Warning!

So we are now talking examples of ALL wishbones on these cars now; I think we have to talk seriously to a parts manufacturer to get some made & tested. Simply out of control now and the last few pages have proven Maserati have no intention of dealing with this potentially deadly problem.

We've known for a good while that the rears fail too - I'm not aware of any French forum cars with front wishbone failure, but there are reports of upper rear failure. I mentioned it on here many months ago now.

It's clearly very serious. We are catching them before a huge accident happens, but there are other owners who aren't so keen on detailed maintenance and checking, and who don't have the group resources of the forum to prompt them into looking.

I'm going to write to some of the Maserati design engineers with whom I've had exchanges in the past. Perhaps one of them will have enough of a conscience to progress it through the internal channels in Modena.

I hope they get a resolution soon or our favourite marque will be in danger of being known as the cars with chocolate wishbones by the pub experts!

It wouldn't be so bad if these parts weren't so ridiculously priced... a very expensive lump of alloy that is poorly designed & prone to failure. I'm not sure I want to replace them with the same part.

Is it possible to get some idea of lifespan? I know some must have been driving around with cracks for ages, mine had had them replaced prior to me buying it. 6 to 7 years normal driving maybe?

Just checked mine whilst doing the Swedish version of the MOT on a high lift. They looked new on my 2006 GS, but then the whole underside looks new too. Although my car has never been driven in the winter and has only done 29000km.

I heard some Ferraris have a similar issue. Although maybe folks don't use their cars as a daily.

Above drivers side rear upper, my mechanic jammed a alum key in there to give an idea of how open the split is


This one is passenger side rear upper - much harder to access and get phone in there to take pic, but if you look where the torch is shining to the left of the pic that line is a split

This has went on long enough IMO.
Vosa are toothless tigers and Maserati are treating this potentially fatal issue with such contempt it is unbelievable. I think if we as a concerned group of owners do not take the lead on either forcing vosa and maserati's to take action or in developing alternative parts then we can at the very least kiss goodbye to any future classic status of these cars because these cars reputation will plummet like a chest of drawers out a 2nd floor window......at worst, kiss our own a55es goodbye when one of these catastrophically fail at speed.
Mark already intends to lead on pushing Maserati as hard as possible but I encourage anyone affected by this to give him permission to use your contact details so that it is a group push on them and vosa and not him acting as a single voice which is much easier to ignore.
I have no idea where to start or who to speak to so if anyone has contacts in the industry can they check out initially what would be involved in developing and producing alternatives. Personally I don't care if an alternative is heavier and shaves a half second of these cars, so long as it is safer!
If we are not willing to do either of the above, IMO we need to stop moaning about it and just accept that these cars are seriously flawed and we are therefore tied into a cycle of constant checking and regular expensive replacement of non serviceable items.........which as a reminder, is what the suspension is.
Rant over......now breath.
Edit: I have a thought but want to run it past someone with a legal mind, solicitor or the likes. If anyone on here is from that background can they PM me since I do not want to put on the open forum.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/morgan-suspension-upgrades-after-autocar-test

Also, from a 996 buyers guide

"If your car is creaking, it’ll probably need new front suspension wishbones; Porsche calls them coffin arms, and charges £546 for a pair. A regularly used 996 will need new ones every three years or so"

MX-5

http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_po...one-Failure-with-polly-bushes-----Beware.aspx

Not £800 pounds each though!

allandwf said:

Not £800 pounds each though!

Click to expand...

Plus VAT

Surely these could be made for less than that? Would they be stronger more durable cut/milled from solid Alluminium billets? There would be enough demand looking at the numbers...

miket said:

Surely these could be made for less than that? Would they be stronger more durable cut/milled from solid Alluminium billets? There would be enough demand looking at the numbers...

Click to expand...

A lot less, given the numbers however there is enough to cast and machine an improved design for much less. Probably retail comfortably at 25% of what Maserati are fleecing people for.

2b1ask1 said:

A lot less, given the numbers however there is enough to cast and machine an improved design for much less. Probably retail comfortably at 25% of what Maserati are fleecing people for.

Click to expand...

But doesn't casting reintroduce potential problems further down the line?

I'm not in possession of the metallurgists review but I know enough of casting to understand the potential issue and I explained it in detail early on in this thread, in a nutshell, there are a number of wishbones cast in sand moulds on a 'tree' and the inner end bush openings have been cast full size and on the outer ends of the castings, this means the leading edge of the pouring liquid filling the mould is also heating the mould and is therefore fractionally cooler, also pushes a 'slag' pile ahead of it, when it reaches the bush it passes under and then flows over the top, the material filling in a level mould the part flowing over the top is hotter and sits on the slag of the cooler bottom half. This sets up a permanent weakness and fracture seed line.

An improved design would avoid this by pouring fewer components together, avoiding this potential by reorientating the moulds and use a smaller plug and machine the bush housings after casting. There is also an opportunity to increase the wall thickness around the bushes within the subframe openings as is.

I enquired a few casting companies about getting them done.
The general response was that casting was not suitable for the application and forging would be required to give the strength needed.
I haven't explored the option To carve them out of billet aluminium yet but I guess it will be quite expensive.

There lots of fabrication companies out there who could knock up a tubular version of that arm with rose joints fairly easily..
Trouble is, there'd be no EU certification...and if fitted would make you road car insurance invalid!

Dave

What are the requirements to get certificated? There's enough mass model part manufacturers out there making high volume low cost parts, surely there must be someone interested in making low volume higher cost components! How do some people keep really old cars on the road and satisfy insurers?

alfatwo said:

There lots of fabrication companies out there who could knock up a tubular version of that arm with rose joints fairly easily..
Trouble is, there'd be no EU certification...and if fitted would make you road car insurance invalid!

Dave

Click to expand...

Agree Dave but only present insurance, would need to notify of modified parts which would I guess up the insurance but if safer.......?

Chaps.. I've seen Simon's update (sorry to hear of yet more breakages) and received a number of PM's regarding next steps.

I have some ideas, but I'm currently away on holiday. I'll be back next Sunday and will put together an email list of interested parties who want to continue this conversation in detail out of the Fiat hierarchies watching eye.

Suffice to say this has gone on long enough and the polite approach has hit a brick wall. Something more robust is clearly needed to break down the wall...

Mark