Rob Walker

A lot depends on the type of spark plug fitted, some of the latest platinum electrode types are good for 100K miles. I look at my plugs with a magnifying glass and look for electrode errosion, if the tip of the electrode has retained its sharp edge and the gap has not widened then I refit the plug. Obviously the setup of your engine , condition and its use will dictate how long the plugs will last.

Yes Yes & Yes

I am concerned that OPL may not work at Cadwell as it almost impossible to overtake from Mountain right through to Barn and getting stuck behind a slow car for that portion of the lap will ruin the thrill of driving this great circuit. We ran OPL at Rockingham last year and it was not a problem, I don`t think there will be a problem at Oulton as there are plenty of overtaking places and the track is wide. But Cadwell I have my doubts. Rob

EB, As I said its too big, you need at least 8mm of clearance around the box. Shame as its a very strong gearbox. Out of interest have you weighed the T5? Rob

Richard, The T5 casing is too wide to fit the transmission tunnel on an S3 chassis without extensive modification. Rob

The spring rate is normally engraved on one end face of each spring.

Alternator to suit K series EU2 installation £45 Buyer pays carriage Rob

The SVC headlight bowls are made from brass the large CC ones are steel. Chrome on brass may account for the difference in colour. I am also very pleased with my SVC lamps.

Air Idle control valve sticking most likely

If its your intention to run with greater than 180lbs rear springs I would go down one size to APA 170/110 or you end up needing helper springs to keep the platforms loaded.

150 is the open length 15" and 100 is the closed length 10" thats centre of the eye to centre of the eye with the damper closed metal to metal with the bumpstop removed. On the rear I use APA 180/115 WITH 2.25 id SPRINGS AS THE 1.9" SPRINGS RUB THE DAMPER BODIES. Retail price is £90 plus vat less what ever you can haggle out of AVO.

Angus, I ordered my Avo`s directly and spec`d APA 150/100 for the front as these give the correct amount of droop with wide track. The freestyle spec is shorter I measured DaveJ `s as a comparison. Fitting an extension spacer is a poor way of solving the problem as you end up with no damper travel and riding on the bumpstops in hard cornering. Rob

DS Tensioner SOLD to Mav

Point taken Tim BTW I have used the bondloc anaerobic sealant, threadlock low strength and high strength and all seem to be good quality and of course keenly priced.

Toolstation sell bondlock 574 anaerobic sealant and its cheap as chips £3.30. I doubt that any bulk buy would be worth the hassle for such a low cost consumable.

I file a taper lead on the edge of the sleeve that is first to enter the crank, then polish the sleeve a thin smear of ARP graphite grease and GENTLY tap it in using a socket as a drift, you must keep it square.

Alternator from EU2 engine £50 Bellhousing £100 LH engine mount bracket £20 Water rail New still in wrapper £85 water rail needing re powder coating £25 Caterham embosed cast Ali HT cover(black) £20 Dry sump belt tensioner New £20 SOLD to Mav Submarine tube needs re powder coating £10 Clutch cable New £20 Buyer pays postage or collects from Bristol tel 0117 9239941 Thanks Rob Edited by - Rob walker on 18 Feb 2008 08:58:33

There are some funny things happening in the hub area. On my own car I have had the Off side slacken several times despite it being torqued to 200lb ft and new nylocks used. I have also witnessed the Near side self tighten to an incredable torque on a mates car, he in fact broke two socket extension bars and one 24" breaker bar trying to undue the nut. He eventually had to cut the nut off. If you consider the hub arranagement the two taper roller bearings only support the outer stub axle/cv joint over 37mm and have no means of accurately making adjustments to preload or any inaccuracy in the manufacture of either the hub in which they are held or the machined step on the stub axle or the bearing itself. In short the taper rollers bearings could be loose within the outer races or receiving excessive preloading. I recentley replaced my bearings and the NS showed signs of overheating and some wear. I cannot say that I am happy with this installation. I know someone will be quick to point out that it is used on a Seirra which is a much heavier car ect ect but the seirra is not running 8" slicks or being used at 140mph with high cornering forces and over 180lb ft / 220bhp. Angus if I were doing the job again I would assemble the hub/bearings on the driveshaft with it all in the vice and check how the bearings are being held before fitting the parts to the car. What you are looking for is no play or endfloat or excessive preloading/binding with the hub nut tightened. Rob

Gosh that was quick! someone is going to get a cracking car.

Angus, As any driveline or braking torque should be handled by the splines in the end of the drivshaft/driveflange and not the nut your failure is surprising. Can I ask if you used an air impact gun to undue the nuts when you did the full strip down???? If so could it be possible that you acccidently over tightened them with the impact gun ie not realising that the near side is a left hand thread??? Rob

The new ones are about 2KG lighter than the ford seirra type

Hi Andy, Sorry to see that you are selling. I think that it should be pointed out that the engine was never optimised on our trip to Emerald, we arrived 6 hours late in the evening with only 70 miles on the engine and Dave did his best to get a working map done in the available time, hence only the one power run showing 270bhp/199lb ft. This is the most extreme spec of Duratec 2.3 that I have built to date and I would expect it to give at least 280bhp and 210 lb ft with further mapping and optimised cam timing. The engine was built from a new 2.3, has a fully ported head,ARP head and main bearing carrier stud kits, Omega Forged pistons, Arrow steel rods, Crank Keywayed,Full engine balance,Kent cams, uprated valve springs and steel retainers, Titan Dry sump system with single pressure and double scavenge stages. Titan steel lightweight flywheel and AP CSR clutch. The induction is Direct to head Jenveys 45mm with 8 injectors, 90mm ram pipes and Pipercross foam filter. The gearbox is the Quaife straight cut, close ratio, Heavy duty needle roller bearing (pro) box supplied by R&R. The car also has Caterham uprated front brakes and Tillet style composite seats. Rob Edited by - Rob Walker on 12 Feb 2008 08:36:36

Mark I will have the ford wasted spark coil pack and S3 driveshafts please. Cheers Rob Edited by - Rob Walker on 8 Feb 2008 08:44:45

White spirit and leave it to soak for a day.

Graham, This company does a super free standing four pillar electric car lift for £1620 inc vat and delivery. www .GARAGE-APPARATUUR.COM Rob