Bertfatal Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I bought my first 7 in Jan this year with a 6 speed box. The gearbox has not been as slick as I had expected. Does it just need more miles on it to loosen up (currently 3700miles) or is something wrong? I would appreciate any advice, thanks. Bertfatal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 any idea what oil is in the gearbox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patneale Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Mine was very poor when new ...2nd gear was very difficult to get when cold. You MUST use the recommended oil grades as in your Service book, this is very important. I did add Slick 50 and it improved it. I have had 2 new Caterhams and of all the new cars I have had, and I have had at least a dozen, no cars feel so stiff and new as a Caterham. Rest assured that they get better and better as they get older. I have found that they are barely run in at 10,000 miles in normal road motoring. My 6 speed was a huge disappointment when new, but now with 19,000 miles it is magic, as light, quick and easy as a switch, even from cold in this weather. Remember if this is your first Caterham that as they are so light that the components if you are only using on the road have a very easy time as in normal cars they would have twice or three times the weight to pull and thus wear in much quicker. You need about 10 miles to warm the box up and it should be much easier. The cars are markedly better after 5000 miles all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Do a search in the archives for MTL. Loads in there about this. I've used it in my gb & IMO it does make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I'll second Davesport's comments. Replace the gearbox oil with Redline MTL and you'll find it much smoother. Especially the 1st to 2nd change when cold. MTL is recommended by Raod & Race Transmissions who build/rebuild an awful lot of gearboxes and know their stuff. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted August 31, 2005 Support Team Share Posted August 31, 2005 For information only - bear in mind that Caterham do NOT recommend Redline MTL if that is important to you. I am happily using it after Road and Race refurbished my 6 speed but I believe there are possible downsides - search the archive for all the ins and outs. MTL does seem to improve the shift action though. Yellow SL #32 Edited by - Shaun_E on 31 Aug 2005 13:57:06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Shaun, Are you saying simply that CC recommend something else or that they say you should NOT use MTL? If the latter do you have any reasoning from them as to why? Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted August 31, 2005 Support Team Share Posted August 31, 2005 Steve - I thought that I had read somewhere on Blatchat that Caterham had specifically advised against using MTL. I have spent the last 10 minutes searching and can't find the post so perhaps I just imagined it 😳. However I did find this post stating that MTL is not ideal for a BGH 5 speed. I thought that I should mention this as, although I am happy using MTL, I think everyone should have all the facts before making a choice. If I find the post I thought I had seen then I'll post it here. There is lots of "perceived wisdom" on blatchat and although much of it is good, there is some advice that needs to be carefully considered (see how diplomatic I'm being here ). There are some de facto standard answers frequently made that perhaps are not the best solution for everyone. In this case my personal advice would probably be go for MTL but be aware it is not Caterham's recommended solution. EDITED to say - I still can't find a post referring to a specific Caterham recommendation so perhaps it was just more hearsay. Yellow SL #32 Edited by - Shaun_E on 31 Aug 2005 14:35:41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertfatal Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 Thanks for all the advice. I think initially I will just keep put on the miles and see if improves with age. If not, then I will see what CC have to say when I get it serviced just before the warrantee runs out! Bertfatal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Shaun, *thumbup*Couldn't agree more with your comments. We can all get sucked in by the general consensus even if sometimes it may be inappropriate. However being able to hear other peoples first hand experiences is still IMHO invaluable. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrm Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I've been thinking of changing my gearbox oil to MTL (it's a 1.4K SS 6sp) to smooth the changes but I've been told there are two types - GL4 and GL5 (I think) which one should I use for the 6 speed? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normans_Ghost Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Brian Hill (BGH) finds Castrol gear oils are too acidic and cause pitting on the bearing and hub surfaces. I have seen this pitting under a strong magnifying glass. It is quite pronounced. Brian recommends using Caterhams gear and diff oil (made by Comma, I believe). As usual, I think we are being a bit too fussy. The pitting I saw may cause a problem over 12 years (my box was 12 years old and the pitting was not visible to the naked eye) but, I suppose if the cure is as cheap as changing oils, then you may as well. Norman Verona, 1989 BDR 220bhp, Reg: B16BDR, Mem No 2166, the full story here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 It's GL4 I've got in mine. Can't honestly say I considered this when I bought mine However it's made a noticable difference 😬 You'll need two bottles of the stuff & a small overdraft to pay for it. It's not cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicsaab Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Sorry to vary the theme but are 6-speeds supposed to sound like a bag of rusty nails on acceleration. over run and constant speed? Two weeks old noisy as hell but slick to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shn7 Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 sonicsaab, Are you sure you put the oil in or that the noise isn't fromthe diff rather than the gearbox? IMHO only straight cut gears are particularyly noisy. I speak from experience of 1 x CC 6sp, 1 x std 5 sp and currently 5sp straight cut. The latter is so noisy I can't go any distance without really good ear protection. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicsaab Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Steve, this was a factory built car and have to assume(?) that they know what they are doing. Only a fortnight old!!!. Mind you that's only 1 of the problems......not for discussiion here ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patneale Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Hi sonicsaab, I assume you are new to Caterhams!... I have 33,000 miles in 2 cars under my belt in 6 years now. The lack of mechanical refinement is a shock after a normal car. The Diffs are shockingly noisy and sound if they are going to spit out their innards especially on a light overrun condition. They are Sierra diffs and were of course designed in the 1980's when Ford's engineering was not the finest. Most of the diffs are remanufactered old ones and it must be realised that even when new the gear teeth angles and tolerances are very poor by todays standards. in spite of this they seem to be reliable. My 6 speed has always had a lot of "chatter " on the overrun rather indicating loosness in the bearings, but it has been faultless in other ways and totally oiltight after 19,000 miles. My Diff was changed after 1500 miles , but I have to say that the new one is little better. They are very basic and primative cars in refinement terms and all the action is taking place without sound proofing only inches away from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicsaab Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Hi patneale This is my third caterham and as technology advances everything gets noisier!!!!! Diff in the X140 noisy but stiff gear box. Now diff fine cannot hear it!!! Just the box rattling around. Being collected by Jon Vicar as we speak. CC have a few problems to sort out on the CSR. They are aware of the faults including hot cabin (now say a known problem), number plate fell off, cycle wing trim fell off, nearside cycle wing fastening bolt fell out - so tyre rubbing against it. For short 🙆🏻 harness straps not fitting properly, pedals that dont adjust. You have to be certain height for csrs then!!!!Handbook that does not mention CSR in it. Hour to start car when immobiliser instructions not included. Otherwise..... colour fab, corners like a train, on the road head & shoulders above basic, engine sounds terrific even when running in. Modular dash and controls excellent....so not all bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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