David in Singapore writes:

"Hi Andy,

I have problems with my speedometers.

Unit 1 symptoms: This unit I purchased from e-Bay and the needle hand keeps moving up and drops down and moves up and drops just like it is skipping/bouncing up and down but there is one distinct feature. As I travel faster the needle hand skips within a range of around 20-30kms. Meaning as I speed up to say estimated 120km the needle hand will skip in the range of 120 km - 80 km and if the range follows but always skipping within a range of about 40-60kms.

Unit 2 symptoms: Once in a while it says hi in a split second but sleeps most of the time.

Is this a calibration problem of simply a connection problem or a sender problem that is not sending the signals constantly.

If you know of someone that is reliable and wouldn't charge an exorbitant price to have it fixed I am most happy to try using your referal.

I am from Singapore and hope you could assist.

Enjoy your Website.

Regards,

David."

Reply from Enrico

Re: Speedometers:

"Hi,

I would strongly recommend sending your speedometers to Speeedy Cables here in the UK.

Speedy Cables we not only have access to the original tooling and designs of the Smiths Ranges of Instruments but can manufacture replacement parts for many older devices which are now out of production.

They also keep substantial genuine spares for most of the common automotive instruments and can usually repair, renovate and recalibrate them on request.

They can also make replica/new customised instruments to match the appearance and fitting of the original. Please contact them with your requirements for a quotation.

Rare instruments from classic and vintage vehicles may present special problems and involve the making of individual replacement parts, or, if they are lucky, modifying some other existing part. Although this increases the labour cost it is sometimes the only option.

If you send them the instrument in question they will be able to advise you on the best options for restoring it to full working order.

Regards,

Enrico."

Christophe in Belgium writes:

"Hello Enrico,

Sorry to bother you about this, but could you tell met whether the front suspension of a 1985 S is the same as the one of my 1990 222 (http://www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk/enthusiast42/spaitalia-2004-01.jpg). I broke it two weekends ago but it's hard to find the second-hand parts, except the 1985's I've found.

Many, many thanks.

Christophe."

Reply from Andy

Re: Front suspension:

"Hi Christophe,

They are not the same.

The front suspension of the Biturbo S


The front suspension of the 222

G in Germany writes:

"Hallo,

I am the guy with the 10 bar compression engine...it works fine now. It has much more power in low rpms..

Meanwhile I have had some other problems which most of them are fixed now.

The engine had ignition cut of at rpms higher than 4000. This was cured by moving the crankshaft sensor from 1.2mm to 0.6mm. Result, no more ignition cut-outs.

But somehow the car still has more power at low and middle rpm than in the higher rpm range. I have full boost up to first red, and over 4000 rpm the car has less power as at 3000 rpm.

Do I have to move the camshaft sensor also nearer?

It's about 2mm away (with only one 0.2mm shim down under the screws).

Also, before I changed the engine and gearbox I had some rattling ( rrrrr) at around 3000 rpm under full acceleration...I thought this should be away now, but it is still here in my car.

G."

Reply from Andy

Re: Sensors and rrrrr!

"The manual says that the air gap on the crank and cam sensors should be the same - between 0.7 and 1.1 mm. You should reset them both before going any further but your cutting out does not really sound like a sensor problem. The two most common causes of this are a rotor arm problem or a bad engine earth connection. You can only really discount the rotor arm by renewing it, which I would do as they are not particularly expensive. If it persists, check the negative cable from the battery where it goes to a crimp on the chassis. Clean this connection and if necessary, solder the crimped section to the cable. The reason that this can cause a problem is that this can promote a voltage drop between the body and the engine - as the ECUs are earthed to the body and the injectors to the engine, any voltage drop can seriously upset the running.

I take it that you are working from a Biturbo Workshop Manual.

As regards the rattling (rrrrr!), you might need to be more specific! Is your car an Automatic for instance?

Hope this helps,

Andy."

Wietze in The Netherlands writes:

"Hello,

My name is Wietze from Amsterdam and I own a 222SR from 1993. Originally is was fitted with an 2.8-litre 18-valve engine and an automatic gearbox. I bought it with a rebuilt 2.8-litre 24-valve engine and a manual 5-speed Getrag gearbox. It was changed to my request as I bought the parts separately.

I have a problem with disappearing coolant. After putting pressure on the system it showed that some rubber hoses were leaking. With an endoscope we overlooked the inside of the engine and no failure of the headgaskets was to be found. The oil contained no coolant and the exhaust showed no white smoke.

At first a set of rubber hose was replaced. After that we put pressure on the system (5 atm. for a few days) no leaking was found anymore. So I thought that the problem was eliminated. The fans (both) come in at approx. 80 degrees. Nevertheless after a long drive from a few 100 km coolant is missing. After a days drive sometimes up to a liter. Nowhere on the engine it shows that there is a coolant leakage. The small pipe leading from the coolant reservoir shows small signs of coolant (the pipe that leads to the fender).

Up to now the engine works very well and never overheats. When speeding up to 250 kmph the engine temperature never exeecds 100-110 degrees. Nevertheless I am worried about the disappearing coolant.

Maybe there is a solution to this problem??

Best regards.

Wietze."

Reply from Rene

Re: Disappearing coolant!

"Regarding to Wietze and his 222SR.

I think what he needs to do is get a reading of the ohm resistance, (these tests should be carried out with the engine running), between:

The body and engine.

Thebody and minus lead battery.

The engine and alternator.

The minus lead battery and engine.

These read outs should be very low, for example, on my car I had a read out of 80 ohms between body and engine, I fitted a negative lead strip between the AC mounting bracket and the torsion bar mounting, read out is now less then 1 ohm.

The read out between body and minus lead battery baffled me even more, 25 ohms of resistance.

I took out the battery and disconnected the minus lead from the body, there was some kind of bracket on that end of the lead that can be used to connect additional negative leads, I got rid of that one and replaced it with a ring type connector, I tin welded it onto the lead and refitted the whole lot, ohm resistance is now next to nothing.

Also I cleaned the ignition coils mounting brackets they should also be low in ohm resistance.

Before this I had a rough idle, engine holding back in the red zone (boost) rough start when hot, higher fuel consumption and I too had disappearing coolant.

Result: better idle, engine screaming all the way up to the red zone and more if I want to, better starts smoother run through the refs and no coolant loss.

Why I hear you say, in my humble opinion an engine which has to struggle for its ignition timing will pre detonate, pre detonation means more heat which has to transported by the coolant, pressure rises coolant level rises result loss of coolant.

The ignition system is connected to the body but it has to manage an engine which almost is not, years of use and moisture will build up corrosion and will create ohm resistance, like from here to the moon if you know what I mean.

I hope I could be of help to you and other Maserati drivers,

Best wishes to you all.

Rene.

G in Germany writes:

"Hallo Enrico,

Please give me an advise for this problem ?

I have bought another engine for my 222SE, 2.8-litre 18-valve, as my old engine had compression readings of between 4 and 7 bar.

The new engine has 10 bar on all cylinders.

I feel that this is too much. I think the heads were ground in machine shop and I am afraid that when the turbos come in that it will blow, but I don't know the effect of the turbos to thecompression.

Where can I reduce the max turbo pressure? I think most is starting of yellow at the gauge.

G."

Reply from Rossano:

"Ciao Enrico,

Non riesco a capire come possa essere aumentato il rapporto di compressione, dopo tutto è dato dallo spazio che si sviluppa nella camera di scoppio e non può essere modificato se non si sostituiscono delle parti come bielle o pistoni, oppure è stata cambiata la guarnizione della testa e montata una più sottile. potrebbe essere aumentata anche a causa di incrostazioni sui pistoni e sulle valvole.

Comunque considerando che il rapporto sulla 222 deve essere di 7.8 ma che quando viene misurato a motore finito risulta tra gli 8,5 ed i 9 non c'è da preoccuparsi più di tanto, anche se sui motori turbo una troppo elevata compressione potrebbe portare a far esplodere le guarnizioni.

Per ora consiglio di abbassare la potenza delle turbine in modo da inviare meno aria nei cilindri creando meno pressione, consiglio comunque di tener controllata la compressione dopo un periodo di utilizzo.

Rossano."

"Hi Enrico,

I don't understand how the compression ratio could have increased, after all the area in the combustion chamber cannot be altered unless the con-rods or the pistons have been changed, or the original cylinder head gaskets have been replaced by a thinner one. The increased compression ratio could also be the result of a build up of deposit on the pistons and the valves or the result of the heads having been skimmed at some time!

However, considering that the compression ratio on a standard 222 should be 7.8 bar and normally when it is measured on the engine readings of 8.8 or even 9 are not unusual, I don't think there's too much to worry about as the worse thing that could happen is that you could blow a cylinder head gasket.

For now I recommend that you lower the turbo boost by reducing the air flow into the cylinders thereby producing less pressure. I would also recommend that you check the compression readings again after a little while.

Rossano."

Reply from Andy:

"Although 10 bar is a considerable amount of compression pressure, I don't think it is enough to worry about and we have successfully skimmed heads without causing any other problems.

Andy."

Miguel in Spain writes:

"Hello,

I have a 222 SE 1992 and yesterday the air con. didn't work. It seems to be the compressor clutch does not operate, since there is no idle fluctuation when it is switched on/off.

Else, there is a hot air flow coming from the passenger side, under the fascia. Is this normal?

What could I check first?

Regards and thanks in advance.

Miguel."

AND

"Dear Enrico,

I'm new to you webpage, but the only thing I can say is, it's the best!

I purchased a Maserati 222 Se 1992 last week and have found some issues, and would appreciate if you could help me to fix them.

First, the instrument cluster have some gauges rolling, the speedo and the fuel level indicator. I have heard it coulod be a bad electrical contact than could be easily fixed, but I have no more details.

Second, there are no warning lights on the instrument pack, but the truth is that the reffrigerant level seems to be really low, and the AC compressor clutch doesn´t operate. That could be due to a lack of AC gas, but it couls be also related to the refrigerant... I'm not sure, buy surely you know the reason.

Thanks in advance and regards,

Miguel."

Reply from Andy:

"This seems like a straightforward loss of A/C gas. There is an override on the system which stops power to the compressor in the event of a gas loss which seems to be your problem. First thing to do is to get the system re-gassed.

Andy."

Jay in the UK writes:

"Hi there,

I hope you can help me and maybe I can help you?!?

Maserati 222e 2.8 V6 Bi-Turbo 1990

I have the above mentioned car and I am having a few problems:

The A/C unit is stuck on 22c and only blows out cold air (colder than 22c), all the other functions work perfectly so far? I did notice in the A/C manual it says that when the battery is disconnected the unit will automatically reset itself to 22c. My Auto-Electrician reckons Maserati should be able to help?!?

Also as soon as you turn the iginition key the fans kick-in? (very loud fan noise, I am assuming this is the cooling fans) Is this normal??

The speedo was only working when the car was hot and now is not working at all, do you have any ideas or can you recommend somewhere in the UK for parts?

Also need an exhaust!!

Otherwise the car is in great condition and drives superbly!!!

I work for The largest K&N Filter supplier in Europe, and subsequently I put a K&N in the Maserati, what a difference. The car drives smoother, gear changes smoother, accelerates harder and for longer and has increased overall bhp by 10hp!!, also when driving economically i noticed an increase in MPG.

I would highly recommend any Maserati owners consider putting a K&N air filter in there car, they come with a 1 million mile warranty, only need cleaned every 100,000 miles and never need replaced!

Check out www.fasterfilters.co.uk for prices, No1 K&N Supplier in Europe!

I hope you can help with my queries?!?

Cheers,

Jay."

Greg in Australia writes:

"Dear Enrico,

I wonder if you can help me. I am the proud owner of a RHD 2.8ltr (V6) 222 SR (it looks for all the world like the 'Racing' but your site notes the difference. Interestingly mine has a Australian compliance plate of 6/95 which would seem to indicate that it sat on the docks in Australia for at least three years after its manufacture!)

I am writing to ask if you can tell me whether you can tell me if the red light on the instrument panel can be expected to go on if there is insufficient water/coolant in the system. My car severely overheated recently and the light did not go on. No one will believe me but I am sure I read somewhere recently that the warning light on many cars is activated by the water coolant temperature but if the coolant has completely leaked away there is nothing for the temperature gauge to measure and hence nothing to activate the warning light. Do you know if this is correct for the 222SR?

(Incidentally, the overheating led to a complete overhaul of the engine and replacement of the cooling system, water pump, and radiator and she is now running beautifully again!)

Your site is fantastic. Certainly the most informative to be found.

Regards,

Greg."

Reply from Andy:

"Greg: You are correct. If the coolant has gone, the temperature warning light will not stay on!

Andy."

Erik in Norway writes:

Tom in Sweden writes:

"Hello Erik!

You have an ignition problem. As you know you have 2 ignition coils, it´s probably one of these who is giving you a hard time. It can also be the ignition cables that go between the coils and the distributor. Try that out and let us know if it´s working.

Best regards,

Tom ."

Rossano from Repartocorse writes:

"Per quello che riguarda il problema alla 222: La pressione di boost deve controllare che non ci siano perdite sui collettoriche dalla turbina portano la pressione fino al gruppo farfallato,compresi gli intercooler,controllare in particolare i tubi flessibili collegati ai turbo che spesso si tagliano,in caso questi siano Ok il problema potrebbe derivare o dalla valvola Solenoide che gestisce le turbine o dalle turbine stesse,una potrebbe essere danneggiata.

With regard to the problem of the boost pressure on his 222: He must check all flexible hoses for leaks or damage from the turbochargers to the throttle chamber including the intercoolers and all other hoses in the turbocharging system. They often get damaged! If these are all OK, the problem could stem from the Solenoid valve that controls the pressure to and from the wastegates of the turbochargers. One of them could be could be damaged.

Rossano."