ashyers

Hello Crew, I'm looking to ID a Caterham coolant hose, it's from around 2003 and I hope it's still available. The car is an early Duratec installation and uses 2 of these S bends. Thanks, Andy

Tom, After seeing the cam I want to inspect the bearings and make sure there are no surprises inside the short block. I don't want to find an issue when something fails... Andy

papak, I spoke with Tom C. the other day, he's great! He was able to give me some insight on Crower cams. I also spoke to Shane at Crower who was very helpful. I need to get the engine out inspect things and get it back together so I can spend some time driving the car . Tom, You mention Comp Cams, I haven't been able to find a cam listed for a Duratec motor. Would this be a custom order from them? As far as the cam damage, I'm hoping that I'll be able to to get to the bottom of the issue when I tear down the engine and inspect it. Andy edit: added stuff...

Tom, Thanks! Both the gauge and the ECU's sender are in the housing at the rear of the head. It appears they are working OK, so I'm rethinking the hose routing. I'm going to pull the engine for some other issues so it will be a good time to simplify the system and hopefully get it working as intended. This is the first reverse flow cooling system I've worked with so I want to make sure I understand how it's supposed to work before I reinvent the wheel. Andy

papak, What grind are you using? How's the performance? I don't intend to push this motor over 7250 and will be driving it on the street with an occasional auto-X. You mentioned Crane is in San Diego, is it possible you have Crane and Crower confused? Crower is in San Diego and Crane is in Mississippi. Thanks, Andy

Mike, Thanks, I'm not sure what happened there. Is there a way to eliminate the 2nd images? So Crane gets 2 votes, how about Crower? Andy

Yesterday I pulled the dry sump filter screens, cleaned the tank, and opened up the oil filter. The screens were clean and the tank had a minute amount of tiny metal particles on the floor. The pick up is about 3/4" off the floor of the tank so any chunks would tend to collect there. The filter looked OK. As far as the cam, I dropped by a friend's shop who builds mostly high end sprint car and drag motors. I saw my first 900cid NA Hemi with a 1+" lift cam. You could put a tennis ball down the intake ports! The general consensus (guess?!?!) is that the welding on the cam failed to adhere to the base metal. As I was monkeying around with the oil system I found a few things that bugged me about the wiring and cooling system, and decided to pluck the motor. As I said earlier, down the rat hole... While preparing to pull the motor I've yanked out about 10' of 5/8" heater hose, gained access to the ECU, and if I can steal some time during the holiday I'll finish the job. When I opened up the ECU I also found some this: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14793&stc=1 Anyone want to try and decipher the engine description. It's "car-chelogy" . and this: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14794&stc=1 I guess this is the orig connector for the factory ECU? There's was some splicing done to fit the MBE unit that I'm going to clean up. I'm pretty happy that the ECU was not "locked" and I've also obtained the PIN to open up the Master level and really cause problems! This will be helpful it I replace the cams with a different grind and that's looking like a good option at this point. I'm not sure I want to go down the road of welded cams further. Does anyone have cam advice? The map info above gives an idea of the current setup (7250 Limiter, 11.5:1CR) and even with a flatted cam (.400" lift, 244deg dur.) it's pretty healthy. It would be nice to obtain them on this side of the pond. Andy edit: fixed images

Minor update: Did a compression test today to get some more insight: Max was 205psi, Min was 190psi I haven't had the chance to do a leakdown test or cut open the oil filter to see what's been caught. Maybe tomorrow. If I get really inspired I may pull the motor and put it on a stand so I can have a look... Andy Andy

Graham and Randall, Thanks for the responses. Graham, I think you were typing the same time I was! There's some further info in my post. Randall, as far as oil I believe the PO was running 5w-40 Motul. Do you have a recommendation for a valve spring compressor that works well on the Duratec? Andy

Mike, You're right, the big question is what caused it. These cams are welded and reground and there were signs of wear on a few other lobes, both intake and exhaust. The one in the photo is the worst example. The valve clearance was .016" so there was some material removed . As far as the cause Web suggested the possibility of incorrect spring rate or interference. There were also signs that the car sat a bit because some of the lobes showed signs of corrosion on the heels of the lobes. This could tie into the cold blooded nature of the engine's current cooling arrangement. Diagnosis is going to be tough without history on the engine... Any suggestions for a good valve spring compressor that will allow me to remove the springs while the head is on the engine? Andy

Looks like I get to deal with cam repair and replacement! I was aware of the noisy valvetrain when I purchased the car and here's the reason: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14783&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14784&stc=1 The cam is a Web Camshaft grind and they were able to look up the specs from '03 when the engine was built. It was repaired once in '05. Here we go, down the rat hole! I'm hoping to have it in the mail to them this week for evaluation, repair, and suggestions on how stop this. I don't have the exact cam specs handy, but .400" lift and 244deg were mentioned during our phone conversation. I wanted a project... Andy

Sean, Thanks! I'm really curious about the restrictor in the de-gas line. I wonder what it's purpose is? If I use the drawings you sent as a guide I can certainly eliminate a few hoses and simplify things a bit. I need to do a bit of noodling around and come up with a plan. I'm still not totally clear how the engine is over cooling when underway, but I suspect it's excessive coolant flow that's not regulated by the T-stat. I suspect the mass of hoses going into the triple "T" in the lower radiator hose. Thanks again for all the help guys . Andy

Sorry about the upside-down sketch! The orig. was OK, but it flipped?!?!?

AHHH! Just described how the system is plumbed and was timed out! Attempt #2... Mike, Thanks for the drawing, it seems the builder of this car went a much different route! We'll see if I'm able to describe it: I'll start with the water rail. It appears to be a Ford part and supports the coil pack. The following is attached to it: 1) ECU temp sensor 2) Gauge temp sensor 3) Upper heater hose* 4) Hose that exits block prior to T-stat 5) 5/16" expansion tank hose 6) Upper radiator hose* The T-stat housing is connected as follows: 1) Large diameter hose to triple "T" then to the lower radiator 2) Small diameter hose to triple "T" #1 The triple "T" is connected as follows: 1) Triple "T" #1 to T-stat (as above) 2) Triple "T" #2 to expansion tank hose 3) Triple "T" #3 to heater lower hose I need to warp my head around the way this was intended to work. My sense is that this system is bypassing too much flow around the T-stat so it's unable to control the temp. I also think it's way to complicated! If I clean things up I can ditch a few feet of hose and the "T". What direction is the coolant intended to flow in this engine? Is it to exit the T-stat housing? Thanks, Andy Edit - added a sketch of the system

Hello, I need some help here guys. The 2.3 Duratec in my "new" Caterham is running cold. I figured it was the T-stat, but that wasn't the case. When I replaced the old one it looked fine and the new one didn't have much effect on the engine's operating temp. Here's some info on the car: 180F T-stat, electric fan, heater, ~6qt. dry sump with oil cooler. I can get temp in the car if I let it idle with no airflow. The fan turns on at around 85C-90C. When driving it runs around 60C if I'm moving. I have not checked the gauge's sensor location yet. It seems to me it may be measuring the coolant temp in the rad, not the engine... If the gauge sensor is not in some wacky spot and the T-stat is OK there must be enough coolant reaching the radiator to keep this thing cool regardless of the T-stat. What I'd like to know is the cooling path of a Duratec to verify the hoses are routed correctly. Thanks, Andy

Sometimes it's the little stuff that gets me! While I'm waiting on insurance, a few parts, and final registration I've been busy getting familiar with the Caterham inspecting, cleaning, lots of cleaning... I figured I'd remove the headrests for access and I want to adjust them anyway. Well after some considerable effort I decided to cut bait and post. How do you get the darn things to move?!?!?!? Andy

Got it!

I waited 35 ! My dad and I used to look for 'em in the New York Times Classifieds. I remember prices in the $7k range. I'm sorry he's not around to play with it. I'm fortunate I have support for this adventure at home. Once Hilde gets used to the clutch I may have to wait my turn to drive! Of course I need to sort insurance first... Do you guys have any suggestions on how to do business reasonably quickly with SBD? The email route isn't cutting it. Am I looking at EARLY morning phone calls? Andy

Mike and Tom, Thanks for the responses. I believe you're right this is an early Duratec. The car was built with the Duratec by Autocourse in S. California. From what I can tell the motor was pretty state of the art at the time, but the records are limited. Basically it's a SV with lots of bells and whistles and a hot rod motor. Hopefully I'll hear back from Steve soon, I sent SBD a note on Sunday and put in a request for some goodies today. From what I've gathered the car was remapped (detuned) a while back, so I'm hopeful the I can access the ECU. I'm looking forward to sorting out some details on the car and playing with it. I've wanted one of these for a long time! Andy

Hello, I just purchased an '03 Caterham with a Duratec that I believe may have been built by SBD. I was curious to know if anyone has dealt with them. The engine has early SBD throttle bodies, dry sump, and possibly cams. The previous owner knew little about the engine so I'm digging around a bit to find some info. Thanks, Andy

Mike, I picked up an '03 SV with a Duratec that was advertised recently. I'm now on the learning curve! Let's say there was some deferred maintenance in spite of the low mileage. I'll start peppering the site with questions and requests for advice soon! Andy

Croc, You are partially responsible for displacing the Midget that was in my garage until yesterday... ! Andy

Here's one I spotted yesterday: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/d/1993-rotus-7-lotus-seven/6676578618.html

Thanks to one of the USA7s members I was able not only to see if I fit in a Caterham S3, I was given some very helpful insights into Caterham ownership, and I was treated to a blast around the neighborhood. Cant' beat that ! As far at the car portion of the visit, I will fit in a S3, as long as I wear narrow shoes. I really enjoyed the Caterham and it was great to get a "data point" of a stock S3/de Dion/Kent Caterham. Now the car hunting starts... Thanks David...I think!

Thanks All, I'll check out the California Caterham Club site. Width shouldn't be an issue, I'm skinny. I'm most worried about fitting my wide feet in the pedal box. Andy