Maserati 4200 Cambiocorsa / spider reverse gear selector lose

k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
My reverse lever was wishy washy, so I found this good youtube video:


opened the reverse gear selector box and found the lever like this:

79553

and the 2 broken side sections lose in the box. It seem someone is selling replacement on ebay for $150

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Had an hour of spare time so, used 3D cad to create model same as my broken :

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Then out of curiosity checked i.materialise website for 3D print of it, they print in 20 different
materials, half plastic like, half metal. Cost for printing above lever in steel is $17.19 each
and printing it in Titanium is $102.25. Now not familiar if 3D printed metals are strong to
be used as spare part, I have this question:

Could the 3D printed steel part be used as spare? Anyone familiar with these new process?
 

k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
I’m not sure, would be an interesting project, but:

I ordered 2 for $55 (got to order over $35 there) , i.materialise will ship them to me Jan 19. We will see if it fits and work or not.
Thanks for referral but even 69 pounds is a lot. Better way to remake these is use a 3D scanner and scan the original, not having
a 3D scanner, I just hand measured the dimensions.

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Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
I am sure you will enjoy the project. I understand that additive manufacture parts can have variable yield strength, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work. For the time and effort, I don’t think £69 is a huge amount and I haven’t heard anything but good things about the Hill part.
 

k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
It could be that Hill part appear to be steel, and therefore not breaking and the OEM part is a lighter metal ( maybe aluminum alloy ) and
keeps breaking.
Now if 3D printed steel end up to work as good as other steel, then $17.19 seem to be the right price for 2" metal part.
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
The Hill part is high tensile alloy. The original is cast alloy to my understanding.
 

Paulrv2

Junior Member
Messages
87
I had the same problem so fitted the Hills part to my 2004 Cambiocorsa Coupe. Very easy to fit and works well. That said you could probably print one in a modern plastic that would do the job just as well.
 

jasst

Member
Messages
2,313
I have just fitted the Hill engineering one to my GS, it differs in that the lugs are bigger, so consequentially stronger, so you don't need the brass bushes. With delivery and VAT UK price works out at just under £100.
 

dgmx5

Member
Messages
1,142
Both myself and @jasst (not in his current GS) have also experienced that the gate that the lever fits in can break.

Mine has a Hills' lever fitted by a previous owner (note there are no brass bushings around the pins (circled in blue below). The leg of the gate (poorly outlined in red) became the weakest point and this broke instead (actually it broke on both sides).

The oval plate, including the gate, is a single cast piece so if the gate breaks, as below, you need to replace or perhaps repair... and that is more expensive than buying a new lever. What @k1coupe proposes doing may be a good idea. Treat the lever as a cheap to produce, simple to replace, consumable part rather than risk the cast plate.

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k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
I had the same problem so fitted the Hills part to my 2004 Cambiocorsa Coupe. Very easy to fit and works well. That said you could probably print one in a modern plastic that would do the job just as well.
When printing in 3D at i.materialise, there is a pull down menu to select one of about 20 different material, some of the modern
plastic, as you say may do the job. Not being familiar with properties, I only recognized brass, steel and Titanium, so I ordered steel.
 

k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
Both myself and @jasst (not in his current GS) have also experienced that the gate that the lever fits in can break.

Mine has a Hills' lever fitted by a previous owner (note there are no brass bushings around the pins (circled in blue below). The leg of the gate (poorly outlined in red) became the weakest point and this broke instead (actually it broke on both sides).

The oval plate, including the gate, is a single cast piece so if the gate breaks, as below, you need to replace or perhaps repair... and that is more expensive than buying a new lever. What @k1coupe proposes doing may be a good idea. Treat the lever as a cheap to produce, simple to replace, consumable part rather than risk the cast plate.

View attachment 79563
On mine, fortunately the gate that the lever fit is OK, so a new lever should do the job. WAIT till I get the part by Jan end and make sure all dimensions are OK and it fits well, then I could thicker those side notches of lever to use it without brass fitting and have more strength. For those of you that are very fond of this idiotic reverse gear selection design you could have the lever made in Gold for $1946.81 or total brass for $46.60 !!
This is what i.materialise steel is:
Steel is a robust metal, printed in steel powder and infused with bronze. The material is very strong and allows the creation of very large objects. Steel is available in a variety of polished and unpolished finishes.
Alloy family: 420 SS + Bronze , Alloy composition: Steel (60%): Alloy 420 - Bronze (40%): Cu 90% / Sn 10%

We will see how strong is their "very strong" and if those side notches will hold over time or break like the OEM
 
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k1coupe

Junior Member
Messages
99
On 12/26/20 after uploading the lever file at i.materialise website and expanding it 2% (allow for steel shrinkage after print heat) I ordered 2 and I received them today:

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They are heavier than OEM so I weighted them, OEM is 16 grams and these are 19 grams.

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However the screw hole I made is too narrow and the lever bolt does not go in:

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So I corrected the CAD file to allow the bolt to fit and re ordered.
Installed one in gear selector, seem to be working ( but no black handle on top due to lack of the handle mount bolt)

Received my new 2 levers of 2/1/21

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The bolt goes thru well

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However neither of them fitted good, one was 0.2mm too wide, the other 0.2mm too narrow, so I used Dremel and file them a bit to fit well. Then
updated the CAD files and adjusted them 0.2mm so next 3D print(if any ) does not to be filed for fitment.

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The lever can be directly purchased from 3D print shop now:


 
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spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,932
On 12/26/20 after uploading the lever file at i.materialise website and expanding it 2% (allow for steel shrinkage after print heat) I ordered 2 and I received them today:

View attachment 80432

They are heavier than OEM so I weighted them, OEM is 16 gram and these are 19 gram.
View attachment 80433

However the screw hole I made is to narrow and the lever bolt does not go in:

View attachment 80434

So I corrected the CAD file to allow the bolt to fit and re ordered.
Installed one in gear selector, seem to be working ( but no black handle on top due to lack of the handle mount bolt)

Nice work. The weak points on the original part are the four small lobes attached onto the fork.

If its a printed design a stronger version would be 2 full length bars that run through the fork as the shear point area would be strengthened.

That would obviously create a problem getting the bolt in assuming the bars would not snag on any internal parts.

To get round the bolt issue either a threaded stud section to attach the handle could be incorporated into the shaft of the fork or a threaded hole to allow a stud to be used to attach the handle.

Something like the picture below. To give you an idea. Design isnt my forte but i would think it would be much stronger than the original part providing full width bars dont snag on the internals.80435
 

HTAFC4200

Member
Messages
473
Whilst I'm taking my trims off to get hydrodipped I thought I'd order the Hill part because I my aswell whilst I'm inside the selector box!

Can I get the screw undone to take the handle off? Well obviously not lol it will not budge!
 
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spkennyuk

Member
Messages
5,932
Whilst I'm taking my trims off to get hydrodipped I thought I'd order the Hill part because I my aswell whilst I'm inside the selector box!

Can I get the screw undone to take the handle off? Well obviously not lol it will not budge!
I seem to recall people having to cut the old fork in order to get the T-bar off.

Im sure somebody that has already fitted the hill part will be along shortly.
 

HTAFC4200

Member
Messages
473
I seem to recall people having to cut the old fork in order to get the T-bar off.

Im sure somebody that has already fitted the hill part will be along shortly.
I've had to cut it, I came to the same conclusion, so good to hear lol
 

tonycharente

Member
Messages
182
I also had to cut through the OEM fork in order to get the long screw undone. I manage to do so without damaging the screw. I chose to fit a Hill fork, which accepted the long screw no problem and is working perfectly.
 

MattWill

Junior Member
Messages
67
I fitted the Hill engineering one last year, it works brilliantly and is smoother and better than the original.
 

HTAFC4200

Member
Messages
473
I've received the Hill engineering part, but couldn't save the original screw. Forgot to see if Hill could supply a new one when I placed the original order, school boy error that cost me additional postage ... doh!