Al N. Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Folks- Does anyone know of "known issues" with the Caterham tranny or the Sierra tranny in general? I'm not a hands-on sort of owner, and 2 other folks have addressed some concerns with the the lubricant level and/or fill/drain of this box. Does anyone have any insights? Fee freel to write to me via PM. I'm just about to turn 3000 miles and would like to have the gearbox checked out if there is in fact an issue(s). -Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew... Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Al - there are services that will take a sample of your lubricant and perform an analysis to determine if you have wear beyond reasonable limits. They basically look for metals, we used to run these periodically on racecar trannys for SCCA and Trans-Am cars. I'll do a little research and get you some sites to look at. drew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Al, I have the Caterham 6 speed as well. There were some issues with the very first boxes, but I doubt that yours is one of those. Some experienced trouble getting into 3rd when cold and recommend using redline MTL as the gear oil of choice. Assuming you aren't flat shifting, I doubt that you would need a "service" at 3000 miles. IMHO. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 Thank you both for your comments. All things considered, I'm pretty easy on the car, so I'm not overly worried. But am very curious. Can either of you tell me where the filler and drain holes are located on the box? I have the build and owners manuals somewhere in the garage, but if you knew off the top of your head it would save me a trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Drain hole is on the bottom, fill hole is on the right side,but you need to cut down an allen key to fit it in there, it's tight. you access it from below. I have one that I cut down if you need it. filling is can accmplished one of two ways, using a long tube and funnel into the fill hole,fill until it starts to come out of the hole or some guys take the front plate off the top of the trans, I think there are 6 or 8 little allen head type screws holding it down. you can then fill to the level of the fill plug. You can get to the top plate from above, looking down at the back of the bell housing. I have the Caterham dry sump bell housing so that's not an option for me, no room. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 ^^^^^ are u talking about the six speed(caterham) or the 5 speed(sierra)? my 5 spd box doesn't have a drian hole, so hope to have one tapped into it for convienence. the caterham designed box is a huge improvement ('cept for the lack of an overdriven gear). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 I've got the 6 with from the factory ratios...needless to say, highway driving is a RPM filled delight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 why i couldn't deal with one. though i bet u can get a different 6th gear and pull out a 4 or 5th gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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