"Hi there,

If anyone can help me to understand why this is happening, it would be much appreciated.
Regards,
John."

Re: 2.24v.
Could be either;
If this is a dog leg five speed gearbox (ie ZF) then it sounds like the layshaft bearings are either worn or out of tolerance. Lots of higher mileage cars display these same characteristics and the box must be stripped to renew them.
If it is a Getrag unit (either 5 or 6 speed) standard pattern, then it could also be this but is a lot less common. In this case it could also be the clutch/flywheel which can make a noise. Not necessarily a problem but annoying all the same. Only way to solve the problem is to renew.

Hi Enrico how are you?
I own a 1993, 2.24v. I have a slight problem with the gearbox, since I had the gearbox rebuilt. When I put it into neutral, a noisy sound (like: tak,tak,tak,tak...) appears. Every time I press the clutch, or when I move the gear stick slightly the noise stops.
If anyone can help me to understand why this is happening, it would be much appreciated.
Regards,
John."

Re: 2.24v.
Could be either;
If this is a dog leg five speed gearbox (ie ZF) then it sounds like the layshaft bearings are either worn or out of tolerance. Lots of higher mileage cars display these same characteristics and the box must be stripped to renew them.
If it is a Getrag unit (either 5 or 6 speed) standard pattern, then it could also be this but is a lot less common. In this case it could also be the clutch/flywheel which can make a noise. Not necessarily a problem but annoying all the same. Only way to solve the problem is to renew.

"Dear Enrico,
It's been a while. I am enjoying the car immensely. I enclose some photos. I have recently noted a strange vibration and a knocking sound from the rear differential. Any ideas what this could mean?
Very annoying, can you please help or advise as to what to look for? This is my first Maserati.
Best Regards,
Augusto."

Re: Ghibli II.
Could be either;
A mounting bush for the differential that is worn.
A mounting bush for the rear suspension that is worn.
A knocking exhaust pipe or a particularly vocal limited slip diff coming in.
Most Ghiblis have a certain knocking from the rear on smart take off but a vibration is curious.
Check that the suspension alignment is correct (kerbing a rear wheel can knock things out) and check that the rear differential unit is not leaking oil.

"Hi there,
A week ago I bought a 1987 Maserati Biturbo 425 from a garage down in East Sussex. On the way home I noticed that the battery warning light came on after changing down from third to second gear and the engine stalled. The car also appeared to vibrate a little at idle. This happened on several occasions, so I took the car back to the garage straight away. The garage was very helpful and after working on the car for about one and a half hours, they told me everything was fixed. It was something to do with the vacuum pipe, that it was split, so they replaced it. They told me everything was OK, and that the vibration at idle had disappeared.
Sure enough everything appeared to be fine, the vibration had stopped. I got into my car and set off back to London. Unfortunately an hour later, it started again, but by then the garage had closed. The next day I booked another appointment to take the 425 down to East Sussex to fix the problem. Now, as well as the vibration at idling speed, the rev counter dips a little on pressing the accelerator pedal in first and second gear?
Very annoying, can you please help or advise as to what to look for? This is my first Maserati.
Best Regards,
David."

"Hi,
First of all, I must say that your pages are among the best I have seen on internet (for Maserati). It gives me almost all information I need and what is also very important, they are constructed for easy and fast usage. I saw that you are preparing certain brochure for Biturbo maintenance. That would be excellent and I'm very interested to have one example.
However, to give you compliments was not the only reason I'm writing to you again (as you already suppose). I have some new little problems with my Ghibli GT. The air-condition panel on the dashboard is not functioning properly. When driving, it switch of itself and start to whistle. In that moment, panel is not responding at all. I can push any button but without respond. The only solution is to turn of the engine and start it again. Sometimes, when it "breaks down", I manage to switch it on again during the drive (without stopping the car) but I not always. Actually, I had the same problem in my old 422 (1989 model).
Second, I have problems with fuel indicator on the main dashboard. It is jumping from the zero position to position where it is indicating present quantity of petrol. When doing this, it is producing noise like knocking.
Has anyone any suggestions? Thanks,
Boris."

"Hi,
A year ago a bought a 1985 Maserati Biturbo E (Swiss specification with carburettor) and I'm now looking for spare parts. I need new hose or as it is difficult to get the right sized hose in Switzerland. Therefore I would ask you if you could give me a some advice as to where I should order them?
Secondly I have a little problem with the acceleration of my car. When I drive my Maserati in 1st and 2nd gears I can reach up to 5500 rpm but in 3rd and 4th gears I can't go over 4200 rpm and then the car reacts and stutters, up to 4000 rpm there is no problem.
The first things I checked were the contacts in the distributor and the rotor arm for cracks. Unfortunately I couldn't find any damage. The only thing I haven't checked yet is the ignition timing.
Thanks,
Marco."

"Hi,
I am really interested in buying a Sebring, although I am not in a hurry. I have seen advertised a 1963 Sebring, Series 1, has had one (Swiss) owner and a track record of 112.000 km. The car is complete, original, accident-free, colour: champagne (bronze) with brown/red leather interior. The inside of the car, as well as the outside/chromium is good except for the paint. The car needs to be repainted. The car has run from 1963 to 1976, and after that it has been stored in a climatised garage. The owner of the car is a German, but the car is not registered on his name (hence: first owner). The current owner cannot explain the overall bad/worn out condition of the paint. I myself thinks this is a bit strange, especially since he claims that the other outside (chromium) parts are very good. There has never been welding to the car, except for a small part at the bottom of the trunk. There is rust at the inside of a front wheelarch that needs welding. Furthermore, the hydraulic pump of the clutch needs to be ventilated. The owner also explained that there is a small tick coming out of the cylinder-head, but he thinks that it is a bad valve-spring(?). All other technical and mechanical aspects of the car are claimed to be OK. The price of the car is about DM 35.000 (approx. GBP 11.000).
Thanks,
Danny."

Re: Sebring.
I think it is fair to say that you must establish whether the seller has good title to the car. If it is not registered in his name then he could be a dealer, either professional or amateur. If he has no paperwork then it could be a problem, but if he has say a receipt from his purchase of the car then it is probably OK.
As a project for restoration, the car seems to be around the right price. If it has been off the road for this long, then you must expect to have to carry out major work to the brakes, the wiring and the suspension. If it possible to drive the car - even a short distance - then do so as this can tell you a lot. Problems to watch out for include:
Engine - a full engine rebuild could cost £10,000 by a specialist. Therefore, if there are problems here already they may escalate. Check for good oil pressure and dip the oil and smell the dipstick. It is likely that the fuel injection seals are perished and this will allow petrol directly into the engine oil. You will also have to budget for a rebuild of the fuel injection metering unit and pump after the long lay up.
Brakes - Everything rubber will need to be changed on the braking system and you will have to change the servos as well as these are very unlikely to work.
Body - It sounds as though the body has been saved by storage. It is better to see a car with very little paint on it as you know exactly what you are buying. So many cars are quickly painted before sale in order to get a better price and all this does is to hide the true horrors of rust. On a car that is partially stripped however, make a careful inventory of the parts that come with it and check against another car or the Maserati parts book as items such as trim, chrome, lights etc are very difficult to find. If the leather is good then this is an advantage as any repairs must be done by a coachtrimmer and can be quite expensive.
Overall, it sounds like a good basis for a restoration. If you are thinking that you will just have to paint the car and fix a few minor faults then do not buy it. If however, you want to restore the car to drive, then it sounds good."