My Khamsin isn't feeling very well.
Can you help? Please!
 

Any owner having a problem with their Maserati can send me details and I will publish these, together with any subsequent advice I receive, on this page.

Just drop me a line at maserati123@btopenworld.com

 
 

Andy in the UK writes:

 

"Dear Enrico,

Have bled the brakes and the LHM, now the next task.

The engine suffers from a mysterious coolant loss, the symptons are as follows. On a journey, no more than 10 miles the heater in the car blows hot and cold, and, upon checking the coolant level, there is a significant amount missing. I have inspected the oil, no emulsifing, no water droplets and no mayonnaise on radiator cap.

The system has been pressure tested by a competant garage, and has been found to be OK. At this point, a new radiator cap, of the correct value was fitted, still no improvment. Not wanting to take cylinder heads etc off, I want to bleed the whole system, possibly there is an airlock somewhere, and, at the same time, renewing the coolant, with the correct anti-freeze mixture.

Now to the technical part. How do you bleed the system correctly? Are there any bleed valves I should know about? Are there any problems or pitfalls I should know, or, look out for?

As you may remember this is my brother's car, and I have become interested in helping him get it on the road.

Thanks for all the great help you have been.

As always, kindest regards,

Andy."

 
 

Reply from Andy:-

Re: Khamsin cooling system.

"Hi Tony,

There is no particular art to bleeding the cooling system, but you have to be patient. What I would suggest is that you make sure that the radiator is working properly before you start, especially if the car has been off the road for some time. Take it out and back flush it, or better still take it to a radiator specialist for flow testing. The Khamsin suffers from overheating and everything has to be just so. Once this has been established, refill the cooling system and fill with a 30% antifreeze mix. Run the engine with the radiator cap off and also the heater valve open, until you reach 70 degrees on the gauge. There are no bleed valves as such, just squeeze the top hose and make sure that the coolant level is topped up as you go. With all well, put the cap back on and then check on the gauge that the thermostat has opened. You will see the temperature rise and then kick back as it opens. The heater should also now be consistantly hot.

If you still have a problem, check that the heater valve is actually opening as it may be faulty. If this is not a problem, you may need to carry out a sniffer test. You do not say whether the engine is actually overheating, but even so, if you continue to have mysterious water loss and no obvious leak, it may well be a head gasket problem - oil in the water is not necessarily going to happen if you are just losing water into the cylinders. A sniffer test in the cooling system should tell you beyond doubt whether there is carbon monoxide in the cooling system and ergo, a head gasket failure. I have to say that this is very common, again on engines that have been standing around.

Hope this helps!

Andy."

 
 
 
 

Andy in the UK writes:

 

"Dear Enrico,

Thank you for your earlier reply, it was most helpful.

Could you possibly help on the following points? Our intention is to replace all of the LHM fluids in the hydraulic systems.

Can you possibly advise on bleeding sequence, i.e. what operation is performed first? e.g. seat, steering, lights, etc.

Kind regard Andy."

 
 

Reply from Andy:-

Re: Khamsin brakes.

"Hi Andy,

It is certainly a good idea to bleed the whole LHM system from time to time and it is not particularly difficult.

First empty the reservoir of all fluid, remove it and clean it out including the long strainer inside. Then refit it and fill with new LHM. Place the car on a ramp and remove all the wheels. Start the engine and run the system up to pressure (until the warning light goes out and the buzzer stops sounding). Then locate the main regulator which is bolted to the bulkhead behind the reservoir. On it you should find a 12mm bolt that is actually the main bleed screw. Open this and it will whistle as the air escapes. When the whistling stops tighten it and proceed to bleed the brakes as previously described. After a first bleed of all the brakes, crack open the regulator again and repeat the process. Keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir and top up as necessary. Then bleed the clutch; The person in the driving seat will need to not only push the clutch pedal in the normal way but also repeatedly work the brakes and also the headlight pod switch as these systems are all linked and this is the only way to get air out of the system. Now bleed the clutch in the normal way. After having done this, again crack open the main regulator. In theory the process is complete. The headlamp pod and seat movement circuits are self bleeding. In order to fully change the fluid, you may have to repeat the whole process a couple of times in order to get fresh LHM coming out of all the various bleed nipples.

It is also worth noting that if you are worried that there is water in the system (very easy to ingest water through the reservoir due to its location and the common breakage of the rubber filler neck - noticeable if the LHM is translucent and pale green rather than the bright green of new fluid) then there is a different LHM flush fluid available. You carry out the whole process just described but use Flush instead of LHM. The car can be driven around on the flush with no problems which you should do for a maximum of a month. Then repeat the process with new LHM. This is very worthwhile if there is even a hint of water in the system as the cost of overhauling the various parts when they become faulty is considerable.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Andy."

 
 
 
 

Andy in the UK writes:

 

"Hi,

Could you please help? I need to bleed the brakes on a 1981 Khamsin, and would like to know any hints or pitfalls I may come across.

Appreciate your help.

Andy."

 
 

Reply from Andy:-

Re: Khamsin brakes.

"Hi Andy,

The process for bleeding Khamsin brakes is exactly the same as with a normal system, except that because the Citroen hydraulics are pressurised by an engine driven pump, the engine must be running when the brakes are bled. Also the pressure in the system is around 2,500psi and therefore you will find that when the bleed nipple is opened, the fluid gushes out. You will not be able to tell so easily if there are or aren't any bubbles in the fluid but you must try!'

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Andy."

 
 
 
 

Randall from the USA writes:

 

"I am interested in finding out more information about the Khamsin.

I was wondering if there was a specific reference you would recommend that would provide detailed information and possibly problems to look for when evaluating a Khamsin for purchase and which model years were more or less desirable.

Any info would be appreciated.

Randall."

 
 

Reply from Andy Heywood:-

 

Re: Khamsin.

Hi Henry,

No 1. History.

Khamsins were made for a relatively long period of time (74 to 82) but in relatively small numbers (430 out of which something like 75 were RHD). There were very few changes in specification over the years and so there is no good or bad year etc. They are all 4.9 litre versions of the V8 engine. The only mechanical differences between cars will relate to US emission controls (catalytic converters and tuning for economy) and the only body differences were US spec enormous rubber bumpers as opposed to the normal Euro spec items and from 76 on, the adoption of a front nose panel with three horizontal slats in it to provide extra cooling air to the engine bay.
Interior wise, there were also some small changes, predominantly to do with the centre console and seats. The majority of cars had the ZF dog leg five speed gearbox but a few were specified with Borg Warner three speed auto.

No 2. Body.

Most of the corrosion black spots on Khamsins are in obvious places. The leading edge of the bonnet, the bottoms of the doors, the outer sills etc, easily checked on an inspection. Floorpan and inner sill corrosion is unusual. There are a few little awkward areas to check however. The front bib carries the spare wheel which sits in a steel tray that forms part of the structure. This can rust badly, as can the front crossmember of the chassis. Check the windscreen surround panel for bubbles. Check also that the removeable rear subframe is sound and that its mounting points to the main chassis are good - Its a lot of work to repair! Check the front suspension lower wishbones for corrosion around the spring hangers ( I have seen the anti roll bar mounting fall off in a particularly bad case!).
Apart from the above, I would have to say that Khamsins do not rust badly. It is likely however, that any car that you are looking at will have been painted and so it is worth familiarising yourself with how sharp the lines of this car should be so that you can compare a botched body repair. There is no point in getting strung out about filler in the body however, as they used a considerable amount when the car was new. Check for cracks in the paint though, especially around the base of the windscreen posts and the corners of the tailgate aperture. These are caused by poor filler or lead work and will mean bare metal to cure.
Sadly, too many cars do not really pass muster in the body department. They have always required a very skilled hand to get right and with the cost of factory panels being extortionate (£5000 for a door!) a lot of cars out there have very average body jobs.

No 3. Engine.

Apart from checking the obvious such as service history and verifying mileage, bear in mind the following points about the V8 engine. Oil pressure cold should be 7 bar. When hot this will drop to 1 or 2 bar at idle but should readily come up to 3 or 4 when revved. However, the electrical oil pressure gauge on these cars is notoriously unreliable so don't believe the cars own gauge. Make sure that you plumb in a separate gauge to read the pressure. If the pressure is lower than the above figures then the engine is partly worn. If at any time while running, the warning light for oil pressure comes on then it is in a poor state. The drivers manual states a minimum of 22psi at 2,000 rpm. Also, on roadtest, check that there is no oil surge. As all Khamsins are dry sumped, it is possible to get blockages in the dry sump tank which starve the engine momentarily. This may not be any more serious than having to get the tank cleaned out though.
Carry out a compression test on a warm engine. You should expect 160psi per cylinder on a healthy unit. Anything less than about 130 means that again, the engine is partially worn. Ideally, carry out a cylinder leakage test as well to establish valve problems.
Listen for strange engine noises. There is a distinctive clack from the drive belts which is normal, but any slapping noise from the front means that the cam chains need adjusting and although this could be a simple service precedure, you need to check for sure. Also listen for noises from the water pump area. A light knocking noise may mean that the water pump drive strap is broken which is not a particularly difficult repair but an essential one.
Also, lift the top cover off the carb box and check for oil residue inside. Carb trumpets covered in oil means an engine which is breathing heavily and a rebuild is imminent.
This may seem an enormous amount of effort, just to establish engine condition but as rebuilds are over £10K and the number of people who seem capable of carrying out this work few, it is worth it.

No 4. Hydraulic systems.

The Citroen LHM system is fitted in all Khamsins and operates the brakes, the clutch actuation, the headlamp pod movement, the steering and the drivers seat movement. Needless to say this needs to be in good condition, but it is amazing how many are not. If you are familiar with Citroen systems then fine, if not take along someone who is as there is an awful lot to learn.
The whole system is run by an engine driven pump. This pump creates pressure which is regulated and accumulated before being distributed to the various components. The working pressure of the system is 2,500psi so leaks will find their way out through sub standard pipework etc. Apart from a thorough check of all piepwork (some rubber, some metal), carry out a simple check for the state of the accumulators. Run the engine for a couple of minutes until the big red warning light on the dashboard (for low hydraulic pressure) goes out. Then switch the engine off and see how many times you can raise and lower the headlights on the residual pressure. They will go 12 times on a good system and 6 is the bare minimum. If it is less then the units must be overhauled. Also when driving the car, listen for a strange whirr, click noise. This is the regulator cutting in and out. If it is any more regular than 20 seconds then the system is low on pressure and you need the pump overhauling. In Citroen service manuals, they state that hydraulic spheres such as the accumulators need to be changed every two years regardless of mileage. Also check the fluid in the resevoir under the bonnet. Familiarise yourself with what the LHM fluid looks like as it should be dark green. If the fluid you are looking at is light and milky then it has water in it which can attack the whole system and should be treated as a serious problem.
There are many other problems associated with the LHM system which are too complicated to go into but in fact the systems are remarkably reliable! You do need to get an expert in however.

No 5. Running Gear.

The front suspension is prone to wear through neglect. There are a number of greasing points. However, the parts for overhaul are easily available and at reasonable cost. Also, there are two steering idler units that take a real pounding and need their bearings changing periodically. The rear suspension uses a combination of rubber and brass bushes, the latter of which can seize up. Bounce the rear end up and down and if it does not return or creaks, expect some repairs soon. Again parts are no problem.
The brakes are Girling calipers with LHM proof seals in them and are pretty reliable. Watch out for cracking on the front brake discs though as they are expensive. Also, the discs are held onto their bells by a ring of tiny bolts which rust. Make sure the discs are not loose on their bells as this can cause interesting braking behaviour.
The ZF gearbox is very strong which is just as well as parts are really difficult to find. The change is always slow but worn sychromesh should be considered a major problem. The auto box is easy to overhaul by any reputable specialist.
The rear axle unit is a British Salisbury unit. They tend to leak a bit from the pinion oil seal which can be replaced and in severe cases can be overhauled by GKN. Getting it out of the car however is a different matter.
The exhaust system is quite complex on these cars and original replacement parts are scarce. Most will have opted for Stainless steel by now which is the only sensible route. If a car you are looking at has this then it is a plus as the system with manifolds is around £2000.

There are very few truly excellent examples for sale and therefore looking for the right car may be a time consuming exercise. However, patience will be rewarded !!!

 
 
 
 

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