Standard fuel tank capacity
Discussion
Evening all,
Can someone remind me of the capacity of the standard Caterham fuel tank (1997 Roadsport car)? I ask because my fuel gauge is comically erratic and I'm trying to work out how far I can go before really needing to stop for fuel.
I've got a vague memory of 32 litres/8 gallons ish...
Cheers,
Ewen.
Can someone remind me of the capacity of the standard Caterham fuel tank (1997 Roadsport car)? I ask because my fuel gauge is comically erratic and I'm trying to work out how far I can go before really needing to stop for fuel.
I've got a vague memory of 32 litres/8 gallons ish...
Cheers,
Ewen.
It might have 36l capacity but there is not 36 usable litres.
For an injection pump in tank set up, I got exactly 30.5lts out of my tank before the injection pump started to suck air. This was the Rover 220 Turbo (aka R500) pump.
The measuring was done as accurately as I could achieve. I calibrated a dip stick while doing it for more accurate fuelling on race days and that worked well with type of screw on (vertical in the the boot) filler I have.
For a carbed 7 you will get a bit more out perhaps but again there is a feed pipe and that needs to be under fuel level.
For an injection pump in tank set up, I got exactly 30.5lts out of my tank before the injection pump started to suck air. This was the Rover 220 Turbo (aka R500) pump.
The measuring was done as accurately as I could achieve. I calibrated a dip stick while doing it for more accurate fuelling on race days and that worked well with type of screw on (vertical in the the boot) filler I have.
For a carbed 7 you will get a bit more out perhaps but again there is a feed pipe and that needs to be under fuel level.
Slightly off topic but is it difficult to drain the fuel tank (1986 Super Sprint)? Due to a naff fuel gauge I ran out of fuel. After filling up I got about 6 km and chugged to a stop. The electric fuel pump (situated in the engine bay) was clicking like mad and only spitting out fuel so I guess I have dirt in the line. Is the fuel tank to fuel line connection easy to get at?
All plumbing to the tank is pretty easy to get at from underneath.
If absolutely necessary you can take the tank out easily enough but you have to remove the boot lid and I think the FIA roll over bar to do that (the latter I cannot really remember as it was a few years since I did it on mine!
Once out you can remove the pump to clean etc.
It could be that your filter did it's job and is blocked and that is a bolt on part.
If absolutely necessary you can take the tank out easily enough but you have to remove the boot lid and I think the FIA roll over bar to do that (the latter I cannot really remember as it was a few years since I did it on mine!
Once out you can remove the pump to clean etc.
It could be that your filter did it's job and is blocked and that is a bolt on part.
I disconnected the fuel line from the tank and blew it out. I did not see any dirt. I connected the electric pump back up, primed it and switched on. The pump rattled like a machine gun and started to heat up! In fact it got very hot which worried me somewhat. So I have reverted to the original mechanical pump and all seems well again. I will take her for a shake out run tomorrow and see how she does.
Edited by davidball on Friday 9th July 18:38
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