Stuart from heaven knows where writes:-

Re: Biturbo stutter and stop!

"Hello Enrico,

I hope you may be able to help with this. I have a 1984 2.5 Left-Hand Drive BiTurbo coupe 5-Spd and a mileage of 114,000 KM that has just started causing problems when warm.

When you first start the car from cold it runs fine for about 5-7 miles. After this the revs will drop down to the point of stalling. If you then put your foot to the floor it will splutter and then pick up again and you can carry on driving for about a mile. All of a sudden it will just cut out and not start again.

Eventually you can get the car started by foot to the floor and you can rev it 4 times then it will stop again. Then the only way to get it started is to leave it for 2-3 hours and it fires up and drives fine until you have done 5-7 miles and the process starts all over again.

I don’t know if this helps but it does use a lot of fuel and if you stand in front of the car and look at the engine an oil leak has appeared from some where just above the alternator.

Any help you can give on this will be greatly appreciated as I think it is a fantastic car and would like to enjoy it through the summer.

Regards,

Stuart."

Mariano from Spain writes:-

Re: Biturbo water temperature

"Hi friend.

I have a Biturbo 2.0 SI.

Do you know what is the normal water temperature on this model? I see that when the engine is working a little hard (for example when the A/C is on) the water temperature is up to 90º C (194º F) probably about 110 ºC (230ºF).

Thanks in advanced, Mariano."

Vince in the UK writes:-

Re: Getting my Biturbo started

"First of all thank for a really helpful site.

I have got this problem I bought a 1987 Biturbo on eBay, really cheap, just to take a punt on it.

The engine was full of fuel, I think it has a blocked fuel return. I am hoping that I get lucky, is there a non-return valve on that line or secondary filter that could cause this?

The real problem is that it is in such good conditon, just sills and door bottoms dam the thing think l am hooked they realy are engineered well.

So any advise you can give would be apreciated even if its just a change of medication.

Cheers.."

Ron in the USA writes:-

Re: Replacing a fusebox

"Hello,

I have just recently bought a 84 BITURBO. I love the car but I am having the same electrical problems that Erik from Norway has had. Your recommendation was to change Fuse Box. Is this a tough job or can an aspiring mechanic do it?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Replacing a fusebox

"The fusebox replacement is a straightforward process as all of the multiplugs are unique and therefore difficult to get wrong. With experience, it only takes an hour.

Andrea."

Robert in the USA writes:-

Re: Fuel pump relay

"I am unable to locate the fuel pump relay on my left-hand drive Biturbo E; although it appears on the schematic drawing, it is unlocatable to me;

Behind the glove box?

On the panel?

Which one?

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Robert."

Reply from Gaia:-

Re: Fuel pump relay

"It's in the passenger footwell above the IAW Weber Fuel Injection Control unit.

Gaia."

Bulkster in the USA writes:-

Re: Spare bellhousing

"My 1987 Biturbo Si was running fine (after sitting for over 10 years) but last night the clutch quit working. I still have full pedal but can not shift into gear. Sounds like the fork or is there some adjustment I should try before removing clutch?

Does anyone have a cross reference for a clutch assembly in US?

Bulkster."

Mike in New Zealand writes:-

Re: Spare bellhousing

"Hi there,

By chance I have acquired a spare bellhousing for a 2-litre 1989 Biturbo fitted with a ZF 3-speed.

There may be someone out there who needs one. I am in New Zealand!

Mike."

Tim in the UK writes:-

Re: Fuel lines

"Hi,

I hope you can help. I had a fuel line leak on my 1986 2.5 Biturbo.

I used some 8mm copper tube to replace the corroded steel items, but now I cannot get boost for more than 4-5 seconds and even if I gently throttle I cannot get over 60 mph.

Like a fool I did not label the pipes, could I have crossed over the flow? Would this cause the problem?

If I try and then do cross them over, is there further damage I could do. I cannot find a system diagram anywhere, please help.

This is the flow as I can follow it now:

From the tank > through two filters > the fuel pump > into the bottom of the pressure regulator > out round the front of the windscreen tray (you know where the wiper motors and things are!) > under the air filter > and into the bottom of the carb chamber > off the side of the plenum chamber > back under the car and return to the fuel tank. Both flow and return are connected into the bottom of the tank.

Tim."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Fuel lines

"You did get them mixed up! From the tank to first filter, then pump, then second filter then all the way directly to the carb. From the carb to the side of the pressure reg, then from underneath back to tank. In other words, pressure reg is on return side. If you still have issues, try measuring fuel pressure by inserting gauge in-line. Should maintain a 0.2 advantage on boost pressure!

Cheers,

Andrea."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Fuel lines

"While we're at it. Here is the schematic drawing of the Biturbo with fiuel injection.

Rene in South Africa writes:-

Re: Engine cylinder liners

"Hi!

I have recently done some work on my Biturbo heads and while the heads were off, I noticed that one of the cylinder sleeves was loose!

My model is of the wet sleeve type (1984 2.5-litre), I would like to find out if there is any way that I can remove and re-fit the sleeve from the top of the motor?

The area to fit a conventional ring squeeser is very limited with the piston left in place! I'm loathed to have to pull the motor and gain access through the sump!

The sleeve is being pushed up by the piston ( sits very tightly on piston) I cannot see any rubber O-ring on the block ? I do notice there is a very thin gasket, I do have a new plastic one.

Is there no type of sealant I can try applying on the block, then using an old head to pressure the ring down ?

Excuse my ignorance ,as you can gather I'm not a mechanic so I'm trying to find a practical solution !

some help please !!

Rene."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Biturbo wet liners

"Rene, Rene, what have you done?

The Biturbo cylinder liners are classed as a wet liner and therefore as soon as the cylinder heads are removed, they are loose. Maserati provides some clamps in the special tools kit for holding the liners in place once the heads have been removed (they are OK until you try to turn the engine) and therefore it is possible to work on the cylinder heads without having to get involved in the bottom end of the engine.

Underneath the shoulder at the top of each liner lies a rubber ‘O’ ring which seals the water jacket from the oil sump but otherwise, there is no other gasket. It sounds from your description as though there is a gasket fitted on your engine, which I can only assume was done by a previous repairer to get over some other fault.

If you have disturbed this liner then you have no option but to strip the bottom end of the engine as you will not successfully refit the piston to the liner to the block any other way. From what you say, this sounds as though it might be a good idea anyway as you really ought to find out why someone has fitted a gasket. Also, if you don’t already have one, can I suggest a workshop manual! It is an excellent and thorough reference for this type of work.

Cheers,

Andrea."

Gunther in Belgium writes:-

Re: Engine transplant!

"Hello,

I am placing a Ghibli 2.0 engine (1993) in my Biturbo 2.0 Si (1987).

I also want to install the instrument cluster from the Ghibli, but is the speedo pick-up sensor is different from that of the Biturbo (Biturbo on the gearbox, but the Ghibli on the differential)?

I have the Biturbo and Ghibli manuals but I can't find the connection for the temperature display that is situated in the Ghibli cluster.

Can you help me please? Thanks.

Best regards,

Gunther."

Mikael in Denmark writes:-

Re: Clutch problem!

"Hi Enrico.

My name is Mikael and I live in Denmark.

I own a 1987 Biturbo Si with a clutch problem. For some reason the clutch jammed in an open position. The slave piston had moved so far out of its cylinder, that the piston was stuck in a tilted position, causing it to block the clutch fork from moving forward. After overhauling the hydraulics I realised that the fork was also stuck resting on the edge of the throw-out bearing.

My mechanic recommended to replace the clutch with a new one, since we did not know why this had happend. I bought a new clutch and now it turns out that the new clutch is smaller than the old one. The old one is 230 mm in diameter and the new is 215 mm. Looking in the Biturbo CD-ROM is seems like it should be 215 mm.

I bought the car in the United States, I don´t know if this could some how be the reason. The car has, as far as I know a 2,5 litre engine, and I have tried to find out what the power output of this engine is. The more I read about this, the more confused I get. And after this clutch size problem I am even more confused.

Any help regarding my problems is greatly appreciated, and by the way, I have already got a lot of useful information from this site, thank you very much.

Kind regards,

Mikael."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Clutch problem

"The clutch diameter for 2.0litre is 215mm. The diameter for 2.5 is 230mm and the diameter for 2.8 is 243mm. The Italian spec Si model was a 2.0litre developing 225bhp which is why you probably have received a new 215mm plate. I am not sure about Si spec as sent to the USA – not sure of the bhp or the engine size but I presume it has a cat? MIE Corporation in Seattle would know more about this spec – neither Si model was originally imported into the UK!

Your original problem is not uncommon – you should check and really renew the clutch flexi hose at the same time as this can sometimes restrict movement and cause the slave piston to pop out.

Andrea."

Tom in the USA writes:-

Re: Poor power and serious smoking habit!

"Hello Enrico,

I have two 1984 Biturbos, each with a different problem.

1st car: Serious smoke blowing from right side exhaust. I'm pretty convince that oil is going from Turbo into exhaust, causing smoke. Is it possible to remove the right (passenger) side turbo without pulling engine?

2nd car: Runs well, but just doesn't produce the power it should from turbos. Runs more like a regular carberated v6. Turbos are producing boost good, and I can't figure out why it's so gutless. Any suggestions as to what I should check/do to see if I can get it performing like a Maserati instead of a Nissan?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Tom."

Reply from Andrea:-

Re: Poor power and serious smoking habit!

"1st car: Yes, it does sound like a turbo problem. It is possible to remove without pulling the engine but only as long as the exhaust manifold studs are not rusty. We always pull the engine to be honest, because it makes the rest of the job so much easier.

2nd car: If you are producing boost to the beginning of the orange sector on the boost gauge and yet the engine is sluggish, you might be losing some of that boost through a split pipe, or your ignition timing may be wrong (Euro setting 13 degrees BTDC), or your knock sensor may be faulty (check/clean the knock sensor connector over the right hand cam box). If none of that helps, come back to me.

Regards,

Andrea."

Aaron in the USA writes:-

Re: Power loss when hot!

"Hi,

My name is Aaron and I have owned an 85 Biturbo for a year.

After the intial work (replaced clutch, exhaust system, tires, tie rods), I figured the car would be good to go, which it is. Drives fine no mysterious noises, starts right up in the winter in Kingston, Rhode Island USA using the choke (as it is carburated), but every once in a while it just dies on me in the middle of the drive.

The whole thing just stops, and once it didn't restart for nearly an hour. When restarting, all the lights on the dash by the speedometer either go on (and it starts) or they don't (and it doesn't start).

Also, there is a bit of a radiator leak and it seems like the fan stopped working.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Aaron."

Paul in Canada writes:-

Re: Power loss when hot!

"Hi, my name is Paul and I have an 1985 Biturbo and live in Montreal.

I absolutely love my car and have been driving it for 7 years with really no problems. It goes like a bat out of hell.

My problem now is that when the car is cold I have tons of power and acceleration, however after a few minutes I lose all acceleration and I have problems getting the car up to 80 Km/hr. The problem is intermittent. The car never stalls and it will keep running I just don't have any power once it's warmed up.

I had the carburettor changed a few years ago. I will try to explain the problem in more detail.

When I start the car and let it warm up for a few minutes and start driving it I have full acceleration and power however once I'm on the highway and really hit the gas pedal most of the time the car just loses all acceleration.

I don't have any electrical problems everything seem to work just fine. The idle is good and steady. The turbos have tons of boost, the car never over heats.

The car was driving fine until I drove over a speed bump that's the first time I lost acceleration power. When this happens I have to floor the gas pedal just to keep moving and acceleration is really really slow.

I hope this explains the problem once again and suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks.

Paul."

Andy in the UK writes:-

Re: Backfiring and misfiring badly under load!

"Hi Enrico,

I recently (May) bought a 1988 biturbo coupe 2.5 carb. I bought it with a running problem. It runs ok at idle and on light throttle settings but as soon as I put the engine under load and the turbos start to boost the fuel starts to run out and the engine cuts out and then starts backfiring and misfiring badly. I can cruise at 70 and above no problem but when I put the engine under load, after a few seconds the misfiring starts.

I am used to high performance engines as I used to build race engines for a living. I have adjusted the valve clearances, checked the valve timing and rebuilt the carb and distributor, fixing about 10 problems caused by other peoples fiddling trying to fix the problem, mostly to do with the vacuum advance system and carb fuel feed. I have checked the fuel pressure and the actual boost pressure to make sure the pressure regulator is working ok which it seems to be.

I have been working on the car on and off for the last 5 months and before I take the car to a rolling road I would appreciate your thoughts just in case I have missed something obvious.

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

Andy."

Christian in the USA writes:-

Re: Dirt in carburettor and oil pressure fluctuation

"Hello,

My name is Christian. I'm in dire need of advice. I recently purchased a 1985 Biturbo S and it's been giving me some problems. Recently, the oil pressure started to fluctuate with acceleration. This meaning at lower RPMs the oil pressure stayed around 1.5 and it climbed to 3.5-4 at cruising speed. I became concerned because I never saw this problem before.

I scheduled an appointment with a mechanic, but on the appointment date, my car would not start. I had the car towed to the mechanic, who told me my carburettor had filled with waste. He charged me 300 dollars to clean it up and sent the car back to me. The car worked like a dream for about 2 days, before it started to act up again.

I rushed my car to the mechanic, and sure enough, he told me the carb box filled up again. He says since he's not a Maserati technician, he has no idea what could be causing the problem. I live far away from any major cities, and it's impossible to find a Maserati man around here. Please, if you have any clues or ideas, feel free to contact me. The car's oil pressure fluctuates, it's hard to start the car, and it has a hard time idling.

Thanks for your time,

Christian."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Dirt in carburettor and oil pressure fluctuation

"Hi,

My first reaction to the repeat of dirt in the carburettor, is that there must be a lot of dirt in your fuel tank. I suggest you remove the fuel tank, clean it out, change the fuel filter and clean out all the fuel lines and hoses.

Regarding the oil pressure, normal running pressure is around 2.0-2.5 bar. This can increase with your RPMs and when the engine is warm it could reduce to around 1.5 bar.

Regards,

Enrico."

Peter in the USA writes:-

Re: Electric windows?

"Hello,

Hi guys, the website is great and the information you have out and the help you give is even better. Many thanks in advance.

Quick question, I just bought a 1985 Biturbo that is cherry. Everything is original (even paint) and it only has 27,000 miles. Unfortunately the electric windows don’t work. Everything else electric in the car works fine, including the stereo, moon roof, lights, gauges, etc… This is a new car for me and I’m already in love with it, any ideas what might be the cause, the windows seem dead in the water to use a figure of speech. Is there a fuse I need to replace and if so, which one might it be and where can I find a matching fuse to replace it? If not, what other electrical areas should I concentrate my efforts?

Thanks to all.

Peter."

Ron in Australia writes:-

Re: Biturbo clutches?

"Hi Enrico,

I live in Sydney Australia and own a Biturbo Spyder 1987 2.5i. I am in need of a new clutch kit for my car. I have been told there are 3 sizes available for the Biturbo. My workshop manual states that my clutch is a 8.5" (215mm) Can I fit a larger clutch in my Spyder or should I replace it with the same size clutch. I have attached a photo of my car. The car runs extremely well and I am very happy with it. Can you also put me in the right direction regarding the purchase of the clutch kit as Australia seems to be a bit Biturbo challenged.

Regards,

Ron."

Reply from Enrico:-

Re: Biturbo clutches?

"Hi,

There are three sizes for Biturbo. First for the original 2.0 litre cars, then slightly larger for the 2.5 then larger again for the 2.8. Obviously, you need the one for the 2.5.

It is available in the UK through Bill McGrath Maserati at www.classicmaseratis.co.uk

Regards,

Enrico."