Caterham r400 Duratec dry sump oil pump

[Reiver]

I am used to a DS pump being externally driven by a belt...tell me about the Caterham unit.  This is internal/uses the stock unit in tandem?  Location?

I do not have a build manual for the car and have looked for one but only found general information manuals.

[sf4018]

Oil is pumped internally in the engine at the bottom of the engine block to the top of the sump tank via a hose. No idea how it works.

[7Westfield]

On 1/24/2026 at 7:14 PM, Reiver said:

I am used to a DS pump being externally driven by a belt...tell me about the Caterham unit.  This is internal/uses the stock unit in tandem?  Location?

I do not have a build manual for the car and have looked for one but only found general information manuals.

The only pix I found of a Duratec DS were belt drive...

I hate to ask the obvious, but are you sure you have a dry sump system?  Do you have a separate oil tank?

Post a pic of your engine bay.

 

The only case I know of a doubled "stock" pump is on air cooled VWs, they piggyback a second rotor on the front end.  

Hard to see enough room inside most engines to do that

[JohnCh]

Caterham uses the Raceline dry sump here: https://www.raceline.co.uk/products/part_section.asp?categoryID=1 &SectionID=23

 

Raceline uses a modified internal pump that can both scavenge and pressure feed the engine. I've heard, but don't have irrefutable confirmation, that Ford cast an extra cavity in the pump to accommodate using it in various engine installations. Raceline then repurposes that second cavity to create a two-stage pump.  

[Reiver]

Yes West, I have a dry sump system.  I believe the earlier ones did have a belt drive unit but the late (mine is a 2012) have internal units... if anyone has a manual of that raceline I'd like a copy.

[JohnCh]

Raceline doesn't have one. When I purchased my dry sump from them a few years ago, they sent me several pictures so I could figure out what went where. 

[Reiver]

That is kind of crazy at best......

[JohnCh]

It was fine. There are very few parts, and the torque values I didn't have, they provided on a phone call. 

 

 

[Croc]

Can we pause and confirm the dry sump system first please?  Caterham has been known to use three different types of Duratec dry sump - Titan, Cosworth and Raceline.  I have even known Pace to be used in older applications.  For an R400, I'd lean towards Titan being used.  

 

Is there a brand name on the underside of the sump?  What type/shape dry sump tank is installed?

 

 

On 1/24/2026 at 8:14 PM, Reiver said:

I do not have a build manual for the car and have looked for one but only found general information manuals.

 

I know our library does not have much on dry sumps but have you discovered the manuals available for download here to assist other issues that you want to address?

It does not have to be the same year assembly manual as they do not change that much year to year.  

 

https://usa7s.net/ips/files/category/23-build-user-guides/

 

 

 

 

[JohnCh]

I believe Caterham transitioned from Titan to Raceline by 2010, so a 2012 R400 should be the Raceline unit. A picture of the sump should help us identify what you have, and if I need to suck it up and tell @Croc he was right.

[11Budlite]

There are photos of the Titan setup in this build manual for the CSR260 starting at page 11: 

 

Edited January 30 by 11Budlite

[Reiver]

Good point Croc.... it says Caterham on the unit but here it is.

[Reiver]

Thanks Bud...my Caterham marked unit appears to be the Raceline.

Edited January 30 by Reiver

[JohnCh]

I am aware of two changes Raceline makes for the Caterham version: it reads Caterham not Raceline, and the front of the Raceline version overhangs the sides by about 1.5 inches, which creates mounting bosses used in some installations. You can see these in the picture I included earlier. These are removed from the Caterham version as they create interference issues with the chassis. 

[BruceBe]

John is correct about utilizing the standard Raceline pan in a Caterham. We routinely remove the bosses on the Raceline pans for install in a Caterham.

 

The earlier Cosworth system utilized a bell-tank rather than an external reservoir. This is the system utilized on the CSR260 and CSR200. To complicate matters even further for the early CSR260/200, there are multiple pan designs. Fortunately, these variations have no impact on the interface to the bell-tank, which is a pair of internal scavenge/supply, double O-ringed tubes between the bell-tank and the rear of the pan. The oil reservoir *is* the bell-housing, and makes sure the concentric slave cylinder never gets too cold :-)

 

Cheers,

-Bruce

 

[Reiver]

Bruce, shouldn't be an issue in the Phx area but what does the reference to a cold slave cylinder mean..... perhaps tongue in cheek but I've no idea.  BTW, you guys did a great job upgrading my r400 (before it was mine). 

 

Pat