Steve Waite

In case of any future searches - Thanks gents for advice. Done it ! Use large metalwork vice, tightened as hard as possible, with folded over sandpaper with the vice jaws locating on the chrome piston rod under the bump stop. Use a Trolley jack bar if Bushes removed, or long coal fire type poker if bushes still fitted, to undo the eye end, no need to apply any heat. Clean threads with brass wire brush & use lotite / stud lock when re-assembling. Steve...

Cheers Paul. I know what a petty strut is, newark ! I was looking for a slighty more constructive answer, as to how to dis-assemble the eye end from the Piston & perhaps the best method of heating the eye end without effecting base the materials & the chrome plating on the Shock absorber chrome. Cheers mate...

Gents: Thanks for the replies. I've removed springs, circlips, Upper spring seat & Rubber Bushes, but the lower spring seat can not be removed over either the upper or lower "Eye Ends". These are approx 35 mm dia x 24 mm wide. The threaded sleeve for the adjustable platform will not slide over the eye ends either. Front springs removed with purpose made spring compressor. Rear springs removed by pushing down on lower spring seat & removing circlip. Now off to heat up Upper Eye end & try to break thread lock. Will advise on progress. Steve...

All: Somebody must have incurred the same problem - How do you dismantle standard bilsteins (97 roadsport) to fit the CC adjustable platform kit ? From looking at previous threads I assume that you have to unscrew the Eye end from the Shocker Piston ? How bl**dy tight are they ! How do you hold the Piston without damaging the chrome ? Advise please, 7 in garage on stands ! Many thanks Steve...

Suggest you drain some out. I once overfilled my 1400K & then on the way to work next day left several clouds of white smoke. I wouldn't have liked to have been the driver of the transit following. Steve... In may only be a Red 1.4K, but it goes to the ring & back!

Gents: Thanks for the replies. CC had already mentioned about the ears, so by measuring in-situ with digital calipers my de-dion ears have roughly 0.055" of a taper in them (wider at the bottom) but nothing front to back. CC didn't advise the factory dimensions & tolerances. CC have now advised the factory wheel alignment settings so I'll get a 4 wheel check completed saturday before I strip the de-dion out. I'm tempted to see if I can get someone at work on night shift to put the tube on to one of the Ferranti CMM's & check the faces & straightness. Rob - I'll let you know the measurements, CC have given me the length but no tolerances. Dave - The previous michelins removed did have a slight degree of differing wear edge to edge but nothing compared to the A048's as you saw. Thanks again Steve... Red 1.4K

After checking rear wheel alignment following excess tyre wear (thanks for the tip Gambo), I seem to have approx 4-5 mm toe in on each rear wheel, 1997 de-dion roadsport chassis. Without dis-assembly, have tried different repeatedly to measure de-dion straightness & measure position relative to various parts of the chassis but can find no obvious bend in the de-dion, de-dion cracking or suspension mis-alignment. By measuring between inner faces of the aluminium de-dion ears (that's what cc called them) I can only assume that the welded ends on the de-dion are out of square. I'm still waiting for cc engineers to reply. Does anybody else have experience of this ? Does anybody know the dimensions & tolerances across the end faces of a de-dion ? Has anybody used shims to re-align to the rear wheels (cc didn't recommend this), what are the pro's, con's & issues to watch out for ? What other suggestions can you recommend before I have a proper 4 wheel alignment check done & remove the tube this weekend ? What are the factory settings for 4 wheel alignment ? Thanks all Steve... Red 1.4K

All: Just checked my rear tyres & noticed that surprisingly already down to the tread wear indicator. Done approx 1700 miles which included 7 laps of the Nurburgring. Otherwise just everyday B road use. I'll squeeze a few more miles out by swapping the tyres over from side to side. Just wondered what miles per others usually achieved ? Thanks Steve... Red 1.4K

Goldsie: Yes, the de dion was also badly corroded due to loss of the powder coating, I removed the de dion & did it without undoing the brake pipes to calipers. You have to be careful not to bend the pipes, but use string or rope to hold them out of the way. Make sure you leave room to one side of the car to withdraw the de Dion from underneath the car. You will have to remove the seats to get at the heads of the bolts on the suspension arms. That is a pain in the a** job, but easy if you use a ring spanner on the heads of the bolts inside the car & then let the spanner lock against the chassis whilst your underneath with a socket & wrench. If required caterham cars do supply a rear suspension fasteners kit but it's cheaper to get any parts required from a local fastener stockist, I ended up with most bits left over. Forgot to mention - when emerying back to bare metal I used "rust remedy" to treat the badly correde areas & after re-assembly I sprayed all chassis painted & suspension joints with waxoyl. The caterham build manual lists all torque wrench settings. It was a weeks worth of effort but at minimum expense. Steve... Red 1.4K

Goldsie: I stripped the back suspension, de dion etc out of mine 2 years, rubbed it back using emery & a flapper wheel in an old drill & then painted on 2 coats of hammerite primer + 2 top coat. Still looks good & solid now. 1 tip though, find some rubber or plastic sleeving held on with cable ties to cover the chassis where the handbrake cable rubs. Steve... Red 1.4K

Again apologies for the high jack but - Kevsta: If you've still got it then I'm interested, please check the dimensions & reply. I'm assuming that it's in black for a standard width chassis, de dion car ? If required tel: 07875 138265 Thanks Steve... Red 1.4K

Have suffered oil (5/50) leak in garage & one of my A048 tyres, medium compound, was found sat in the oil. Have wiped oil off the tyre but - What effect will this oil have on the tyre ? Does the tyre need to be cleaned or scrubbed back ? Thanks Steve...

Ian: Have you the FIA Roll Bar & Strut still available ? Steve... Red 1.4K

Thanks for the response Brucey, but I've now managed to sort a new replacement, just waiting delivery. For future ref - the latest part number is Valeo 082439 or alternatively 7" H180 H4, Cars GB (01629 650800) - £23.00 inc vat + carriage, I dealt with Les. Steve... Red 1.4K

Help, the threads have stripped on my K series sump plug hole. Has anybody experienced this & fitted a wire insert, if so what size & has it proved reliable ? Is it best just to purchase a new sump & how much are they ? Thanks Steve... Red 1.4K