Graham King

Folks, having removed my engine a number of times over the last year or so and having the need to do so again, I am thinking of investing in an engine hoist rather then hiring one each time. My initial thought was to get the Clark 1 Tonne hoist here from Machine Mart. I have also found this on Ebay which is quite a lot cheaper and comes with a load leveler (which looks a little basic). Does anyone have any experience of either of these items please. I am of a mind to get the Clark one from Machine Mart as it is a known entity but the other one is a lot cheaper. Any advice appreciated. Thanks. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

LL, these guys will do what you want, cost about £30-40 per instrument when I enquired (about 3 years ago). Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Clive, CR500 come in 175/55 R13 so won't match your R888's, so I wouldn't think it advisae to mix and match them. I would change them all if you want to switch to a different tyre. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

David, 4bar at 3000 when cold is too low, you should be around 6 at that point. 4 bar at 3000 should be the hot pressure. The most likely cause is the sender, so you can either replace it or as said go fir a full mechanical gauge. I went through a couple of senders then changed to mech from Think. If readings are better then excellent if not then you need to look at other things. For ref 1bar is approx 15psi (mech gauges are in psi). Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Hi, as stated the electric gauge and sensor are not the most reliable, however I think you need to investigate further before assuming they are reading incorrectly. What is the reading when cold? I would get the sender changed and then check the readings. A good reading would be 4 bar when hot and running above 3000 rpm, if it is really in the red this is too low. A mechanical gauge would give a definitive answer but you can get an answer other ways. Graham R7 GPK Superlight #85

2 Caterhams - 1 Blue/Yellow Stripe in Crowhurst, Surrey about 17:15 yesterday. I had taken my son out in his Citroen C2, he has only been learning a week, you came up behind then dropped right back, I guess when you saw the L plates, to give him time to go through the village and pull into our drive. The most courteous treatment we received all afternoon. He saw you coming up the road and said "it's ok it's 2 Caterhams they will leave me alone", so thank you. He can't wait to get behind the wheel of the Caterham Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Simon, YHM. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Jack, assuming you have the engine out of the car then I would say yes go for it, it is the best opportunity you will get and for the incremental cost I would say it is a no brainer. The LW Flywheel makes the engine feel much more responsive, you can tell when blipping the throttle that it picks up much quicker. You do get more pronounced engine braking as well when lifting off. So a big from me. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Ric, when I transported mine I used a euro pallet (slightly smaller then the standard one) that fitted in the back of the car and then ratchet straps to secure the engine to the pallet. Worked with no problem. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

The fan is controlled by a sensor in the rad itself, mine is rated at 98/92 (i.e. on at 98 off at 92). Depending on where this sensor is (top or bottom) it is likely it sees a different temperature to the sensor in the water rail hence it the higher readings at which the fan apparantly turns on/off. I can't comment on the jump/drop in temp unfortunately. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

John, assuming you mean replace the whole assembly, then the difference in price is pretty small so I would go for the uprated version. I have it fitted and personally I prefer the slightly firmer feel that it gives. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Jason, OPS is situated right at front of engine in front of the oil filter housing under the alternator, it will have one wire going to it. The symptoms you describe are the same as if you toch that wire to ground so you may find it has worn somewhere and bare wire is touching the block. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Neil, when I ordered mine, they took the delivery off post order and refunded the money direct to my account. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Jason, if it does it before starting then it won't even be measuring the oil pressure at that point, my bet is you have a short somewhere and the guage is simply going to maximum deflection. Check the wire on the end of the oil pressure switch and make sure it pushed home properly or the end is not exposed in some way. Also check the wires on the back of the guage and make sure they have not come lose or are touching. Don't worry it won't be the foam. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Ian, I am guessing your pressure was dropping on right hand bends, this is because the pick up is on the right hand side of the engine so as you go round a right hand bend the oil moves away from the pickup. If the oil level gets slightly low it is exacerbated as there isn't as much in the sump as the Apollo will always hold 2 litres. If you have a MOPG you can see what is really happening as the guage isn't damped either like the electrical guage, I was quite shocked just how low the pressure can get under these circumstances. A dry sump obviously stops this effect, but in the short term make sure your oil level is well topped up. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Dude, YHM. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Matt, no mail and I can't open the picture link from work (only on IE6), I will have a look when I get home. My email address is grahamdotpdotking@talk21dotcom (obviously replace the "dot"s with "." 😬 Ian, YHM too. Thanks. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Matt, YHM. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

I am off to Le Mans next week and the space planning is a bit of an issue, has anyone got one of the Soft Bits boot bags that I can either borrow (donation to you or NTL) or buy. I am about 10 miles south of M25 J6 so if borrowing would need to be relatively close by. I don't think it makes any difference but it is for a standard K-Series de-dion with FIA bar. Thanks. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Neil, you can replace the CRB only with the engine in the car, to replace the clutch you will have to take the engine out. I have just done this on my 1.8K (non-VVC) I would guess it will be just the friction plate but until you take it out you won't really know. There are 2 types of clutch for the K-Series, the standard and the uprated AP variety, do you know which one you have? You will need 2 litres of gearbox oil as it is likely to pour out when you lift the engine and box out. You will have to drain out the coolant so it is good time to change it, you don't need to drain the engine oil. You will need a decent torque wrench (for the clutch plate bolts) but apart from that a standard toolset will suffice. Others things I replaced/did whilst I was at it; Replace any hoses that are looking tired (I changed to completely silicone) Replace clutch cable (is the VVC cable or hydraulic) Engine and gearbox mounts Alternator belt Change to remote thermostat (I did QED but also PRRT option) 12th/13th is Le Mans weekend so unfortunately I will be there so can't offer any practical assistance. I hired an engine crane for the weekend, cost about £30, if you can't find the loan of one. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

I'll second the Toyo R888 option, used them for approx 2 years now and am very happy, you won't get much life out of them (approx 3-5000 depending on rating and driving style) so it depends on how many miles you do. They are available in 14", look here. Camskill are very good and offer a good discount to club members. Regards. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

BM, my experience is the same as Rich's, I have the standard Radtech (not the uprated 300BHP version) fitted and the upgraded fan. I found on colder days it took ages to warm up properly on warmer days had no such problems. I have now fitted a QED Remote Stat (slightly different from a PRRT) and the temperatures are now stable. The Radtech is a nice bit of kit though and overall I am much happier with one fitted. Thanks. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

I did exactly that last year, i.e. drove to Le Mans with aero wearing a helmet. Drove past a number of Gendarmes and nothing was said. Am planning to do the same this year. Not really answering the question but we weren't alone either. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

Hi, have got mine booked in here. They have been used by many on here and are well versed with the Emerald. Not quite Surrey but not as far as Norfolk either. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85

SL91, I have a pair of these, in a size 10. Only worn about half a dozen times, been sitting in my cupboard for a couple of years now. Yours for £15 (plus P+P if required). I suspect I am not too far from you either. Let me know. Graham. R7 GPK Superlight #85