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Filling the car- help for a numpty !


Matt the Womble

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Ok, so, finally picked up my first ever seven a couple of weeks ago and Ive managed a couple of outings, brilliant fun.

but, I've gone to fill it up at the petrol station and all I managed to do was to cover my shoes and the back of the car with Petrol, tried every possible angle, going slow , going fast but no good. Tried another petrol station, same problem. The flap valve moves when I poke it but I'm clearly being a MASSIVE  numpty so I know someone here will be able to help.

 

 

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Welcome to the joys of Seven ownership!

Some people remove the flap which supposedly helps, I never have but I have found that the nozzle needs a sort of twist going on to get far enough in to avoid the spills. Definitely don't squeeze the pump trigger all the way and watch out for getting the nozzle stuck.

Stu.

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I have a '98 injection car with the flap still in. You have to get the nozzle past it. I sort of start with the filler at 90 degrees and push it in and twist vertical. I never give it full bore like the tintop always gentle and steady. Know when it is getting full and be ready to ease off. It will overflow quickly.

If you've spilt fuel down the back panel be sure to wash off with soapy water and rinse at the earliest opportunity. It has been known to lift paint / melt plastic of the lights.

So in summary, easy the flaps to one side, be gentle and steady :-0

 

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It  is a known issue, there was a solution posted by Andy Adcatman but it was on the old Blatchat site so my link to it no longer works.  He also had details on Flickr  but I can't check it out because I am not a member.  I did save his details to a pdf file, I will try to attach it to this message but if it doesn't work PM me with your email address and I will send it to you

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20184350@N05/sets/72157611953264019/

In my case Caterham fitted a modified filler neck and cap, the stock codes for the revised parts fitted to my car were:

30T033A Fuel filler neck aero cap only modified here:

https://caterhamparts.co.uk/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=30T033A&submit_search=

30T032A Aero filler cap black finish 2008

David

Hopefully the pdf is here:

Caterham Fuel Filler.pdf

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Previous Roadsport would not fill without spillage despite twisting and turning nozzle. I used an old flexible plastic Jerrycan filler tube for years without issue.

Oddly, latest 2016 model fills without a problem, although I did remove flappy thing on day one of ownership.

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From what I recall, two upgrades were being carried out to fuel pump nozzles, one was to make petrol and diesel nozzles different so that drivers would not mistakenly fill up with the wrong fuel and the other mod was that the new nozzles allowed less fuel vapour to escape which some accountant had calculated to be losing millions of pounds in fuel costs.

I took delivery of a new CSR in 2008 and couldn't understand why I couldn't get fuel in at "some" petrol stations.  When I phoned Caterham to explain the problem Nick Potter suggested I just stick a screwdriver down the filler pipe and prise out the offending flap!  I was incensed and eventually CC collected my car and installed the modified filler pipe ... that was a 1200 mile round journey to Aberdeen.  Meantime I had to carry a funnel and tube just in case I tried to fill up at a pump with the modified nozzles.

It is annoying that I can't upload a pdf  file that contains Andy's solution

David

 

 

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Here is Andy / adcatman solution posted on the old blatchat site so the link doesn't work

http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=147379&pn=1&ps=15&c=

Caterham Fuel Filler on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20184350@N05/sets/72157611953264019/

01_0.jpg.e3fc8fe3ffcec614d36a97c1bd3e32e8.jpg

02.jpg.df5de0e7b830ca609eac6c2fb601d7c1.jpg

Two screws to remove the cover 

 

03.jpg.c2af8c7c87a433b4d974f62113df8ad9.jpg

3 Jubilee clips holding the hoses 

04.jpg.4aae05bf96d05bda1a7ef0f986097b93.jpg

6 screws holding the outer ring to the filler 

05.jpg.74e0555fdd0df91d5b1430ad16051a15.jpg

A little difficult removing the 3 hoses at the same time. Easier to push the main hose off the filler then work the other two off 

06.jpg.9dbc59792f8b4497363dad47dea7eeec.jpg

Bag over to prevent quick job becoming long job. 

07.jpg.fbff80cd4dc97b7e7ed68b9ae280d8d2.jpg

3 spots of weld holding the flap in place. The trusty Dremel comes into its own again 

08.jpg.4e8bc2e2931bdf1b5286e89a05d814ae.jpg

Took as much weld out as possible without coming onto the main pipe. 

09.jpg.c9e50c6d80a2a3b524e21503785d32d7.jpg

Ah ha pesky little thing clear. Finally teased it out with a screwdriver to break the welds 

10_1.jpg.a68992782429cffe11838db1c120d244.jpg

Now I can fill up directly from a pump (BE AWARE - Removing the SVA flap is all well and good and to me the Pro's outweigh the cons but just to make anyone aware, when I drive with a brimful tank I get a small trace of fuel down the back panel. The flap obviously does some good in deflecting fuel under acceleration.

Additional Notes

In my case (2008), Caterham fitted a modified filler neck and cap, the stock codes for the revised parts fitted to my car were:

30T033A Fuel filler neck aero cap only modified £40.00 + VAT
30T032A Aero filler cap black finish 2008, £72.00 + VAT

 

 

 

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Bill.  Have you checked what grade of fuel you need to put in your new Caterham. My Owners handbook says 98 RON for mine, but it is an old 2004 K Series. I found over the years that Shell or BP premium fuel gets the best results. I am not sure what grade of fuel the Ford engines use but do find out.

I think there is someone in the Club on BC who works in the Fuel Supply Industry and it is all down to additives. Hopefully he will comment. The Supermarkets have the I believe the minimum of additives, while Shell , BP and Esso are the better quality suppliers. 

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Piers, I've been told by CC for the 420R to use normal unleaded. I'm a retired tanker driver and used to deliver to all the supermarkets, sometimes I loaded at Esso, shell, or BP and was told by loading staff that I was taking the same stuff they deliver to their own petrol stations, that was ten years ago so not sure about now.

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Just to add more confusion to fuel issues:

Quote from FBHVC: "After an extensive consultation process, the Department for Transport has announced that they will legislate to introduce E10 petrol as the standard 95-octane petrol grade by 1 September 2021. They will also require the higher-octane 97+ ‘Super’ grades to remain E5 to provide protection for owners of older vehicles. This product will be designated as the ‘Protection’ grade".

More here, click on "Introduction to E10 petrol"

https://www.fbhvc.co.uk/fuels#E10

David

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