dvhea11 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I wonder if some kind person can help ?? I have installed a blackbird engine in a Caterham but am having significant problems with the clutch slipping. The oil seems to be running through ok Other than upgrading to a race clutch and putting upgraded clutch springs on it I cannot think of anything else that would help - any ideas would be much appreciated. best regards Maddox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMMO Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Try talking to Rob or Vince at Mistral Performance. Tel01702 541421. They build bike engines for sidecar and kitcar use. AMMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catflap Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Springs would be a nice cheep option mate, i have a fireblade and i can jack the front of the car up so not to have to drop the oil (not sure about bird) but springs form tts should only be around 10 -15 quid. I did also notice i got lots more slip on a synth oil (my blade is actually supposed to use it) than i did on a semi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvhea11 Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 thanks folks - I will investigate ! best regards M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morls Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 As a get-you-home, or finish-the-meeting mod, older (shorter) springs can be pre-loaded with a washer (must be big enough to go over he pillar of the basket). I've managed a season like this on the bike 😳 Mark ☹️ My Caterham Silver Jubilee No. 7 is for sale ☹️ But it's OK, I've got another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanB Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 It'll probably be either worn plates, tired springs or the wrong kind of oil - make sure you're using bike oil not car oil as I've heard that the friction modifiers in the car oil can make the clutch slip in a wet clutch. Another possibility is that the clutch hydraulics (if you've kept the hydraulic system) isn't allow the clutch to release properly. Testing this depends on how the clutch is set-up and can be quite tricky. I'd try a new set of springs first and take it from there. Be warned, though, that once the springs die and allow the clutch to slip, the plates will die quite quickly afterwards. HTH Dan Fury Blackbird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Ditto what Dan B. says Use Castrol superbike oil, which differs from the synthetic car equivalent only in the friction modifiers mentioned. It is very easy to "ride" the clutch in a Caterham due to the positioning and lightness of the clutch pedal, this may not be noticeable under part load but will greatly increase the temp and wear the plates. I have used a standard clutch with preloaded springs (washers) and also the kevlar plate type with "car" synthetic oil both for a couple of thousand road and track miles, but will be using superbike oil from now on, - although the plates are probably contaminated. Also I dont do drag starts even when racing, at the last race of last season an identical Caterham blackbird driven by a guest racing driver had outqualified me to first place. I only used part throtle and about 3K revs to get off the line and booted it once traction made and clutch fuly engaged, I am sure the other driver must have used loads of revs as he dropped back nearly to the back of the grid on the first lap. How many miles are you doing and how are you treating the clutch before problems? Is the clutch releasing fully if hydraulic as mentioned or if mechanical do you have free play? Is the engine dry sumped? - oil temperatures can get very high using a Mistral or other modified sump, this may affect the clutch operation dependant on oil used etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvhea11 Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 hi JR, unfortunately we are only @ the stage of trying to drive it round the yard to iron out 'teething problems' ! ie no actual proper driving done yet :( it initially pullled out of the workshop in 1st and then decided that was enough , so we are a bit puzzled clutch is hydraulic & we are dry sumped from Allans R&D. Clutch hydraulics seem to be working fine - we will be trying the washer trick as part of our process of elimination though so thanks to the folks that pointed it out. we are using fully synthetic bike oil I will return with our 'progress' soon ! thanks & regards M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper man Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Talk to Andy Beverage at Blackbird Motorsport, or to Paul Harvey. Paul's number is 01273 425800, can't find Andy's off hand. Paul engineered the Blackbird Caterham, Andy built most of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Silly question but are you certain that you are in first gear? bike gearboxes wont go in and out of gear at standstill like a car gearbox, they need the wheels to be turning. The box may be stuck in a high gear from when the bike was dropped and you sometimes can get a false neutral between 5th and 6th gear. If you have neutral AND the neutral light before engaging gear ignore this. *cool* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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