3200/4200 Rear Control Arm

[giantoak]

You don't have to replace the whole lower suspension arm anymore when the ball joint wears because you can buy one of these from https://www.autoepoca.it/brands/maserati-parts/suspension-maserati/

Cost 150 Euro....

 

[tulit]

Formula Dynamics has sold a replacement for the tie rod for years.

Problem is it's the ball joint on the arm itself that also wears/fails. No solution there yet....

Sent from my SM-A515W using Tapatalk

 

[FIFTY]

Formula Dynamics has sold a replacement for the tie rod for years.

Problem is it's the ball joint on the arm itself that also wears/fails. No solution there yet....

Sent from my SM-A515W using Tapatalk

The FD tie rods are not fit for road use based on my experience... you are better off spending £30 and replacing the spherical sfk bearing on the original rod

 

[TimR]

The FD tie rods are not fit for road use based on my experience... you are better off spending £30 and replacing the spherical sfk bearing on the original rod

They are sh1t...
They ought to come with a warning ...!
The rose joints they use can be had for @£15 too....

 

[Enz0]

@FIFTY, @TimR
Could you share your experience with the FD tie rods?

The man who designed the FD tie rods claims that they are better than the original ones.

Maserati GranSport/4200/3200 rear tie rods.

My Own Maserati with this Issue Let me start this...

craig-waterman.com

I want to know how they aren't.

 

[FIFTY]

@FIFTY, @TimR
Could you share your experience with the FD tie rods?

The man who designed the FD tie rods claims that they are better than the original ones.

Maserati GranSport/4200/3200 rear tie rods.

My Own Maserati with this Issue Let me start this...

craig-waterman.com

I want to know how they aren't.

I know who designed these and I believe he had the best intentions. But do these last a lifetime? Sorry he was way off the mark

Pictures tell a 1000 words right? Taken off after 6k miles, bent rods and smashed rose joints



These are not fit for road use people. Don't waste your money on them

I believe @TimR had his fail within 1000 miles

 

[Zep]

You don't have to replace the whole lower suspension arm anymore when the ball joint wears because you can buy one of these from https://www.autoepoca.it/brands/maserati-parts/suspension-maserati/
View attachment 89267
Cost 150 Euro....


View attachment 89267

You can also replace the bearing on its own, a SKF GE15C - about £15. The Autoepoca part is useful if your arms have been previously “improved” with the upgraded tie rods.

Fifty and Tim aren’t the only ones to have had issues. And they are very hard to find replacement rod ends for them as none of the good ones fit.

 

[FIFTY]

Luckily I kepy my original rods so I had the bearing replaced and swapped them out

I did need new sockets as the old ones had siezed. I got them from @2b1ask1

 

[TimR]

Mine went bad inside 500 miles ( O/S), and 3K miles (N/S) respectively.....
Dont touch them with a bargepole. Not when the OEM arms can be serviced for £30 and last tens of thousands of miles.....

 

[CatmanV2]

To be fair to Craig I think his originals probably would have lasted a lifetime. As I understand it, he sold the rights to FD who changed the parts....


C

 

[TimR]

To be fair to Craig I think his originals probably would have lasted a lifetime. As I understand it, he sold the rights to FD who changed the parts....


C

This discussion has been had previously, and whilst your support for Craig might seem honorable, its widely held that rose joints, teflon enhanced or otherwise, arent really suitable for road use ( refer FIFTY's comment above)
Honestly, to claim a bearing will last a lifetime is bl00dy stupid in the first place...IMO !

 

[Enz0]

Spherical bearings and rod ends are basically the same.

• GE 15 C (Spherical Bearing)
  

  SKF

  www.skf.com
• SI 15 C (Rod End)
  

  SKF

  www.skf.com

One con to chose rod ends is that the threaded part of the rod gets weak. However, the body (diff) side of the rod is threaded anyway, so this shouldn't be a big problem.

In my opinion, the design itself is not that bad, but the selection (by FD) of the parts (both rod and rod end) is not adequate.

 

[Zep]

Spherical bearings and rod ends are basically the same.

• GE 15 C (Spherical Bearing)
  

  SKF

  www.skf.com
• SI 15 C (Rod End)
  

  SKF

  www.skf.com

One con to chose rod ends is that the threaded part of the rod gets weak. However, the body (diff) side of the rod is threaded anyway, so this shouldn't be a big problem.

In my opinion, the design itself is not that bad, but the selection (by FD) of the parts (both rod and rod end) is not adequate.

I have never, ever seen or heard of a stock rod fail / bend / get weak. Replacing the bearing is in my view a perfectly legitimate repair.

Agree on the design, if the FD solution used one of the SI15C variants it would be good, but it doesn’t, it’s been tried.

 

[giantoak]

You can also replace the bearing on its own, a SKF GE15C - about £15. The Autoepoca part is useful if your arms have been previously “improved” with the upgraded tie rods.

Fifty and Tim aren’t the only ones to have had issues. And they are very hard to find replacement rod ends for them as none of the good ones fit.

Can I check I have got this right...is the bearing SKF GE15C a direct replacement that fits the original Maserati control arm?

 

[TimR]

Top hats and boots...If the boots are shredded, I dont know of a replacement. The top hat/spacers can be easily commissioned Im sure...

 

[2b1ask1]

Top hats and boots...If the boots are shredded, I dont know of a replacement. The top hat/spacers can be easily commissioned Im sure...

Work in progress...

I have UK manufactured sockets, bars (not made of cheese) and boots readily available, The top hats are a requirement to get the width and ID correct and I'm working on this in my rare spare time. All these parts have to be precision engineered in quality materials and are not easily procured. Bear with me. The advantage of a multi-piece tie rod over the stock is it doesn't require the removal of the horizontal stud that it goes on that is on such fragile threads in the ball joint and at the outer end (through the bottom of the hub). The thread in the ball joint is particularly vulnerable to damage and notoriously prone to repeatedly coming undone after replacement! top tip is also to meticulously clean the outer exposed end of the thread before attempting any work on the tie rods!

 

[Zep]

Can I check I have got this right...is the bearing SKF GE15C a direct replacement that fits the original Maserati control arm?

Yes, it is a direct replacement. The one that comes out will also be marked GE15C. As others have noted, if your seals are ripped you will need to source those, but they will be available.

The whole thing can be done using basic hand tools and a vice. The tie rod can be seized (not on the cars I have seen, but others have had this). Mark or count the turns on the socket on the rear wishbone, remove the tie rod, pick tool to remove the retaining ring on the dust boot, pin punch to push out the spacers, two sockets to press out the bearing and press it back in. Reassembly the reverse of removal.

 

[Zep]

it doesn't require the removal of the horizontal stud that it goes on that is on such fragile threads in the ball joint and at the outer end (through the bottom of the hub).

I’ve never removed the stud to do this, I wind out the rod and then pull the hub out to release it.

Having said that, I look forward to your solution as I know the components will be tip top!

 

[TimR]

I have never, ever seen or heard of a stock rod fail / bend / get weak. Replacing the bearing is in my view a perfectly legitimate repair.

Agree on the design, if the FD solution used one of the SI15C variants it would be good, but it doesn’t, it’s been tried.

My personal opinion of the FD offering is that it is more than the rose joint they use that lets it down. FIFTY's pics tell a story of poor quality materials from rod, to spacers to rose joint...

Having said that, I look forward to your solution as I know the components will be tip top!

This...

 

[Hart6]

Would just like to resurrect and add my experience to this thread as a caution. I've been chasing a godawful racket on the right rear of my 4200, which I'd initially decided was the lower wishbone balljoint. But no - I've now discovered that the noise is coming from the rose joint on the tie rod, which is of the 'upgraded' aftermarket style as discussed here. Can't be sure who the supplier was given that the parts were fitted prior to my ownership, but the part doesn't look old *at all*. The car had been garaged and driven very little for the last few years so it may have been fitted some time back, but I'm confident that it can't have covered more than a few thousand miles. The thing creaks and knocks like mad.