slap_ed

Yes it was me. Sorry I didn’t wave as I wasn’t sure who had beeped. I take it that it was you in the white Merc with an R400 plate? (Didn’t see you wave either I’m afraid)

Thanks. I'm thinking around 31/32k. I've been in touch with one of the 7 specialists garages. They will attempt to sell it for me. It makes sense that for that money, people expect a warranty, which I couldn't give. Even though I know it's a gem of a car.

I’d forgot about Millwood. That was my plan to do that sort of thing if there was no interest privately. Cheers

I can’t believe i’m Doing this but things change and the time has come to sell my pocket rocket. Can anyone help me value this car please and also if it doesn’t sell privately, where is my nearest Caterham dealer to the midlands. I’ll post a picture shortly. Thanks all. Caterham SuperlightR400 R400 S3 (210BHP) Registered 14th Oct 2011. Mileage <15,000. 6 Speed Gearbox. Dry Sump. BMW Limited Slip Diff which I would class as fairly quiet. I’m the second owner (Originally owned by one of the management team at Caterham HO) Carbon Dash with Superlight switchgear and keyless ignition. Push button start. Heated Windscreen. Leather seats. Mono quick release steering wheel. Aces gear change lights. Triple 12v power socket. Full screen with weather equipment. Black pack. Clear front lenses. Aero filler cap. 13” Superlight Alloys. Avon CR500 175/55 R13 and 205/55 R13. Superlight suspension. Wide track front wishbones De Dion rear suspension Updated vented front brakes with quad pistons. Heater Carbon wind deflectors on nosecone. Carbon fibre front wings Colour - Landrover Tangier Orange with grey/white stripes. Clear protective film over main areas

Thanks Jonathan, I think that was the one I read a while ago but obviously missed it even though you prompted me.

Thanks both. I have tried to search the archives but nothing mentioned the oil level other than letting it dribble out of the filler hole. I’ve done as you’ve mentioned and filled it to this level which was the default option. I thought I’d Read somewhere to fill it about 10mm below this level due to excess pressure and weeping past the seals.

I'm sure I've read somewhere that the BMW Titan diff oil level should not be up to the level of the filling hole and should be a certain distance below. Anybody building new kits with information on the diff oil level? Cheers

Rj I’ve just sent this reply to Johnathan Kay’s email. Somebody from Pistonheads mentioned something about smart charging systems on vehicles nowadays which I’ve now read about. When needs arise the battery can receive up to 16 volts based on the outside and engine temperatures etc. I don’t know whether my van has this and I’ll need to check but it has given me some reassurance that it is possible for a lead acid battery to received up to 16 volts for a controlled amount of time. My van luckily does start first time otherwise I think I would be having problems a lot sooner. So it may be that my battery life is prematurely failing. I’ll probably just see how it goes and replace the battery as and when and maybe call into Fords and pick their brains. No access to a scope but I would say that the voltage is stable. I think I’ll perform the same min/max test etc with the engine hot just to see if the smart system (if it has one) drops the voltage down. Regards Graham

Rj - Measured it with a Fluke meter with a min/max/avg reading, so should be accurate. I don’t want to buy another battery if the alternator’s voltage regulator is feeding the battery with too many volts as it will just fry the new one. My daughter has an older Connect van and this also has quite a high voltage output at 14.64 volts, making me think that this may be normal. Boss - I could check the voltage drop along the cables to the starter but it’s so tight and awkward under the bonnet. I’ll give it a go on Saturday. thanks

Help required please. I’ve had since new a 2014 1.6 Transit Connect van. In cold weather it starts first time straight away which is a good thing, but the cranking speed is not brilliant. I checked the alternator charging voltage early one cold morning and found the following voltages. 9.58 volts Lowest reading during starting. 15.83 volts Max/Peak. Putting all electrical equipment on. Maybe a spiked reading. 14.74 volts average (approx 10 minute period) 14.90 volts live reading. All these were pretty much at tickover. Any technical bods that can say that this 14.90 volts is cooking my battery as I’m thinking that 14.2 volts Max would be the safe limit? Thanks in advance.

I’ll also need to do this job as mine has just passed its MOT but I had a warning about slight play in the bottom offside ball joint. 2011 R400 S3.

I found and saved that information a year or so ago. I can confirm it’s pretty accurate. 4 turns = one degree. 1 turn = 0.25 deg

Used Fusch Pro S 5w/40 in my 400D for the last 3 years, but road use only.

Craig, I also had that exact engined car for over 3 years and it was a dream to drive. It was also great at tickover. If you can learn how to adjust each throttle butterfly and get the air intake equal, also how to adjust the throttle position sensor accurately then it should be ok. Sometimes the Lambda sensor can cause these commonly discussed problems. Maybe I was lucky. Great engine though. Graham

Hi Dave, I’ve also done this mod a few months ago. Changing it to an 82 deg stat solves the problem of the fan coming on too often whilst the original stat was opening. Now the temperature remains stable below the fan cut-in temperature for most of the time. It’s only when sitting in traffic that the fan comes on, which is what you’d expect and now the bottom hose get hot which was only ever luke warm before. Result I say.

3mm past the start of the first zero.

I’ve just measure my BMW lsd diff which is on a 2011 Cat. In 4th gear with CR500 tyres and just the one wheel jacked up I get play from the very start of the C to just making it past the first zero by about 3mm. Hope this helps

A while back mine used to fluctuate at tick over. It used to yoyo between 850 and 1300 at tick over. I took it to Caterham Donnington under warranty and all they did was to adjust the tick over screw as if you wanted to lower the tick over speed. You'd think this would make it stall but it didn't, it settled the tick over speed to a much smoother 950 rpm. Maybe doing this helped to align/lower the throttle site better. It might not work for you but it certainly did for me. Worth a try? Maybe mark the position of the stop screw before you try it so you can restore its position in case it doesn't work.

I've removed my R400 box a couple of times recently and it's gone back nice and tight without me swinging on the spanner. One of those times was to polish it and that included these connection surfaces. If I flex the tail pipe you can see the whole exhaust flex right into the engine. I know this doesn't help you really but it's just for information. /sites/default/files/images/users/3729/medium_IMG_4428.JPG

My 2011 R400 ECU trips the fan on at 98 deg and off at 96 deg. This is reported by easimap. The water temperature gauge at this fan switching on point is reading 81/82 deg. I'm thinking that the mapping in the ecu is way out of sync with what its water temperature sender is saying. At no point does my infra-red temperature gun find any water at 98 deg. It's much nearer to the water temperature gauge reading. I've recently changed the thermostat from the originally fitted one to the race r300 83deg one and now my fan is not always on... result.

I would love to go aero but consider it too dangerous. Helmets are OTT for the road and goggles offer minimal protection to the face.

Well, I thought moving the washer bottle into the boot was a good idea. So I've spent most of the day doing so. I have a Duratec with a Plenum chamber with the washer bottle mounted centrally underneath. It was difficult to top-up the washer bottle, not that I've ever done that. It made changing the thermostat difficult, checking the torque settings on the L/H engine mount difficult and just that it was generally cluttered around that area. Well worth the effort.... I think.

SM25 ​I'm not sure if they are the same. Others talk about there being a bearing instead of a nylon bush like mine. There was a small amount of black/grey grease on the ball of the inboard tie rod but absolutely no trace of any lubrication on the rack that slides through these nylon bushes. A manufacturer quality control issue I think. There are no tight spots on the rack from lock to lock, everything operates smoothly. Richard. Appreciate the detailed response. That clears up a lot of grey areas including getting the rack out of the car. I initially thought that it would be a new rack but now I'll pack out the bush as you've described. I have a few more questions if you don't mind? What sort of material did you use to pack out the shim? What type of grease did you use? I wouldn't have thought you could use general purpose LM grease on something made of nylon. I wrongly guessed that that shaft was the pinion. Thanks for the info. Thanks to you both.

R400D 2011 I have play in the left hand side of my steering rack. There is zero play when the tie bar is push/pulled in and but a good 3mm when push/pulled up and down. I've removed the gaiter and everything is totally dry in there which I would think explains why things have worn prematurely. Should there be lubricant in there? Looking into the end of the steering rack there appears to be a nylon toothed bush which is worn and allowing the 3mm play. See picture. /sites/default/files/images/users/3729/IMG_0261.JPG /sites/default/files/images/users/3729/IMG_0254.JPG Can you get replacements nylon bushes? If yes, where from? Is this a diy job? Does the rack have to come out? Does it mean a new rack? Will the rack come out through the side skin holes? Titan are helpful without being helpful. They just say I need to go through Caterham themselves. I've read other "play in rack" posts and most end up at trying to adjust the large nut on top of the rack. All help gratefully received.