BenF

How comes Caterham recommend keeping it in? If Caterham changed their advice (and said don't fit it), then wouldn't they be liable for claims from people who had suffered engine damage as a result of the foam breaking up? 🤔

Guys Thanks for all the info, sorry for not replying sooner, I've been busy at work! Ben

It's time for a coolant change for my 7, so I was planning on doing this in the next couple of months and thought I would replace the original hoses with new silicone ones, fit a bleed tee and get some nice hose clamps at the same time. I've searched previous threads and there's a fair amount of info out there. Samco do kits on their website. There's a 1600/1800 dry sump kit (TCS26/H) but mine's a 1800 wet sump. Does anyone know if this kit fits? On the subject of clamps, I was planning on getting some Mikalor ones, unless anyone has any better suggestions. I could wait until Stoneleigh and try to buy some hoses there.... however, I'd rather do this work in the winter. Ben

As an impulse buy, I got a Dremel 300 with the 30 part accessory kit & case for a clearance price of £30 from B&Q in Bletchley yesterday. Worth looking out for if you are passing a B&Q, not sure if the deal was just store specific. I have not worked out what I'll need it for, but at that price, it looked like it was worth getting, even if it's only used a couple of times a year.

You change it every three years so that the anti-corrosion inhibitors are in good shape. OK, that explains it - that's what I thought. Sorry, what's PRRT?

It's good to see this thread, I was planning on changing the coolant on my K this winter. Just out of interest, is it really necessary to change it every 3 years (IIRC)? On the one hand, I think I should do it, but on the other hand, the car is running very well, never had any problems of this type. Thoughts?

Dave Andrews is not far from you, in Milton Keynes. He might be able to help. I have a 2003 R300 K and it's always quite lumpy when starting in cold conditions, especially if it has not been run for a couple of weeks. However, it does not sound as bad as yours... I would be interested to know when you find a solution! Ben

Genuine MG Rover ones on ebay from £4.25 delivered. So how much would they be from a motor factors (e.g. the Unipart one as Peter suggests) 🤔

Historically, my 7 usually ends up not being used for 1-2 months over the winter. I ended up with a dead battery last winter after I left the battery connected for two months without using the car. I want to avoid this so I disconnect my battery if I think I won't be using the car for a week or more. My plan was to remove the battery and charge it once a week with a normal charger. Is this enough or should I be getting a conditioner? As soon as there is a break in the weather, I will be using the 7 again Any thoughts? So the Optimate will plug straight into my 12v socket in the cockpit and bob's your uncle?

Interestingly, I used a Loctite product recently at work, to stop some screws coming loose. Although it had a highly technical name (I forget what), the product appeared and smelled exactly like nail varnish!

Is that Troy Queef?

I think they look absurd - no comment on the lighting quality, but visually they just look wrong. I agree, I had been wanting to post that, but did not want to be the first to make that comment!

er... Tesco own brand I think!

Ditto regarding the races, they should definitely be replaced. I replaced a wheel bearing in a few months ago. Ian (SM25T) gave me a brilliant tip to make fitting the bearing races easier - which was to heat up the hub in the oven before trying to fit the bearing races. I wrapped the hub in foil (it was clean, but I didn't want to contaminate my oven) and left it in at 150degC for 5-10mins. The races slid in very easily, only a very light force was required to get them in place. At the same time, you could make life even easier by cooling the races in a freezer, although I didn't do this because I don't have a freezer. Plus, the majority of benefit is found by heating the hub (with the expansion coefficient of aluminium being a lot higher than steel). Ben

Even if the conrods are dimensionally correct, I suspect it's difficult to judge the material quality. Having said that, I don't know how stressed a K-series conrod is. I've witnessed a handful of engine failures due to material problems in my time, but they were all in engines which rev to 18-19k rpm.

I love the answer to this question Q: Could you post a close up photo of the manufacturers ID plate showing the chassis number etc. Thanks A: Hi There, I would love to but the car is not at home but locked up, elswhere, May be later, pete How convenient!

I they are non-transferable in that once you stick it on the windscreen, it's near impossible to remove it without destroying it! So as long as it's unused, I think it's no problem....

Festivals are all about making money - which I can understand but a lot of them take the p1ss, especially with the food which is usually massively overpriced and awful. Sorry to hear about the bad experience. Enjoy it if you go, velocityblade - Tim Minchin should be good, he's a top bloke.

I'm planning on ordering windscreen brackets with captive nuts, to allow a quicker change of windscreen to aeroscreen. The brackets locate in a channel inside the scuttle. Looking in this channel now, there are two studs each with a nut on the end. Obviously, the bracket is fitted by removing the nuts and then refitting them with the brackets in place. However - just to check, are these studs attached to something which is holding them in place? I don't want to undo the nuts and find that the studs (or then more likely, bolts) drop vertically into an inconvenient place between the sideskin and the chassis!

I think people who use their cars hard (like Markiebabes) change their oil every 3000 miles. As a rule of thumb, once a year or every 3000 miles, whichever is sooner.

what Fred says I recently fitted an aeroscreen to my R300K. I just cut off the old electrical connectors to the heated screen, whilst leaving as much spare wire as possible for when I want to fit new connectors. As a side note, it might be worth buying the windscreen brackets with the captive nuts, to make your life even easier when changing screens. They go on the inside of the scuttle. I'm buying some the next time I have to order from CC.

I finally got around to checking my gearbox oil level today - on the basis that I'd seen a small spot of oil on the garage floor which appeared to come from the back of the gearbox. Once on axle stands, I found that the leak seems to come from the speedo drive. From looking at past posts, TADTS - so I'm not planning on changing the seal at the moment. The knurled ring on the drive was loose, so I did it up with my fingers. Even then, the speedo drive unit is quite loose - it can be waggled a bit from side to side. Is this normal? I then undid the filler plug (RHS of 6-speed gearbox, seems to say "LEVL" next to it - correct?) and about 100ml of oil gushed out - so I am guessing it was overfilled in the past and probably has not lost much from the drive seal leak. It's only losing a minute amount when sitting in the garage (a spot half the size of a little fingernail appears after a blat). Just for a sanity check - it's not one of those leaks which gets worse when you are actually driving? Edited by - BenF on 30 Jul 2011 16:26:26

Why not Spinal Tap style, replace the 7 with an 8?

Excellent Ebay ad, very honest and well written! It's already up to a decent price....

Croc I've just fitted a secondhand RiF aeroscreen. I think with most aeroscreens, they are designed to use the same mounting holes as the windscreen stanchions, so mounting is easy. If you have the captive nuts already, then it's even better. The centre of my RiF screen is attached to the scuttle by unscrewing the centre poppers and then screwing them back on, with the screen underneath. I would think most have mirrors which attach directly to the aeroscreen. I am very happy with mine. It doesn't give much buffeting as it's taller than some others (although I have not tried any others, admittedly). The Caterham screen is not regarded as giving as much wind protection and the MOG screen is very expensive, so I was happy to pick up a second hand RiF screen (that's Carbon-Bits).