SKCC - Southern Kit Car Club. A Club for kit car owners across Southern England. Kent, Sussex, East Hants, Surrey, Berks, Middlesex, London

I am currently changing the timing belt on my Seven. It is a pain, but I cannot remove the alternator without removing the water rail.

Having removed it, I noticed some wear on the aluminium tube:



On croser inspection, I realised it must have been 90% worn through:



A new rail is £100 and available, but I thought I would try using my Tig welder to repair it:



It went quite well, so I thinned it down with file and emery cloth leaving the metal a little thicker:



I have covered the area in some helicopter blade tape to protect it from future wear and it is ready to fit.

What was it rubbing on Duncan ? it may be worth looking at that as well.
Glad you found it early, could have been an expensive fix if that had gone all the way through.

It must be part of the throttle body or inlet manifold, I will have a good look when I refit it.

Yes it saved some money, but I'm mainly glad I spotted it to avoid being stranded by the side of the road. I have a low coolant level warning light, so would have saved over heating, but access to the rail is really difficult so it wouldn't bea quick fix.

Well spotted mate