What (modern replacement) anti freeze should be used with these cars? I've seen on local shelves "Ethylene glycol based. Nitrite, amino, phosphate, silicate and borate free anti freeze. Ready to use dilution." They all seem to be variations of this, all based on Ethylene Glycol, some with anti corrosion additives, others with long-life additives, etc. Since the engine is aluminum, I'm wondering if I should be careful what anti-freeze I use. Also, should I use a radiator or cooling system flush first? Or will it do more harm than good? Unlike some other owners, I haven't had any problems with overheating, although I haven't checked the PO's list to see if he had the radiator re-cored or not. It's pretty constant, even when driving in the heat of summer over long distances on the highway in Europe.
Only saw this now, so late reaction. The little trumpets do actually help quite a lot. Never tried it with a Maser, but did with a Jag V-12. Cheap performance tuning
Hi A small issue that someone here will know about. The car has been running great but after a road trip today I went to open the bonnet/hood and the lever released on the passenger side but when I pushed in the little button the drivers side did not release. Not sure what the issue is but could be an adjustment or cable or spring or similar. QUESTION - how do I get the hood open without the button mechanism and it is closed now????
William... The button on the driver side is actually attached to a rod that activates a lever mechanism.. If you look carefully through the front grille, you will see the mechanism... You will need a screw driver and work carefully to move the mechanism... This method only works provided the rod has detached from the mechanism.... Hope this helps... Mike
Easiest IMHO is with a friend, passenger or random passer by. Have them lift gently on the hood while you pull the lever under the dash to open it, that should ensure it releases from both catches, then you can depress the button to open the safety catch. Mine seems to have a mind of it's own, sometimes it will open readily, other times not at all. Did anyone have any info for me as far as anti-freeze goes?
Hi I came across a useful bit of information. The Hirschmann ariel has been identified by an expert and here is what he said: " Hello William The aerial you have is a Hirschmann Hitromatic AUTA 6900, order code 920086011. These were fairly unusual in so much as they had a short three section 40 cm mast, and therefore had an amplifier for the signal. They were also switch operated rather than automatic. The replacement mast for them is part number 820253011. I have checked with Hirschmann Germany and unfortunately they were discontinued in the 1980's and no stock remains of either aerial or mast. It is unlikely you will easily find replacements as they were not, as far as I know fitted to any large production models as original equipment but sold mostly as an after-market aerial and presumably in smallish numbers to Maserati. They were not fitted as OE to Jaguar Mercedes or Porsche, nor are they similar to the aerial that were.
Hi Well I got it open. I will attach a photo but it seems that there may have not been enough pull on the wires? Anyway there was a second wire system beside the lever. Is that the "emergency pull"? It is open and I will put a little WD40 on the system and hope it is enough. Otherwise I may need to figure out how to take the slack out of the cables. If you have done this then let me know. Beautifully put together underneath. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi I had the car in to get the A/c sorted and at the same time to adjust and free up the heating selector cable - it seems to blow heat all the time. I will post more on my thread but a QUESTION - I wanted to take off the surround around the heating module but did not want to force it and could not see how it is fixed. How do you take the leather surround off? I will look in my books but I know a few of you have done it recently. Please advise. Thanks Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi all, I wondered if I could ask, the next time any of you are out driving the your Automatic transmission QP3, could you do a quick test for me and jot down the results? When I rebuilt my transmission, it seemed to me that the shift points were reduced drastically, by approx 1000 rpm or so. Since I have no way of knowing if the original points were correct to begin with, I wanted to make a little survey and see where they fall for most owners. According to the service manual (and the Mopar A727 rebuild guide) there are 3 basic pressure levels registered by the transmission control unit, light, medium and hard throttle, depending on how much gas you give it. What I'd like to know is: 1. at what RPM does your car shift up from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd with a. light throttle b. medium throttle c. heavy throttle and 2. will your car downshift if you hit the gas? a. in both 2nd and 3rd gears? b. at what point does it upshift back to the gear you started in? I'll tabulate and summarize the results, in case they are of interest to anyone else. Thanks!
I'm told that the QP3 goes through starters. So it's my turn. Just rebuilt 2 starter motors yesterday at a shop, I ordered the parts from the US since they were unable to find them locally. The car started fine yesterday afternoon and this morning (on the way to the airport to pick up a friend), then refused to start when the luggage was loaded :-(. Same problem - "click click". Shorted the contacts on the starter, got lots of sparks along with the same "click click". Towed her back to the workshop that had rebuilt both starters (and replaced the solenoids with new ones) and they told me that the solenoids were junk and don't have enough power to move the pinion gear past the teeth of the ring gear when they meet (i.e. don't mesh immediately, which isn't often). Ends up hitting a tooth or whatever and that's the "click", and there isn't enough power to push it past that initial contact (the pinion gear is rounded and turned so it will twist and turn around to mesh with the ring gear). Has anyone else experienced anything like this? The other thing the mechanic mentioned was that the way the starter is mounted is really bad, collecting all sorts of moisture, dirt, etc inside. We all know this already. Are there any "fixes" or modifications to help with longevity and reliability?
Howdy, You may want to consider adding a relay to provide full power to the solenoid buy tapping into the starter cable. Another option is using a gear reduction aftermarket Mopar Starter that uses a Japanese core that is more powerful. The Nippondenso starter features an aluminum body that is narrower and shorter than the original, yet puts out more cranking power. It should fit. Read more: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/engine/26111_starter_upgrade_install/photo_02.html#ixzz2AMqzRWhu http://www.speedwaymotors.com/PowerMaster-Mopar-V8-Gear-Reduction-Starter,8397.html http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/engine/26111_starter_upgrade_install/viewall.html Charles Image Unavailable, Please Login
That would probably solve my problem for good because when I connect the solenoid wire directly to the battery the engine turns over every time. Starting it this way has gotten me out of a jamb a few times now. I have a rebuilt starter/new solenoid. As an experiment I’ve switched the wire that normally goes to the solenoid with the wire(s) (there are two in parallel) that go to the center tap ignition coil resistors. Both circuits are hot during cranking only and originate from the ignition relay at the middle fuse box. Having the “double wire” going to the solenoid provides more current and makes the solenoid engage more reliably, however I do still get the occasional click no start issue but a whole lot less often and seems to always work on the second try. Tony
My problem is (I think) a little bit different. The starter has no problem cranking the engine at all, and I have a high power AGM battery mounted in the car (Concorde Chairman). So cranking is fine, the car starts on the first try literally every time. When I connect the two posts on the starter (ignition wire to battery wire), I still get the same "click click" - the mechanic says he did that about 20 times with the car on a lift and observed that the solenoid started moving the pinion gear correctly, but when it hits a tooth on the ring gear it stops instead of continuing to push the pinion gear until it slips past the tooth to engage and start. So he said that the starter is fine, the wiring is fine, there's enough juice getting to the starter solenoid and starter motor. The problem is that the solenoid is for whatever reason *stopping* when the pinion gear it's pushing meets a tooth on the ring gear. Since the two will rarely be aligned, this happens a lot. Normally the pinion gear (which is bevelled and has smoothed teeth) just rotates a little bit while the solenoid pushes it against the ring gear, and it slides into place, turning as needed to engage the teeth of the ring gear. That's where mine stops. It only started doing this after I rebuilt the transmission, so maybe I did something wrong? The starter that was in the car didn't work after replacing the tranny, and gave the same "click click" so I replaced it with a spare and it worked fine for months, until it slowly started showing the same symptoms. Maybe what I've assumed all along was a starter motor issue is really something else? I'm stumped. The mechanic said the solenoid was junk. The place I bought it from (Alternator & Starter Parts Wholesale) say that it's an OEM part and not cheap Chinese aftermarket, and that he's rebuilt 9 old starters with the same parts, starting 383 and 440Ci motors without any issue. Ideas?
So the click you are hearing is the small gear on the starter hitting the flywheel? Whoa, that is weird. Maybe some grease? Or add a washer or two between the starter and housing to slightly move the starter forward giving the solenoid move travel so the gear "rotates" a little more? Just brainstorming… Tony
The ring Gear is welded onto the torque converter and maybe when it got remounted, it might not the same distance to the starter mount... I think the washer trick may work or just get a stronger aftermarket one that most of the Mopar muscle guys are using. maybe the converter was rewelded a bit off and the ring gear is not aligned.. who knows... Here's a photo of a torque converter from my 4porte trans rebuild. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Charles Will this fit in the QPIII. I may put one on (saving the original) if this fits right in. Any thoughts?
The mounting bolt pattern/position is identical, as is the pinion gear and solenoid travel. It should be a drop in replacement, as it's designed to be. I don't find that the original has any problem with cranking power, the engine starts up readily on the very first try. The problem I've seen is with the solenoid giving up before the pinion gear engages the ring gear. Not something more cranking power will solve.
Hi all, after VIN ...... 0088 I just saved another manual QP3 from the crusher. It´s a 1983 model 4.9ltr. with 5-speed VIN ..... 3478. Bought in Modena 2008 and hard driven to Hamburg (1200mls) one headgasket was blown. It was stored since then and should be broken up only for the gearbox, but without me. Nice original paperwork came with it. Micars Modena (official dealer) was first registered owner. Modena plates still on the car. The right work for long winterdays. Hans Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Solenoid may be stronger also... but I do agree the stock one if working correctly, has plenty of power
Hi William, will do, but I have made pics in too high resolution. Uploading didn´t work then. In Padua I met Fabio Collina; he looked in his files/VIN...3478 was produced in Feb. 1983. Up to now it has just 70k kilometers; not too much. And it has a LPG conversion, so running costs should be like a Prius. Compare a Prius with this one, any questions? Hans
Wow - how does that conversion work. Didnt think it would be easy to do with the 4 carb set up. We used to run this on fleet vehicles in the 80's though in Canada and they worked fine.
Don´t know as I haven´t started it, but the guy, who bought the QP3 in Italy, drove only on LPG to Hamburg. The red Ford F250 you see in Pic 1 has a conversion too and runs fine. Hans
Great find, and good for your for rescuing her! I love the bronze color, it suits the car really well.
