"Enrico,

I just bought a Biturbo and I did little research on what to do before buying a Maserati. So I didn't know about needing a service record and a few other things. I guess I was in awe of the power and price and so I bought.

Two things I did do to this car is change the oil and brakes. But I think that it still might need some work, because of the amount of fuel it uses. I used approximately half a tank for a distance of only 45 miles.

Now is this common among Biturbos 2.24v or is there something else wrong with this car? I could use any help you have to offer.

Thanks.

Alan."

"Enrico,

I'm currently living in Naples, Italy. My next move is to get one of them workshop books and an air filter. If you know where I could get a book please tell me, because if I bought a book here it would probably be in Italian.

The performance doesn't seem too bad. Today I had the car in fifth gear going 5000 rpm. The reason I say that is because the speedometer doesn't work (in which case the mileage doesn't work either).

I did notice that while doing that the car seemed like it was misfiring. I'm not sure if I'm explaining that right. I had my foot on the gas and it lost power for a few seconds. If that makes sense to you. I didn't notice blue smoke, but I thought I saw black smoke. If there is a difference.

The car was bought privately from someone who didn't know how to maintain a high performance car.

From what you say about "not having the right mixture", does that mean that I should have better mileage?

Thanks for the quick reply.

Alan.

Re: Gas guzzling 2.24v.

This is hugely serious fuel consumption for a 2.24v. That must work out something like 5 mpg! You should easily be able to get 15 out of an injected car. Chances are that assuming that the engine seems to be working properly in all other respects, you have a fault in the fuel injection system. Do you have black smoke when starting and accelerating hard? First things to try are the air (brown) and coolant (blue) temp sensors in the fuel injection system - which you can only really try by substitution unless you take the car to a dealer with the Weber Marelli diagnostic kit. After this, it gets complicated....

Andy.

Re: 2.24v.

I'm afraid it sounds as though the engine is 'kaput'. As it is a 2-litre unit, your best option would be to look for another unit in Italy. Try Giuseppe Candini in Modena on 0039-059-828280!

Andy.

"Hi Enrico,

I am a 55 year old English engineer living in France, I have found your most interesting and informative site on the Internet.

I have a 1989 Maserati 2.24V ZAM N° 331BOOKB119467 the car was originally sold on the Italian home market and imported to France in 2001. I bought the car two months ago after it had been standing for over a year.

Can you advise on the following;

1. There is a flat spot in the power curve at 4000 RPM, when accelerating under normal driving conditions from 3000RPM in 4th the car accelerates well up to 4000 and then looses power, the boost gauge also drops below the yellow. If the throttle is kept wide open the power picks up again after about 5-6 seconds but not quite as much as I feel it should. In looking for the problem I have changed the air filter, fuel filter and plugs, I have also checked the connections of all the vacuum tubes and freed the one way valve in the AC vacuum circuit that was stuck open. I have also checked that the turbochargers are free and not passing oil into the intake and that as far as I can ascertain the waste gates are operating freely.

2. Tendency to overheat.

Under normal driving conditions or in heavy traffic the car runs at an indicated 75-80°c with no problems. On the autoroute with a summer ambient temperature of around 36° c and I would guess a road surface temperature of around 40°+ c I cannot maintain much more than 3800-4000 RPM without the temperature rising to 95-100°c. The car doesn't use any water and there are no gas bubbles in the coolant. Can you advise, is there an inherent limitation of the cooling capacity of this car or could it possibly be linked to the flat spot in the engine performance?

3. Fuel gauge.

When the car gets really hot after a long run the fuel gauge sometimes gets a twitch and drops from its normal reading towards empty, I think that this is probably just a loose wire but the fault does seem to be temperature related.

Otherwise apart from the minor faults mentioned above I am very pleased with the car and am using it on a daily basis.

Can you also advise where I can obtain a workshop manual for the car preferably with an English translation, as I habitually carry out all the maintenance on my cars.

Any advice gratefully received.

Regards,

Mike."

Re: 2.24v.

Hi Henry,

1. It sounds like a problem with the rotor arm from what you say, but this assumes that the engine almost cuts out and then surges back into life. If not, you could also try the battery earth as a voltage drop between engine and chassis can confuse the fuel injection and give these symptoms - not usually at the same revs every time though.

2. There is definitely a problem here. These cars have very effective cooling systems. From what you say, I assume there is no problem around town and that the fans work properly so the problem is confined to high speed. If so, I would check the thermostat first as there were options and it may be regulating at too high a temperature. The gauge should sit on 90 degress and no more. Otherwise, you may have an obstruction in the radiator.

3. This is, as you say, probably a bad connection. You could check the wiring to the gauge itself first and then to the sender on top of the tank. Shouldn't be any more sinister than that.

4. The UK Maserati Club produces a copy of the Factory workshop manual for these cars, priced at £65. You may have to join the club though. Look on Enrico's site for a link.

Regards,
Andy.

"Hi Enrico,

I am John A******** with the '93 2.24v (which has the problem with her gearbox). I did not try to repair her, because I am going to change her engine with one from a Ghibli GT. Of course I will also install the Getrag 6-speed gearbox and the Ranger® differential. I would like to ask for your help on what else I have to upgrade (frame, brakes, steering, etc), or if my car can accomodate the new the engine as she is.
Thank you for your time.
Regards,
John."

Re: 2.24v.

Hi Henry,

This will be a huge amount of work. The greatest problem you will face will be with the wiring. The 2.24v still has a distributor on its engine and a single ECU for fuel and a single one for ignition. If you fit a Ghibli GT engine then this will have direct ignition (ie a coil over the top of each spark plug) and two ECUs for fuel, two for ignition. This means that your wiring loom will have to come from a GT as well as otherwise it will be impossible. You will have to remove the interior and most of the dashboard to find room for the extra bits - the bulkhead is different too, as well as the various fuel injection connections.

That aside, the gearbox will be straightforward to change, but the axle is certainly not! The GT uses a completely different rear suspension system to the 2.24v and in order to fit the GT axle, you will need everything from the GT including the rear subframe.

If that is not enough to put you off then consider that the Ghibli has completely different brakes to the 2.24v which are not interchangeable. You could of course use your original brakes which would be OK but not recommended.

By the time the conversion was finished, you would have used the majority of parts from a Ghibli GT which unless you have access to a written off car is not economically viable. Even if you do, the labour involved in carrying out all this work would be considerable.

Best to get your original gearbox repaired - or swap the car for a Ghibli!

Regards,
Andy.

"Hi Enrico and Andy,

I think there is a misunderstanding about the car. I have already found everything I need (engine, electrical system and both ECU's, gearbox, differential, exhaust system etc.) from a '95 Ghibli GT, the one with the 306 hp and the Ferrari differential, which had a car accident. The owner does not intend to repair the car and already owns another Ghibli. I must say that the engine needs some repairs (caused by the accident, but nothing serious).
I believe that there is nothing on earth, more beautiful than my rosso 2.24v. (new look) and nothing more speedy and more melodic than the Ghibli. So these two things put together can give me a greater reason for living. That's why I am determined to carry on and why I need your knowledge and your help..
Regards,
John."

Re: 2.24v.

Hi Henry,

OK, now it makes sense. Well actually it makes no sense at all but anyway. All I can suggest is using as many of the parts from the Ghibli as possible but I still think that it will be a major job.

Things to consider:

1. The engine will fit no problem. Where are you going to mount all the transistors for the ignition which are on the bulkhead on the Ghibli which is a different shape to the 2.24?

2. Where are you going to mount the intercoolers as on the 2.24 they are in front of the radiator whereas on the Ghibli they are behind the fog lights and the bumper?

3. Where are you going to fit the battery? The 2.24 has it in the engine bay but the Ghibli uses that space for one of the air boxes so you will have to move the battery to the boot like in the Ghibli.

4. I think that the rear track of the Ghibli is wider than the 2.24 so when you have fitted the new rear suspension, you may find that the wheels stick out beyond the arches. Also, with the new diff, you will not have room for a spare wheel.

5. The Ghibli wheels use a different stud pattern to the 2.24. You cannot just fit the wheels from the Ghibli to the earlier car but if you fit the Ghibli rear suspension, you will have Ghibli brakes on the back which will unbalance the braking system. Therefore, better to fit the entire front suspension as well (and subframe).

Anything is possible!

Regards,
Andy.

Hi Enrico how are you?
I own a 1993, 2.24v. I have a slight problem with the gearbox, since I had the gearbox rebuilt. When I put it into neutral, a noisy sound (like: tak,tak,tak,tak...) appears. Every time I press the clutch, or when I move the gear stick slightly the noise stops.
If anyone can help me to understand why this is happening, it would be much appreciated.
Regards,
John."

Re: 2.24v.

Could be either;
If this is a dog leg five speed gearbox (ie ZF) then it sounds like the layshaft bearings are either worn or out of tolerance. Lots of higher mileage cars display these same characteristics and the box must be stripped to renew them.
If it is a Getrag unit (either 5 or 6 speed) standard pattern, then it could also be this but is a lot less common. In this case it could also be the clutch/flywheel which can make a noise. Not necessarily a problem but annoying all the same. Only way to solve the problem is to renew.