abbot

Hi Duckpit, your link seems to have expired. Can you tell me what model and make you chose? Thanks

I am doing a Mini project and have disvoered that I will need to do some simple welding. Engine stay bracket has detached. I searched the Forum history and found some comments but dataing back a long time so I would like to get the latest view on what is a good buy and what is to avoid when it come to a home MIG welder. The budget needs to be less than some French Bandit would charge to come to my place and do the job so it could be quite high, but I would like to keep it below 250 Euros (200 quid)

I was making my way home this morning and had a nice suprise of loads of 7s all heading off for a track day in the North of France. Good luck with the weather.

Bit of a long shot but has anyone got a dead Topper. I need a Dagger Board and the cost new looks higher than the value of the boat I have so if anyone has one sitting around that they no longer need I would be interested.

I was there in the Xflow on the afternoon of 14th. We go there for a good laugh watching all of the punters trying to work out how to row a boat on the lake.

I know our cars are not the quietest from the point of rattles and bangs but I think we get sensitive to what is good and bad. I took my car out this morning and was aware that there was a noise that wasn't there before. It sounded like a death rattle from the exhaust falling off. I know what that sounds like . When I got home and everything cooled down set about the investigation. Problem found, the bracket holding one of the horns had broken and the horn was dangling by its wire knocking the rack and frame.

I agree with GJT. If you do decide to get Retractor seatbelts buy new or from a good reliable source. 139 quid from Caterham for 2 belts and buckles is not a bad price when I look at what some OEMs charge for the same sort of thing. To the best of my knowledge the belts will be very specific to the Caterham installation and you will not find anything from a doner car other than another Caterham. If you find a retractor that looks the same it may have a different internal sensor setting that would not work in a Caterham. Even if you find a Caterham in a scrap yard you cant be sure that is not there due to a serious impact in which case the Belts are NG and need replacing.

Hmm not sure how the IVA works in terms of deviating from the main regulation. Barkalar you do not say what vehicle you have. If it is a any thing from the K Series onwards I think the Seatbelt mounting point is already built into the chassis and there is a pocket in the back bulkhead to accomodate the retractor. If it is an older X Flow then it is a little more tricky. You have not got this from me but I believe the supplier for Caterham belts is a Company Called AmSafe. They have a place in Bookham just south of Leatherhead. Give them a call on 44 (0) 1372 451272. You may get lucky or they may give you the corporate line of you need to go through Caterham. Just as an aside we supply the belts to Renault for the Twizy and due to the possibility to be hit from either side we have effectively applied a 4 point harness. This achieved by having an extra strap that you slip your right arm under when you get in the car. It is similar to the strap on a rucksack. You then fit the nomal 3 point belt on the other side.

I am afraid it is not a choice for Caterham to make. The regulations for Motor Vehicle Construction and Use require that a seat belt is able to "locking and releasing of a seatbelt with a single movement" Thise means that according to that regulation you cannot apply a harness. I do not think that Caterham sells any vehicles that do not have 3 point belts at point of sale.

Done a fair few miles in my 7 and never had much trouble from th engine. Car has been off th eroad for a few weeks waiting for me to fix awheel bearing problem. Got that sorted and went fro a fgreat blat. Got back to find the left side of the engine covered in oil. I jet washed the engine and then ran her upto see if I could see where the leek was from. What I noticed first was the cap head bolt securing th erocker cover was sat proud by a few mm. Of course that was followed by oil seeping from the gasket. All tightened up now and problem solved but caant work out why it shouk suddenly loosen.

Hmmm heavy bummer. Managed to pull the hub off tonight to find that the half shaft has broken. It is a very strange break that apears to have propogated from the key groove and effectively peeled a chunk off the taper cone. I will post some pics at the weekend for anyone interested.

Quoting elie boone: Abbot, if I send you 7 pages it's at the bottom end of page 1 it says bearing to treaded end of half shaft = 2,84in or 72,14mm Ahh you even high lighted it. I must have had a man moment (see other thread about men not being able to find things under thier nose); Thanks Anyone got rough dimensions of the spacer OD ID that is needed?

Quoting Q187RFB: YHM Thanks

Quoting elie boone: You need to shim the small dia, about 5 mm. ideally you measure the half shaft and then calculate the shim with. If you send me a PM I can mail you the relevant manual. Hi Ellie You have sent me a copy of what looks like an ITAL Haynes Manual pages about 3 years ago. The shimming process described there is all related to the Diff pinion and not the Wheel end of the Half shafts. I did replace the bearings at that point but am now back in the postion of having play in the wheel. Thanks

Hi, I recently posted that I had a problem with my RH side Half Shaft nut coming loose. I get new nuts, applied suggested loctite and nipped them up FT. I also applied a dab of tippex across the nut / shft interface so I could see if the nut had loosened again. This weekend I was out for a blat and sensed the back end not behafing its self. I jacked the car up and sure enough the wheel has some play when rocked back and forth at the 12 Oclock 6 Oclock axis and the 9Oclock 3 Oclock axis. I the half shaft nut has not moved so still tight. So I assume the bearing has moved on the shaft or bearing has broken down. I did get a lot infoo from BC about bearing installation but now I am thinking that I did not follow the shimming exercise. It is not clear form the instructions if I am shimming the small diameter ring or the large diameter ring. Also does anyone know a good source of peelable shim stock that is the correct diameter for this job to save getting something machined? Sorry for being dim, any comment or help appreciated. Now off to see if I can find a French Motor Factor with a bearing set, otherwise will get a set posted from redline tomorrow.

Im in France and yesterday i went out to buy an oil filter. After exhausting the Halfords equivalent muppets i ended up in a motor factors with 2 older guys who put a bit of time in and found me what i needed. The question is always the same, what car what year etc. so it could be very helpful to be able to give at least a couple of bits of info for road car that was fitted with a Crossflow. Any ideas

If it is a problem with a floating shaft you will probably feel it as we'll. that is what triggered my curiosity when my shaft started to move on the bearing.

Is there a source for all torque settings? I am just at the final stage of having fitted new dampers and rubber bushes on my Classic X Flow Previous post clearly gives me top and bottom damper mounts at 40-45lbft Does anyone know the values for Anti roll bar clamp ????? small did bolts Ant roll bar to top link ???? compresses across top hat rubber bushes Lower rear wishbone mount ????? 1/2"UNF type bolts. Lower front Wishbone mount ??????? small diameter bolt compress across top hat bushes Thanks

Quoting SM25T: Do we have a new BC Sub Group ...... the nine and a half digit club ? Not a loss but a bit of blood. I was wearing proective gloves, to stay clean but they were in tatters by the time I had finished ratchetting

Hmm it is not a very straight forward task. The key difficulty is loading the ratchet evenly so that the spring does not bend too much. Also i guess another lesson would be to get the smallest ratchet straps that will take the load. I had a bit of a problem at one point with the ratchet moving up the spring so it did not to wind in anymore.

Job done with ratchet straps. Unfortunately the advise Just be careful when you hit the release lever. came a little too late as I did manage to trap a finger. Still thanks to all for the excellent idea of make shift spring compressor. 😶‍🌫️ 😶‍🌫️ 😶‍🌫️

Now there was a pleasant suprise. Just popped into a little shop, that specialises in number plates and ods and sods, on the Ave De La Grande Armee and bought a pair of Ratchet Straps for 7 Euros. Cant wait to get home and try them.

Thats interesting i will have a go. Thanks

I have been doing a refresh of the rubber bushes on the front end of my x-flow and changing the dampers at the same time. I bought the dampers from Redline and at the time of purchase Mick asked me if wanted the springs on the dampers to go with. Dumb ass here said no i have got a spring compressor and will do the job myself. All jobs done except spring swap. Compressor does not fit. Took an angle grinder to the oversized compressor to see if i could get them to work. I now have a useless pair of spring compressors and a garage with a thin covering of metal grind waste all over the place. Bummer 😔 Edited by - abbot on 4 Mar 2014 20:35:10

That is a good question which reminds me I only have one key for my X Flow. It is the type that had a square slot in the day about the size of a USB key. Are replacements easy to find for them?