JFoX

Malcolm, Been there with my BDR, and that was the subject of my 1st post here... The oil pressure relief valve was stuck, due to a mis-assembly before I bought the car. All the oil out (minus 1/2 litre), through the protruding oil filter seal. And the best, after PRV refurbishment, no damage to the engine ! Actually, the oil pump can deliver more pressure than needed. Oil pushes one side of a piston, and a calibrated spring pushes on the other side. When oil pressure grows up, the spring gets shorter and the piston unmasks a hole which allows a part of the flow to go back straight to the sump. Consequence : pressure goes down. Spring gets longer, hole is masked and pressure goes up.... Finally, oil pressure sets up at a value which depends essentially on the spring stiffness. Frequent failure is when the piston gets stuck in a position where the hole is masked : 100% of the pressure goes in the oil circuit, and the weakest part of it goes pop. Generally, it's the oil filter gasket. So, don't worry too soon and have a look at that valve ! JFoX

😳 The new hub from Caterham Parts was at home yesterday night ! Not being in last week delivery didn't mean it would never be delivered... Lessons learnt : 1- Darren is 2- Blatchatters are 3- SM25T is *thumbup* Thank you again !

Great !!! Consider one is booked for my car. Details to be arranged by mail. Thank you again

Following my wheel requesting its independance, I'm desperately looking for a standard (not uprated) front hub. Caterham Parts ref # 75113A. The one with the inner bearing bigger than the outer one. I could even buy 2, or share the lot with Chris F who's looking for one JFoX french LHD BDR

After a few "negative ground clearance" moments, my BDR wet sump is now unable to hold the oil I keep putting inside... Anyone has gone the dry sump way and has a useless wet sump in the shed? Identical to the crossflow item, any oiltight condition accepted. JFoX oilskating in the garage

I am "failure 12" in the original post. My DD tube failure happened in Feb 2005 and I gave details to Ian soon after. Then BC became members only. Then I became a member. Then here I am, giving more details to anyone who feels the need fore more info. Car is a 1991 LHD BDR, factory build. Mainly used on track by 1st owner (15000km). Mix track / road by me (+30000km). Stock specs (150ish BHP). Tyres : Yoko A032R / Toyo R888, much grip hence much struggle on the tube. Failure mode : the same as failure 21 DD version : was 2, replaced by 4 after the failure. I can confirm v4 is much heavier (because much thicker) than v2. No warning before the failure, but I have to admit I spend more time in the car than under it.... As Ian mentions in the first post, there were The rear diff mounting which should be cut off was still on, and seemed to have fouled the DD tube. It could have caused similar stress than a "crucifix" jacking. I think that last point is worth a quick check. I could even hacksaw the bit in situ (boot floor off job). Replacing it was quite straight. 3 spanners on a scale from 1 to 5. Wheel hubs come in 1 chunk with ear, disc and caliper. They can be suspended to the top end of the damper if you don't want to disconnect the brake line. Then the tube goes out by the side of the car (check lateral clearance before !). I hope that thread will help many of us to avoid that scary wobbly rear feeling... JFoX Edited by - JFoX on 18 Feb 2010 12:35:49

You will need : - 50cm x 50cm x 3mm transparent polycarbonate. I was lucky enough to find a sheet which corner had been damaged, so I had it for 25% the normal price - 1m of 10mm x 1mm aluminium stem - 1m of transparent 5mm OD hose available in pet shops for aquarium air piping - 2 motorbike mirrors with a threaded link between the stem and the mirror ball joint. Mine are Suzuki Bandit accessories - Threaded (rivnuts) and classical rivets - M4 stainless screws Step 1 : Make a template Using cardboard, scissors and duck tape, make a template of 1 of the screens. Be precise on the scuttle / screen interface : that detail will make your work look "pro". Or not. If you wish to be able to go back to windscreen (see "lessons learnt" at the end), locate the wiper shaft position and make a suitable hole. You then can make the other side's template by turning this one upside down. Be careful for the wiper shaft hole : they are not symetrical. Note : due to copyright issues, I can't post cardboard template images. See the website of the rights owner. They ask for huge fees to anyone who uses their revolutionnary concept. Step 2 : Cut Quite easy with an angle grinder with discs for metal. The melted polycarbonate breaks fine along the cutting line. Gently file the edge with sandpaper. /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/from%20LHD%20passenger%20seat.jpg%20 From the LHD passenger seat : clean -and safe- edge. Step 3 : Cut and bend aluminium legs Make 3 legs for each screen. To be able to revert to windscreen, set the right and left legs on the windscreen rubber gasket footprint on the scuttle. The center leg will be located as close as possible to the scuttle / bonnet junction, and go under the bonnet (you will have to cut 1.5cm of the rubber band under the bonnet. Step 5 should help to make it clearhttp://my.lotussevenclub.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/Fck/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/confused_smile.gif. Step 4 : Protect against screen / scuttle interference Use transparent 5mm OD tube. Step 5 : attach legs to screens and legs to car Legs to screen : use 4mm rivets and washers. Sequence : rivet - screen - washer. /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/rivet.jpg%20 Rivet from "inside". Note the washer. Legs to car : use 4mm rivnuts and stainless screws http://my.lotussevenclub.com/Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/scuttle.jpg L-shaped legs linked to the scuttle with rivnuts Central leg : go under the bonnet ! /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/central1.jpg%20 /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/central2.jpg%20 Views of the central legs. Remove 1.5cm of the foam strip. Rivnut + 4mm stainless screws in the bulkhead. Step 6 : Wide-track mirrors As said before, you need mirrors with a threaded link between the stem and the ball joint. That point will be the "head" of the tripod. Being a M6 thread, you will need to drill 6+mm holes in the aluminium stems. The most difficult is to bend the stems to the right shape, but a little fiddling and 2 spanners should be enough. The three legs of the tripod will be : 1- The mirror stem, in the rearmost stanchion hole 2- An aluminium stem, from the front stanchion hole to the "head" 3- Another aluminium stem, from the external screen L-sahped leg to the "head". /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/side.jpg%20 /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/tripod.jpg%20 /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/tripod2.jpg%20 Re-use stanchion holes ! Final result : /Portals/14/Blog/Files/27/98/final.jpg%20 Lessons learnt 1- Use polycarbonate. My first attempt was with acrylic. Much cheaper, but prone to become brittle exposed to UV. They lasted less than 1 year. My polycarbonate ones are now 4 years old and still OK. 2- Never mind the wipers shafts. Never mind the rivnuts position. You will NEVER revert to windscreen. 3- When I do a good job, I should always take step by step pictures. There will come a time when I will want to share it, and words are never explicit enough. Especially in english. The question is : How to know BEFORE that it will be a good job http://my.lotussevenclub.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/Fck/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/confused_smile.gif ?