Pete-B

Thinking of changing my gearbox oil ( Sigma 150 - 5 speed ). Iv'e got two bottles of Redline MTL to put back but I've got a horrible feeling there's no drain plug on these boxes ( might be wrong ) If I am right and considering how awkward the other plug is to get to, whats the best way of doing it ? Peter

C/C recommend Ford Formula E 5W-30 semi synthetic for the Sigma engines but my local Ford dealer tells me this has now been changed to Formula F 5W-30 and is now fully synthetic. I called C/C Midlands and they tell me they've gone back to Comma 5W-30 engine oil which is cheaper anyhow. I'm just about to do my own interim service so not counting cost, which of these would the POBC recommend or indeed should I use another make? The car is a Sigma 150 and only used for road work some of which is a little spirited on the odd occasion. Thanks for any suggestions. Peter

Had the same problem with mine, turned out to be a bad earth to the scuttle. Although I'd scraped the paint away it just wasn't enough. Peter

I managed to run the cable inside the roll bar. Just drilled a small hole in the bar under the boot cover and applied a bit of patience. 😬. Worth the effort though! Peter

Just checked mine on the car it says 20mm Peter

Tony, I've had mine rebuilt and set up by Phil at road and race and you've described mine exactly. As Phil said because of the cars build and lightness amongst other things you will never get it silent. Mine is almost completely silent in fourth and whines a bit in third and fifth until it reaches about 3000 revs, then silence (almost). I also get backlash but have learnt with careful use of the right foot on take up I can eliminate this (almost). In conclusion if your diff is as you describe it I would tend to keep the devil you know. Peter

As it says, 1-1.5 mm, mine works fine at that. Peter

Jason, Being a numpty on these matters I'm not sure what the readings are, hence my question, I've just copied the seperate sheet the guy gave me with my certificate. Gavin, thanks for answering sguiggle query. Peter

Took the car in for it's first MOT today, (Sigma 150) really not sure what to expect so I was a bit worried, big relief when it passed. Not sure what the figures on the emissions test were though or wether they were good or bad. The readings are as follows: Fast idle test Engine speed 2500 - 3000 CO 0.20 - 0.13 (% vol) HC 200 - 71 (ppm vol) Squiggle mark? 0.97 - 1.023 Natural Idle Test Engine Speed 450 - 1500 CO 0.30 0.02 (% vol) The guy did say for my car to pass it should have a reading under 2.8, whatever that is, so which of these figures was he talking about? Peter Edited by - Pete-B on 24 Aug 2010 19:21:34

My Sigma 150 is due for it's first MOT in a couple of weeks. A while ago I replaced the ZV3s for T888s but left one of the old ones on as the spare, will this be a problem? Should have said, tyre is legal but of course has different tread pattern, does this matter? Second question: Is it OK to present the car with aeroscreen, minus wipers or should I replace main screen, fit wipers and make sure screen wash is working? Thanks for any advice. Peter Edited by - Pete-B on 18 Aug 2010 10:28:18

Am I being totally thick here, looking at the PDF file it shows turning both cast-d nuts towards the rear of the car Peter

There's obviously hundreds of us out here who have bought new Caterhams and are letting this diff problem spoil our motoring. I personally have spent another £200 plus to get Phil at Road and Race to rebuild mine and whilst it's much much better it still clonks and whines a bit These cars, even if we build them ourselves are not cheap. We all know were going, to some extent, back to drive by wire but the basic mechanics should surely be solid and do the job they're intended to without all the clonking and whining. So instead of all this speculation of what CC's is, or is not doing about it, would it be too much to ask them, in view of all the queries to this problem, to post some sort of response on here. Peter

Know what you mean, looks almost tempting enough to taste. 😬 One thing I forgot to mention, the tech guy at redline said "dont worry too much if you don't get all the old oil out, the new stuff will just push it to one side. Peter

Longy, If your diff is that noisy I don't think the heavy shock oil would really help. Has I said when I started this thread, Phil at road and race had already rebuilt mine -he charged me about £200 to strip it down rebuild it and that included fitting all new oil seals which I didn't think was too bad. Also has I said, Phil reckoned you will always get some noise, and basically learn to drive round the backlash and put up with or wear earplugs for the bit of whine. But this oil almost got rid of all the whine I had which makes it a much better car to drive. Good luck. Peter

2nd update, I drained my diff and refilled wirh Redline heavy shockproof gear oil and went out this morning to try it out, WOW what a difference, much much better. The loud whine I got in third and fifth gear up to about 3000revs is much better, at a guess I would say by about 60 - 70%. It was never going to get rid of the bit of backlash I had but even that seems smoother, although I'm now able to drive round that with careful use of clutch and throttle. I don't for one minute say this is a panacea for everybodys diff but as far as I'm concerned it's probably the best £32 I've ever spent. Peter

I drained mine this morning, I use one of the little hand pumps I got from Halfords last year. Can't remember how much I paid, but not a lot. I took the boot floor out, jacked the back of the car up as high as I could to allow the oil to pool at the front and just sucked it out via the flexy tube that comes with the pump - job done. PS, just found the box, it's a Clarke 500cc oil suction pump and cost me £6.89 Inc VAT Peter

Update. Managed to actually speak to the technical director at Redline UK today. I gave him a description of our cars and diffs, he seemed very switched on and recommended their Heavy Shockproof Gear Oil, a brief description reads: A unique lubricant containing microscopic particles as an extreme pressure agent-unique dispertion which cushions gear teeth to help prevent tooth breakage and allows the use of lower viscosities. Recommended for heavily-loaded racing differentials and transmissions, off road racing and problem gearboxes. The vicosity characteristics allow the lubricant to resist throwoff and provide a film thickness similar to a 75W250 grade, while providing the same low fluid friction as an SAE 75W90. This oil is a bit more expensive than the Gulf 75-145 but I'm told a lot better. I've ordered two bottles from Opie oils today at a fraction over £16 a bottle Inc VAT and they're doing delivery free until Thursday. Billyboy, He did say he wouldn't recommend this oil for LSD or/and clutch type diffs has he put it but they do have oils for these I gather. The number to ring if anyone wants to speak to him is: 02476717100. Peter Edited by - Pete-B on 13 Jul 2010 21:18:46

EP90 GL5 is what CC and Phil recommend for diff, the gearbox is a different oil. Peter

Some while ago I got Phil at Road and Race to rebuild my diff for me. Although very pleased with the result Phil explained that because of the very build of our cars - and he should know he owns and drives one - you're never going to get rid of all the noises in the standard open diff. He got rid of most of the backlash but I still get a small amount and it also whines a bit in 3rd and 5th until I reach 3000 revs then all is quiet. One thing Phil did say it's worth trying a thicker heavy duty oil as lond as it's got the right characteristics ie extreme pressure etc. I was going through Opie Oils web page today and I noticed they do a Gulf 85 - 140 heavy duty oil which seems to meet the specifications ie GL5, extreme pressure and everything else that CC recommends. I rang Tim at Opie, explained what I was looking for and he said, " I would recommend Redline heavy 75 - 140 shockproof gear oil". It's more expensive which of course does'nt matter if we get the right results. My question is has anyone tried this oil and if so what were the results? Oh and by the way Opie Oils are doing free delivery this week until Thursday night Peter

Garth, It's on the sensor itself, it lights up each time one of the teeth on the disc passes it. Peter Edited by - Pete-B on 11 Jul 2010 20:52:42

Jeffi, I've had to change the wheel sensor twice on my Sigma. theres no need to switch on the ignition to check, just jack the car up and turn the wheel if the sensor is alright you will see the light come on each time one of the cogs passes it. If the light doesn't come on try cleaning the contacts then adjusting the gap, this sometimes works. Best of luck. Peter PS The gap on mine is set at 1mm and works fine, any closer and it dosen't work, I guess that part is trial and error. If it is the sensor ring CC and they will send you a replacement. Edited by - Pete-B on 11 Jul 2010 19:06:13

Wot he said

Thanks for that Rik. Peter

Being a bit of a shorthouse I think I will try moving the pedals into the first hole on my 150 Roadsport. Is it just a case of removing the long bolt, moving the pedals and replacing the bolt, or would I need to do some fiddling on the adjusting rods? It's probably obvious but being a bit of a numpty it's sods law I'd muck it up. Thanks Peter

Hi, M25 Traveling Man, Thanks for responding, yes I did have to wind the pistons back in and yes I think you're right, it's probably more long pedal travel than spongy. I've now done about 80 miles of pretty careful driving which included quite a bit of 50-30 and 70-40 mph braking which seems to be the recommended way to bed the pads in. As of yet I haven't stood on the brakes, I'm also finding that all it needs is two quick pumps and the pedal is pretty solid. Peter