Warning!

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Gents,

Just had a frightening experience this morning. My front right hand suspension collapsed, luckily I was only doing 30mph and going dead straight. At first I thought I had a blow out.. however it quickly became evident I hadn't.

IMG_1973.jpg

As you can see in the picture above the lower arm mounting points have ripped open.

IMG_1971.jpg
IMG_1972.jpg

Now in the spares box I had a second hand 4200 arm which I planned to use as a replacement... however...

IMG_1970.jpg

If you look closely on the casting flash line there is a hairline crack developing!

I've just had a front bearing hub carrier replaced because it had developed a hairline crack... looks like this might not be an isolated problem.

On the arm that had failed (3200 arm) and the one that is showing signs of failure (4200 arm) it is the front mounting hole where it bolts to the chassis that is failing, mine tore apart as I braked. If you look at the pictures of my car you can see the front mount opened up along the flash line where as the rear was obviously ripped apart as the whole assembly swung back and was "effect" rather than "cause".

I've got her sat at the local garage and they're going to put the 4200 cracked arm on for the moment so they can at least wheel her in and get her on the ramps of the road for the Xmas period. I'm just hoping I haven't damaged anything else in there.. but won't know until it's all taken off.

They were surprised looking at both the 4200 arm and the 3200 arms how little metal there is around the bushings.

I'm wondering whether as the state of our roads become worse and worse this is going to be a bigger issue?? I'm just glad I was only doing 30mph at the time and not anything greater!

I don't want to start a "scare", but I think it's prudent to share so that others can check theirs to make sure.. better safe than sorry.

Must now change my underwear :)

Cheers

Mark
 

macaroni

New Member
Messages
227
Good grief!! And I thought my cracked chassis leg mounting point was something to worry about.
It's a wonder we go out in these things at all. Good to see it happened at a low speed, imagine that happening on the motorway!

Hope you get something sorted soon.
 

highlander

Member
Messages
5,214
jeezaloo...........that is one lucky escape you have had - say a prayer of thanks to the Gods of acceleration for that one!!!
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Twas a rather close call. Just glad I wasn't going around a corner or going any faster!

What is worrying me is that it's clearly not isolated to just my car as the donor part is showing the same failure.

All I can think at the moment is that it's thin metal that has been hammered through our poor roads + old age.. and bang!

Oooo and Errr.. :s

Mark
 

Steve GS

Member
Messages
1,526
Hmm that's a worry. as soon as my car is up andruning I'll get this looked at. That could of been so bad glad your ok and thanks for sharing
 

Contigo

Sponsor
Messages
18,376
Jeez Mark that's scary stuff. I will get mine checked! :(

Hope it's an easy fix and there is no damage to other parts.
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
It is an easy fix.. my only concern is if it's done any damage to the actual shock or not. I got an error light on the dash just before she stopped, but I'm hoping that was just down to the computer going "why is your wheel not turning, nor the suspension going up and down whilst all the other 3 wheels are???"....

I'm kinda glad I have the faulty spare part too, although it's a waste of money it has shown that this failure can't be a "one off" and nothing special about my car in particular.. not good for everybody but I'd prefer to know about it now rather than drive blindly! At least I can make it a point to be checked every service.

Mark
 

highlander

Member
Messages
5,214
It is an easy fix.. my only concern is if it's done any damage to the actual shock or not. I got an error light on the dash just before she stopped, but I'm hoping that was just down to the computer going "why is your wheel not turning, nor the suspension going up and down whilst all the other 3 wheels are???"....

I'm kinda glad I have the faulty spare part too, although it's a waste of money it has shown that this failure can't be a "one off" and nothing special about my car in particular.. not good for everybody but I'd prefer to know about it now rather than drive blindly! At least I can make it a point to be checked every service.

Mark

agree, will put on list for check at spring service.
 

Steve GS

Member
Messages
1,526
It's 10 + years of metal fatigue gone unchecked let's face it them Italians haven't got a great track recorded when it comes to metal. Just look at the GS wheels for one. And I've just found bubbles in the paint work. Along with pressure plates breaking. I'm Begining to worry what I've bought into. I knew the car wouldn't be cheep to run. I don't want to rebuild a maserati
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Steve,

Indeed. I think it's fatigue + weak design + cr@ppy road surfaces we now endure in the UK. The annoying thing is the point at which it cracks can't be checked without undoing the suspension and dropping the lower arm. Not the worst job in the world but a bit of a pain either way.

To be fair despite all the issues that crop up, I've yet to see anything like the continued horror stories of Porsche Boxster engines... any performance car is going to cost some beans to keep running in best condition, you pays your money and take your choice..

As the tow truck man pointed out, Italian cars always look good.. even when broken down and a wheel sticking out like a broken limb.. it still looked awesome! :)

Mark

Cheers

Mark
 

Steve GS

Member
Messages
1,526
Yes and when I've paid to geting my car sorted I'll love it again but at the moment it's sitting outside not runing and won't have the funds till after Xmas to sort it. So just a bit peed
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
A quick update.. Greg at PPCP had a good condition arm that he's sending me. However he's also seen this numerous times and has had to bin a lot of arms for this failure.

In his case, nearly all the dodgy arms suffered from a seized bolt. Greg suggested, and I believe he's on to something, it's the seized bolt stopping the bushing working properly and putting undue stress on the arm and eventually splitting it along the seem.

Guess what? This arm which had new bushes needed to be cut out because the bolts had seized in the bushes...

So maybe a quick and easy test to see if you are at risk is check to see if your suspension bolts are seized into the bushes.. if they are get it checked pronto!

And thanks to Greg for the quick and polite service. We really are blessed in the Maserati world to have such a great source of independents available to help. If only every body in the automotive industry was as good and trust worthy!

Cheers

Mark
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
Hmmm, I was thinking about doing another year on my flan blocks before changing them. I think I will at least be removing the bolts for a good lube up this winter now... Thanks for sharing, hope you get sorted soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
A good heads up, luckily no one injured. Definately a close inspection will be carried out on mine, now I know what to look for, hairlines can be easily overlooked.
 

Trev Latter

Member
Messages
1,213
Guess what? This arm which had new bushes needed to be cut out because the bolts had seized in the bushes...

Mark


Is there any evidence of cut marks in the arm where the bush was cut? That may have been a contributing factor in your case.

Thanks for the heads up though. Mine's just coming up for a service and MOT, so I'll get it checked out while it's being done.
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Hi Trev,

No no marks. And the cuts would be at 90 degrees to the failure direction if there had been so I'd expect it to fail in a different way.

Frightening what a rusty bolt can do to your suspension!

Mark
 

DPS20K

Junior Member
Messages
168
It really is time we found somebody who could fabricate suitable replacements for these control arms. For many other cars it is possible to get uprated CNC aluminium control arms with Heim joints. It must be possible to design them for our cars too, and there are enough of us out there who would be interested surely.
Has anybody out there tried replacing the bushes themselves? When I was at Emblem on one of their Saturday clinics they told me the main problem is getting the bolts out when they seize in the bush. I've tried all of mine and the bolts turn freely so hopefully it would be quite a simple job.
 

Trev Latter

Member
Messages
1,213
Did they cut the outer sleeve of the bush to remove it? That's a common practice, or did they cut the bolt and just push the bush out with a press? I'd be surprised if a seized bolt would cause an arm failure as there would still be some give on the flexible part of the bush. That's not not to say it couldn't happen though.

Slightly off topic, but I've seen the effects of seized pins/bolts on stuff at work. We recently had a manufacturer intervention to change some suspect pins and bushes on some plant at work. There had been a very low number that had failed in service, hence the intervention. The said pins are 57mm diameter and best part of a meter long. 14lb sledge and a big punch was the order of the day as a removal tool. Each one was about two hours work to change and I now have arms like Arnie (kidding). We had a machine some years ago where a main pin (approx 60mm) was located by a 19mm diameter lollipop on one end. Pin partially seized and sheared the lollipop. All down to 2 thou too little clearance when manufactured.
 

mchristyuk

Junior Member
Messages
668
Hi Trevor

I can't comment in my case. But the large number of sets Greg has binned all had cracks and seized bolts.

Cheers

Mark