wild bill

I have an S3 with 2.3 Duratec. My throttle cable runs round the front of the engine in a gentle curve then up to the butterfly from underneath as space is tight to say the least and coming from underneath i was told led to a more progressive throttle, which i wanted as i tour more than track. Despite a well lubricated cable, running a gentle curve and coming from underneath my accelerator is pretty much on or off at town or lower speeds but fine if going up the gears more rapidly. I have got more used to it but it still surprises me once in a while and is annoying. Does anyone have any a) Suggestions b) Photos of their Duratec install and the routing of the cable as i cannot see how to get a more progressive response and the search facility is unable to enlighten me. The guiding bracket was made to measure, perhaps that is the prob, is there a made to fit part?

Turns out that the 50 switches Merlin had in stock were all wired wrongly so that the light went off if the pressure fell below the level set and on when it went above.....WOW Just WOW Waiting for new stock only 12 were sent out

Right i have had 2 adjustable OP switches now both of which lasted about a month before gently covering the engine bay is a fine mist of oil through the adjustable screw. The switch has neg and pos New switch which is preset to 26psi and therefore has no adjust screw arrives with only a positive terminal (the nut forms the earth) Fit switch, guage shows 60 psi but light is on? There must be an earth otherwise light would not operate so i have concluded that the switch must be faulty as at 60psi light should be off or am i missing something? Edited by - wild bill on 21 Sep 2011 16:57:12

Ordered the replacement sensor from Merlin and it's set at 35psi but i prefer to set it to 30 so does the central adjuster nut of the sensor need to be tightened to lower the threshold at which my light comes on or loosened. Logic tells me to tighten it but logic was never my strong point when it comes to all things seven. Big thanks

Many thanks David I'll give them a try

Some years ago i converted to mechanical pressure guage when my car was K series. When i went Duratec this all transferred fine with the relevant adapters the sensor stayed the same. I originally purchased all the bits from think automotive using the 7FAQ. The sensor is now weeping through the pressure level adjuster screw and think auto no longer are able to supply the bit. No luck with Demon Tweeks either. Does anyone have an idea where i can find this bit and the part no. Think Autos part no is EWS 1D but this is probably irrelevant now. Help appreciated as i am stumped

Stu I still have the disc BUT it's a map for VHPD on Jenvey's so no good for you i think Cheers

Stu I have a map on disc but can't remember if I chucked it when I went duratec I'll check tomorrow and if I still have it I'll let you know and can post it

Having swapped my K engine for a duratec i have had to move the washer bottle as the primaries now occupy that spot. The opposite side in front of the footwell now has the oil catch bottle so the only space left was on the side of the pedal box as i couldn't work out how to put the washer bottle in front of the heater without a) damaging the heater matrix and b) clearing the heater cable although i know some do have the bottle positioned here. All works fine however whenever i accelerate with a little vigour the washer squirts water onto the screen and this then dries leaving a residue which is a bugger to remove every few days as well as being annoying. I know my car is excited to be driven with verve but this is ridiculous Is there a solution, could i fit a smaller bottle in front of the heater which would clear the cable? I don't really want to start re configuring the catch tank in front of the heater in order to put the washer bottle in front of the footwell. What about a washer 'bag' behind the drivers seat? I welcome any suggestions except those that say 1)'Go aero you know it makes sense' as i already do when not touring/winter driving 2) Empty the bottle (this works a treat but doesn't solve the problem)

green and ally driving through the village just before the 10k kicked off at 12 and a yellow going round the roundabout at about 5.10 in the direction of Warminster

I was about 8 cars behind and couldn't catch up once you hit the overtake section as i was still behind lorries etc but definitely a seven but didn't see reg or colour due to Sun

i used jradleys pics as a reference and made my own for the pedal box and these work really well. I felt that drilling more holes in my footwell would only help more water to get in and the pedal box version seems fine

does the foam need washing clean first? and if so is a cleaning kit required or can it be done in the sink?

but they all whine don't they?

Another how often question. My diff sounds fine but has now done about 28000 miles how long should i expect before a rebuild becomes a good idea? Whilst i drive with 'spirit' i don't cane it, do wheelspins or do doughnuts. I presume this is a slightly how long a piece of string question but any thoughts welcome. I was contemplating a rebuild over the winter.

how frequently does this need renewing on a 2.3 Duratec?

congrats Dave is this the first?

Whilst it wasn't a k series i had exactly this problem on my 2.3 duratec (RB's and TB) which turned out to be the new distributor failing (it was about 3 weeks old). It started with a misfire and ended running on 3 cylinders. Your prob 'sounds' more electrical (coil or distributor) to me but i'm only guessing. Do you have another club member close by who could help?

Turning out of Nottingham street into Marleybone High Road a Caterham the spit of Dave Jacksons (Red Red and oh some Red) I was having lunch with a French Blonde so couldn't shout madly in case i was seen

Set of 1.8 K series engine mounts for S3 chassis £25 the pair (passenger side has the new bracing) 1.8 SS k series primaries for 4 into 1 £90 (S3) Expansion Bottle and mounting bracket £5

Well that would make sense, so i swap the adj p/forms onto the existing wide track bilsteins. My only headache left is removing the existing springs from the shocks i'll work on that one Let me know about the alt as and when and thanks for the numbers, now in my phone

Hi Rob/everyone I've had to change my mobile so have lost your contact numbers when i swapped (strangely didn't lose all numbers just some, well not strange just me being a dork and not saving all to SIM) Hope you are well and house is all OK. If you are carrying out the 2.3 conversion i've got a packet of plugs you may want, just let me know. I am pretty certain the car is wide track (well Kenrick told me it was when i bought the car and it looks to be so comparing it to narrow track cars but hey what do i know my wifes pregnancy is mushing my head), and i have the spacers in so at 14in the shocks must be at full travel or i am, going mad! This was why i thought putting the adjustable platforms on to the current shocks might work but at the mo noone has a spring compressor that doesn't risk my eye/jaw/head etc so i am still head scratching , yes Is there a flat frloor guru in the west country anywhere in striking distance?

Thanks guys So that's correct then as i originally thought. Yes the collar is definitely winding but it seems (off the car) that it compresses the spring rather than lengthens the shock. Now that i have it clear in my mind which way lowers and raises (on the car) i can spend the day pottering and scratching my head If you hear a loud bang i've shot myself) Once i'm kinda there i can get it flat floored (anybody know anywhere near Bath?)

OK I've read every bl**dy thread on dampers spring rates ride height adjustment etc and all anyone ever says is adjust by turning the collar. Only in one post can i find mention of height adjustment from Mark Durrant "Lower the collar to decrease ride height, raise the collars to increase ride height" Now is this correct? because i originally thought that was the case then someone told me compressing the springs lowered the ride height. The problem i have is twofold 1) I have a set of adjustable fronts which are 14 inches centre of fixing point to centre. Adjusting the collar seems to make no difference to the ride height which leaves the sump 20mm clear of the ground *eek*as the strut remains at 14inches so i have gone back to the non adjutables. The current non adjustables on the car mean that the car is sitting with a clearance of 100mm which is too high. Both shocks are bilsteins. My thought was to put the adjutable collar on the current non adjust shocks. I'm tring to end up with a clearnce of 75-80mm under my sump. The car wouls then sit right (15mm higher at back on the measure points in Techtalk) Can someone advise? 2) Now that i am running a Duratec 2.3 with the exhaust on the Drivers side the car is sitting about 15-20mm lower on this side than it used to without me in it! I initially thought the shocks might be worn but this has made no difference so it is the weight of the exhaust. Now if i raise the collar on the drivers side this will preumably raise the ride height but stiffen the spring on that side thereby affecting the handling. Between these problems and watching infinity theory on BBC2 last night i am feeling incredibly thick The thing is i don't want to keep endlessly swapping springs etc etc as it's tiring i would at least like to have a decent starting point on the above questions BIG thanks to anyone who can advise clearly and in english for my little brain ☹️

For 1997 car wide track suspension (if that's important)