Ghibli II refresh

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Thank you for your kind words guys.

I mentioned a few minor issues on my previous post, on which I'd appreciate the views and experience of everyone here.

I had a vibration from the propshaft when the car was moving below 10mph, basically when moving off.
The problem was only noticeable on these speeds. Mid and high speed cruising where fine.
It was diagnosed by my mechanic to be a softened main propshaft support.

I went ahead and ordered a new main support from a specialist, which when installed, cured the slow speed problem, but created severe vibrations at speeds over 50mph.
I'm talking serious -shake the windows loose- vibrations which made the car undriveable.
Everything was checked and deemed to be fine, so we took the propshaft off again and installed the old main support, which with some aligning now works quite well even at low speeds (it was only slightly softened not torn).
My mechanic believes the new main support is abnormally hard (he has 20 years of Ghibli experience, he was one of the factory trained mechanics) and instead of absorbing vibrations it transmits them to the body of the car
The specialist who sold me the part claims that the support he sold me is the correct one and that my propshaft is out of balance, hence the vibration, but that doesn't explain why there is no vibration with the old main support.

I really have no experience on how hard these mounts are supposed to be, the old one feels quite loose and the propshaft inside it can be moved by hand quite easily, the new one is so stiff that it is almost impossible to move the propshaft inside it.
We tried a couple of main supports on other working Ghiblis and all of them where quite loose, not stiff as the new mount I was sold.

Has anyone faced a similar issue, or have an opinion on how hard a main propshaft support should be?
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Stunning and really like the quality of the leather work inside!

You might be well to search on here for 3200 propshaft vibration I am sure they will be very similar and there is a know fault with them.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
Stunning car, well done:goodjob: , it always seems to me that a lot of the really good restorations happen abroad where there is far more care and attention to detail from skilled trades
 

azapa

Member
Messages
1,300
Such handsome cars, and that is a beautifully restored example, congratulations.
 

dickyb

Member
Messages
432
I really have no experience on how hard these mounts are supposed to be, the old one feels quite loose and the propshaft inside it can be moved by hand quite easily, the new one is so stiff that it is almost impossible to move the propshaft inside it.
We tried a couple of main supports on other working Ghiblis and all of them where quite loose, not stiff as the new mount I was sold.

Has anyone faced a similar issue, or have an opinion on how hard a main propshaft support should be?

Whilst you may have received the correct part from your supplier you need to bear in mind that the part was probably manufactured close to 20 years ago and unfortunately rubber hardens over time. As a result the rubber is probably now harder than it should be and is likely to be the cause of your issues. I guess you could try speaking to a propshaft specialist who may be able to check your propshaft for balance just to be sure that's not an issue and they may be able to source something for your propshaft support. If you need any further assistance please send me a PM as I have a good friend in Athens who has a contact who is able to manufacture rubber components for cars and may be able to assist.
 
Messages
388
Beautiful job, well done. The paint is Verde Tundra isn't it? Very dark green, sometimes looks blue, sometimes black, very difficult to photograph accurately.

Can I ask where you got your GT wheel centre caps from? I've been hunting for a spare set for a couple of years! Thanks.
 

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Thanks for the input everybody, unfortunately I have a few more issues to list.

1. Very abrupt fuel cut off. When I lift off the throttle the car decelerates abruptly. This makes smooth progress in traffic and gear changes in general very problematic.

The throttle pot has been adjusted and it's fully open and closed values are within the specified tolerances.
Fuel pressure has also been checked and adjusted.
Idle valve has been cleaned and appears to work well.
Car runs well otherwise, with no warning lights.

2. Abrupt return to idle (possibly related to the previous issue). I have noticed on other Ghiblis, that when the engine is revved on neutral, upon return to idle, it will hover for a few seconds at about 1500revs and then smoothly return to idle. My car doesn't do this, it just returns abruptly to idle (about 950-1000 revs).

3. There is a slight hesitation under 2000rpm. It's more pronounced when cold and almost disappears when hot. It's as if you start with the brake lightly pressed and then when 2000rpm is reached it is instantly released, causing the car to accelerate abruptly.

4. My fuel tank cap is leaking. Does anyone know if there is an equivalent Fiat/Lancia/Alfa one that fits?
 

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Beautiful job, well done. The paint is Verde Tundra isn't it? Very dark green, sometimes looks blue, sometimes black, very difficult to photograph accurately.

Can I ask where you got your GT wheel centre caps from? I've been hunting for a spare set for a couple of years! Thanks.

Not sure if it's verde bosco or verde tundra, I managed to find 2 codes of maserati green for that vintage, made samples and chose this way.

The centre caps where on the car when I bought it.
 

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Whilst you may have received the correct part from your supplier you need to bear in mind that the part was probably manufactured close to 20 years ago and unfortunately rubber hardens over time. As a result the rubber is probably now harder than it should be and is likely to be the cause of your issues. I guess you could try speaking to a propshaft specialist who may be able to check your propshaft for balance just to be sure that's not an issue and they may be able to source something for your propshaft support. If you need any further assistance please send me a PM as I have a good friend in Athens who has a contact who is able to manufacture rubber components for cars and may be able to assist.

To be honest it doesn't look like a 20 year old part, I think it's a pattern part made recently, but is not 100% correct in specification.
 

fphil

Member
Messages
301
To be honest it doesn't look like a 20 year old part, I think it's a pattern part made recently, but is not 100% correct in specification.
Yes the rebuilt parts should not be 100% correct in specification for legal rights. I have also ordered the propshaft support for my 420SI from a "specialist" but having experience the poor quality of some othes of its rebuilt parts, I dare to use this mount. Anway for the biturbo these mounts are identical to those of the Volvo 740 or other, I believe.
 

ZAM400209

Member
Messages
585
Verde Tundra indeed, I think

when you see that colour in-the-metal- it's quite amazing; the car appears black until you get close to it...

sensational paint job; lucky you dt95