"Hello Enrico, me again!!!

Why do I get the feeling whilst I own my Merak you and I will get to know each other quite well?

Answer - you can guarantee the thing will go wrong!! Anyone who thinks they can run one of these things on a shoestring (like the fool I am) would be very wrong.

Anyway to the point. Have a slight clutch problem - its knackered and need some advise on the best and easiest way of replacing it. The clutch problem - its slipping very badly. Have adjusted it up as much as possible which has made it driveable but still slips under power !!!

Apart from having pots of money and giving it to someone else to do. What would the best way of removing the gearbox or is there a 'cheat' to removing the clutch?

Also what to look out for when changing it. To refresh your memory mine is an 1981 Merak SS model with all the Citroen horrible bits (hydraulics) bolted to the back.

Any help very gratefully received!!

Lee."

"Hi Enrico!

Didn't know if you might be able to help or put a shout out on your web site.

I am looking for a space saving spare wheel for my '81 Merak SS if you know of anyone who may have one.

Needs to be fairly cheap (of course - I'd hardly ask for an expensive one would I? !!!!!!!!)

If so anyone can give me a call on this number 07876 641063 (mobile) or send me an e-mail.

Kind regards,

Lee."

"Hi Enrico, how are you?

I bought a Merak SS a couple of weeks ago. It's certainly not a rocket ship like the Biturbo I had but who needs the speed when you get the looks. Hey!!
I do have one slight problem with it though which I hope either yourself or Andy may be able to help me with.
The car is a 1981 model with all the Citroen hydraulics. It drives fine. However, having driven for quite a while, say on a dual-carriageway, in fifth when going to change gear - dipping the clutch, the clutch is no longer there and in order to get it back you need to pump the clutch a bit.
Under all other driving conditions it appears fine. Hopefully its not too fatal however better to be safe that sorry especially with these things!!!
If it is expensive please break it to me gently.
Kind regards
Lee."

Re: Merak Brakes.
Hi Henry,

This is quite a common problem with Meraks but the reasons for it can be numerous and complicated. The diagnosis should be as follows:

1. It may just be air in the system. This is maybe a straw to clutch but worth a try first. You need to bleed the clutch circuit which must be done in a certain way. Set up your normal brake bleeding equipment on the bleed nipple on the clutch slave cylinder. Start the engine and run until the low pressure warning light goes out (one of the big red lights between speedo and revcounter). Keep the engine running and get someone to sit in the drivers seat and operate the controls for you. As the working pressure of the LHM system is around 2,500 psi, you cannot just open the nipple, press the pedal once, close the nipple in the normal way. You have to open the nipple and then press the clutch pedal down. All the time the pedal is down, fluid will stream out of the nipple but it is possible to check for bubbles. THE MOST IMPORTANT thing however is that while pressing the clutch pedal down, your helper must operate the headlight pods continuously up and down and pump the brake pedal continuously with their spare foot! This is because the low pressure circuit from the clutch is also part of the headlamp circuit. Repeat this entire process two or three times until you are sure there are no air bubbles and then lock off the bleed nipple and roadtest. You will probably find that the pedal is good, maybe cured, but maybe after a while the problem will return. If this is the case, move on to stage 2.

2. There is a sediment trap in the headlight circuit than can become blocked causing the clutch to disappear. Remove the panel in the front boot where the windscreen washer bottle is located. Deep in that recess is a small metal filter (looks like a fuel filter). Undo the clips and remove this, clean it out and make sure that fluid can flow freely through it. Then refit and return to stage 1. If this doesnt work then move on to stage 3.

3. The LHM clutch assistance works in the same way as power steering. In other words, when you operate the pedal, you are opening a low pressure circuit. In itself, this does not operate the clutch fork, all it does is open a high pressure circuit which does the work for you. The mechanism for this is housed in the clutch slave cylinder in the form of a spool valve. The spool valve runs directly in a bore in the slave cylinder and relies on a fine tolerance metal to metal contact in order to seal. Wear in the spool valve is common and this can cause the loss of pedal also. Before you remove the slave cylinder, carry out one further check. Stand at the back of the car with the engine running. How often do you hear the curious whirr click noise from the main LHM pump and regulator. Any more frequent than 30 seconds means that pressure is being lost and the main culprit is usually the spool valve. To know for sure, remove the filler cap on the LHM tank and watch for fluid returning into the tank from the clutch slave (a pipe connects this return to the neck on the tank). If there is a pretty continous flow back into the tank then the spool is definitely at fault and requires reconditioning. Unfortunately though, if there is no leak back, the spool could still be the problem. However, now you have to move on to stage 4.

4. A loss of pedal means that air is entering the system somewhere. By now we have narrowed down the search but there is an element of guesswork about the next bit. The air could be getting in through the spool or it could be due to a worn master cylinder also. I would always recommend the slave first, but this is the more expensive option. In order to overhaul the slave cylinder, in my opinion the only company that can do this is called Pleiades. They appreciate the fine tolerance required for the spool and have them remanufactured and honed. If it were my car, I would remove the slave and send it to them for overhaul. It will take about three to four weeks and cost about £200. Alternatively, I have to say that Bill McGrath Maserati also have them overhauled at Pleiades but on an exchange basis and have a fully reconditioned unit in stock and ready to swap. I also have to warn you that you can go to all this trouble and find that the problem is still there, in which case, you should also send the master cylinder (behind the pedal) to Pleiades for a quicker and cheaper overhaul.

This is the basic concept assuming that the LHM system is otherwise in good condition. To establish this, first check the colour of the fluid in the tank - a dark, almost luminous green is correct. A lighter transluscent colour means there is water in it, which is common. This may not be disaster but must be flushed through. There is special flushing fluid available for such purpose. Also, we are assuming that none of the flexi hoses are ballooning through age. At all times, however, please remember that LHM is a different fluid to normal brake fluid and the compounds of rubber required in this system are special. Standard rubber can be attacked by LHM and a lack of knowledge of this medium can be dangerous.

None of the above is massively expensive if you are able to carry out the basic checks yourself. If you feel that you would prefer a garage to look at the car, then obviously it will cost more. Please however, do not be swayed by the little man down the road as he will not have a clue and it will cost more in the long run. Look for a Citroen specialist who will be more au fait with LHM.

Obviously Bill McGrath Maserati can do this for you. I rarely say this on Enricos Maserati Pages, but as you will have gathered from this mail, experience counts!

Henry, Hope you don't mind this. It is quite a tricky one. Thanks for the print. I will now try to translate it!
Regards,
Andy.

Meraks. Hmmm. There is a lot to look out for!
Biggest problem is always the rust. If you are thinking about an 'Italian' car then this shoud not be such a problem but in the UK it could be. They rust more than any other Maser and in places that can be very difficult to repair. You must check the car on a ramp and look for problems in the sills (not viewable on the outside because they have aluminium covers), the area under the fuel tanks, the surrounding chassis tubes and the floors (pull out the rear seat cushions to be sure). Also open the luggage boot and poke around the sides with a screwdriver, the front suspension mounts here and you may find that only the carpet and the underseal are holding it all together. Only then can you start on the outer body which goes in all the usual places, such as wheel arches, bottoms of doors, leading edge of bonnet. Take extra care to examine the fit of the bonnet and the headlight pods as most cars have had a shunt in the front at some point and dodgy panel fit is a giveaway.
Engine wise, check the oil pressure on cold start - should go to 7 bar and then come back to 1 or 2 at hot idle. Should readily come up to 4 or 5 bar when revved. Carry out a roadtest and lift off the throttle at high revs, while looking in the rear view mirror - if there are plumes of blue smoke then the valve guides will need doing which is expensive. Check also for oil smoke at idle. Merak engines do use a bit of oil anyway but they can get excessive.
Check the hydraulic system by starting the engine, run it until the red light on the dashboard goes out and then switch off (the red light shows low hydraulic pressure on each start up). With the engine switched off, see how many times you can raise and lower the headlights (which are part of the hydraulic system) before the pressure runs out - 12 times is good, 6 is minimum. If the car doesnt pass the test then it will need some work done on the system. Check also the condition of the fluid in the LHM tank - If it is pure green then it is OK, if it is milky then it will need work as water has got in and this will cause major problems.
Otherwise, listen for gearbox noise and jumping out of gear. Check that the gears engage OK as the synchromesh is quite delicate on the Citroen gearbox and expensive to fix.
Overall, it is better to go for an SS model. Meraks never feel that fast, although the handling is fantastic and they are very pleasant cars to drive. Therefore, a pre -SS or a two litre will feel downright slow by modern standards. Better make sure you can live with the sharpness of the Citroen brakes too as they take some acclimatisation.
In the UK, 3-litre Merak values are £20K for excellent, £15 for average and £8K for poor. It is far cheaper in the long run to go for an excellent one!
The 2-litre version is not very popular and therefore the resale could be difficult. Overall though, a cheap and enjoyable way to get into Maserati!

"Hi my name is Peter, I'm fully reconditioning a set of 3.0 litre V6 Merak head. I have machined up 12 new valve guides, 12 new valves, fitted 12 new inserts. What I would like to know is what the standard valve shims the factory set the heads up at, or what thickness they come in, because I would like to machine the new valves to suit these sizes so the heads go back to standard. Any info would be great."

The shim sizes go from 3.00 to 3.50 mm for inlets in graduations of 0.025mm.
The shim sizes go from 3.50 to 4.00 mm for exhausts in graduations of 0.025mm.
- This info from the Merak parts manual.

Hi Enrico,
Sorry I have not got back to you, the info on the shims was a great help thank you very much.
I live in Melbourne Australia. The car is not mine it belongs to a customer who is restoring the car. I have only got the heads. I work for a restoration company and we restore cars from 1900 to about 1980.
Our work includes body building, fabrication of parts, machining of engine and drive line components and general mechanical repairs. The chap who owns the Merak heads has looked around for about 12 months to find somebody to restore his heads, but because they were so bad nobody wanted to touch them (no one likes a challenge any more).
So once again thank you for your time.
Peter