3200 GT Servicing

[sdlangford]

Most of the list just say worn.

I did say how can the car get an mot last month and only cover 150 miles and yet you say its a fail. I was told mot centres do not know what they are looking at.

Problem is a specialist will not not fit non OEM parts. So stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Simon

 

[Boomerang_GT]

No more proof needed! Stay away as far as you can!
Some things might be useful like all 3200 I knew had a thermostat opening too early. But the rest? Why change the cam covers?
The timing belt change price might also be realistic. Only water pump costs around 800 pounds. But usually you don't change all these components with the timing belt together but rather after a higher mileage.

 

[jluis]

Most of the list just say worn.

I did say how can the car get an mot last month and only cover 150 miles and yet you say its a fail. I was told mot centres do not know what they are looking at.

Problem is a specialist will not not fit non OEM parts. So stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Simon

Most specialists will, it's just main dealers that are picky.

 

[highlander]

Thanks for the mixed responses, all usefull, and thanks.

I will not go into detail of the garage for obvious reasons.

This is the list i have been given.

Major Service and cambelt 11 hours labour and parts £1,594.00
Replace cambelt cover, thermostat, cambox o ring, front cam oil seal, oil return hoses 8 hours labour and parts £1,011.80
Replace hoses from cooler to throttle body, radiator fan restrictor and push rod bush 2 hours labour and parts £341.82
Replace rear discs and pads, handbrak cable and shoes, LH & RH lower suspension arm, LH & RH front hub carriers, RH lower suspension arm, replace coroded brake pipes 16 hours labour and parts £7,219.66

Nice list.

SImon

Now that is a list
As Peter says, there is quite a bit on there I would not think twice about doing as no choice really if you want to drive her......safely.
Is that 3 bones needed? If so, you can half that 3k part of the bill by getting non maser parts from eurospares with the spider brackets. Cambelt, cover, hoses you could probably do yourself at a pushwith some guidance, again cutting the total by about 1.5k. Still leaves a sore wad of cash to find though. Feel for your mate.

 

[jluis]

Did they tell you what is wrong with he arms? Play? Cracked?
Also, both hubs gone? Do you feel vibration on the steering when driving/braking?
Any noise coming from the wheels when driving?

 

[Rex B]

I had to have both front hubs changed on mine cracks on both where the track rod end connects to hub arm. I did write to maserati to advise them of the issue but got the normal thank you but its not our problem response.They were only small cracks but you can't take a chance with the steering.

Rex B
Manual 3200

 

[StuartW]

Now that is a list
As Peter says, there is quite a bit on there I would not think twice about doing as no choice really if you want to drive her......safely.
Is that 3 bones needed? If so, you can half that 3k part of the bill by getting non maser parts from eurospares with the spider brackets. Cambelt, cover, hoses you could probably do yourself at a pushwith some guidance, again cutting the total by about 1.5k. Still leaves a sore wad of cash to find though. Feel for your mate.

+1

 

[davy83]

The CAM belt change is no harder than any other car, it just seems scarier because of the cost of it going wrong. access is not too bad, and the tensioner is fairly simple. The main crank pulley and cam pulleys are well marked and the manual is quite good around the cam belt change. The crank pulley needs the crank to be locked to get it off. I have replaced the idler pulley, and the tensioner on my car, just because i like the idea of knowing exactly what condition these were in. There is a known weakness with the water pump up around 60-70k miles and i will contemplate replacing the water pump when i get there. My car is always a second car so having it off the road for a few days while i do jobs is never a problem for me.

What's involved in the cambelt change Davy? Is it difficult or just a lengthy task?

 

[davy83]

oh just read your list. not surprised about the suspension arms, and yes get after market from Eurospares. both front hub carriers seems a bit severe, i would want to know why, the hubs and bearings are pretty tough and not know for regular failure, depends what miles on the clock i guess. hoses to the throttle body are easy, and not very important so would need to be seriously cracked or broken before they cause trouble. Rear brake work is a faff but not hard to do, disks and handbrake. brake pipes i would not even think about get them done, i replaced all of my brake lines and put goodridge flexi hoses on my car.

 

[TTP]

Thanks Davy. You say the manual is good for this. So I'll need special tools for locking the crank and a puller. Might just leave it to Mike

 

[Ian3200]

Seriously,

Wherever you are, go and see Mike Roberts at Maserati Shed!

Most of the list just say worn.

I did say how can the car get an mot last month and only cover 150 miles and yet you say its a fail. I was told mot centres do not know what they are looking at.

Problem is a specialist will not not fit non OEM parts. So stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Simon

 

[Contigo]

Easy one, Cam covers don't need replacing unless cracked so just check for oil weep and replace the gaskets.

Discs order a full set from here for £200+ quid

Wishbones ask them what has failed. If it has an MOT on it then it doesn't need one unless there is much more free play or cracks in them ( see wishbone gate thread)

Brake lines is 4 hours max to do with some copper pipe.

That list is absolutely fine, tackle the most important jobs first and do them say one per month. Where are you based?

 

[sdlangford]

Thanks all for comments and suggestions.

I have decided to get the cambelt changed and serviced as its well overdue.

I am going to tackle the small jobs myself and get the rear discs done next month.

No issues with the car in terms of drive, no wobble, no nasty noises or clunks, no pulling to one side.

Infact until I had this inspection I was loving the car.

I have a few other cars and this will only do 1k miles per year, so I will do bits gradually.

As for the bones, I have seen these non Maserati ones on Euro Spares, and will see if my specialist will let me provide the parts, as that's a big saving.

Was a shock at first to get such an estimate, but after your assistance and research, I am a bit more relaxed now.

Poor old girl is 17 ! no wonder she needs a few bits doing !

Thanks all again.

Simon

 

[allandwf]

^ Not as bad as it first seemed. Just take your time, prioritise them, and sort them as you can. That's the thing with these cars, if little things are left to build up, not saying this is in your case, they can soon mount up to hefty bills. I think that's why we see sub £10k 3200s.

 

[sdlangford]

Anyone know if the rad cooling fan resistor is an easy job to replace ? Looks like its at the bottom of the rad ?

Simon

 

[rockits]

Yup easy....5 min job. From memory two screws, unplug, remove, insert new one, plug back in, do up the screws....job done. All done from underneath.

 

[rockits]

I paid 2k first year, 3k second year and £7.5k the third year to get it through mot and servicing. Most of this was London labour rates and RRP for parts, for the last two years I've taken it to the Maserati Shed apart from the labour costs, he really knows the cars and will diagnose cause and effect. This year I paid a huge amount £254.00

It's worth shopping around I don't use Giallo anymore as it's too far away and Emblem even further. If your in the south one of these are highly recommended.

So check the parts list as they might have quoted list for everything when you might be able to use the usual specialists for second hand ones. The price difference is huge, e.g. I refurbished my brake shoes for £60 including courier costs at Belfast Brakes.

Wow.....7.5k....what was that for?

 

[alfatwo]

Anyone know if the rad cooling fan resistor is an easy job to replace ? Looks like its at the bottom of the rad ?

Simon

It's an old Fiat/Alfa part so I'll be cheap!

Dave

 

[sdlangford]

Is there an undertray to remove to get to the resistor ?

Simon

 

[davy83]

My worst year was 11k in one job, i was not well enough at the time to do it myself. i had to replace both turbos, and all the hoses, remove front subframe and rebuilt it. Garage made a meal of it. i had a bunch of things done at the same time, but it was painful.

Wow.....7.5k....what was that for?