Mick Day

Why not give these people a ring. Have used them for some 7 bits & a Subaru. Excellent result. Based in W Sussex 12 miles south of Horsham. Washington Coach Works

If you've hd JW work on your car before, & you don't won't to DIY, then you can't get much better than James (& Ruth). However if you can borrow a friend with an engine crane, then it's quite easy to DIY. It ain't rocket you know what. 12 years ago I had a gearbox failure. Around came a friend with an engine crane. 2 years later I took the engine out myself single handed.

Just a thought but have you fitted an electric fuel pump? Mech. pump ok for daily drivers but if only used occasionally then it takes a lot of starter use to get fuel into the float chambers for the engine to run.

Why not have a chat with this guy who can supply EFI kits. John Maher John is a very nice guy (he built an engine/gearbox for me some 10 years ago) & can supply a complete kit (DTA based) with good-to-start mapping included. Incidentally he is the former drummer with the Buzzcocks! here Edited by - Mick Day on 18 Mar 2014 10:26:31

Quoting Peter Mears: Well I do know the left hand signal as well But does anyone else??? She may think you're waving at her! YHM.

What did you do for left turns? By-the-way YHM!

My starter was reconditioned in 2006 & worked perfectly until last summer. Similar symptoms & would even start the engine with the help of a big, big jump start battery. Took the starter off & fitted my spare. Now starts 1st time. So if the battery is OK & you're sure the wiring is in good order............... Good luck.

My daughter is looking for a recent 5 door manual Yaris in good condition with service history. If any of you guys are thinking of selling /part ex'ing & would like to do a private deal then let me know via blatmail.

Having had a small mishap with a rock damaging the front bumper of the tintop I decided to use a local bodyshop to me. Washington Coach Works, West Sussex Not only did they do a fantastic job but they also have a considerable number of high end cars in for repair. So when the 7 collected a few scratches & dents, to a wing & bonnet, I got them to repair it for me. They've done fantastic job again! Excellent paint match! No connection other than as a satisfied customer.

Quoting Blue7: It is the nature of "the beast" It doesn't like town driving, doesn't like slow and in particular it doesn't like bumpy roads at slow speeds, which can cause exponential kangarooing Tuning to 280 bhp has probably exacerbated the problem but you soon learn how to cope with it. Great fun though 😬 Er........... NO! Just because the max BHP is 280 doesn't mean it should kangaroo & be undriveable at low speed. Ever seen a 911 doing this? Have a chat with the 2 Steve's & get it mapped properly.

You are correct on the difference between a catch tank & Apollo (oil/air separator) tank. When I had a wet sump K the oil temperature would drop 10 or so degrees when the oil level was just out of reach of the crank. I always felt more comfortable with this as I believed this was better than aerated oil. Even with the Apollo I always filled to this level. My guess is that oil from the top of the engine is being ingested via the breather to the inlet manifold. Maybe worse on left handers? Solution: route this breather to a catch tank & block the tapping into the inlet manifold. Secondly fit an Apollo, modify the sump gasket & ditch the sump foam. Fitting the Apollo tank is not difficult but correctly tightening some connections can be a tad challenging. If Caterham can no longer supply then I'm sure there must be other alloy fabricators who can make you one. Maybe try Brise, or go for a dry sump installation from Pace? Or better still fit a dry sump. I believe Pace can probably supply.

What were your oil temperatures before & after the oil level change? Do you have an Apollo tank/dry sump?

Quoting Nigel Mercer: Can I ask, as I can't find this in the archives, What is the foam there for - what is it meant to achieve? That's a difficult question & so far nobody has given a definitive answer. I suppose the best one though is to prevent surge. I've had my K series from new in 1994 & I never changed the foam.............. However between then & 2004 I left major servicing to someone else but never saw "foam" on the invoice. In 2004 Gary May serviced the car & I noticed foam & ali baffle on the invoice (the baffle had started to crack). A year later I put in a Hellier baffle, removed the foam & modified the gasket. However my foam was in the sump with a neat cut-out for the oil pick-up. Now I've no idea whether this was Gary's way of doing it or my car had that arrangement all along. However to my mind that is a better way of doing it rather than sandwiching it between the baffle & oil rail. I now have a dry sump.

I used the screwdriver trick on the right side of the engine all by myself. Held in place with a trusty G clamp. Works for the undoing & the doing up.

Revilla: Your Low-Flying article was excellent & included ALL the necessary information & warnings required. Superlight91: AFAIK these MFRU's are in short supply. Caterham are out of stock. Ebay could be your friend? As mine was 19 years old I decided to remove it completely & replace with individual relays. Procrastination stopped me doing this 11 years ago as once the starter relay was bypassed everything else worked. It was only when I was getting intermittent fuel problems that I decided to junk the MFRU (I don't have a lambda sensor). At some point in the future I'd like to completely replace the engine loom, fuse, relay box. However whilst it still works.....................

Have a look here for the earlier MRFU wiring. Works on my 1994 vintage car AFAIAA in the earlier wiring the injectors & the lambda sensor are powered by the main & OS relays respectively. Not having had K series starting problems for 11 years I've just had to replace my starter motor. Now starts hot & cold. As Charlie says it's not one solution all the time but consideration must be given to the whole system. And if you do employ the starter relay mod remember that the new relay may exhibit arcing & corroded contacts after a while. replace mine every spring.

Had similar symptoms to yours. Checked with a meter & apparently still within spec. New TPS fitted & no more misfire/hesitation. Just have to work out my other intermittent starting problems now! Got mine from local motor factor. On box it says FuelParts TP009. www.fpuk.co.uk

I had a misbehaving K series for 3 or so years. Misfire symptoms would come & go along with poor starting, TPS passed all tests. Recommissioning after the winter & misfire back with a vengeance. New TPS cured all symptoms.

Have a good one Angus!

Sorry to hear about the car but glad you're OK. One rear panel, one side panel, rear wing & nosecone. I assume TSK will re-paint the whole car as trying to match 20 year old patena will be difficult. Wouldn't take much to strip it down for a proper re-build & most of it paid for by the other party.

For a road car a brake balance adjuster is allowed so long as it can't be adjusted whilst driving.............so put it under the bonnet.

Rather than taking the top cover off have you thought of draining through the drain plug then refilling with a long tube & funnel from the engine compartment? Doesn't take too long especially if you warm the oil 1st.

TADTS, as mine used to for some time until.............. ..........use more aggressive pads on the front (like wot the tester advised). Hawk pads were a favourite a while back...... ...........brake balance adjuster....... ...........4 pot caliper up front.......... My set-up is 4 pot front caliper & standard rear with Pagid brake pads: RS15 front & RS14 rear.

Like wot I said then....................

Depending on what you have found, & if it is designed to have current flowing all the time, then it might be better to use a power resistor on a good heatsink. Just need to determine resistance & wattage. Edited by - Mick Day on 27 May 2013 15:44:25