Shaun_E

Look here. It's not any of the above but something called the I4 - a bit more research reveals this to be a Ford/Mazda joint venture.

Dave - looks like this is not something that anyone here is likely to have done. Given the low volumes it is probably a difficult engine to source/tune/maintain. A lot of people have fitted Zetec engines to Sevens and the latest "darling of the engine world" is the Ford Duratec which is now being used by people after a light weight, easily tuned engine. There are several companies developing tuning stuff for this as well as fittings for Caterhams.

Ammo above has a bit of an interest in the Duratec 😬

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Graham,

I have just fitted a Radtec to my K series over the weekend. There are a few threads over the last week or so on this so have a look back over them.

Have a look here.

The main thing is to jack the front of the car up as high as you can to make the bleed valve the highest point in the system.

I filled the system through the header tank and filled the radiator through the top hose. I then ran the engine until it got warm enough for the thermostat to open - this will allow water into the radiator - and then stopped to bleed the system using the radiator bleed valve. When no more air came out I topped up the header tank and ran the engine again. Repeat this process until no more air comes out. Be careful when removing the header tank cap as the system is under pressure! If you have a heater you will need to have the valve open. I kept an eye on the temperature at all times while running the car to make sure there weren't any sudden jumps that could have been casued by an airlock.

The system on a K series takes about 5 litres so I used that as a check to be sure that there weren't any huge airlocks! I imagine a Zetec is similar.

Hope this isn't teaching you to suck eggs . I think there is no hard and fast way of doing it although some people seem to have what they consider a fool proof technique - as I say check some of the threads from the last week.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

OK it was just me being stupid 😳. I tried the new fan switch in the old radiator and, with a bit of fiddling, it eventually fitted. Turns out that the thread on the switch was not very well finished which is why it wouldn't screw in to the new radiator properly. I screwed the switch in and out of the old radiator a few times to clean up the thread and then it went in the new one no problem.

Fan now comes on at a more respectable temperature in the low 90's.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Mark - cheers and thanks for your mail over the weekend. Thankfully it all went together in the end.

The fan switch Caterham supplied me with didn't seem to fit when I tried it and with an Ali radiator I was unwilling to force it. I had to take the switch out of the old radiator and that went in easily. Caterham assure me that there is only one fitting of switch and that given the number they get through (admission of fragility?) they would have spotted a problem by now with the batch.

Could they have shipped the wrong part? i.e. is there anything else that looks like a fan switch? Maybe the thread on the new one was just a little rough and would have gone in with a little more force applied but I am sure that the pitch of the thread was different to the old one.

I'm not sure what to do now - Caterham say send it back and they'll check it out and replace it but maybe it was the right part and it was just me being stupid .

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Just called Caterham and they told me the switch is an 86 - 95 i.e. it switches on at 95 degrees and back off again at 86.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Andy,

Cheers - that's what I needed. Looks like mine is cutting in a bit late so I'll order a new one.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Glenn - pretty sure that the fan switch is not airlocked as it is right next to the radiator top hose. I'll fit an override switch as soon as I can.

Andy - 85 degrees sounds too early as the thermostat isn't even fully open at that temperature. As you say it could be the gauge is not accurate.

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

V7 - I suspect you are right about your gauges. I am running a Stack dash so am confident that my indicated temperatures are reasonably accurate.

Brent - I fitted my Radtec over the weekend and when the (standard) fan cuts in at around 100 degrees the temperature begins to drop quite quickly and within a minute or so is below 95 - I only tried this stationary on the drive but that should reflect sitting in traffic. As soon as you move, the airflow is enough to drop the temperature even more quickly and on a hard blat I didn't see more than 87 degrees. I'm very pleased with it.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

V7,

I am trying to get to grips with temperatures myself and have a couple of thoughts:

1. Although your thermostat is nominally 76 degrees, that could be fully open so at 69 degrees it could be partially open allowing enough coolant to flow through the radiator to be cooled down to 69 hence your "mountain" temperature. If the thermostat is faulty or not particularly accurate then this could definitely be the cause.

2. The higher temperatures are not necessarily indicative of an undercapacity cooling system as the efficiency of any heat exchanger is dependent on the temperature differential across it. Therefore the radiator is not dumping heat fast enough until it has reached a certain temperature - perhaps in your case around 90 degrees.

Your temperatures don't seem excessive (my fan doesn't come on until 100 degrees ) and you don't want to run too cool either. In Le Mans I was regularly getting around 105 degrees when stuck in traffic and my new radiator should reduce that.

Assuming your radiator is up to the job (which I think it is) perhaps you should stick with the Laminova. As Steve said, airflow is the biggest problem on the 7 so where would you site a separate oil cooler? If you put it in front of the radiator then it will reduce the cooling effect of the radiator.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

There are lots of threads at the moment regarding temperatures, I guess because of the hot weather or tours to foreign parts .

Can someone tell me the temperatures at which things should work on a K series?

1. Standard thermostat - I believe this should open around 88 degrees but can someone confirm?

2. Fan switch - what temp does it come on and what temp does it go off?

My new radiator (Radtec) seems to do a much better job of dumping heat, especially when car is moving. However in traffic the fan doesn't come on until over 100 degrees which I think is too late. Once it comes on it cools things down pretty quickly.

I intend to fit a manual fan override switch but would like the temp controlled one to work properly too.

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Laminova all connected now and all the hoses are attached in the right place. Didn't actually take the thermostat housing off (my wiggling technique wasn't that great ) but it moved enough for me to get the hose onto it. Refilling of cooling system took a while (see other thread) but I think I'm there now. Been for a short blat - temperature between 85 and 87 while moving and fan cuts in around the 100 mark when stuck in traffic and gets temp down below 95 fairly quickly. Oil heated up very quickly so the Laminova is doing it's stuff in that regard too. Oil pressure has dropped a bit but is steady and no sign of leaks yet. Oil temp was stable at 80 but was only a short drive so I'll have to wait and see as regards oil cooling.

Will keep checking levels and hoses over the next few blats.

Cheers to the people who gave me support in my hour of despair last night.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

I think I'm there now. Been for a short blat - temperature between 85 and 87 while moving and fan cuts in around the 100 mark when stuck in traffic and gets temp down below 95 fairly quickly. Oil heated up very quickly so the Laminova is doing it's stuff in that regard too. Oil pressure has dropped a bit but is steady and no sign of leaks yet. Oil temp was stable at 80 but was only a short drive so I'll have to wait and see as regards oil cooling.

Will keep checking levels and hoses over the next few blats.

Cheers to the people who gave me support in my hour of despair last night.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Morning folks - got up early and with fresh eyes was able to fit all the necessary hoses and the Laminova is now all connected up. I'm now trying to refill the cooling system but not getting very far. I have the front of the car up on ramps but I don't think that is high enough - the radiator is not even filling up.

Is there a tried and tested process for refilling? Should I fill through the raditor top hose first?

If I can get this done this morning, I can make the most of the weather .

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Fred - that's the bit. Cheers should make the job easier in the morning.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Mark - thanks for the advice on thermostat. This is the first piece of work I have done on the car (and in fact the the first time on any car for very long time) so I was kidding myself if I thought it would be straightforward. Not having built the Seven I have very little idea about how it all hangs together - I'm relying on basic knowledge picked up over the years fixing various old bangers and of course the amazing Blatchat 😬. If it all goes completely t*ts up and I need to give up on fitting the Laminova then the spare hoses will be a life saver to get the car back on the road. Hopefully it won't come to that but cheers for the offer.

Martin - guess you'll be having one or two beers at the end of your on call stint.

Right I'm signing off now - a few more beers and then bed. Keep an eye out for my desparate pleas for help tomorrow 😳.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Martin - thanks.

I'll remove the thermostat housing and connect the hose to it off the car. The hoses do fit but with difficulty. Sound advice on taking a break - hence me sitting in front of the computer with a beer in my hand 😬. Bugger it's empty - I'll go and get another. I'll go back to the car tomorrow, hopefully in the sun.

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Yes standard fan fits - I fitted mine about 2 hours ago.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

I am in the process of fitting a new Radtec radiator and a Laminova. Radiator fitted no problem - direct swap. The fan switch Caterham sent me is the wrong one so had to use the old one - I didn't know there were different ones but the two have different threads. I was a little unsure about which way up to put the radiator as the tanks are at either side rather then top and bottom. On the old radiator the fan switch was in the top tank next to the top raditor hose - I have put the new raditor in so that the fan switch is in the passenger side tank which the top hose connects to - is this correct?

Problems started when I tried to fit the Laminova - the radiator top hose is in a different position on the Radtec to that on the std Caterham radiator - it is nearer the outside of the car so that there is not enough room to fit the Laminova. Unfortunately I made the mistake of cutting the radiator top hose (nice expensive silicon job of course) before realising that. The only solution I have found is to use the old radiator bottom hose (the one that has two right angle bends in it) and mount the Laminova sloping upwards over the top of the Apollo- still touch and go on space though. I suspect that the Apollo tank (fitted by Caterham) is not in the optimal position and as it is rivetted in place I am not going to move it. I think I can get it all connected up now but what a nightmare. Any suggestions gratefully received - especially on securing it in place.

The other problem I have is fitting a new silicon replacement for the bit of the bottom hose which connects to the engine block - the one that doubles back on itself. I cannot get this hose to fit at all and when I compare the diameter to the one I took off it is smaller. How can I stretch the hose to make it fit? Is it possible to remove the thing it connects to which looks like it is bolted to the engine somehow?

I'm a bit down now ☹️ and am going to have a few beers - hopefully I'll have calmed down by the morning and will be able to approach this rationally.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Al/Steve,

Managed to get some Coldstream at Cafco in Slough . I had a alook at the Comma site and found the following information:

Comma Coldstream is Propylene Glycol.

XStream Red is ethylene glycol with OAT additives.

Xstream Green is ethylene glycol with additives that are nitrite, amine & phosphate free.

Caterham build manual recommends XStream red and specifically mentions OAT - sounds like this is the best solution but is more expensive than Coldstream.

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Al - cheers mate, if I can't get any today I'll give you a bell.

Steve - thanks for the offer, but I can't get to the Phoenix tonight ☹️

Peter - thanks once again for explaining this - I asked you the same questions at the get to know your seven day but I have a head like a sieve and at the time we discussed it I had the std black radiator so I believe the answer may have been slightly different.

As I don't know what coolant is in there right now (Caterham would have put the last stuff in) I guess I need to flush the system out before refilling. Any recommedations on how best to do that.

Thanks everyone.

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Cheer's Steve.

Yellow SL #32

Will be fitting a new (aluminium) radiator this weekend so need to know what the best coolant to use is. K series engine, used on road and track. Prefer that it is something that I can get rom Halfords or local Rover dealer.

Cheers,

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Got mine from GPR. Try a few on for size - different manufacturers tend to fit different shape heads better so try a few different manufacturers. When you think you have one that fits OK then keep it on for 20-30 minutes - it will take at least that long to see if it really is confortable. If you start to get a headache then it isn't right. The padding around your cheeks will push them up - this is normal and it will settle a bit with use.

Personally I think a full face helmet is best in a seven - especially if you do wet days or go aeroscreen at some point 😬

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

Charlie,

K series kit from Think with Laminova, additional oil pipe and all the necessary fittings for a wet sump K with Apollo is £160 all in (including VAT and postage). I am fitting a Radtec radiator as I get high water temperature as well as high oil temperature. Cost of the Radtec with the bulk buy discount was just under £210 all in. Not sure if the BB is still going - phone Radtec to find out. My existing radiator is the standard (NOT Ali) one and has seen better days judging by the wildlife wedged in it! If you have the aluminium one then that is probably much better than the old one I have. I am also looking to fit an 82 deg thermostat if I can find one before the weekend (CC didn't stock them when I phoned today).

Shaun

Yellow SL #32

I'm gonna attempt to fit my new radiator and the Laminova this weekend. Any one got any tips they would like to share with me? I'll follow Roy's instructions for the Laminova and am sure that the radiator is just a straight swap so fingers crossed ❗

Shaun

Yellow SL #32