Ghibli suspension overhaul

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
I'm already bashing my head for doing this, could have left everything as is and just drive without any issue.

While doing a trial fit it turned out that the new (used) arm I got from ES is also broken, one of the bore looks the same as on my original one, and cannot even fit together with the hub; hope they will replace it even after I've cleaned and painted it.

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At least I've put together one hub, detailed description coming soon when doing the second.

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spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
I've received a new arm from ES, we talked yesterday and today it is already here, exceptional support!

The bores are intact, the hub fits nicely, but, of course it would have been too easy, it uses metal bushes to the subframe instead of the normal rubber bushes. Bigger outer, and inner diameter too for the bolts, also some pipes are tapered. Any idea what this could be? None of the Ghibli or QP IV part manuals are listing metal bushes.

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spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
As I know Open Cups are using again a different, full race version.

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There is actually some tiny amount of rubber visible, but no idea what's inside.
 

del mar

Junior Member
Messages
257
I think I had the same issue.

Mine is 1998 reg but I would guess made earlier. The bushes on mine were actually from the QP IV evo. The ES parts diagram doesn't show it and the main dealer here didn't either. The diameter of the bolts was the biggest give away.

Eventually Campanna in Modena worked it out. I guess at one stage in production they had a box of bits for the QP evo and the factory just used whatever turned up.

I don't think is makes any difference to the fitting as the arms didn't change so as long as you get the right bush and right diameter bolt it should fit.

I cant 100% remember if we are talking about the correct bush but it rings a bell
 

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
Thanks, that's useful info. Not too surprising that they just used whatever was the closest on the shelves :) I've already contacted Campana too, will see what they come back with.
 

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
Question solved, these bigger diameter bolts don't fit the subframe :( and I don't really want to drill them up. Back to sourcing the correct one.

This looks like indeed a modified QP IV (for all the variants) part. Subframe has the same part number for pre-modification, so probably these bigger bolts were used in all the cases, maybe to support the bigger weight and then later the arms and bushes were modified (pre-mod. RH arm: 377000102, post-mod RH arm: 377030014).

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/parts/m...ion-post-modification-and-anti-roll-bar-21944

And these subframes / arms were used on a few Ghiblis too.
 

goranw

New Member
Messages
23
The original right bushes is obsolete. You can use these busches instead. "Kit Car Range Powerflex Universal Kit Car Bush Caterham 35mm
x 12mm PF99-114-12." Just need to cut them to right lenght. You need two per side. The bushes you have got is for QP4 Evo. The same happened to me.
 

chad5k1

New Member
Messages
167
The original right bushes is obsolete. You can use these busches instead. "Kit Car Range Powerflex Universal Kit Car Bush Caterham 35mm
x 12mm PF99-114-12." Just need to cut them to right lenght. You need two per side. The bushes you have got is for QP4 Evo. The same happened to me.
Useful info, thanks.
Is that to say that the normal bush (317020100) which is NLA, is not the right one for the later arm? I think I have a bunch of those bushes to use in future.
 

goranw

New Member
Messages
23
Hi Chad, Dont understand NLA but the bushes for our Ghiblis is not availiable anymore, only the new metal bushes for QP4.
Q to you, did you have coilovers on yor Ghibli ?
BR
G
 

chad5k1

New Member
Messages
167
NLA = No Longer Available
So do the metal bushes fit the older arms? Just wondering how useful this set of bushes I have is.
Yes, we have coilovers fitted to the Ghibli
 

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
Thanks for the info. Fortunately I was able to find 4 pieces of the original bushes.

They are not interchangeable, Ghibli / early QP4 bushes (317020100) and late QP4 bushes (377030100, Ferrari 134883) only fit their respective arms.

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spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
A bit late, but as promised here comes a short description about assembling the rear hub.

Stub axles were aqua blasted, as it's a mild process some of the surface marks weren't removed, but it was enough for zinc plating. I wanted to mask shaft, but common tapes are not resistant and the place isn't doing any masking so the whole axle was plated. Surprisingly that 10 µm was enough to make the parts not fit together, so used some hydrochloric acid to remove plating from the shaft. It only needed like 5 minutes, but the fumes did mark it here and there. Still came out much nicer then how it looked in the beginning. Next time for machined precision parts like this I might use hot browning / bluing as that doesn't add any appreciable thickness (but less corrosion resistant).

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To prepare the hub carrier I've run a 15mm reamer through the bores to clean them up, and also run taps through the bolt holes to remove any remaining blasting media. Lightly cleaned the bearing housing with 320 wet sandpaper and WD40. The bearing (Maserati 397250343) is an SKF BAH-0004 A and for the lock ring nut (Maserati 397250373) used a Ferrari 105137 from Hill Engineering.

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To press the bearing (7) into the housing (4) used the outer race of one of the old bearing and ground down so it can slide freely inside. On top of it came the other old bearing.

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Installing seeger ring (8)

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Packed the front with wheel bearing grease (SKF LGWA 2)

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Then put the front dust shield / spacer (2) and the brake plate (3) it's place. I've made a mistake not torquing down the plate, later it's not possible to fit in a wrench because of the hub. The screws are meant to be fixed with Loctite 242 / 243 and torqued to M6 - 12 Nm, M8 - 25 Nm.

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To press the axle (1) into the bearing (7) now used the inner race of the old bearing and on top the other one.

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Packed the inside with grease and slid on the shim washer (9),

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the connecting sleeve (12), which is said to be asymmetrical so I've turned it until it was the easiest to slide down (also used some anti-seize on the splines),

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and finally the washer (13).

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The ring nut I got is exactly the same as the Maserati part, it's higher by 3mm, but that's not an issue.

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It has to be torqued to 300 Nm, then riveted and I've finished up with torque sealer.

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spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
I had an other measure: let girlfriend stand on the vice table and push wrench until table nearly tips over, that's 300 :)
 

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
Finally I've sourced another right arm. And it has the same problem as the previous :mad:

So this is 3rd right arm (including my original one) which has the same problem, i.e. the lower bore closer to the ARB mount is not in line. The hub doesn't even fit inside, only if hammered in. With excessive force I can bend things so that the second bolt can be hammered in but the strain is so big that the hub stays in a fixed orientation, fixing the camber angle too which I don't really want.

The left arm is all ok, so I'm starting to believe there is a manufacturing flaw? But in a few thousand cars?! I was also thinking maybe hubs and arms are matched but since the hub is a cast part I don't think it's possible. And the hub did nicely fit the redesigned QP4 Evo arm.

I really don't know what to do know. Any ideas?

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Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
Have you spoken to somebody like Marios at Autoshield who knows these cars inside out?


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