EburgE Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Just when I was getting comfortable with the build, the engine had to arrive. :banghead: Unlike some (smarter) people, I bought a Ford Zetec engine from a different source than the kit which is a Caterham. Now I'm awash with new questions. 1. Throttle cable. Caterham says it should have come with the engine, maybe I can use a bicycle cable. I think I can do this on the engine side, but how does it attach to the pedal? 2. Oil Pressure Sensor. In the photo I am holding the sensor. The brass adapter for it has already been screwed into the block. The engine guys say I can use any one of holes in the right side of the engine. The rear most hole (not shown) would conflict with the starter. I tried the fitting in the forward hole, but it appears to conflict with the oil filter and alternator. Should I be using the center hole? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2095011443_oilpressuresensor.JPG The Caterham kit has a 32" (yes very long) braided hose, marked "remote oil sensor", but none of the fittings (there are lots) seem to work with the sensor and fitting in the engine block. Supposedly the braided hose lets you mount the oil sensor remotely so it is less influenced by vibration. 3. Water Gauge? The harness has a female single connector marked "Wt. Gauge". I assume this means water guage. The kit has a sensor that fits it, shown in my hand in this picture. But where does it go on the engine? There seems to be no place on the thermostat for it. Suspicously I see there is a similar looking sensor in the right side between the alternator and intake. And the wires are chopped off. :ack: Is this the same thing? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1697143424_mysterysensor.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1063726992_newsensor.JPG Any help and photos would be appreciated. Thanks again! --Harold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayemtea Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Been there. on the oil pressure sensor. according to Cody at Caterham USA and a dealer-built Zetec SVT i've seen, an adaptor goes into the hole behind the filter. it adapts to the braided hose. the other end of the hose goes into a brass 'tee' (sort of looks like the 'tee' connector i used in the rear brake line). the 'tee' gets anchored on a threaded rod on the frame upper right just below the charcoal canister. the pressure sensor takes up one of the unused 'tee' connections. a plug is put into the other. Simple huh. Some time you can hear about my 'too short' battery cables. by the by, as i recall, it was difficult to get it all to seal - not leak in the first place and also glad you asked about it - mine needs to be tightened a bit more. My throttle cable came with the engine as i recall. I can send a photo of the connection if you need it. my W.T. Gauge went into a hole in my thermostat housing? at the rear of the block, driver's side. The thing with the cut wires is a mystery to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 My reply offers no help except to share your pain... my 1600 Kent engine came with an oil pressure sensor sitting right in the middle of the engine mount 4-bolt-pattern, so engine is installed with Caterham mount on one side and floor jack on the other while cutting/welding/cursing continues :ack: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottocycle Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Harold, I may be wrong but I think you have a mechanical oil pressure sensor gauge (hence the braided line). Look at the end of the line. It should look like a small diameter hose. It should have a nut and a compression ring on it or else an AN3 style nut. It will go into the block through any of the plug holes illustrated in your photo. Personally I prefer mechanical gauges to electric (though modern units are much better than the older units). If it is not a mechanical unit you can fit it at the "alternate" hole and plug the one near the oil filter. A word of advice, thread the sensor in directly to the block without any extra adaptors that will cause the unit to cantilever off the block. I am currently rebuilding a Lotus Europa engine that lost oil pressure and seized because the previous builder used a number of fittings to attach the sensor to the block for packaging reasons. The end result was that vibration and harmonics caused the unit (which has a bit of weight to it) to break off (during a hillclimb up a bumpy New England mountain road) and empty the sump with the expected result. You also may have another oil pressure sensor for your instrument panel (dashboard light). You should have your water temp sensor as close to the head as you can, probably on the intake manifold. I hope this helps, Dermot. Bethesda, Md. Modified Fury/Hayabusa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevet Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 The throttle cable is a standard Ford part - I have the part no at home, could get it for you Thursday. I bought a spare for the 7/7/7 trip - around $15 at the main dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 I second John T's WTG cable info. I have a Raceline water rail now, but recall that both the ECU sensor and gauge sensor plugged into the black plastic housing at the driver side rear of the engine...the ECU vertically from the top and the WTG horizontally from the rear (?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy7 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Maybe these pictures will help with the oil sender. The T fitting mounts on the chassis near the charcol cannister as mentioned before. I can take a picture if needed. The assembly guide is not much use at times http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1402063058_image1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/594597635_image2.jpg My water gauge connects on the left side of the thermostat housing. The other fitting you show is a mystery to me, there is a knock sensor on that side of the block but don't think that is what I am seeing. A call to your engine builder may be due. I had to find some of the fittings for the oil pressure locally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Thanks, all for the replies. Here are the updates: OIL PRESSURE SENSOR/SENDER After looking at breezy7's photos, I think I have all the parts to do it the Caterham way. The braided hose is awfully long, but it will work. I can always change it out later. (The hole marked ALTERNATE in my photo above conflicts with the starter, so it is not an option.) The dealer says I might be able to get a short 45 degree fitting and keep the sensor close to the engine, but that would not have the anti-vibration advantage of a hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 WATER GAUGE - TEMPERATURE SENSORS According to the dealer, there are actually two temperature sensors that should be on the thermostat, one for the ECU and one for the gauge. The one pictured in my hand above is for the gauge. Reason that was thrown off is that the thermostat on this engine does not have sensors or holes for them. On later model cars that use the Zetec, the sensors were moved elsewhere. I will stop by a Ford dealership and see if I can get an earlier thermostat with sensors. Edit: The 1999 Contour thermostat housing has threaded holes for two sensors; the ECU on top and the temp gauge near the bottom. According to the engine builder, the mystery sensor on the head marked CHOPPED in my photo is a old head temperature sensor that could be removed/plugged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy7 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 If you mount the sensor near the charcol cannister you will need to use all the length of the hose that Caterham supplies. I split some vinyl tubing and covered the braided hose for a little extra protection from debris coming off the road and to keep from chaffing the powder coat where I zip tied to the frame. Curious about what you have for a wiring harness, is it a Caterham USA harness? If so have do you expect to run into any problems with things matching up with your engine? Some engine details and pictures would be nice. I would suggest putting some Teflon tape on the threads for the oil pressure components and the sensor for the temp gauge. Since you may be getting close to installing you engine take a look at this from the California Caterham Club if you haven't already seen it,http://www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/showthread.php?t=991. It is a way to put a filler and dipstick on your transmission and avoid the trouble of filling through an almost inaccessable fill port once the drivetrain is installed. Wish I had thought of it before I built my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 The harness is from Caterham, and it is well-marked. Thanks for the idea about a filler on top of the gearbox. I ordered several "bungs" from the link in the thread. Got extras in case someone else wants to do it too. I will post some photos of the engine soon. Today I made some progress on the temperature sensors. The local Ford dealer showed me a picture of the sensors in the thermostat housing. He's going to get one in tomorrow so I can look at it. Funny, the engine is like a small sub-project within the car project, isn't it. Actually I enjoy it, even though I may have sounded frustrated in my original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1460798622_EngineFront.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/518338209_EngineLHSide.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/369913567_EngineRear.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1842407296_EngineLHSide.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Harold, That is one nice engine you have their. Makes mine look like an old pile of junk but I still like it for what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Thanks, Martin. It'll sure look nicer when it's making some sounds, if you know what I mean. Another thing I didn't put in my original post: The oil filter conflicts with the motor mount on the right side. I had hoped that I might find a filter that is slightly shorter or smaller in diameter. But I haven't.:banghead: I heard that the oil filter was moved from the engine block to the oil pump in later engines, so maybe mine is an earlier engine? Maybe that explains the conflict with the engine mount? The mount (from Caterham) already has a big section removed for (I assume) the filter. Now I have to make it a bit larger. Not by much, but a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 Here is the engine mount (black) conflict with the oil filter (black too). The yellow arrow shows how I am trying to pivot the mount downward; the yellow X shows the conflict. Should I just grind the mount at the X to fit? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2137236059_RHMountConflict.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 the filter for a zetec is too long (part numbers for contour/fukkus). using a mid 90s Toyota camry 6 cylinder look up gets u the correct threads and height to work in a Caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1Steve Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Hal, Good luck with your new engine, Looks sweet !! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 the filter for a zetec is too long (part numbers for contour/fukkus). using a mid 90s Toyota camry 6 cylinder look up gets u the correct threads and height to work in a Caterham. I have this image of myself standing in front of the bench grinder, working the motor mount, sparks flying everywhere. My wife runs out of the house yelling "Honey, stop, stop, use a Camry filter, it shorter!!!":jester: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athens7 Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I use a Wix 51374 oil filter, fwiw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayemtea Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 That is a nice engine. I'll bet it'll be worth every bit of the fun of getting it into the car. Breezy7's photos match my memory on the oil sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now