Jim 123

No sealant. If you haven't already done so, it might be worth checking that all of the fixings from the cylinder head through to the silencer mounting are correctly aligned and secure.

Ebay has 200ml syringes with plastic tube attachments which are pretty handy if Dave's suggestion is an option to be explored.

Re your diff, have you seen Geoff Brown's recent thread on BMW E46 diff leaks. It might be an overfill issue and nothing to get stressed over whilst you are in Spain? If you've been blatting in the Picos there are some pretty long and challenging gradients that would encourage an overfilled diff to let some oil grace the roads.

Geoff, this may not be relevant, but I have some experience on Beemers where the diff will tend to leak if there is any small excess of oil inside the casing. Indeed I have seen BMW Service Instructions to the effect that on some models, a service refill of an existing diff should be less than the spec volume because of oil remaining inside the assembly. This might be a factor with Caterhams, As you know, the easiest way to access the filler/level plug is with a rear wheel removed, but if this is done with only the rear end in the air and not the front as well, you can put too much oil in. When I initially filled my diff, there was a partial fill of oil already in the unit when it came out of the box. With all 4 wheels sitting level, I filled the diff and the unit took 0.2 litres less than the spec volume to come up to level. With only the rear wheels raised the unit would have swallowed 1.2 litres on top of what was already in the casing ex factory. Having said all of the above, you've got me worried and I'm off to have a look under my car.

You might want to look at feeding the cable all the way through the throttle pedal aperture and fixing it with a kart throttle cable clamp.

Tom, not directly related,but in your original post you mentioned a little amount of oil that you noticed on the oil filter/oil cooler after a change, and you had some challenge to get the old filter off. The trace of oil you noted could just be from the filter sealing ring if you lubricated it before refitting. But if you think the filter is not fully home, I'd not leave it for too long before sorting it. I also wanted to suggest that for removal/refit of the Sigma oil filter it is pretty easy if you use a filter removal cup tool. Many choices on Ebay.

Side repeaters are usually earthed to the wing stay. Indicators (i.e. the flashy things under the headlights) have their earth lead routed up the headlamp mount and to the headlamp internals.

If you are going for a rear view mirror, does this mean that your windscreen saga has come to a happy end?

The side indicator -'ve is normally routed into the hedlamp casing and earthed along with the main lights.

Can you locate it by looking for the colour/rating sequence of the fuses either side of the one you want to replace? A quick lok at the book suggests that yours is flanked by a 10 amp on one side and a 7.5 amp on the other. If this works please let us know.

Ford Part Number 1644638 is the standard item.

This does seem like the process is slower than i experienced recently. Have you made the payment for your IVA? If not, I understand that the process goes into abeyance until they bank your cash? From memory, i received a series of emails from VOSA. One mail gave this number to query test dates "0300 123 9000". Have you received anything from TAS@Vosa saying that they have reviewed your application/photos of self build etc and authorised the test centre to give you a date? I'd suggest might also want to call your chosen test centre to establish if they have bee given the green light to offer you a test date.

Have you tried a reset? Instructions are in the Owner Handbook, which is downloadable from Caterham.

Just seen your blog, and hope this helps... I had a fright with my build when I found the front wings touching the body on full lock. This was whilst the car was on axle stands, but once the suspension was loaded the chances of any touch condition disappeared. If you are getting wings fouling the body with the car on wheels, it's easy to set the tracking to zero, with a couple of wooden planks. Zero is what factory build cars are set to. No touch is part of the IVA so worth checking this before too long. Enjoy

I know that Caterham Midlands used to advocate fitting the engine with the gearbox in situ. Would it be an option for you to prep and fill your box, return it to the mounts, and then fit the engine?

Many thanks for your advice guys.

I'm looking to do a first oil change on my 1.6 Sigma and would appreciate advice on 4 topics: Ford service manuals state that the Sump Plug should be changed when the oil is drained down. I know that the Caterham Sump is a different casting, but is the Sump Plug the same on our Caterhams as the part that goes into a Focus Sump? Also does anyone know the Ford Part Number for the Sump Plug? What is the tightening torque for the Sump Plug? Lastly, can anyone advise the Ford Part Number for the Oil Filter for the 1.6 Ti VCT engine?

Some engine manufactures specify to set the tappets cold, others say hot. I've not come across an OEM who species an either or. Whilst you have to work more quickly when hot, I've always felt more comfortable with hot setting. My thinking being that, with hot adjustment; when each valve opens into it's combustion chamber, the valve is being set to open nearer to normal engine operating temperatures, when any thermal expansion has taken place in the valve train. Which should give optimum on-road performance, and reduce the risk of a burnt valve head over time. I have a BMW where the manufacturer states to set the valves cold. When the valves on my Beemer are set with the engine totally cold, the engine runs and sounds perfectly. However, I've not been happy with this when having dealer services in the past, and have had a couple of noisy tappets. When I've subsequently checked the clearances (having left the engine overnight with no start up), the measured gaps have varied considerably from specification. I've put this down to the fact that the dealers will drive the car into the shop and will have partially warmed the oil for drain down, before moving on to set the valve clearances. My gut says that if the OEM says adjust cold, then do so with a stone cold engine. If the OEM says hot, I can see the logic. However, I would shy away from doing a cold adjustment on an engine where the OEM specifies only "hot" settings only, as it is difficult to factor in the gap reduction that will take place after the engine comes up to on road temperature.

A great explanation James!

Not wishing to add to any confusion, but my well thumbed page 134 of the Feb 2015 Build Manual says: "Fit the Radius Arm to the lower chassis bush with the waisted section facing outboard ......etc". I went for the lower chassis bush mounting on my recent build. My car is an S3 and had the holes for either option pre drilled in the inner skin. I don't suppose that a compromise might be to fit one side on the lower bush and the other on the upper bush :)

If you go for big heads there are 2 size choices. Go for the larger with 15mm gap across the fastener fixings. This gives best fit over the wing stays.

If you go for big heads, you will see that 2 different sizes are available. Go for the big heads with 15mm gap between the fastener loops I.e. the larger size option. This gives a secure fit over the wing stays.

The Handbook states that my S3 has a Fuel Tank Capacity of 36 litres. As the tank runs down, there will be a point where the fuel pump starts sucking air, although there will still be some fuel remaining in the tank. I've no idea how much would be left in the tank at that stage, and don't really want to find this out on an autobahn. I'll be going on a trip soon, and know that I am currently getting around 7.8 miles per litre. So if I fill the tank, I should be able to project how far I can drive before I need to go hunting for a petrol station. I'd appreciate advice on what I should figure to be the usable volume in my tank if someone can assist.

If you order the Big Heads there are 2 different sizes. You need the larger 15 mm fasteners. They bond to the wings with Sikaflex 292i. May I suggest that you give some thought to the Repeater wiring? The advantage of the Big Heads is that the wings can be removed if needed. I didn't like the Manual advice on Repeater wiring for a number of reasons, one of which was to allow the wings to be taken off to give service access as this can be troublesome if the Repeater live lead is routed inside the Wing Stay as per the Manual. The other issue is the Wing Stay fixing of the "very short" Repeater earth lead. I extended my earth leads so they could be connected inside engine bay and away from the ravages of road salt. I then shrink wrapped both the Live and Earth leads which I routed around the Wing Stays and cable tied them in place. Visually it look just as good. The other thing that may help is to ensure you protect your Repeater Wires with Silicon/Plastic Hose where they pass into the Engine Bay. This is an IVA requirement that you will find at the end of your build. It's much easier to fit this protection whilst feeding the wires through.

I believe that your screen will be heated as this is an IVA requirement. The heating element is bonded to the glass at the supplier. I've just finished building my 270S, please feel welcome to get in touch if I can help.