Philippe in Switzerland writes:

"Hello Enrico!

It's me, Philippe from Switzerland with the Ghibli in grigio vulcano.

My father maybe wants to buy a Ghibli with automatic transmission, because he's so enthusiatic about my new Ghibli... At the moment he drives a Alfa Romeo 166 3.0.

The Ghibli we have seen is a 96-Model (not a GT) in silver black leather, 43000km, engine only 23000km, one owner.

Which points have to be checked? Are there some known problems with the automatic gear?

We are going to see the car next Wednesday.

Thank you a lot!

kind regards,

Philippe."

Reply from Andy:-

Re: Ghibli automatic transmission:

"Hi Henry,

There is no particular problem with the Ghibli automatic. It would appear that these are very reliable. Just check the fluid level like in any Auto box.

Ciao,

Andy."

John in the UK writes:

"Hi, my turn to ask a question.

My new baby, is an Italian model 94 Ghibli. I suspect it has led a very hard life and anticipate having to spend many happy hours pampering it. I used it to commute from London to Sheffield yesterday. Perhaps you can assist with the following?

1. What does your oil pressure gauge register, with old(before oil changes) oil, both cold and hot?

2. My car has had a wheel change to 17 inch rims with 235/45 tyres all round. It rained yesterday and I have never driven such an unstable beast. I surfed most of the way home. It was like driving on ice. I intend to revert to the original wheels which I have got. Can I expect an improvement? If you tell me that they are always that slippery I shall become a fine weather driver or buy some rain tyres!

3. I have what appears to me to be a timing chain rattle, particularily from the LH cylinder bank. The car has done 90,000km with no 80,000km service! I knew this when I bought the car and got a chain kit thrown in. The kits are very cheap, however I note that Andy Heywood says somewhere on your website that to change them is an engine out job. Whilst that sounds like a bit of fun, domestically it may take some explaining why I buy a fancy car and then promptly spend weeks with the whole thing in bits! I would prefer to take the engine out next winter as it will need a new clutch by then. So.....do you know of any reason why I can't just replace the chains together with the sprocket on the non driven camshaft by removing cam covers and the non driven cam and chain? I know that this is, to a degree a bodge but it seems to me that the main wear will be in the rivets of the chain and unless the sprockets are completely stuffed there would be a benefit in just changing the chain. I spent my youth ripping Jaguars apart, I have changed hundreds of timing chains but never a sprocket. It seems to me that unless there is some huge obstacle that I haven't thought of, this would be a 3 hour job rather than all my spare time for months! Any thoughts?

John."

Phillipe from Switzerland writes:

"Hi Enrico!

I just bought a Ghibli M.Y.94, grigio vulcano, 17" GT wheels, 80000km, one owner, all services done by the same Maserati garage!

But there is one thing that worries me a bit. When I drive in a bend, the oil pressure sinks on the instrument from 4 to 2.5. When I press the clutch in the bend the oil pressure sinks even more, under 2.5!

Is that a common problem of the Ghibli (my 430 didn't have that problem)? Is this only the instrument or really the oil pressure? If it is really the oil pressure what could be the problem? I think it is quite dangerous for the engine and the turbos if the oil pressure is to low, isn't it?

Thank you a lot!

kind regards,

Philippe."

Reply from Andy:-

Re: Ghibli oil pressure problems:

"Enrico,

This is the first time I have ever come across a problem like this with a modern Maserati. The oil pressure certainly should not dip on corners. It should stay in the 4 to 5 bar region all the time apart from at hot idle when 2.5 is OK. Because I have never come across this before, it is difficult to know what to suggest to you. If it were not so difficult to get to the sender for oil pressure, I would recommend plumbing an extra oil gauge to check against what the instrument in the car says. As this is not really an option, you will have to start at the beginning. Check how much oil is in the engine first. Low oil level could cause the oil surge. If this is OK, then check the gauge by subsituting another Biturbo one - may be hassle but worth the effort. If the new gauge says the same as the existing one, then try changing the sender for a new one. If the reading is still the same, then you will have to go deeper. Remove the sump pan and check that the oil pick up pipe in the sump is all present and correct. Sometimes a problem when re-assembling can lead to the sealing 'o' ring on the top of the pick up pipe to become dislodged and the oil is lost through the gap. Further than this, you are looking at removing the oil pump from the front of the engine. I repeat though that this is very strange. Is there evidence in the service history that the engine has been rebuilt? I would be interested to know what you discover.

By the way, I noticed that you said that your MY94 car has been fitted with GT wheels. This is not really possible as the stud pattern is subtly different. I would check that the wheels/hubs have been properly modified to accept the new wheels as otherwise, it is dangerous.

Hope this helps and don't forget to check out those wheels with a Maserati expert!!!!

Andy."

Yiorgos from Denmark writes:

Reply from John:-

Re: Ghibli II with low voltage.

"Enrico,

I am now a secret Ghibli owner but perviously owned a 1987 2.0Si. That car had a very similar problem to Yiorgos' Ghibli. I eventually traced the fault to internal corrosion in the earth strap from the engine to the bodywork. This was only visable when stripping back the insullation...loads of green slime! Simply stripping the cable back and soldering on a new tag worked fine.

I also replaced the grotty original battery terminals with some rather loud gold jobs. That improved the voltage supply to the ECUs. After that the car went fine......I say after that because in my attempts to find the fault I replaced the alternator, ECUs, every sender, battery, rewired almost the entire car...and rebuilt the entire engine (don't ask what the parts bill was).

On my car the voltage would drop so low as to reduce the fuel pressure causing all sorts of dubious running problems.

As a hands-on owner I also keep my engines clean. I wouldn't worry too much about getting an alternator wet. The problem with the Maserati engine is all the connections to the senders don't appreciate corrosion and the knock sensor dosn't like water at all. Nothing that can't be sorted with an airline. What is the point of all that red paint and chrome if you can't polish it!!

Crackle paint also hates pressure washing! However Bill McGrath will sell a can of paint for £14.00, sufficient for a whole engine. Mine looked like new.

John."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Washing an engine.

"Washing the engines of today is not a good idea, especially in a Maserati, because of all the complicated electrics that surround the engine. If you want your engine washed, it's best left to an expert.

I would first remove all the relays in the engine bay, one by one, and blast the terminals with an air compressor and make sure that the blades on the relays are clean and dry. Any water that dries onn the blade may leave a deposit which will cause problems at a later stage.

I suspect you may have had some water in the alternator which has caused a short! There is a voltage regulator attached to the alternator. It may be possible to change this. It is much cheaper than replacing the alternator.

Do you have a voltmeter?

If so, start the car, connect it to the battery terminals and get someone to press on the accelerator and see if there is an increase in the voltage. It should move from 12 volts to around 14-15 volts. If not the alternator is at fault.

Best regards,

Enrico."

Reply from Yiorgos:

"Hi Enrico,

Thanks again for taking the time to help.

I have talked with my agent about the problem below with the alternator and he told me the following.

1. The relays in the engine bay are all clean and that all water/humidity that might have gathered on the contacts etc. has evaporated by now since the engine worked for sometime before it died again.

2. He has checked the alternator inside out and he says that there is no problem with it. He believes that the problem lies with the voltage regulator attached on the alternator and he plans to replace this with a new one tomorrow. He thinks that this will solve the problem.

I will let you know what happens after the above work has been done and also when hopefully the new window mechanism has arrived in Denmark and is installed.

Kind regards for a lovely summer time with the Ghibli wind on your back!

Yiorgos.