captain chaos

drivers side...

Jon The way I release my bolt is to link together 2/3 socket extension bars so the ratchet can be attached beyond the front of the engine just ahead of cam belt cover. It takes a bit of fiddling! I replaced the hex head bolt with an allen headed one which became a bit easier to thread through than a socket. The right hand side area of the block is quite tight for me as I have the titan scavenge pump located here too. In the extreme, you might find that releasing the 2 engine mount bolts and jacking the engine slightly can create a little extra clearance depending upon your set up..(ie carbs, TB's) Germolene is good for the scraped knuckles!

Hi Just as an aside...exactly what is the purpose of the smaller bore line which runs from the head (just next to the inlet manifold), to the top of the header tank? I appreciate its part of the cooling system...but is there a particular probelm it solves..or protects us from? Thanks gary

Dave Does fane use the existing side mounts on the radtec?

Dave Thanks for the feedback.. No Heater Paul...

Thanks Lee... Did you have similar symptoms ?..re temps ?

some useful commnets..many thanks! Fan is sucking rather than blowing...slight revs does not seem to make any difference although i am now thinking along the lines of improving the fan...some fans seem to perform better than others and i think I could also fit a slightly bigger unit. When moving at 30 or above the temp drops to 75....so its now about getting more air when moving more slowly as heat builds or increasing capacity to make the thermostat work harder in cooler conditions...Ive decided my first step is to sort a better fan. ...

Lee... What's your motor ?

Just checking fans and I suppose it's obvious they will be (doh!) ... Looking at the info on DT site it seems there can be quite a difference too...

Hi guys Thanks again ... Will certainly look at this ... I think the fan unit could be an nice bigger overall... Are they rated in terms of airflow?

Thanks.... I think I may need the bigger rad to increase capacity as the fan will not control things on its own (with higher ambient temps) ... I'll see if the other vx boys are lurking and see what others are experiencing ...

Guys, I have a radtec (45mm) core radiator. The cooling is fine when on the move but as soon as I hit traffic the temp climbs quite quickly to 88/90 deg. The fan then cuts in, but if it's a warm day, the temp will climb, quite slowly up to 100 deg +. A recent enforced rebuild left my engine builder advising that he would like to see the motor run cooler when being worked hard or stuck in traffic. i dont do alot of miles but I did get caught in a terrible jam around brussels last year which saw me pulling over a couple of times due to high temps. (I was runnning the 82 deg stat) So, what are the rest of the Vx modified owners seeing as temps?....which Radiator are you running? I would appreciate some feedback as to what temps you are seeing in normal road/traffic use? Spoke to Radtec today...they have stopped making the caterham extreme radiator (was 68mm core) and are now making a 58mm model which they feel would suit my purpose. I am getting hot water in the expansion tank and the rad hoses are nice and warm when i close up the system. comments appreciated...

ive got the hi-spec which work quite well,,,

thanks for the replies... whilst I'm tempted to folow your advice Birkin...Im going to give simon a call first and take it from there..

ideally..i want to find someone who will open them up... recognise the the valving set up and then I can tell them what I'm looking for. Im not too keen on following other peoples settings...my car is a vx...whether ideal or not..I like a firm ride...urrent set up is way too firm and offers no compliance in wet or damp conditions). Lke others have said, simply throwing on softer springs is only part of the cure...