GranSport Giallo Granturismo thread

digitaladam

New Member
Messages
24
Beautiful and thank you for sharing your updates!

I'm having a similar A/C issue, with intermittent "E" readings. Following along in case you're able to resolve it, and will share here if I pursue and get it fixed as well.
 

gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Welcome, great to see a another Giallo Gransport here, what fine taste you have.
I haven’t done much with mine apart from fit some carbon seat backs for the front seats. I Just enjoy buzzing around the local lanes on a sunny Sunday.

Great to see another one :) I have seen some thread about the carbon seat back, they do look amazing. I do look forward for my Sunday drives as well, I just decided to "do the basic things first" to be able to have the best GS experience once I really take it out for drives.
 

gotcha

Member
Messages
78
So once by steering rack was out, I thought when can be a better time to do the engine mounts then now with best access available.

The old ones were bulging out and filled with oil at the bottom:
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I ordered QP engine mounts 225839 as based on research they are the best alternative and expected to be "easy fit". Oh how wrong was I...... I literarily took full Saturday to replace them and I was half way to give up. Main issue being the top mount nuts. These guys, 18mm nuts, recessed inside the alu casting:

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There is no way to get a ring spanner on them as they are recessed and once you get a socket on them there is no more space for the ratchet as the exhaust manifold pipe goes just above. The only thing I didn´t have available is 3/8" 18mm socket that might be a bit smaller, but 1/2" socket+ratchet are for sure too big.
After triyng for 2-3 hours I decided I have to fabricate a tool. I went to store, bought 3-4 18mm socket with intention to create various sorts of tools and drive to my friend with a welding machine.

This is all I tried:
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On drivers side I was successful with the shortened 18mm socket welded on a bent steel bar to crack the nut loose and on passenger side with a shortened socket with welded 19mm nut on top. I used a ring spanner on that one, interlocked with second spanner to get more leverage and I cracked the other one too. Pretty nasty job if you are on your back under the car lifted on quickjack lift with face only few inches from the car and trying to apply force with al body. Those stupid nuts are secured nuts by being crushed and in addition they are locktited. Pain to release, equal to typical crank pulley nuts.

But I removed them and tried to lift the engine from the mounts to get them free:

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Of course it was not enough and I was missing few centimeters of space. IN the end I had to drop the subframe. Not completely, I cracked the bolts, unscreved them but left hanging by the last millimeters and dropped the subframe on bolts by 3-5 cm.

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Still not enough, so re tool all bolts out on one side to get that one few mms lower and manage the maneuver the mount out and new in. Then I attached subframe bolts on that side and removed on the other one and replaced the other mount.

Here is the old vs new mount. Old one was really collapsed. The QP mounts have different plate on the top, but no need to modify, they fit. The old one have captive threads for the bolts attaching them to subframe, on QP ones you need to use 10x1,25mm fine thread nuts. Otherwise they fit perfectly.

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The rest was easy, put all back together and install the steering rack and bits around it. I don´t know what is the official procedure to do the mounts, but I think I would not be able to do them with steering rack in. Respect to anybody who can without that. Of course, having a full size workshop lift would make all much easier and give better leverage on the tools etc, but considering my options I saw only this one.

After that saga I was really happy to have it done and though the rear one at the gearbox must be easier. Oh how wrong was I......
 

gotcha

Member
Messages
78
The rear mount jobs starts relatively easy by removing the spare wheel plastic tub:

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Behind that one there is alu heatshield. I think the only way to remove it nicely is bumper off job, but if are are bale to fight with the two bolts right inside the bumper and willing to strategically bend it at few places, it can be taken out exposing the gearbox hydraulics:

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The only tiny small complication being that my good friend from the previous job - top mount nut - is hiding behind the hydraulic system... And yes, the idea to give up went through my mind again, like at the front.

I still removed the bottom subframe bar, held by 4 bolts on each side:

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So the mount is free, but how to unbolt it from the top?

After a lot of looking I removed two bolts under the hydraulics that go from the side / from the rear wheels and hold the plate with hydraulics. Must be still attached somewhere at the top of gearbox, but I could not get there. I freed some pipes at the bottom, wiring and I was able to lift the hydraulics a little bt up and small bit to the left, just to get the to nut via the small opening. The nut is recessed again in the casting so I use the tool made for the engine mounts, short socket with nut welded on it and ring spanner slid through the opening:

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Again, surprisingly huge force is needed to crack it loose. The rest is easy.

The gearbox mount is identical to the engine mounts. At least visually. There may be some difference in the internal mount design, maybe stiffer or softer rubber, who knows. Visually identical.

I used again the QP engine mount, same as in the front. This time some small mod is needed and the top metal plate needs to be transferred between them.

With 5mm drill bit the 2 attachment points can be drilled off and plate removed:

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Same from the QP mount:

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And transferred between them. Fits perfectly:

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I also decided to use a differnt nut. Not the 18mm OEM one with collar, but nylon locking 19mm nut with a washer. Main reason being that the crushed nut is a huge pain to screw on and also surprisingly I do have 3/8" small 19mm socket and ratchet but not 18mm one :) 19mm nut was just easier to put back on and the available space allowed about 1 click of ratchet movement to tighten it:

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The new mount is on and rest is just assembly in the reverse order:

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gotcha

Member
Messages
78
What I am really pleased about is that I see no leaks at the gearbox and hydraulics at all (except hose on oil cooler) but I found that the hose from cambiocorsa reservoir to the pump is cracked at multiple places. Both at the end where it attaches to reservoir and also where it meets the banjo bolt on the pump. My feeling is that the hose has multiple layers and it is only the outer one, but still... I will have to get there again sometimes later.

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gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Being already at the back, I did replace the gearbox oil and sorted the leaks on oil cooler hoses.

As usual with gearboxes, the filler bolt must be opened first, to avoid situation of draining the oil and not being able to refill it. It is a 22mm hex accessible from the right rear wheel:

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Drain plug at the bottom front of the gearbox:

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The gearbox oil filter is on the side, secured by a 8mm bolt only, but an exhaust hanger needs to be removed to access it and pull it out:

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There was a small piece of white silicone on it, but luckily no metal shavings. Based on the filter seal location in the center it is the old type filter, so probably original one. Pleased again to see no real metal shavings:

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I have the new type filter on order from Eurospares, but for the moment I cleaned and re-used the old one. When I buy a car that I want to keep I do usually replace all fluids twice during the first 1000-2000kms to have all properly flushed. So I will do it again in half a year probably and install the new filter by then. The old one still cleaned nicely and will work fine:

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I removed the gearbox radiator as well. Basically all four pipe/hose connections were leaking, some more, some less.

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The rubber hoses were totally crushed under the clips and leaking. Luckily they were long enough so I cut 1-1,5 cm from the end of each hose to get rid of the crushed part under the clip and expose fresh hose to put the clips on again. Flushed the radiator and installed it back:

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All plugs reinstalled and I filled the gearbox. I found a source of the original ENI Rotra LSX 75W90 oil so I used that one. I drained the oil overnight and the claimed volume of 2,8l is realistic. However, I was not able to fill back in more than roughly 2,3 liters and it was flowing out. There must be some places and cavities in the gearbox that are not that easy to reach for the oil. In the end I drove the car a bit and opened the filler plug again. Now I was able to put in additional about 0,5 liter of oil so that the right amount is in.

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gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Welcome Gotcha :drinks:
I'm fairly sure that your first thread has had more immediate and positive impact than any other that I've seen
for several years. Brilliant colour. Obviously you're the shy, quiet, introverted type ;)
Great explanations of the work you're doing and excellent accompanying photos. I think that you might become an excellent source of technical help on the forum and that's always very very welcome.
I'm afraid that I've never been to Slovakia, though it is high on my bucket list, for many reasons. The closest I ever got
was skiing in the Tatra Mountains following an exhausting trip all around Poland, during the Cold War as we'd refer to it. The skiing was excellent. Unfortunately, the many flavours of vodka were too. I reckon that I only just made it out alive, by the slimmest of margins :as004:
Anyhoo. I think everyone would agree that whatever you'd like to share about your car and also where you live, would be very very welcome. For the most part, Slovakia seems to quietly go about getting better and better, without making a fuss or attracting much attention. As a local, your experience may differ of course ;)
Welcome again Gotcha. This forum seems to be getting more international of late and that can only be a very good thing.

Thanks for the welcome. And yes, you were really close to Slovakia but even though you saw Tatra from Polish side, I will insist that it is nicer from the Slovak side :)

https://www.foto-julius.at/slovakia/slovakia158.html

Just never drive there with your prescious car as in winter they put gravel on the the snowy roads to get some grip but nobody cleans it in spring so for the major part of summer there is a lot of stones on the roads from the past winter and driving behind somebody is a guarantee of many stonechips...

And also, while the Polish drink Vodka, we prefer spirits made of fruit. Plum, pear... whatever you can think of. Strong as vodka, but with actual smell and taste of fruit :)
 

Black Mazerati

Junior Member
Messages
39
Nice car!

Something stupid and easy to try for your AC. I have a 4200 so not sure if it's the same. I thought my AC wasn't working. Tried it a couple of times. The last time I forgot to turn it off, something I normally do. The next time I started it I noticed the little light on the econ switch was lit. Yeap, the compressor was turned off! I've never been able to see the light since, it's very dim and probably only works occasionally.
 

gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Nice car!

Something stupid and easy to try for your AC. I have a 4200 so not sure if it's the same. I thought my AC wasn't working. Tried it a couple of times. The last time I forgot to turn it off, something I normally do. The next time I started it I noticed the little light on the econ switch was lit. Yeap, the compressor was turned off! I've never been able to see the light since, it's very dim and probably only works occasionally.

I did try the compressor button. When I press it, I can hear the compressor clutch to click, so this part of the system works and compressor can engage/disengage. But even with button light off the A/C does not work. I think I saw the light also blinking and than staying off I just don´t remember the exact condition when It seemed as if the ECU turned it off due to some issue. I will start with the re-gas as obvious first step and than lets see. But the system is not completely empty as brief press on one of the valves I could here the gas escaping. So there is still some gas in the system, just no idea how much.
I still need to go to a workshop to have the wheel alignment done after the steering rack replacement as I aligned the wheels only by eye, so at that time I will check the AC as well.
 

gotcha

Member
Messages
78
To finish the planned jobs under the car I did replace the coolant, thermostat, water temp sensor and water reservoire. The sensor was fine, but as I was already in that area.... And the reservoir I found for 50€ so I decided to have a clean new one.

Draining the system is very easy with a well accessible plug:

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I drained about 8-8,5 liters of fluid out of the system. Very bright green, I never saw this color, only the usual green, blue, purple or red but not this one. Do they fill them with Wasabi in Japan?

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The stat is best accessible from the bottom, only 3 bolts.

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However, I was just unable to get the hose off it, it was really stuck so I disconnected the upper hose from the radiator and took it out together with the stat. I actually removed the bottom radiator hose as well, just to drain a bit more coolant and check if the system is clean of deposits:

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Than I replaced the temp sensor. It was working fine, but it was again one of the cheaper parts and as I was already there..... I don´t have a good picture of its location, is is right above the thermostat, screwed-in from the front right wheel direction. I just could not get my camera in there. The sensor is quite nice design, needs 19mm spanner but its connector is quite small so you can slide a deep 19mm socket over it to release it. With the thermostat and hoses off it was really easy to do.

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And here is the new thermostat and reservoir. I will not comment the level of Maserati parts pricing, but to sell a thermostat without new gasket I do find pretty stupid at any price level. All thermostats I replaced until now came with a gasket, except Maserati. It also had to be ordered by Eurospares from Italy so I waited a month for a piece of thermostat rubber.

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And new thermostat installed. I had a big fight with the hose again. It is very short so not that flexible and a pain to get both ends on radiator and stat. If I had to do it again, I would do it like the removal. I recommend to put the hose on thermostat (without tightening the clamp), than connect the whole assembly to the radiator until the assembly is free to move in the engine bay and screw in the thermostat bolts only after the hose is connected on both ends and tighten hose clamps as the last step.

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And here it is with a shiny new reservoir and refilled. I am using Selenia Paraflu UP, because I have large stock of it for my Alfas and it meets the CUNA NC 956-16 spec required by Maserati as well.

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To finish, it is necessary to partially release these two screws marked by arrows to let the air escape out of the heads until the coolant starts to leak out.

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When leaving the garage I turned off the lights but forgot the LED light I had attached under the bonnet. And I loved the view:

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gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Next on the list was a big number of small jobs, mostly cosmetic ones.

My car came with no tools or accessories, there was only the warning triangle. I had to refill the mandatory items, both for MOT as well as for police as they like to check them if they cannot find anything else to give a fine... I managed to find the Tyre repair kit with compressor and toolkit from a breaker in Poland. Nice they fit with velcro and hold the other stuff as well:

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Next one was the bumper badge that was really faded and peeling. This may be a pain as it has a nut from the inside of the bumper, not easy to reach. I removed the front grill and checked with endoscope between the inner bumper plastics and I was lucky. No nut. The bade was only on tape, easy to remove. Really poor compared to new one:

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I stuck the new one on with the tape only again, no need to bother with the nut, I don´t see a way to fall off (unless somebody tried to steal it). Makes a difference:

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AS the grill was off, I properly cleaned it and replaced the trident as well. The old one was dull and red stripes falling out:

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Than I moved the the back. The car came with a number plate carrier, probably some Japanese version, with the bottom part cut off to fit. Also, the Japanese owner didn't hesitate to drill into the body, so except 4 factory holes with plugs I have another 4 holes with the carrier riveted into them. First I wanted to put the EU number plate on top, but it would be protruding too much and I would not be happy knowing whats underneath.

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Si I decided to drill them off, fish the rivets remains falling into the cavities of the boot lid with magnet and install M5 thread inserts into the holes. Plate umber will be screwed into them:

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gotcha

Member
Messages
78
Now a small highlight, I manage to find a carbon GS spoiler. I would probably not bother with it on a darker colored car, but I quite like the contrast on a light color. Originally I though about painting the original spoiler black, but as I managed to find a carbon one for sale....

Here it is with original spoiler. The number plate lights are off as I closed the boot with battery disconnected and the keylock was of course stuck... so I had to fish the lock cable via the number plate light opening to get in....

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The OEM spolier removed it is held by five screws from the inside:

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And carbon one on. The clearcoat is not totally perfect, there is some pitting in the clearcoat, but only marginal. Well, as if I could choose the best one from many.

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And with the spoiler in the daylight. Even though the car came a bit orange on this picture:

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I had one more job in the boot. I wanted to install a charging port. I love the Ctek ones with the battery level indicator, they take a bit of time to install, but do look and work very good. I took out the battery compartment trim:

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Cut a hole into it and installed the port:

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From the back I made it with additional connector so that when I take the trim off in the future I am able to unplug it. I used EC3 connector, typically used in RC models:

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I wired the other part on the battery and reinstalled the trim. Looks pretty factory and there are 3 LEDs giving the battery charge status:

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To keep the car charged, I just plug in the usual Cteck connector from charger.

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