Toby S

Hi all Thanks for the point raised It is definitely an in tank replacement pump Already had the Dremel going to shave the inside of the pump holder (the white plastic bit in the picture in which the silver pump sits) to get the replacement pump to fit - as advised by Redline, who were really helpful and it now fits together nicely. It's the unusual looking connection between the pump and the exit pipe which I can't understand what it does, although I take on the hose point above - thanks - the hose supplied incidentally looks like thicker grade meshed fuel hose - quite solid. My only thoughts is that the unit referred to serves as some kind of reservoir holding a small amount of fuel for when cornering on a very low tank where the fuel could sloosh to one side potentially causing the pump then to draw on air - I could of course be wrong (I'm no engineer) but really interested to know what it does and whether its needed. Also worth noting for anyone else thinking of going through a change of fuel pump, the electrical connection (black plastic connector which passes through the larger hole just above the red wire in the circular plate which bolts onto the fuel tank in picture 2 in the original posting which is the large black electric connector visible from outside the tank, as well as the white electrical holder which attaches thereto inside the tank as well as for that matter the round access plate itself and the whole pump holder assembly are no longer available anywhere (Redline, Caterham, Rimmer Bros and a number of other motor factors and electrical component suppliers I tried) - no longer manufactured apparently - was off a Rover Metro. Take special care of these parts as you may not find replacements and may find you will have to change the whole tank set up if these are damaged. I've had to do a fix on the sealed black electrical connector referred to above which was in very bad shape and where loom connection had been lost - ended up having to drill out old resin down to the pin connectors and then solder new fly wires in to connect to the loom and then made water/petrol/spark tight with non acid based silicone - a DREMEL seems to be getting a must have tool with an older Caterham !! BY the way Top Tip if you're investigating a non working fuel pump issue - from experience over the last week I'd recommend not trying to pull off the large black electrical connection visible from the side of the tank without first draining the tank - You'll find you'll only mange to pull out the whole of the electrical connection out of the tank and be left with a gaping 1/2 inch hole and covered in petrol - Mmm lovely with my head 6 inches directly underneath!! Back to original question - anybody any ideas what the black plastic unit with gold bells on it does between the pump and the exit pipe ?

Hi All Changing my in tank fuel pump in a 1992 1400 K series Supersport. See pictures below - I've currently just slotted the new pump into where the old pump came out - does anybody know what the purpose of piece between the pump outlet and the fuel outlet on the access cover which screws onto the tank (effectively the black box with the 2 gold bells on in the pictures) and whether it's necessary - looks to be some sort of regulator/reservoir, although the new pump came with a fuel pipe and 2 jubilee clips which could be used to join the pump and the tank outlet instead of the funny looking unit. The old pump looks to be an original dating back to to 1992 (can't see the make) and I'm replacing it with a Walbro GS242 pump which I managed to source from Redline. Currently wondering whether to use the old connector referred to above or simply join the pump and the outlet with normal fuel hose. Any advise on what the connector does or whether anybody has just used hose ( and the results) or has any thought on the matter would be most welcome Cheers

I've long since given up looking for the source of knocks, squeaks, bangs, whines and whizzes on my 92 Supersport - Took the windscreen off instead and put Brooklands on and now can't hear a thing !!

Blimey - that's not what I was expecting !! Looks pretty straight forward though - thanks for the heads up SM25T Regards

Cheers CageyH Any special tools needed or tips in splitting the joint, or is it all pretty obvious stuff - Are there any bearings or other stuff down there that I should look to replace whilst I've got the shafts off

MOT passed, but a couple of advisories including a deteriorated NS driveshaft gaiter. Took a quick look this afternoon, and one of them (hub end) does look a bit naff. I assume its hub, brake calliper etc off and then pull the draft shaft through (wished I'd noticed them 12 months ago when I changed the rear wheel bearings), however, changing the gaiter itself - can't readily see how you would get the the old gaiter off and new one on - do you have to split the joint to change the gaiter ? Any special tools required ? Secondly - should I have been greasing the drive shaft joints regularly ?

Hi all I concur with Wrightpayne re all his comments I've got a 1992 1400 Supersport -When my change up bulb blew I managed to source a complete unit plus wiring loom direct from Caterham parts for the princely sum of £3.91 plus VAT - that was a couple of years ago. Me thinks someone hadn't up dated the price list for a while (probably since 1992 !!) I guess they were put on the early Supersports as my rev counter (which is original) only goes up to 7,000 (I guess that was enough for the crossflows and Vauxhall alternative engines at that time), yet the engine redlines at 7,400 and engine limiter is 7.600 so the light was put on to bridge the gap - gives you a 1-2 second gap to change up - I must admit its very useful as at 75 mph in 2nd or 95mph in third, you tend to be rather focussed on the road ahead than the dials and a flash of a red light out of the the corner of your eye reminds you to change up. Also if you have a Type 9 box, you really need to hit those sorts of revs to ensure you're back in the power band on change up, as with the smaller k series engines you get absolutely sod all performance without keeping the engine spinning at above 5,000 revs - you really DO need to rev the nuts off them, but that's the great Jeckyll and Hyde thing about them especially the 1400. Get the light sorted and enjoy the roar P.S not sure what the best current advice is with 1600 re rev limits. The 1400 has the same stroke as the 1600 but thicker walled liners and is pretty bullet proof re high revs abuse once thoroughly warmed up. 1600 has thinner walled liners and I've heard don't fare so well being caned - seen various contrary chats on here over the years re Trophy pistons and limiting the revs a bit

When my dip beam went it was the headlamp switch (not the full beam/dip toggle beam switch but the main sidelight/headlamp switch) ) - I popped the switch out dismantled the light switch and cleaned up the copper bits with emery cloth (it all looked a bit oxidised) and it then worked fine - mine is a 92 1400 Supersport. Before the fix I was getting side lights on position 1 and then side and main beam on position 2 when toggling between dip and main beam.

Cracker - Keep digging Mark

When I've had problems with the fog light (usually on the yearly check a couple of days before the MOT !!), like a lot of other electrical problems, have usually found it to be a bad earth. Last year this included the earth wire itself (even though from inspection it looked fine) - when I had the lens off having tried most things, and all wires looked fine I ran off I ran fly wires off the bulb to a good earth and the battery and it worked and then eliminated it down to the earth wire Usually with switch problems, I found jiggling the switch has got the bugger working and then I've dismantled the switch and tackled the metal bits with emery cloth for a permanent job - In the 3 and a bit years of ownership (the cars now 27 years old) I think I done just about every switch on the dash

Blimey Darren - Ever thought of changing your name to Lucky ?

Silver running into Defford Road - gave you a wave

Silver running into Defford Road - gave you a wave

Sorry - forgot that - Only the 1400 is in my manual I'm afraid (it pre dates the 1600 k coming out !) Gives all the torque and peak power of all the cars available at that time, 1600 GT, Sprint, 1700 Supersprint, Cosworth BDR (1600 and 1700), and Vauxhall 16v (a time when you could have 3-4 different manufacturers engines) - makes quite interesting reading

1600 engine with loads more power and revs though Perhaps a 1400 which is a smaller bore (smaller diameter pistons, thicker sleeves although same stroke) may be a bit less fragile - also less extreme levels of power - I can't recall seeing any major blow up problems being reported (other than head gasket - but no doubt I will now) and I'm not sure whether there are any alternative forged pistons available in the size. I don't think an ECU2 is reprogrammable is it - Less use of the right foot may be the only solution but that's really not in my nature.

I'm not in the market - but it looks a very nice car Lee - excellent condition - must be hard to part with

7,600 rpm set up too high ? My 1992 1400 supersport is on standard factory setup as far as I know from an ECU set up point of view (few other tweaks elsewhere around the head, throttle body - 52mm and crank -polished all doen by previous owner) - Single change up light and standard Rover ECU which I guess probably will be an ECU2 given the year, and therefore I guess mine is as close to factory setup you get - Looking at the original handbook (an A5 Green little ring binder file book) max power (130bhp) is quoted at 7,400, hence it would make sense for change up light comes on then, with an additional 200 rpm's before you get to rev limiter to give you a chance to shift. I would assume Caterham knew (big assumption I know) what they were doing and the engine capability when they progammed it for the quoted perfromance and set up when they first produced and sold it - mine never seems to struggle getting there (especially in second) and the engine doesn't sound overaly strained - its done 35,000 miles so is well run in. Valve guides on the other hand ...hmmm... it does like to drink a bit (a bit like me). For a 1400 with peak torque quoted at 5,000 rpm and max power at 7,400 rpm - keeping the revs between these ranges gives a very spirited performance, sound and indeed smell and with a 5 speed type 9 box they need to be revved through the gears to achieve this - under 5,000 revs I admit its a bit limp (OK for a Sunday drive out with the mother-in-law)

It's 7,400 or 7,500 I think on my 1993 1400 supersport, as the rev limiter kicks in at 7,600 or 7,650. May be different on on the 1600. Only gives you a second or so to put the gear change in before hitting the limiter though Originally put on as the VDO rev counter ran out at 7,000 (well mine does) and if you were running a 5 speed Ford type 9 box, you needed the extra revs between 2nd and 3rd (the main gear to rev the nuts off it, sometimes 3rd to 4th) to keep it in the power band on the up change, I had to change mine a year or so ago as it stopped working (rev limiter hit with no light coming on before hand which is a bit of a give away sign) - Caterham had them in stock and for once I don't recall they were that expensive complete with new loom - £20 ish.

Sorry NS - What engine is that and what performance increase are you hoping for 25-35 brake + increased mid range torque? I've always wondered what increase you'd see if you supercharged a 1400 Supersport- mines one of the early ones - A 92 which you can't change the liners to increase the capacity - also would love to know if anyone has ever tried

Thanks Stu My car ain't got the yellow light,but has all other other bits you mentioned (LSD, 4-1 Exhaust, FIA roll bar, 13" wheels (although now shod in R888R's) - it originated as a Silverstone track day car, back in the early 1990's I know that although was re-engined in 1999 Might explain the none connected wire though given no yellow light I'll see if Tom can come through with any thing if he has a chance to look at his and I'll try and take some pictures this evening as JT suggests I'm also hoping to go on the Fish 'n' chip run Saturday so if I can't get anywhere in the meantime I may wander around the car park asking any K series people to lift the bonnet so I can have a peek !!

Thanks Stu Hi Tom Same screw knobs on mine too - its a VDO sender unit That would be great if you could have a look - it's really knowing where the 2 wires from the sender are connecting to - One (which I think must be the gauge given I'm getting a reading) is going to a loom just by the cambelt cover in front of the sump and is connected, the second (I can't find a position for but there doesn't seem to be a place in same loom though which seems odd) and I can't see where it's meant to go. Re the red warning light on the dash - that seems to be working as on start up it does stay on for around 2 seconds and then goes out on a blip of the throttle - can't see how it's oil pressure related if the there's no wire going to it, although I guess its also a warning light for the alternator producing sufficient charge I hate electrics me Cheers

Won't be that then as it was the wire was hanging off the second terminal on the oil pressure sender that was dangling - both connections on the sender are by screw down nuts and 'O' ring electrical connectors on the wires, with like I say a female spade connector on the other end of the dangling wire Do other people have 2 terminals on their sender I guess is the next question, if so where do the wires go coming of the sender lead to.

What's a heater ?

Cheer WP I think it was blue (might of been black/brown) - I'll have a look tomorrow, but it was hanging off the sender, as opposed to hanging off a loom, hence the query Would an apollo temp sender wire connect off the pressure sender ?

Hi All Over the weekend, my oil pressure gauge, which typically fluctuated between 1.5 bar to 4.5 started jumping all over the place up to 9 down to 2. Given its an electronic version (yes I know they are problematic), I thought I'd investigate. It had 2 connection on the top of the sender, one connection going into the loom or sub loom and the other was just a dangling wire with a spade connector (female end) not attached to anything. I took the sender off and cleaned up the connections etc and refitted, but couldn't find where the loose wire was supposed be connecting to - the 1993 handbook wiring diagram, doesn't give much of a clue I'm afraid. Started up the engine and the gauge was reading and more steady only the pressure readings were down (the bad news), although the fluctuations were back to a normal 2 - 2.5 bar (not so bad news) on revving, only the max reading was circa 3.25 bar and then around 1 bar at the lower end. I'm always a bit nervous with dangling wires and low oil pressure - Does anyone have any idea where what the other terminal is supposed to connecting to. I would guess it will be similar connections for any of the K series electronic senders if anyone could have a look Cheers