Nev

I'm still interested , £135 sounds good to me.

I would also be interested in Oulton, not done one for so long now. Nev

I would also check the trangular wedge that the steering column passes through. Mine had zero sealant around the base and would freely pass water staight through. Never had an issue with the heater though. 2003 SV Nev

Hi, can any recommend somebody in the Chester area that could removed a dent with slight crease from a painted Caterham bonnet, hopefully without requiring a repaint. Some looks to have sat on it on the nearside whilst in the serivice on M6 ,whilst on our way back from the MADS scotish BLAT ( which was most enjoyable). So before I try and do it myself and make a pigs ear of it I thought I'd see if anyone has a recomendation. Hope you can help Nev

I would be inclined to firstly check that the gauge reading is valid ( as other have said). I would also have thought that at the high temp you were showing that the expansion tank pressure relief valve may have started to open at least a bit ( may be wrong). If they are correct then next I would recheck for air in cooling ( preventing proper flow) and then check/change the thermostat. Water pump efficiency could cause poor flow and reduce cooling so I dont think that is a stupid idead at all, however I think it unlikely to be causing your problem, and certainly not the first place to start . ps. If you do remove the stat, use this as an opportunity to flush the radiator. Hope this helps in some way. good luck. Nev

At lunch time I checked out the pipe. I took it off the car and blew it out with an air line and it seemed ok with no blockages. Put it back on the car but still a problem. So took the gauge off and made a fitting so I could connect that to the air line. At first it had the same response ( or lack of ) and initially did not move, but after about 5 seconds of the line pressurising the gauge moved and went up to 80PSi. So gauge at faulty gauge. Managed to apply and remove the air pressure a few time and this seems to have freed it up and it is now responsive. Not sure if the higher pressure helped unstick something or not, but put it back on the car and it seems ok. It looked a bit jerky at first , so may have to see how it goes, but at least I now know what to replace. Nev

I have noticed that since an oil and filter change on my bog standard 1.6 K-series Caterham (2003 EU3), that the mechanical oil pressure gauge is behaving as if it is extremely over damped. The pressure rises quickly when first started and the low pressure warning light goes out as normal, but even once fully warmed up the gauge will stay at about 55Lb after driving/revving and then if left to idle will take about 10 seconds or more to return to about 20lb, and is only slightly quicker to rise again when the revs are raised. It used to be very responsive, so obviously something is wrong. I have checked the plastic pipe to ensure it is not kinked and all looks fine. I was going to disconnect the tube and try and flush it through in case there is a restriction in the tube/pipe, and also remove the gauge and check its operation off the car to see if the gauge itself is at fault. Apart from the above is there anything else that may be causing this behaviour. Any ideas appreciated Thanks Nev

Thanks for your help guys. I'll pass all this to him. Regards Nev

Does anyone know of a decent aluminium welder/fabricator in the Chester area. I have a friend who is looking for someone to do a repair on a motor bike fuel tank. I The bike is a restoration project and he would like to find someone who can do a nice tidy job. I'm not too sure on the exact details of the work required other than above. Hope you can help. Nev

Phew ! Job done. Bit of a fiddle (need smaller hands). Thanks everyone, Nick notes where spot on, with the exception that the housing bolts where 8mm bolts in my case not allan. So Stat removed, I took the rubber seal from around the stat and inserted this back into the housing recess so that it has a seal and all seem well again. Bottom hose is now getting warm. Just need to do a bit more bleeding and should be good to drive home . Also checked the stat in a cup of boiling water and it did not budge at all, so good confimation that it was indeed the stat. Off to order a new one now . Thanks again everyone. Nev

Thanks Nick, that doesn't sound too bad, and is roughly what I had pieced together from the internet, only more precise I think (hope) the problem is definetely a circulation problem as the bottom hose ( large one from Rad) was cold ( ie not even luke warm) to the touch. Hopefully this overheating has not cause any damage to the Head ☹️ I shall give it a go later. Thanks agian. Nev

Would I be correct in the following. To remove the thermostat I need to remove the thermostat housing and then seperate it (unbolt) and then remove the stat, reassemble and refit the housing. And, to remove the housing I need to remove the J hoses and the then unbolt the housing from the engine block. Has anyone done this? and if so how easy is it to do with the engine in situ? Nev

Hope someone can help. On the way to work today the Caterham overheated. I stopped and allowed it to cool and topped it up , not much coolant lost ( through expansion cap pressure release value) and although the top hose was hot the bottom one was completely cold, and I mean cold! Basically no circulation. As I was less tha 1/2 mile from work I managed to get in OK. But I would like to try and sort or at least diagnose the cause before using it again. Given that the car has been running for several months since it last had its coolant changed I do not suspect an airlock. However it may be a water pump or stuck thermostat. So can anyone give me an idea how easy it is to remove the themostat , I was going to remove and see if that fixes it as a first step this afternoon ( so I can drive it home ) ? Any other ideas welcome. I hope to try and have a go at this after lunch today, so if anyone can help or has any photos of the thermostat housing that would help. Engine is 1.6K standard EU3. Thanks Nev

Thanks guys, guess I'll try tapping them around first ( equal amounts on each), if that won't work then I'll look to remove half shafts. Have to get the T50 socket first. Thanks again. Nev

Dave J (or anyone else), can you tell me what size and type of socket you used to remove the locking plate on the castellated bearing carriers. This was something I've been looking at doing for sometime now, but never got around to it. I have a bundle of backlash that has been there since new ( 1st diff sent back under warranty for the same issue, but did not bother again when replacement was only slightly better). How easyily do the carriers move and did you need to remove the half shafts or leave them in ? Thanks Nev