bigdog Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Well I sure wish my short time as a Caterham owner had been a pleasant one. But to be honest. I regret it. I wish I still had my BMW Zed-4 that I sold to buy the Caterham. After getting the car from Britain to Germany. It's never run very well at all. I just can't seem to get the progression working at all. The car runs great at first start but steadily gets worse as the engine and air temp rises. It has a very pronounced hesitation at the up shift. and hunts at part throttle around town. Which indicates rich, The carbs are balanced, float levels are spot on, valves adjusted. the two front plugs are black, the two rears look fine. So I thought that I need to make a big move in jetting to see what direction I needed to go. So I changed my 50f9 idles for 45f9's. Two things happened. 1, the hesitation went away. 2, It started to spit so badly from the carbs that it melted the air filter. 50's are rich 45's are lean. It figures. I've had a X-flow Caterham racer here in Germany look at the car. He says that it's a high performance car, so the hesitation and rough running at part throttle are to be expected. (that's bullshit) At the behest of Roger King in the UK. I did a compression check. Not so good. From front to back 120psi 140psi 80psi 160psi Mr. King said 1600 sprint engines should be at 175psi. So looks like I get to buy a new engine. Oh joy! As the wife was against buying the Caterham in the first place. Boy am I going to catch hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timax Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Bummer! Im sure all z4's are perfect. I hope when its all fixed that it all comes together for you and you can experience what the car has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokko Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Sorry to hear about your woes :-( Just seen your post on BC - I would be down in the dumps if I was going through the same palaver. I can offer no advice, but at least with the likes of Roger on the case hopefully you will be able to get to the bottom of this before too long (hopefully without having to shell out for a new engine). Stick with it if you can - I've had 35k miles of fantastic touring in my 2 Caterhams and I've enjoyed some great track action as well. Have to say, this post backs up my reluctance regarding purchasing an older 7 for my upcoming stay in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Sorry to hear that, what year Caterham is it? Has the engine deteriorated much since your test drives before buying it? I hope the price you paid was in line with the issues the car has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 that sucks. have you double checked your compression gauge? I had a guy trying to buy my boat come with a brand new compression gauge. all readings were low. Fortunately I had my own, and it read perfectly normal. His gauge was good. The hose was defective. Good luck sorting things out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 The compression is certainly an issue...no doubt there, but I may be able to offer you some solace about the carburetor jetting. There is a solution for flat spots on your webers called "hypo-jets" from keith franck. I would suggest joining the yahoo group "sidedraft central" that he moderates. Understandably, these cars require some fettling. To me, some of these aspects add to the charm of ownership, but I can certainly commiserate with explaining the predicament to the wife! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Don't suppose you are located anywhere near Westermann Motorsports? Didn't see their address but their website says they are based in Kuppenheim. Here's a contact: Joachim Westermann Managing Director +49 7222 94 24-0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 There's another type of compression gauge that would tell you a lot more before tearing into the engine. It's mostly used on light airplanes but you can buy one on ebay. It has 2 gauges with an orifice between. You hook it up to shop air and look at the difference between air pressure in vs air pressure out to the orifice. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cylinder-Leak-Down-Tester-Leakage-Leak-Detector-Engine-Compression-Tester-Gauges-/331135195891?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item4d19321af3&vxp=mtr The additional info is you can hear where the air goes. Bad rings and it goes into the crankcase. Bad or non-sealing valves and you can hear it in the manifold(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdog Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 I will def recheck the compression. I will have it done with a screw in type of meter. I don't mind the fettling at all. It's just that the fettling has lead nowhere. It's scheduled to go into the shop on Monday for a carb rebuild/tuning. The engine does not smoke at all. Nor has it used oil. Maybe the shop that adjusted the valves got them too tight. I only found out today after calling Mike Abbas about the car that he thinks the car has an uprated cam. Something that I wasn't told at the time I was looking at the car. the shop & I were both under the impression that the stock A2 cam was installed. Which could alter the clearance. When I went to England to look at the car. It was pouring rain & cold. And it had the 048 tires. As The car starts and drives fine while cold. Nothing was amiss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I recommend checking the plug seating surface to make sure you don't have a plug/compression gauge sealing issue before assuming you have internal engine issues. Better yet, do a leak down test. If the plug threads or approach on the theads are dirty or boogered up, you'll get the type of issues you're describing. You can also pull the valve cover off & check valve train geometry for issues that may be only head related vs bottom end. I know how you feel, I've been wrestling with my newly acquired 87 Porsche 930 turbo for the last 5 months & regret the day I bought it. However, I'm getting closer to getting it to run right & will likely forget the regrets after a couple of blasts down the road. Kind of like playing golf & having a really bad day, shot after shot going wrong, then all of sudden a couple of beautiful shots & all is forgotten. Good luck. Once it's fixed, that BMW will be forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Don't give up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Don't give up! on his wife or his car? :jester: seriously, you'll get it sorted out... just a bump in the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdog Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Sorry to hear about your woes :-( Just seen your post on BC - I would be down in the dumps if I was going through the same palaver. I can offer no advice, but at least with the likes of Roger on the case hopefully you will be able to get to the bottom of this before too long (hopefully without having to shell out for a new engine). Stick with it if you can - I've had 35k miles of fantastic touring in my 2 Caterhams and I've enjoyed some great track action as well. Have to say, this post backs up my reluctance regarding purchasing an older 7 for my upcoming stay in the US. I wouldn't let my post deter you from looking at an older seven. Even if the engine is kaput. The cost of fixing a X-Flow is far less damaging to the wallet than most engines. The advantage you have is not having nearly the language barrier that I have while trying to get things done on my car. And you have recourse in the courts in America. Should someone misrepresent a car during a sale or botch repairs. As an American living in German having bought a car from the UK. I'm toast as far as having a legal remedy for any thing. My disadvantage was having to fly from FRA to Stansted. Hire a car to drive to the Manchester area. Look at the car. and then reverse the process. Then make a decision. All over the course of a few days time. And due to importation legalities. It was mandatory that I buy a car that is at least 25 years old. Or face confiscation at the US port. Which made the pool of available cars rather small. I'm of the opinion that the shop probably set my valves far to tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdog Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Don't suppose you are located anywhere near Westermann Motorsports? Didn't see their address but their website says they are based in Kuppenheim. Here's a contact: Joachim Westermann Managing Director +49 7222 94 24-0 That's only about 60 miles or so from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 If you recheck the compression and it turns out to be okay, don't rule out an ignition problem. As they say, 90% of carburetor problems are electrical. I suffered from various driveability problems with my crossflow for a year or two (missing as the revs climbed, overheating, etc.). I rebuilt the carbs, checked valve clearances, ignition timing, replaced plugs, leads, and coil with little improvement. Then I decided to replace the distributor and rotor, even though a visual inspection didn't reveal anything amiss. Once I did that, it runs like new again. Big Smiles. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobone Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Fingers crossed that it gets sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaNostra Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) "The advantage you have is not having nearly the language barrier that I have while trying to get things done on my car." ...most of us are willing to help, if a short travel, most are willing to travel and give you a hand --- I'm one....but Germany? hopefully you find the solution....I'm sure you will --->you will get there. Edited March 28, 2014 by BusaNostra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdog Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Fingers crossed that it gets sorted. So are mine. Along with my toes, Arms, Legs, Eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 If you recheck the compression and it turns out to be okay, don't rule out an ignition problem. As they say, 90% of carburetor problems are electrical. I suffered from various driveability problems with my crossflow for a year or two (missing as the revs climbed, overheating, etc.). I rebuilt the carbs, checked valve clearances, ignition timing, replaced plugs, leads, and coil with little improvement. Then I decided to replace the distributor and rotor, even though a visual inspection didn't reveal anything amiss. Once I did that, it runs like new again. Big Smiles. Dave Good point Dave. If he has an Aldon distributor, there is a known issue with the advance curve that aldon can remedy quite easily for a few quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 on his wife or his car? :jester: Both, the payments are a killer.:toetap05: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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