GTS engine catastrophe

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

midlifecrisis said:
That is a crying shame to read and hopefully a rarity. The cheap QP as an engine donor is a good idea. Saw one the other day for £7k but it was a 4.2.

Thank you. Your suggestion is very interesting. I did a similar thing in the 80s - had a 1979 Guilietta with a sick engine, went to the local Alfa Dealer and they had just taken in part-ex a 1979 GTV 2000 that was riddled with rust - there were holes at the bottom of the doors almost the length of the door - but the engine was sound and about 80k miles. I bought it for £300 with three months MOT, so ran it for three months and put it in for MOT test - it passed needing just one light bulb. After another year the engine went into the Guilietta. So I had 15 months free Alfa driving. Maybe I'm paying the karma price for that good fortune now!

Phil H · Jun 10, 2020

So sorry to hear of your experience Sam, but at least you have good guys on your side to sort it out. Here's looking forward to the day when it's all behind you and the smiles return.

PH

philw696 · Jun 10, 2020

MASERATI GRANTURISMO M145 4.7 S MC SHIFT COMPLETE ENGINE - FULL WORKING ORDER | eBay

Maserati Granturismo 4.7 S engine. This will only fit cars with the MC shift gearbox. This item is in full working order and was sourced from a low mileage 2009 Granturismo 4.7 S MC shift with 42,000 miles and a full Maserati history.

www.ebay.co.uk

Nayf · Jun 10, 2020

Doctor Houx said:
I had exactly the same happen to me on a 1998 156 2.0 twin sparkat the same sort of mileage. Again, Alfa picked up the bill as FSH and belt failed before it was due to be replaced.

Originally they said 70k on belt changes on the TS didn’t they? Turned out to be less than half that if you speak to specialists. A big reason why so many have been scrapped.

cheshiremaserati · Jun 10, 2020

Itare Sam said:
I know there has been a lot of interest in this thread, not surprisingly. We now have some definitive news, thanks to Matt and Ashley's thorough investigations. The car needs a replacement engine. It seems oil starvation has caused extensive damage to numerous moving parts of the engine. What caused the oil starvation? Examination of the sump showed the presence of quite a lot of sealant, likely to be from the seals in the front casing (though I have no knowledge of any work on the engine prior to my buying the car 2.5 years ago with full main dealer history, and definitely none in the last 2.5 years). The sump also contained a sticker - a small rectangular label, which had come detached from the oil pump solenoid. Either or both the sealant and the sticker may be the cause of oil starvation. Matt is now looking to source a suitable replacement 4.7 engine. I am extremely grateful for his and Ashley's help and advice in all this. All donations of Maserati 4.7 engines gratefully received

You might consider searching on Copart's website. They are probably the biggest in volume of total loss cars. There may be a written off 4.7 engined GT in their collection open to bids.

DaveT · Jun 10, 2020

philw696 said:
MASERATI GRANTURISMO M145 4.7 S MC SHIFT COMPLETE ENGINE - FULL WORKING ORDER | eBay

Maserati Granturismo 4.7 S engine. This will only fit cars with the MC shift gearbox. This item is in full working order and was sourced from a low mileage 2009 Granturismo 4.7 S MC shift with 42,000 miles and a full Maserati history.

www.ebay.co.uk

Good spot Phil. That would be worth a look.

CatmanV2 · Jun 10, 2020

Itare Sam said:
1979 GTV 2000 that was riddled with rust

Just out of the factory, then?

C

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

Navcorr said:
I must say that you're being somewhat magnanimous. I'd be livid.
Perhaps more important matters at present to be worry about but even so.
Well played sir. Hope it isn't too painful for you.

Thank you. Maybe I'm still in a state of shock! I guess one problem is not knowing who to be livid with - it's still a real puzzle as to how that sealant got there.

philw696 · Jun 10, 2020

Is it worth getting a sample of the oil sent away for analysis ?

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

philw696 said:
That's certainly a lot of silicone and definitely not from the valve covers.
Intrigued and interested to know more as to what has happened and feel gutted for you.
When the oil water pump failed on my Project 4200 the internals were as new.

Yes I think we're all wondering how it could happen, where the silicone came from, could the last service have something to do with it, how would it run for 1000+ miles after that service etc etc

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

alfatwo said:
I've had this lots of times with old alfa race engines, silicon sealant blocking crank shaft oil ways.. etc..
When you get monkeys working with this old tech stuff they don't understand, your bound to get trouble!
Dave

That's interesting about the Alfa race engines. So it's not so unusual as many of us thought.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

Goodfella said:
Sorry to hear this.

I would absolutely have to upgrade the engine somehow.. Supercharger?

Thanks. Nice idea. It's either a supercharger or just drop a 7.5 litre Oldsmobile 455 Rocket V8 in there

.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

StuartW said:
Very sorry to hear this but you sound as chipper as you can in the circumstances so I hope you end up with a good resolution.
If you do decide to approach Maserati about this, I believe that all of their customer care is now run out of Modena via the info@maserati.com contact, rather than via Maserati GB in Slough but if you want to approach Maserati GB, drop me a PM and I will pass on a contact for you

Thank you very much, this is very helpful indeed. I think when we have a clear picture of what happened to the engine I'll have to consider the options.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

elan said:
That’s terrible luck. I hope you get it back in even better shape.
Are there no sensors to warn you when there is oil starvation?

Thank you, I'm sure that will be the case. I didn't notice any warning lights on the dashboard and definitely no warning messages came up.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

alfatwo said:
Maybe lots cheaper to buy another car!

Dave

Hopefully depreciation hasn't gone that far! I hope

.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

zagatoes30 said:
Terrible news and probably the worse thing that can happen to any car but especially a Maserati.

It's done do just have to move on hopefully Matt can find a solution, he often comes up with something.

Thank you. Yes Matt and Ashley have been extremely helpful and will crack the problem I'm sure

midlifecrisis · Jun 10, 2020

philw696 said:
Is it worth getting a sample of the oil sent away for analysis ?

In my radar servicing days, I used to use https://www.theoillab.co.uk. £20 for a full analysis of wear materials, water content etc. Told you exactly what you need to know.
Also I would even use silicone sealant on waveguides! Hylomar was best.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

Bebs said:
Absolutely gutted to hear this, that is awful news. Briefly mentioned earlier that I had similar happen to a 996 engine and recently had to undertake a full rebuild on the Ferrari 360 due to monkey incompetence so I can sympathise totally and know what you’re going through.
You‘re in good hands and I’m sure a fix will be worked out somehow in time.
Best of luck going forward with this.

Many thanks - it's not great that these things happen but I appreciate the sympathy of a fellow victim! Yes definitely the car's in the best possible hands.

Itare Sam · Jun 10, 2020

philw696 said:
Thinking outside of the box what oil was put in at that service as there are numerous specs for 5W40 and every other grade.
The wrong one can cause problems like the VW diesels with the injector wiring harness running along the inside off the cylinder head.
The wrong oil attacks the wiring causing misfires.

Phil it was Shell Helix Ultra 5W40, according to the Bar-Tech invoice. Same oil as GreyPaul used in the previous service

Ryandoc · Jun 10, 2020

Can only sympathies. Whilst no doubt you are livid you are coming across as taking it on the chin.

Fair play to you and I hope you get a good resolution from it all.

Very interested on the origin of the sealant.

GTS engine catastrophe

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