I'm near York but that shouldn't be a problem. Someone posted a sectioned picture of the bearing and it shows the out race as being part of the bearing housing. Why they chose to do it that way I'm not sure. Was it because they thought it was a better solution or is it cheaper to make it like that. Anyway we will never know if there's a solution unless one is carefully dismantled. Then it would come down to how much of the parent material was available to work with and some degree of sideways thinking. I feel that some of the problems with these cars are worth looking at, because if for example you replaced all the wishbones, the wheel bearings and the clutch you would be approaching the value of the car.
Not being anymore conversant with engineering theory than the average layman, I wonder at the complexity of the manufacturing process...
Clearly, there must be an underlying principle that steered the designers away from making a more conventional hub/bearing/abs system. (edit- the car is only 12 years old. Manufacturing materials and processes were already quite developed in relative terms, improving on the limitations in this regard) Unsealed would seem to be asking for trouble...!!!
At least they are all four the same..!
First of all, are we absolutely sure that the bearing in the picture is actually the type fitted to our cars. Or is it just a proposed idea. If that's just a picture in isolation then it maybe doesn't mean much. If however it's linked to a Maserati drawing then that would be different. Can someone answer this question for me. Why is it that we see on television programmes such as Wheeler Dealers vehicles being modified in quite serious ways. For example a VW camper being fitted with a completely different steering rack plus other associated steering parts. Or cars being fitted with adjustable air suspension. There are many examples of this and at the end of the programme it always says that any mods carried out comply with all the regulations. I recently saw a new style Morgan 3 wheeler which had been fitted with what amounted to an alloy block inserted into the upper front wishbones to improve the handling. This was professionaly made and quite a popular mod apparently, but not approved by anyone in any way. So how is it that our cars are different.I suppose it's the cost of owning a car built by the "wild child" of the automotive industry...
First of all, are we absolutely sure that the bearing in the picture is actually the type fitted to our cars. Or is it just a proposed idea. If that's just a picture in isolation then it maybe doesn't mean much. If however it's linked to a Maserati drawing then that would be different. Can someone answer this question for me. Why is it that we see on television programmes such as Wheeler Dealers vehicles being modified in quite serious ways. For example a VW camper being fitted with a completely different steering rack plus other associated steering parts. Or cars being fitted with adjustable air suspension. There are many examples of this and at the end of the programme it always says that any mods carried out comply with all the regulations. I recently saw a new style Morgan 3 wheeler which had been fitted with what amounted to an alloy block inserted into the upper front wishbones to improve the handling. This was professionaly made and quite a popular mod apparently, but not approved by anyone in any way. So how is it that our cars are different.
That seems logical but at some point someone is going to have to do something about the spares required to keep these cars on the road. Already we are seeing certain parts for the 3200 become unavailable. It hasn't happened with the 4200 but it will l'm sure. Perhaps it should be looked into before it happens.The picture I posted is of a bearing that came off my car. The cutaway GP79 posted looks exactly like it and having examined my bearing further the construction looks exactly the same.
The examples you gave from Wheeler Dealers are valid, however in the case of most if not all of them they were designed and constructed by commercial enterprises who will hold appropriate public and product liability insurance. This is not an approval process, it is a liability process.
You can put whatever you like on your car (providing it doesn’t make it unroadworthy) but if it fails and you find yourself upside down in a ditch, someone has to pay - or prove that the product was of sound engineering design and the failure wasn’t related to the design, manufacture or material quality.
For example, if a garage fits a wheel bearing to your car which later falls off, causing an accident, if the failure is caused by their workmanship (loose bolts for example) they would be liable for this if it can be proved. If you assemble a set of components from a manufacturer and fit them yourself, you are liable for the workmanship element, they are responsible for the product liability element.
So in short, our cars are no different, but the risk / reward equation for the remaking of a wheel bearing is quite heavily skewed towards the risk side.
Not a fan of ABS...!
That seems logical but at some point someone is going to have to do something about the spares required to keep these cars on the road. Already we are seeing certain parts for the 3200 become unavailable. It hasn't happened with the 4200 but it will l'm sure. Perhaps it should be looked into before it happens.
That seems logical but at some point someone is going to have to do something about the spares required to keep these cars on the road. Already we are seeing certain parts for the 3200 become unavailable. It hasn't happened with the 4200 but it will l'm sure. Perhaps it should be looked into before it happens.
in most cases this is what happens and it far exceeds the value of the car. I have probably spent 3 times what I spent buying the car keeping it runningI'm near York but that shouldn't be a problem. Someone posted a sectioned picture of the bearing and it shows the out race as being part of the bearing housing. Why they chose to do it that way I'm not sure. Was it because they thought it was a better solution or is it cheaper to make it like that. Anyway we will never know if there's a solution unless one is carefully dismantled. Then it would come down to how much of the parent material was available to work with and some degree of sideways thinking. I feel that some of the problems with these cars are worth looking at, because if for example you replaced all the wishbones, the wheel bearings and the clutch you would be approaching the value of the car.
in most cases this is what happens and it far exceeds the value of the car. I have probably spent 3 times what I spent buying the car keeping it running
well I would be interested in others experience but I don't believe there is a 3200 ever made that would run for 10k KM without some thing going wrong, its just not possible? I am tidying up all the issues at the moment for the 20th anniversary trip in October and would expect a couple of years with only minor problems. perhaps 6-8k km with only service work but I would be expecting trouble within 3 years again.