread to resurrect, but did you ever get to the bottom of this Steve? I have just inherited Mankee's PRRT for my newly built 230bhp K and I'm keen to understand your issues. The reason being that Mankee decided to ditch the PRRT after experiencing near identical symptoms as you with the expansion tank overfilling after a track thrashing, but I think he experienced coolant being blown out of the expansion bottle cap too. He did also have a weeping radiator too, so hopefully this was the cause for him. So far I've done 300miles of running in and all seems fine (aside from one or two weeping joints I need to resolve), but I got my first trackday at Hethel on 9/10 and am obviously conscious of this problem happening to me.

Did you use cooper RTV silicone to seal the joints? When I use this stuff the exhaust slips together like a slippery salmon (and comes apart just as easy). No bashing of the exhaust with a hammer required! Just some twisting and wiggling

Still after another engine?

Something like this Anything considered - black/carbon, flat/convex glass. Must be good cosmetic condition.

http://www.emeraldm3d.com/articles/emr-adj-length-intake/ Good reading to explain the importance of intake trumpet length and effects on engine performance. In my experience (K-series) it has a dramatic effect on the shape/position of the torque curve, making an engine peaky at the top end or have more bottom end grunt, smoothing out flat spots etc etc. Then with air filters, you just want to give as much space as possible around the trumpet mouths to make the filters as "invisible" as possible.

I'm just about bash in my drive shaft seals into the diff.... is there any common wisdom as to depth to drift them in to? I've read on a past thread 11mm. The seals I removed were 12-13mm

I've just ordered some Comma LS80W90 GL5 for topping up my LSD. I hope it's the right stuff. Advised by BGH/Caterham...

That would make more sense - silly assembly guide.

So I've finished fitting the various seals to the gearbox. I have also fitted the brass top hat from the speedo sensor and will fit the actual sensor once the box is fitted - all as per the assembly guide. What the guide fails to tell you is, how does one stop the brass top hat rotating when you come to screw on the speedo sensor?

Thanks for the pointers Jonathan/Titanium. I indeed have the sawn off end of a 10mm allen key floating somewhere in my toolbox which I used last time. I hear the top plate with dip stick (I assume this is what you were referring to?) is hideously expensive, so will try and make do without if possible

Thanks!

Bump?

I have a pump action oil can with flexible spout that you can shove in the filler plug. Worked OK last time I used it on my old car with a 5 speed.

By way of an update I'm glad to report that my diff seals are out!! Once I tapped one side of the seal inwards a bit more I was able to get a screwdriver in on the opposite side and lever it out from behind. The first seal took me a few hours over a couple of evenings of cursing to remove, the other side took 5mins!! You live and learn.... A couple more updates further to my original questions... After speaking with BGH I have bought all my gearbox and diff seals (drive shaft, gearbox/propshaft, speedo drive and speedo closure) from them. They are not genuine Ford (apparently Ford seals are scarce and expensive) but owing to their reputation will be the best available, and in the case of the gearbox/propshaft seal, made to their own spec to be less prone to leaks. They are also reasonably priced. After also speaking to Road & Race I ended up having conflicting advise on what gearbox oil to use. If you speak to Caterham or BGH they will recommend Comma SX75W90. Speak to R&R and they will only recommend (quite vehemently) Redline MTL 75W80 specifically for a 6 speed Caterham box. A search on the archives for "MTL" brings up many a debate on the topic. Seems to be a balance/trade off between smoothness vs longevity. BGH said they would never go anywhere near any Redline oil of any kind; he spoke of his experience of witnessing a large proportion of a Caterham racing series grid end up with mangled gearboxes and diffs after a series switch to Redline. Without wanting to open up another debate, I opted to play it safe and go for the tried and tested Comma oil. Finally on diff oil, although EP90 is good for open diffs, with an LSD you can either mix it with an additive, or to make things easy you can opt for Comma LS80W90 GL5 which has the slip additives already added, so that's what I've ordered and was recommended by both BGH and R&R.

Good idea and noted

The gearbox is now out of the car. The K-series assembly guide suggests bolting box to engine before install, so at the moment I am planning to do it like this. I re-evaluated the filler plug situation and I think with the box moved over before tightening the mount bolts, there should be enough space to fill via the filler plug. Unless there are significant pitfalls with this plan, I'll crack on!

I'm going to try and knock up a pulling tool using some metal sheet bent to form a Z-angle, a threaded stud and some sort of clamp/plate to span the bore for it to pull against as you tighten it. It might work....

You make it sound so easy! Mine is now distorted but it is still well and truly wedged in there. Need a plan B...

I have a K series engine with Caterham 6-speed box. Engine is soon to arrive after rebuild, gearbox currently hanging off its mount. I need to replace the oil seals for the prop shaft and speedo sensor, so I need to pull the box out to do these before the engine arrives. Before removal I'll be extracting all the gearbox oil to replace with fresh. My question is, what is the best sequence for refitting the engine and gearbox, and also how/when to fill the gearbox with oil? Past 5-speed boxes I've had have been relatively easy to top up via the filler/level plug on the N/S as there has been a good inch of clearance to get a flexi spout oil can in there. It's a bit hard to tell with the box currently hanging as it is, but my concern is the lack of access to the 6-speed filler plug which is on the O/S, as it looks like it will be much tighter against drivers foot well and its immediately adjacent to the joint of vertical, diagonal and horizontal chassis members (right at the front bottom corner of the foot well), so filling through the foot well seem like an unlikely option. What is the general consensus for this with a 6-speed? Edited: Just to add, I have the Caterham belltank dry sump system with the tower thing on the bellhousing

Just incase anyone else was wondering about the same questions, I have since been told the following answers.... 1) Comma SX75W90 GL4 semi-syn (1.9L) 2) I think I just need to replace the seal/o-ring. Will see if redline can supply. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. 3) Don't know part numbers, but the oil seals are Ford items and Road & Race can supply. 4) Diff oil is EP90 + an additive depending of type of LSD. I have a Ford ZF type LSD. I'm hoping Road & Race can advise specifically when I call them tomorrow. I currently have my rear drive shafts removed ready to extract the old oil seals. Does anyone have any tips for best method of removing them? The best advise I've had so far is to carefully destroy them with a chisel in situ. Any help much appreciated.

Hi Paul, Been reading this thread and have been suspecting cranking fueling/mapping issue too, and then you've made the suggestion on this latest page. If it is such a common problem on R3/400s with MBE's, that would definitely be my next target. In any case, I'd strongly advise getting a comms lead and Easimap for home diagnosis; such an invaluable tool. Track and Road will then be able to talk to and tweak it. Incidentally, after I left TnR I noticed similar symptoms with starting (although they were also present before the visit to a degree), but it did it even with a warm engine. Its a common problem after remapping because, unless you leave the car there over night, they can only have an educated guess at the cold start mapping. Gave them a call and they said no problem to bring it back for a tweak to the cranking map FOC, or they could even do it remotely if I sent them the map file using Easimap - perhaps an easier option for the OP if distance is an issue. I also have the PIN code for a standard 967 MBE if needed.

Graham, thanks for the update. Gives me the confidence to crack on with it as planned

I could be interested. Does anyone have any pics, before and after perhaps? Also, what is involved in fitting?