"Hi,
I hope you can help me, I have a 1984 U.S spec. (2.5L,5spd) Biturbo that I have planned on servicing this coming week (head gaskets).
Though I have finally procured all the parts for the job I have yet to locate a service manual and need a few key specs to complete the task without blowing my engine to kingdom come. I need the torque specs for the head retaining bolts and if possible the sequence in which they are tightened, also do these heads need to be re-torqued after the engine has been run?
This info as well as any tips you might be able to provide would be simply fabulous.
Many thanks!!!
Pat."

"I recently sold my 2.24v, moved back from 5 years in the Netherlands to the UK, and along the route bought a 1 owner 45 000km '95 Ghibli in Vicenza Italy. It is a beauty and is a Tundra Verde, 2.0 litre pre GT car, but with ABS and static ignition. I live in Sutton, Surrey and all is well with the car except I have one niggling technical problem with it.

The turbo boost system exhibits a condition where occasionally the boost fails to build up properly - the plenum pressure is being sent to the boost control solenoid and then to the waste gate servos - and the boost needle stays just shy of the yellow zone. I.e there is a faulty signal to open the boost control valve and I am down about 100 - 150 bhp.

I had the car checked in Holland before I moved back to the UK and I know that the problem is electrical. The mechanicals of the boost system are fine and I have tried to fix this problem for a while now. We/I thought it was a dodgy knock senor connector - but have not taken it out yet.

So, I would love to know if anyone really understands the system in depth, i.e I need knowledge about whether a signal is required from each knock sensor for boost to be allowed to build up by the ECU. Knowledge about the other electrical inputs to control the boost pressure that cause the above problem etc.

Alternativley, if someone with a Ghibli 2.0 or 2.8 could disconnect 1 knock sensor and let me know if the boost builds up, that would be great. If the answer was No, pressure does not build up in that test, then at least I know I am onto the right source of the problem.

I have even tried to measure the voltage from the piezo-electric knock sensor accelerometer but have insufficiently sensitive equipment (I need a scope for this). Also, does anyone know if the boost control solenoid (I replaced mine with a new one to no avail) opens and reduces boost pressure based on plenum pressure or rpm signal? Is plenium pressure converted to electronic signals anywhere?

In summary, if know anyone who can help, i.e who properly understands the full electronics of the boost system, I be delighted to hear from them and get Ghibli back to 100%.

Govert."

"Perhaps you could post this on to the "Can you help?" section of your website.
What are the pitfalls and things I should be aware of in importing a 97-98 Ghibli from Italy?
I have spoken with my insurance company, so you can omit any comments on the insurance aspect.
Kind Regards,
Robert."

"Hello,
I am looking for some information about a little Maserati truck built in the Fifties.
I am also interested in Maserati electric three-wheeled motor-cycle trucks.
Can you help me?
Angelo."

"Hello,
My name is Micha and I live in Holland. I want to buy my first Maserati, it is a 1993 Maserati 424 with 103,000 km's on the clock. Can you give me some purchase advise before I buy it?
Thank you for your time,
Micha."

The 424 is a car not marketed in the UK but is essentially the same as the 430 4v but with a two litre rather than a 2.8 litre engine.
This car has a very advanced specification as it has the 4 valve engine - very reliable but must have it's timing chains changed every 80,000 kms. This means taking the engine out. You should check in the service history to see if this has been done as it makes the service very expensive. Otherwise, make the usual checks for blue smoke at idle which indicates worn turbos, check that the engine has no oil leaks and that the water pump is quiet.
The suspension of this car may have the active ride shock absorbers. These need to be tested in all positions and if the red warning light comes on in the key pad during the test, then it means that one or more of the shocks are faulty. This is important as they are expensive to replace.
Otherwise, carry out a full inspection under the car for rust, especially the sills (which are covered by skirts), the jacking points, the inner wings by the front suspension and the bulkhead area near the fusebox.
Inside the car, check that everything works, including the air conditioning as what may seem like minor items can be expensive to repair.
On a road test, check that the boost gauge moves to the orange sector - less indicates a seized wastegate on the turbos, more indicates that it has been modified, which is not good for the long term health of the engine. Listen for noise from the gearbox (some noise at idle is normal), listen for noise from the differential and if present, flick the car from side to side to see if the noise goes away - If it does then it could be a rear wheel bearing. Because the 4 valve engine produces more power than the earlier cars and still uses their axle and rear suspension, it can wear out the differential prematurely.
Check the condition of the wheels as they are quite fragile and can get bent (expensive to replace). Look also at the angle of the rear wheels from behind the car. They should both display some negative camber. If they look different then the car may have been slid into a kerb and a new rear suspension arm may be needed. Check also the condition of the headlights as they are expensive to replace on these cars.
Above all, check for a full service history which substantiates the mileage and also find out who serviced the car. There are only a few good people in The Netherlands that I know of - Karol Krieger and Franco Auto. If it has been looked after by them then it should be good!

Meraks. Hmmm. There is a lot to look out for!
Biggest problem is always the rust. If you are thinking about an 'Italian' car then this shoud not be such a problem but in the UK it could be. They rust more than any other Maser and in places that can be very difficult to repair. You must check the car on a ramp and look for problems in the sills (not viewable on the outside because they have aluminium covers), the area under the fuel tanks, the surrounding chassis tubes and the floors (pull out the rear seat cushions to be sure). Also open the luggage boot and poke around the sides with a screwdriver, the front suspension mounts here and you may find that only the carpet and the underseal are holding it all together. Only then can you start on the outer body which goes in all the usual places, such as wheel arches, bottoms of doors, leading edge of bonnet. Take extra care to examine the fit of the bonnet and the headlight pods as most cars have had a shunt in the front at some point and dodgy panel fit is a giveaway.
Engine wise, check the oil pressure on cold start - should go to 7 bar and then come back to 1 or 2 at hot idle. Should readily come up to 4 or 5 bar when revved. Carry out a roadtest and lift off the throttle at high revs, while looking in the rear view mirror - if there are plumes of blue smoke then the valve guides will need doing which is expensive. Check also for oil smoke at idle. Merak engines do use a bit of oil anyway but they can get excessive.
Check the hydraulic system by starting the engine, run it until the red light on the dashboard goes out and then switch off (the red light shows low hydraulic pressure on each start up). With the engine switched off, see how many times you can raise and lower the headlights (which are part of the hydraulic system) before the pressure runs out - 12 times is good, 6 is minimum. If the car doesnt pass the test then it will need some work done on the system. Check also the condition of the fluid in the LHM tank - If it is pure green then it is OK, if it is milky then it will need work as water has got in and this will cause major problems.
Otherwise, listen for gearbox noise and jumping out of gear. Check that the gears engage OK as the synchromesh is quite delicate on the Citroen gearbox and expensive to fix.
Overall, it is better to go for an SS model. Meraks never feel that fast, although the handling is fantastic and they are very pleasant cars to drive. Therefore, a pre -SS or a two litre will feel downright slow by modern standards. Better make sure you can live with the sharpness of the Citroen brakes too as they take some acclimatisation.
In the UK, 3-litre Merak values are £20K for excellent, £15 for average and £8K for poor. It is far cheaper in the long run to go for an excellent one!
The 2-litre version is not very popular and therefore the resale could be difficult. Overall though, a cheap and enjoyable way to get into Maserati!

Hi Erik,
I have made a few enquiries.
In England there is a company called 'Ambrose Trailers' in Bournemouth and they can make a tow-bar attachment for the Maserati Biturbo.
You can contact them at ambrowt@aol.com or telephone them on 0044-1202-479259.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Enrico.

Sounds like two separate problems.
The first is seems curious. Obviously something is going open circuit when the car gets hot.
This could be a number of things and really, I would need more information.
However, the first things to check would be the battery earth to the body and then the crankshaft sensor which signals the fuel injection. There is a conncetion for this behind the cam belt which is tricky to reach and could be being affected. However, when displaying the symptoms, it would be relatively easy to go round with a resistance meter and check for open circuits.
The second one of the engine stopping at 4,000 rpm sounds like a rotor arm problem.
Hope this helps.

The Ghibli six speed gearbox is indeed a Getrag unit. The Maserati Parts manual does not show any parts available for the box and there are no special tools available for it's overhaul. Therefore, I would suggest that there are no Maserati modifications to the box as these parts would normally be shown separately. The gearbox is usually very strong and the only experience that I have had of it failing was in a Ghibli Open Cup racer which had led a particularly hard life. The simple option at the time was to fit a secondhand box and one was obtained easily from Italy. It is worth noting that the box is also that fitted to Quattroporte (with a slight modification to the mountings). The only other information that I have is that I have been told that it is identical to that fitted in BMW M3, but as I try never to get involved with BMWs, I don't know if this is true.

This might seem like a very silly solution but please read on! My 1987 Biturbo Coupe had a similar problem. It would jump out of 1st gear (with a loud noise) when the car was cold. Usually first few first gear drive-offs on cold winter days. Slight hand pressure on the gearstick used to solve the problem.
The real solution was very simple. The problem was caused by the rubber gaiter. There is a hard rubber gaiter (under the leather gaiter) held tightly in place by a screwed metal bezel. When the car was cold, the rubber gaiter would not compress enough to allow first gear to engage properly. The spring action of the rubber used to push out first gear. By loosening the metal bezel and forcing it as far back as possible (1st gear is 'on a dogleg' in my Biturbo) the problem was solved.
Incidentally, a few mechanics had quoted me several hundred pounds to repair my gearbox!