EburgE Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 George Alderman, the mid-atlantic Caterham dealer was kind enough to walk me through the plumbing of his car by phone. I made this diagram based on our conversation. Thought I would share it for reference--or more likely if anyone wants to refute it. The engine is a Zetec with a Contour thermostat housing going in a Caterham S3 Classic. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1629729025_CaterhamPlumbing.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowflyer Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Wow, is George still around? He was racing sedans in the old IMSA B.F.Goodrich series back when I was a "pup". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy7 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 I looked at the radiator picture on your blog and I don't think you have the bleed screw that shows up in your diagram. There is just a nipple instead of the bleed screw.The assembly guide talks about the bleed screw but seems Caterham changed the radiator (years ago) but not the installation instructions. Hey what do you expect at these prices? Following the directions I got from Rocky Mountain Sports Cars I put a short length of hose on the nipple coming out to a T fitting and then the T goes in the line between the expansion bottle and the top of the thermostat housing. The Caterham USA engine supplement shows different connections at the submarine but I don't see how that could matter since it is just a tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Wow, is George still around? He was racing sedans in the old IMSA B.F.Goodrich series back when I was a "pup". He's definately around! He delivered my kit in his truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 I looked at the radiator picture on your blog and I don't think you have the bleed screw that shows up in your diagram. There is just a nipple instead of the bleed screw.The assembly guide talks about the bleed screw but seems Caterham changed the radiator (years ago) but not the installation instructions. Hey what do you expect at these prices? Following the directions I got from Rocky Mountain Sports Cars I put a short length of hose on the nipple coming out to a T fitting and then the T goes in the line between the expansion bottle and the top of the thermostat housing. The Caterham USA engine supplement shows different connections at the submarine but I don't see how that could matter since it is just a tube. It's not a screw, just a nipple. I did not label it as a screw on the diagram, but I was under the impression it can be used to release air while the system is bled. Is that what you thought too? Even if I connect it back to the system with a hose, can it still be used to bleed? I was just going to plug it, with a rubber plug and clamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy7 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 When I came across the fitting I didn't know what to make of it and neither did Nathan at Rocky Mountain. He wasn't aware of the change to the radiator and contacted Caterham UK who told him to use the set up I described earlier. I took the cap off of the overflow tank, filled the system and ran it till I had warm air from the heater and all the hoses were hot, adding coolant as needed. I went to The Caterham Project site and looked at his setup and it looks like it is plumbed the same as your diagram but he does have a bleeder port in the radiator. How were you told to bleed the system? Would guess that once coolant comes out of the fitting that the system is bled and cap off the nipple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EburgE Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 Basically I was told to bleed it as you describe, except the heater needs special attention. I'm hoping if I jack the front of the car up, the expansion bottle will be the highest point, and all air will be released there or at the radiator. (George uses a vacuum system so he doesn't have to worry about this.) But the Assembly Guide calls for filling the heater separately by removing one of the hoses at the heater. This does not sound attractive to me. I can't imagine spilling antifreeze on the scuttle, footbox, bell housing, etc. Instead I plan to practice the filling procedure using plan water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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