Help - Leaky 2002 spyder roof hydraulic ram

giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Has anyone any experience of fixing a leaking hydraulic ram for soft top or know who can recondition one ?

Eurospares quotes £440 + VAT for a new one which is bonkers when all it needs is a new seal.

See...

Maserati 4200 Spyder (2005) - R.H. CAPOTE ARCH MOVEMENT FOR ELECTRHYDRAULIC CYLINDER
Part No. 66115800

Is anyone aware of an alternative part available for say an Alfa or Fiat ?

Thanks in anticipation...

Mario
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Thanks Peter,

Yes, they have a used one - but that costs £272 when you add VAT and carries high risk of similar failure in near future. I really think there has to be a better way. This must be a common problem with all hydraulic roof systems so someone out there who can replace seals. I'll try and do a bit research and see where that leads...I'll let everyone know if I manage to avoid a straight replacement.

Best wishes

Mario
 
voicey

voicey

Member
Messages
660
I looked into getting a pair of leaking rams on a 360 refurbished for a client. We found someone who would refurbish them but couldn't put a guarantee on the work as thye hadn't done these before. Given that the roof cassette had to be removed, it was a no brainer to pony up the extra and fit new parts.

If your rams can be replaced without taking the roof out then it may be worth a punt and getting a local hydraulic specialist to fit new seals.
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Hi Voicey,

Thanks for the reply - I can remove the ram without taking the roof off so a refurbishment is definitely a possibility. I just need to find someone who can do the job - preferably someone who has some experience of these particular rams.

Best Wishes
 
miket

miket

Member
Messages
647
What make are they? There's a guy on eBay selling repair kits for Mercedes SLKs, wonder if it's worth an email if you give him your part No?
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Doesn't appear to have any marks that would identify who made it. The SLK struts are somewhat different, and the kits are replacement seals. These are sealed units and will require some special tooling to dismantle. Equivalent units for non-maserati seem to sell for about £50 which only goes to show just how ludicrous the Maserati prices are. I'm hoping they have been used in other cars and can be matched.
 
voicey

voicey

Member
Messages
660
The 360 and F430 spider roofs were made by a company called CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme - chances are they made the 4200 roof as there aren't that many companies making them.
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Thanks to all contributors. I think I have made some progress. I spoke to a guy called Chris at HEL Performance in Exeter - they manufacture new hydraulic hoses to fit Maserati at less than half the cost of Eurospares equivalent and appear to be superior quality.

http://www.cabriolet-roof-hoses.com/

He very helpfully directed me to these guys in Bristol who refurbish SAAB hydraulic rams and sell them on e-bay for £150. I think there is a good chance they will be able to do the same with a Maserati ram.

http://www.simply-saab.com/

But before I go there, I have been scouring e-bay and from what I can tell it seems that similar units were fitted to Vauxhall Astra Cabrio 1998-2005 - designed by Bertone and operates just like Maserati Roof. I've managed to buy from a breakers in Swindon a complete set of 5 rams with hoses and pump (sadly not the same as Maserati) for £100 including delivery - I should have them before the weekend - if they match then that's a great result and worth adding to the alternative parts page - if not, I'll resell and its off to Bristol with my existing unit. I'll post an update at the weekend.

Mario
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Peter,

Thank you for your kind offer - I work in Bristol and live in South Wales so I'm OK on this occasion - but I might take you up on it sometime in the future if I need another Maserati enthusiast. Happy to reciprocate.

Best wishes

Mario
 
miket

miket

Member
Messages
647
Hopefully you'll have a result with the Vauxhall parts, but you have already sourced good info regarding the hoses, good luck! Keep us posted...
 
giantoak

giantoak

Junior Member
Messages
35
Update: Leak has now been fixed - turned out to be a leaking hose from where it is crimped to the connector rather than the ram.

The vauxhall rams were not identical, just similar. Obviously made by the same manufacturer but there wasn't a straight replacement for the the longer ram that extends up towards the top of the roof which was the one I needed. The shorter rams are more alike and might work as replacements, but these are harder to get to on the Maserati and I haven't investigated carefully. The hoses however were the same - and the lengths matched the Maserati's.

Having a complete hydraulic system to take apart and see what would be involved in replacing a pipe was extremely useful and gave me the confidence to tackle the Maserati. A £100 was less than the cost of a single new hose so buying the Vauxhall unit still proved worthwhile.

Finding the source of the leak proved tricky because you can't observe what is going on while operating the roof - you can only see the before and after effects. The best I could do is isolate the leak to the top of the cylinder where it joins to the roof chassis (rather than the base where it joins the main body of the car). Having a spare hose enabled me to test whether the leak was from the hose or from where the hose connects into the cylinder. If it was the cylinder then it would have been a specialist job to replace the seal because you simply cannot get to it.

Replacing the hose cured the leak - a bit fiddly around the pump, but not too bad. The diagram on Eurospares shows you where each pair of hoses connects to the pump - disconnecting both from the pump and blowing down each pipe enables you to identify which of each pair goes where.

Forget about removing the old pipe - that would be a huge job - just thread the new one around the existing bundle following the same path and attach with cable ties. Cut the ends off the old pip as far back as you can to tidy up the loose ends.

So that's it - job done. If anyone has any questions about this they can PM me and I'll be happy to give any advice I can.

Thanks to all that participated in this small venture.

Mario
 
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