3200GTA 2002 Fuel pumps

[Tompelli]

Hi Guys,
Just found out from dealers that I need 2 x 383700003 fuel pumps (couldn't have told me 2 weeks ago when I ordered up the fuel rails). Eurospares new to order & used ex-stock. I don't like the thought of buying used although reconditioned would be OK. Anyone any bright ideas - any equivalent?
Thanks very much & Merry Christmas!

 

[wink]

Try David Askew? He sells both used and new parts.

 

[Tompelli]

Thanks, mailed him.

 

[Rex B]

Never heard of fuel pumps giving problems what have they just stopped working or are they not giving enough pressure.

Rex B

 

[jluis]

And why did you replace the fuel rails?
They are supposed to last the life of the car.

 

[Tompelli]

Rex B, Not enough pressure according to the dealers.
Jorge, Must be the exception, also has me kinda confused as all it is is a multi-port stainless steel tube. Will be getting all the scrap back once the car is ready, this is at the main Maserati dealers in Thailand. The throttle body problem they found was correct as (probably) the independent that the car first went to had opened it up & soldered some wires in the wrong place & parameters were all over the place.

 

[jluis]

If you have a contactless throttle body and it was opened by someone not familiar with them, most likely it will be out of calibration.
The magnet has a small play to adjust to the correct value and it's a real PITA to get it right as it's a trial and error process
Make sure your dealer is not just making you throw money to replace things randomly.

I cannot see how a rail fails, let alone both rails.
The only thing serviceable there are the fuel pressure regulators and these are not included in new rails
Which, by the way, is something that does fail sometimes and the symptoms are the same as failing pumps.
You might want to have a look there ...

 

[Tompelli]

The fuel rails that I received from Eurospares had 585073600 PETROL PRESSURE REGULATOR fitted on the ends, with the flex hose? So after they have fitted these they are still having fuel pressure problems. I will have a good look at the old rails.
The throttle body I sent back to Holland to Boomerang who supplied the contactless upgrade (& told me the good news that someone had been inside it (I don't think it was the dealer).

 

[Trev Latter]

Might be a daft question, but have you changed the fuel filter? Seems odd that both pumps would fail together and likewise both fuel rails, unless of course, the filter was very old due to not being changed and has broken up internally blocking the rails/pumps/injectors. Pressure regulator would be as suspect too, as Jluis mentioned.

 

[Tompelli]

Trev, with these beasts there are no daft questions. Sounds like you have hit the nail on the head, as the dealer replaced the fuel filter, possibly due to the other one being spread around the pumps & rails. They are closed now, will check in the morning. Thanks to everyone.

 

[jluis]

The fuel pumps and rails are not independent systems.
They share the fuel filter and the rails have a pipe to equalize the pressure for both sides.

However it seems your dealer is an idiot.
The regulators could be replaced without replacing the rails and they can be tested in situ for pressure and leaks.
Seems your dealer is just replacing parts until the problem is fixed.

I would just like to add that you can buy a cheap pressure gauge and measure the pressure yourself to see if you do have fuel pressure problems or not.
The rails have a valve to put the gauge similar to the pressure valves in tires

 

[Tompelli]

Thanks Jorge, I will take a bite at them. Their attitude is plug it into the computer & replace everything that shows up with an error.

 

[jluis]

What symptoms are you having?

 

[Tompelli]

Probably all started eating 3 or 4 new batteries. After that hot starting would need to crank for a long time 15 seconds+ before reluctantly spluttering into running. Once running no obvious problem. Then wouldn't turn over at all, so trailered it into indie that decided to play with the internals of the throttle body. I have an answer from Boomerang on that & a reply from the dealer that I will post when I get to my laptop.

 

[jluis]

Mine also has the hot start problem.
Seems to be common on these cars but for different reasons.
If you are cranking your car 15 seconds to start it you will end up killing the battery and the starter.
I killed my starter that way.

I found out if I wait 2 or 3 minutes with the engine stopped while hot, the car would start without problems.
Additionaly, using the battery isolator to switch off the battery and reconnect it also seems to do the trick

 

[Tompelli]

Hi Jorge,
Yes, I remember your posts & thought that this time I had killed the starter, apparently not (yet).
Maserati Dealer reply to my question about the pumps "The problem is the engine cannot be accelerated as quickly and not smoothly. The pressure was not over 1 bar". Probably just looked at the manual for the minimum value & took a little off......
Luuk (Boomerang) commented on the throttle body " I have rebuilt and recalibrated your unit now and all is looking fine.
I will glue a new cap on the TB and test it on a car.

Please let no one touch the TB in the future; there was absolutely no point in opening the unit and fumbling around there.
It only led to extra work, frustrations and costs for you".

So I seem to have had a few problems at the same time, which makes everything more complicated & expensive - however there is now light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[MUC3200GT]

Did you look already in the fuel tank ? A friend of mine had plastic debris in the fuel tank, from the cage around the fuel pumps. For some reason this plastic cage collapsed and its debris blocked the fuel pumps. The result was too low fuel pressure. The pumps without the cages are from Bosch

 

[Tompelli]

I will ask the question as every little helps. As I have explained, the car is far enough away that I have to trust the Muppets.

 

[Tompelli]

After posting my reply I re-read MUC3200GT's post again. Are there 2 different types of fuel pump?

 

[MUC3200GT]

There are two identical fuel pump assemblies in the 3200 which looks like this:





The actual pump is a bosch one and is just a part of it.