Englishmaninwales Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Yesterday, starting my Winter overhaul of the rear suspension, I found the near side radius arm forward chassis bolt not only loose, but about 1/3 out. This was last checked for torque on the 13th October before a track day. Scared the cr@p out of me . Luckily, I have barely used the car since then. I did a search on blatchat, only to find this is a reasonably well known problem, particularily associated with the upper threaded bush. I also found the bolt was not marked 12.9, and was of a type changed by Caterham a few years ago (my car is a '94 chassis). It seems there have been a number of failures of this bolt. I was unaware of any of this prior to yesterday. There has recently been alot on Blatchat about the different DeDion tubes and the risk of failure for each type. I must admit that I owned the car for a year before I knew anything about these failures. Got me thinking.....as one does after a cold sweat..... maybe the collective knowledge of Blatchat could create a list of the well known critical failures and mandatory checks that a new (or even new-ish in my case) Caterham owner should be aware of, whether they service their own car or not. This could, dare I suggest, be a sticky on the Tech Talk forum...... Any views? No doubt there are good legal reasons against doing this.... Malcolm Edited by - englishmaninwales on 4 Dec 2005 22:47:24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Malcolm Top idea. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris__ Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Definitely a good idea. I could then check them, as I don't know of any critical problems such as the one you just mentioned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Going by recent posts, I think Dedion tubes and Stub axles should be added to the list Steve SE7EN-UP! Incorporating the Caterham Links Database Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 And whilst I've suffered from both Stub Axle and Dedion I would add Propshafts having seen pics of Paul Gibb's failure Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WILL FLY Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Either it could be put as a non-editable forum i.e. where submissions were mailed to Barry and then he posted the content. This would avoid any 'noise' on the forum. The other option is to put it on 7FAQ with a 'sticky' on blatchat to direct newbies and oldies to 7FAQ If Caterham were a 'responsible' manufacturer they would issue service bulletins with known failures and which models they applied to, even if they didn't offer recalls and replacements, which is a point of debate. Roy See willfly.net for more info. If you don't spin you ain't trying Happiness is knowing you have just a tad too much power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dartmoor7 Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Can you imagine the stink if a 'proper' manufacturer was having failures of this nature? Jerry Parker L7 SVN 1400 Supersport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I definately think this should be done. A list for all to go through would be a really great idea and would stop the need to find the problem yourself and then start searching (often when it is too late!). I have seen two prop shafts go on a trackday (both BEC) and the mess it made was very scary...fortunately no-one was hurt...both times they went threough passenger side of the tunnel...would have smashed the persons hips if they had been there! (both prop's did NOT have grease nipples and were supposed to not need greasing....worht checking you have greased yours regularly...or like mine that doesn't have ANY(!!!) you take it out and put one in that does!) these two were of the sylva variety but still relevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 To be fair, Paul's engine is a monster and he drives his car very quickly. Touch wood, propshaft failures are not common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julians Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Are the prop shaft failures less likely on a dedion car , given that the prop is relatively static in terms of up,down/side to side movement compared to a live axle car? What were the symptoms of the prop failure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Whizz Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 this is a great idea. i think the use of photos to illustrate the components is a must in such a list as i'm sure there are people out there that are a little less technical but would still benefit from checking their parts. i would be happy to set up a website and host the content including photos for this. i am sending this post from my phone as i'm stuck in jury service but will check back tonight if this is something we should take further... Gav Gavin Gee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevsta Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Not sure about the Caterham prop failure but the two I saw were that the prop had come through the tunnel and burried itself into the seat!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Great idea. As has been mentioned, it would need to be along the lines of:- "This happened to me at 'x' miles on 'this' model and here are some pictures - you might want to keep an eye on yours". If not, some comments about such an occurance might 'drop the culub in it'. BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It seems that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Golf Juliet Tango Posted December 5, 2005 Area Representative Share Posted December 5, 2005 IF repeat IF "Critical Failures" is suitable as information on this site then: They must be only real life examples with details: names, reg or chassis numbers, mileage and such like. Frequency is important: isolated examples would not be appropriate otherwise it just becomes some horror postings. I do not know how many examples are required for isolated examples to become a "known problem". The location should be FAQ not on the message board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 Maybe Caterham should be doing this? e.g. as they did with the R clips last year or the steering problem on the 21. That would, of course, get them to admit to the problems. Please understand this is not an anti Caterham posting, I'm just concerned about our safety. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 std rear brake calipers chaffing on the dedion radius arms as the brake pads wear down. rear anti roll bars in the "over the top" design snapping and piercing the fuel tank. Solid rear brake pipes flexing as the std calipers are applied / released which then causes the copper pipe to work harden and possibly crack . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 GJT, I'm not too sure that an item should only qualify for inclusion if it happens more than once. Sure, we don't want to be scare-mongering, but take the example of the lower wishbone failure in the US earlier this year. It does seem to be an isolated incident, but I now include that area in my inspection - doesn't do any harm to aware of even one failure. BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It seems that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Diff bolts and mountings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nov-07 Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Surely, an area of this site, like the FAQs, could be devoted to "this happened to me" stories, without the Club or CC being embarrassed or held to account. It would be very valuable to have information, not only about faults, but also about how they were detected, and then corrected. Just as an example, my son and daughter-in law drove here from Bristol on Saturday in a rather old Fiesta. "I think that the tracking needs adjustement" said knowledgeable D-in-L. I took the car for a short drive. The steering was very heavy, and there was a frightening low-frequency vibration in it. I sent them straight to the local tyre depot, as I had recognised the symptoms of tyre delamination, which I had previously diagnosed in another family Fiesta (Daughter). Not only was the tyre faulty, but the tracking was 5 degrees out ❗ Well - that's their Christmas present fixed 😬 A little knowledge, mixed with experience, could save lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal mickey Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Front shocker, lower mounting bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaps7 Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Malcolm's is great idea because it's through this site that I carry a spare throtle cable (yes and clutch cable) that was used within the 1st year of 7 mtoring. The problem is hunting through a long list. Why not take up Gee Whizz's offer and let him set up a website, avoids worries over this site and getting the administrators into trouble (or worrying about getting into trouble). Rather than a long random list I'm sure GW could categorize into eg engine, suspension etc and then group common failures. We (newbies) would then stand a fighting chance to be on the look out for failures. I know some of you have an excellent ear and feel for whats going wrong and when but a 🙆🏻head like me who's old and half deaf dosn't know its going to happen until it falls off. Gee Whizz are you a Herts man? I seem to think you are. But could be wrong as I'm going the way of Jack in the bl00dy Archers (good God, I've admitted to listening to it) Flaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I've just posted in the Suggestions section to officially ask Barry if there's something we can do - seems to be quite a bit of interest Maybe posting your thought on the subject there would concentrate our opinions so Barry doesn't need to look all over 😬 BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It seems that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 It takes about 1 1/2 to check all the suspension bolts and grease the propshaft and/or the trunnions ( EP90 )i do this for most friends every 6 months and they don't do much trackdays. The rear radius arm bolt ( with tread in the chassis bush )i just do it up firm with a jack under the DD tube central point so that the position of the radius arm is at his position when the wheels would have been on the ground, never had one torqued up to the spec. and never had one that worked loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 What about front suspension failures ? (except from front shocker, lower mounting bolt). Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Golf Juliet Tango Posted December 19, 2005 Area Representative Share Posted December 19, 2005 I've just posted in the Suggestions section to officially ask Barry if there's something we can do - seems to be quite a bit of interest Barry has already done this in the faqcontribute section http://7faq.com/contribute/owbase/ow.asp?SafetyRelatedExperiences. Do we all underestimate him? Edited by - Golf Juliet Tango on 19 Dec 2005 10:51:13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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