Angus

Garth, The cable tie version if fine for attaching the wings. I used three per wing stay and have had no problems in two years - still as solid as the day I fixed em. Need to get the adhesive right - I used Terostat MS 939 (made by Teroson - here). Also Big Heads will send samples - I emailed em with a specific request for 6 off of 2 different sizes of threaded studs and sure enough they arrived in the post a few days later. Big from me fr Big Head !! Angus Edited by - Angus on 27 Apr 2010 16:53:45

See other thread on similar topic, here. Angus (edited to correct link) Edited by - Angus on 27 Apr 2010 16:40:10

On the R400 S3 Duratec I have discovered that when the tank is emptied by the pump (by disconnecting the feed from the fuel rail) there is about six and a half litres of fuel remaining. This appears to be because the fuel pump module, which is mounted vertically, does not reach to the bottom of the tank, made worse because the tank floor slopes forward. The module itself is a cylinder of approx 1 1/2 litres volume. This gives a total of eight litres of dead volume in a tank of about 30 litres, or over 25%. Not good. The fuel pump module is a Ford item here (Ford part number 3M51-9H307 P1697156AT - from a Focus I believe) , and being a moulded plastic unit cannot (easily, if at all) be modified to alter the pickup point. It looks as if the module is designed to sit in a well in the tank floor, which of course is not the Caterham design. I would like to find a way to access this dead fuel to increase the range. Short of a new custom tank and an external pump, has anyone fixed this problem or got any ideas ? I then started looking at the fuel guage on the Stack dash. I have found that it underreads by five litres. Starting from the tank 'empty' but containing the six and a half dead litres, the reading does not climb off zero until five litres have been added. 10 litres actual reads 5, and so on. Alos note that the Caterham Stack is NOT calibratable for fuel. Although the standard stack dash (model 8130) can be calibrated, the unit as fitted as standard by Caterham has this functionality disabled. Stack can reflash the unit to re-enable this and other functionality, for the not trivial sum of £100. Angus

Steve - Yes all the wiring is in place. You just need the sensor - it screws straight into the drain plug and then the wires from the loom just plug into it. Tell me - does your stack have a fuel pressure display and if so does it work ? By which I mean does it display sensible pressure values rather than random numbers ? Angus

Steve The R400 Duratec does not have an oil temperature sender fitted as standard. All the wiring is in place though. I fitted one into the big blue drain plug in the side of the sump. Caterham now do a pre-drilled one - here.

Mark I cannot comment on 1) and 2), but for point 3): yes unfortunately thats correct. You can improve things by adjusting the length of the two heater pipes - from memory I made mine a bit longer, but its not ideal. Angus

Today at about 11:45, being towed on a Brian James trailer. Hope not broken ! Think number was X7CSR. Was it you ? Angus

Done ! Good luck - look forward to seeing the prototype. Angus

I also have spotted this engine loom chafing problem on mine - a late 2007 kit. I have made a partial improvement by lining the cut-out in the coil cover with a bit of the CC-supplied cycle wing edging. Not ideal because the loom underside can still chafe on the metal edge of the cam cover. I like the idea of the grommet - I will try and get one from CC. Suggest other Duratec owners check their engine looms. Angus

Thanks for the help guys. lavena - I think ISWYM, but I cannot get my nail in and so I am going the tool route. Rattie That disconnection tool looks like it will do the job. I also found a set of pliers here which I think I am leaning towards. Irritating that you cannot buy just the one you need but have to go for a set. Still might be able to offload the others on ebay. I am not looking to take the engine out (yet), but want to drain the tank, by using the pump, so I have a true zero fuel level. I can then fill in precise amounts so I can get an accurate calibration on the stack fuel guage. Angus

The R400 Duratec (and maybe the other Duratec-engined cars) has a single fuel pipe system, ie there is no return to the tank. The pipe itself is a black corrugated plastic item, made (I think) by Ford, and on each end there is a push fit coupling. This arrangement makes connection very easy - ideal for self builders. However, there is no obvious way to disconnect the coupling once fitted. It looks like there may need to be a special tool. Does anyone know how to release the fuel pipe coupling on the R400 Duratec ? Is there a special tool ? Angus.

If you use the 3M velcro on the front - just how strong is it ? I want to mount my front plate so that it does not obscure at all the radiator hole. This means having the top edge of the plate flush with the top of the mounting face and a large overhang below the nosecone. The implication of this arrangement is that the air pressure on the bottom of the plate will have a twisting effect on the velcro and might cause it to unstick itself. Have any of the Velcro fans experienced this ? Angus

Andy - Good spot - twas I - out for a 'must make the most of this weather' blat ! and the car is an R400 Duratec Angus

A 'feature' of the stack dash on the R400 is that the fuel pressure does not work, because as pointed out in a previous post, there is no sender fitted as standard. Instead of just displaying zero, or blank, the readout slowly counts down (or is it up) from 0 to 99. Completely meaningless, distracting, and irritating. 1) Can this behaviour be altered ? 2) Better it would be more satisfying to actually have a proper readout. Has anyone fitted a fuel pressure sender, and if so would they care to post instructions ? Angus

FWIW my view is to not remove the bar - contrary to Caterham advice. This is because in my view you get a neater finished appearance as the bar acts as a stiffener to hold the front edge of the cover in position. To form the clearance holes for the harness bolts I did the following: 1)trial fitted the cover in place with a couple of the self tappers for the popper bases 2) Marked the approx centre of the four harnes bolt holes 3) Removed cover and drilled undersize holes 4) Refixed the cover in place 5) Using a small circular file working down into the threaded boss on the crossmember carefully opened up each hole in turn, just sufficient to take the bolt. As the bar is aluminium and with care you will not damage the threads in the boss. Waste cover fabric can be cut away as the hole is enlarged. 6) As I did each hole I fitted the bolt to provide extra clamping to avoid misalignment of the subsequent holes 7) Result is a nice neat finish of the boot cover. Angus

Dick I have done exactly what you are considering, although my decat pipe had the hooks in place. I cannot comment on if the springs are definitely needed, but I have two (opposing) observations: 1) the collector cannot fall off as it is located by the silencer and rear mounting point. 2) The springs by providing tension locate the collector firmly onto the downpipes thereby mininmising rattles and increasing the gas-tightness. So take your choice ! Note that you will have to have a new rear mounting bracket fabricated as the raceco is not a straight swap for the Caterham unit. As you have to do that as well as cut down and re-weld the pipe, you might as well have the hooks fitted. I got mine done at Gartrac in Chiddingfold, who did a very good quality job. Angus

I had this misalignment problem on my build, but only on one side. The bolt would go in fine without the damper in place, but not with. First I cleaned up both threads with tap and die, then I filed a small taper on the end of the bolt, but still no joy. I had to form the captive nut bracket. The way I did this was to take a piece of metal bar about 2cm wide, 3mm or so thick and about 30cm long. Drill a clearance hole in one end and pass the bar vertically into the suspension tower. Clamp to the captive nut with a short bolt, checking that the bolt doesnt foul on chassis or skin. The bar then gives you sufficient leverage to bend the bracket on which the captive nut is mounted. Once bent, undo the bolt and remove bar. Finally with the shock in place I used a gentle tap with a rubber mallet to encourage the bolt to engage with the captive nut. Success !! Although it did take several hours of messing around to get that one bolt fastened - grrr. Angus

Yes t'was me. Out with Kate for a wedding anniversary blat, walk on the Downs and lunch at an old haunt. Nice weather, nice roads and very little traffic. Rich_F - Sorry for not hearing you - exhaust on that side 😬. There were loads of you cyclists - judging by the matching lycra I guess you all are a club ? And it was quite amusing as you arrived hearing all the surprised squeals of those flying down the hill and not spotting the speedbump !! Angus

...with a suoerlight cage, aeroscreens and a helmet. Looking very cool ...... (In the tt on our way home from family hols in Scotland) Angus

Andy There is some info in the 7FAQ on fitting a master switch.

Andy The R400D idle speed factory setting is quite high - about 1500 I think. Not sure this is your problem but you can reduce idle speed by adjusting the throttle stop. The downside is that the engine will stall when cold for about the first 60 secs of run time when off the throttle. The upside is lower idle - 1000 or so, and less chance of overheating when stuck in traffic on a hot day. Angus

Regarding the steel fab chassis, the removeable carrier is on the SV chassis, not on the S3 I believe. Whilst the bosses are welded in the S3 chassis, the rear skin is not drilled and more importantly there is no clearance between the tank and the chassis rail to get a nut onto the carrier stud. Tank would need to be relieved (tricky) or it might be possible to reposition it slightly to get enough clearance. So whilst possible, not that simple to fit a detachable carrier onto an S3, even steel fab. It is a mod that I will one day look at. Unless anyone knows differently ! Angus

dick - you're welcome ! MrB: regarding RaceCo length - yes they are standard - Ammo (who designs them) only does a standard one-size-fits-all. That was a bit of a disappointment for me as I had assumed when I ordered it - it was advertised as being for the Duratec - it was a straight replacement for the Caterham item - alas not the case. Hence the visit to the fabricators I mentioned in my previous post. Angus

Hmmm - OK I stand corrected on the stainless vs titanium. I had originally thought the endcaps were stainless, but was told otherwise by Dave at Gartrac. Avoiding the need to cut and weld the titanium was cited as the reason for fabricating a new bracket. Never mind, it means the silencer unit is as original and not chopped around. Regarding noise, I havent measured it scientifically but it is quiet, so I reckon (well) under 98 dba. If anyone can bring a noise meter to the next Surrey Area meeting, we can get a definitive answer. Harry F:- 🙆🏻 ( 😬). perhaps we need a BC topic on 'the correct shorthand designation for Duratec cars ?? dickb: ywhm (not the cheapest exhaust option) Angus

I just had this very job done on my R400D. The work was done by Gartrac in Chiddingfold here. To fit the RaceCo they needed to shorten the secondary (4 into 1 decat pipe) by about 75mm. Because it has a bend in it they did this by cutting and shortening at the 4 to 1 joint. The Lambda boss also had to be moved. Second they needed to fabricate a new bracket for the rear mounting point. By fabricating a new bracket there was no need to do any titanium welding, even though the entire RaceCo unit is titanium. Just picked car up today - very pleased with result. Is lighter, seems quieter and looks great ! Angus Edited by - Angus on 5 May 2009 23:57:24 Edited by - Angus on 5 May 2009 23:58:40