Julian Thompson Posted June 15, 2002 Share Posted June 15, 2002 Couple of issues - any help appreciated tonight (SAT) for tomorrow's work! 1)A frame rear bush. Can't find the "nylon race washers" that supposedly go each side. Any idea where they'd be? Or don't I need'em? Also, the manual says I need a plain washer in there too but it isn't very specific as to where...... 2)Nasty problem. The LHS rear damper unit (car is de dion + watts link SLR) has a credit card's clearance between its spring seat at the top and the ali boot skin. The RHS is actually touching to the extent that a dent has alreay appeared on the inside of the boot..... Should I A) not worry about it. B) drill out the rivets fitted at the factory and reposition the panel in a more appropriate place, using slightly larger rivets? C) tell Caterham to replace the panel at the post build check because this is unacceptable? 3) The manual says to torque the 1/4" watts link bellcrank bolts through the balljoints to 10lbft. This seemed a lot - and sure enough the threads stripped at 8lbft. I had to steal some other bolts and fart around cutting them down before toruqing them to a more sensible 6lbft. Just a note in case anyone else finds this problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted June 15, 2002 Area Representative Share Posted June 15, 2002 The Race washers are about 30mm O.D., 12mm I.D. and about 0.5mm thick. The assembly guide says to use 3/4" O.D. 1/2" I.D. washers each side. These are special washers. If you don't fit them, the "A" frame would be twisted when the car is in roll. They provide clearance between the "A" frame mounts and the boss on the Dedion tube. I think that the poor clearance on the spring/damper unit is fairly normal, and will open out a little when the suspension is in compression. Edited by - richard price on 15 Jun 2002 18:42:46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 15, 2002 Author Share Posted June 15, 2002 So, Rich, the special nylon washers go innermost next to the dedion tube, then the same washers as the diff spacers, then the A frame and bolt through the lot? Any idea where the nylon washers are? I've scoured everywhere- and the screw pack doesn't show them as being included inside....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 15, 2002 Author Share Posted June 15, 2002 ummm...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhall777 Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Your bell crank bolts should be high tensile. From memory either 8.8 or 10.9. Check on the bolt heads, as these are critical. I think you may be using bogo standard bolts. Do not drive the car until you have confirmed the bolt specs with Caterham Cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 17, 2002 Author Share Posted June 17, 2002 The bolts were high tensile but still 10lbft is too much! Sorted now as I found the nylon washers too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team rob spencer Posted June 18, 2002 Support Team Share Posted June 18, 2002 julian i had the same problem with conflicting instructions (words and diagrams) about the nylon washers. I called the factory and Caterham Midlands and they both said that they don*t use them in the factory built cars. So mine are still in the box of bits that didn*t get used and mine seems to be ok rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 Never used the nylon washers. The bellcrank bolts are not what I would call high tensile. They are marked with three 120 degree dashes on the heads which mark them out as a medium carbon steel with a tensile strength in that size of ~120,000 psi, yield of 92,000 psi. Something like a 12.9 (metric) grade high tensile bolt has a tensile strength of 174,000 psi. Yield strength of 156,600 psi. Caterham supplied me with one bolt for the Watts linkage with no markings - mild steel. When I questioned this they said they were all the same manufacturer and the same grade. blush.gif I threw a fit. A suspension fitting with no markings on a bolt head!! A bolt that is plainly very small!! Not worth arguing about so I intend to go to my local bolt suppliers and get hold of high tensile replacements. Very unimpressed. Peterid=teal> 253 BHP K-seriesteeth.gif, no gearboxbum.gifid=red> Edited by - Peter Carmichael on 18 Jun 2002 12:28:53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Bees Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 10lbft doesn't sound like too much for a 1/4" bolt. The plethora of 8mm bolts which thread into the K-series cheese/ali head/block are specced at 8lbft. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhall777 Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 Checked mine tonight, all are 8.8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 18, 2002 Author Share Posted June 18, 2002 Yes, its very interesting. I seem to have a particular problem achieving the specified torques into nylocs - and no problem into the steel chassis bushes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julians Biatch Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 He does, i'll agree with that. Had a similar problem with the roll bar rear connection nylocs. The fronts torqued up fine. Was a cow to get in though! Don't know if Ju has asked yet, but as anyone any ideas on positioning the wing mirrors with the carbon wind deflector. Doesn't seem to be any flat bits on the screen suitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julians Biatch Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 Edited by - Julians Biatch on 19 Jun 2002 00:29:24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Barbie Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 My carbon aero had pre-drilled holes for the wing mirrors. The positioning is such that with the rear view mirror in place the mirrors form a line at the same height across the scuttle. This mounts the "wing" mirrors reasonably high on the curve of the aero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 19, 2002 Author Share Posted June 19, 2002 Glad to see my assembly biatch is thinking about the build of the car rather than mundane things like servicing his lady or getting gainful employment. Top man! Seriously - Count - my new style deflector is shaped, like the old Superlight one, so the flats of the carbon side mirrors will need bending -or washers...? They are cast so might snap if I try to bend them. Do you have any visability issues with the mirrors so high? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 I reckon you have a knackered torque wrench. Also use of torque wrenches is a subtle art, when small loads are involved. Peterid=teal> 253 BHP K-seriesteeth.gif, no gearboxbum.gifid=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Barbie Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 The base of the side mirrors is not so big that it won't attach direct to the aeroscreen without any spacing washers, the area it is fitted to is not that far from flat - on my carbon aero anyway - I would have though the SLR had a carbon aero the same ? As regards the visibility, the side mirrors are very good where they are mounted. The centre mirror does somewhat obstruct the view of the left wing but it's not a problem. Mounting lower would cause more problems than it solves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Thompson Posted June 20, 2002 Author Share Posted June 20, 2002 Thanks again! The aero on my SLR is that new detatchable swappable with screen thingy. Very nice too. It has a carbon plate that pops to the centre tonneau mounts, then screws to the bottom forward windscreen mount. When not in use the rearward screen mount has a black caphead in it. The result of this is a helluva lot of twisting/shaping, so the item isn't any dort of c/f I've seen. It has a sort of c/f weave when viewed from behind but the front is black paint or some kind of f/glass gelcoat. Wierd but looks nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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