Hello all,

The Bagheera and Murena both use the same rear pads, as does the Espace I Phase 2 Quadra which has rear discs (the normal Espace I has drums at the rear).  Normally I recommend the EBC Greenstuff pads DP2189 as they have always been good and give slightly better braking, but a slightly cheaper alternative that is also a good brand would be Ferodo FDB106 (or 106A) but recently when trying to buy some of either I have found them unavailable!  I have pestered EBC and after more than ten weeks, they are still unavailable and they won't say when they will be available again.  Ferodo simply say they are no longer available!

To me and many Matra owners this is totally unacceptable.  These were fitted to many other cars not just Matra, but many Renault, Simca/Talbot, Fiat/Lancia, as well as others.  I suggest everyone goes on to the EBC website and using their contact form, on https://ebcbrakes.com/contact/ fills it in with a request to know when these will be available again, and maybe when they see the numbers of car owners needing them, just maybe they will do something.

Update: It appears the Mintex rear pads MDB1065 are available, which at least means you can obtain some decent pads.  They will not have the performance of the EBC Greenstuff, but they are much cheaper.

Genuine Brembo pads may also be available although they are not as common in the U.K. and maybe their Sport version, if they do one for our cars, might be similar to the Greenstuff, but might be more like the Redstuff or even Yellowstuff which I would not recommend for Murena road use and without similar ones at the front.  Those two are really meant for heavier cars and track use only.  I feel Brembo Sport pads are even less likely to be available in the U.K. anyway.

October update: EBC say they are unable to get some of the materials needed at the moment, but hopefully the pads we need may be available in the future.

December update: The EBC DP2189 pads for the rear of the Murena are now finally back in stock!  However, when you buy some, just check the aural warning button is on the correct side as the last ones I bought some months ago were being fitted on the wrong side again.  I haven't bought any of this new supply yet so I don't know how they will be assembled.  It is easy to correct them yourself though, but if you have any doubt just contact me.

January 2024 update:
I have now some of the new stock of the EBC Greenstuff rear pads for the Bagheera and Murena (DP2189) and I can confirm they have put the aural warning buttons back on the wrong side again!  I am writing to them to find out why and to ask them to correct them.  However, you can usually correct them yourself by knocking them out and refitting them on the correct side, but if you are unsure please contact me.

Roy

Hi Anders, this may be of interest to you.

Just a brief update Nick as there is someone else considering a Piper cam at the moment, so the possibility of getting another 5 made, might be a bit closer.  Are you still interested in one, or have you sorted your Murena with another cam or had your own cam modified?  If you have got yours running well again, I would be interested to hear about it, either by direct email to me, or if you wish to share it here, I'm sure others would be interested too.  Thanks.

One thing I should point out for anyone considering the Piper 3777 cam, is that it will require twin side-draught carbs. possibly twin 45's, as it is the most potent of the road cams made for this engine, having 8.3mm cam lift, which is much more than the 'S' cam (only 7.4mm cam lift) and that meant you needed different valve springs because with that much lift the original springs would coil bind.  Yes there were some racing engines, claimed to get around 184 horse power, but they would have been very costly and required lots of other things too, including such things as the special sodium filled valves, and they were not known for their reliability in racing either.

So if your Murena 2.2 only has the original single twin-venturi down-draught carburettor, whether the Solex 34 CICF or replaced with a Weber 34 DMTR, the cost of fitting a Piper cam will not be just the cost of the cam and valve springs, but also the twin side-draught carbs., a suitable air box, special inlet manifold, and the throttle linkage which is different, plus the setting up on a rolling road to get the carbs. correct for this cam.  And if the engine hasn't been overhauled recently, you need to think about the wear in the engine first, as you should never try to tune a worn engine.  So the real cost of fitting a Piper cam could be far more than just the price of the cam.

The first engine using the new Piper cam has been running well for a while using twin 45 carbs. but now we have another one running although this one has twin 40 side-draught carbs. and that is also going well, but it has not been set up on a rolling road yet to see what it can give once it has the optimum settings, or how it will compare with the one using the twin 45s, since it was first being run in, before putting it on a rolling road.

If you are actually rebuilding a 2.2 at present, then that could well be the time to do this sort of upgrade, but also bear in mind that many of these things like the original air box, inlet manifold and throttle linkage have not been available for a long time.

Roy

Welcome to the Matra forum.  Where about are you (country?) and what car specifically do you have?  Have you had it long?

It would appear you haven't looked at my website, (see signature below) or any of the technical articles on there, as there is one specifically on the fuel system you can download.  The sender is no longer available and hasn't been for years, but occasionally you might find a second hand one for sale.  But it is possible you can get the one in your car working, depending on how bad it is.  A photo of yours would be a start, (but make sure it is no larger than 1000 pixels wide) so we can see what it is like.  Since they are no longer available, it is always good to repair those that can be repaired.

And if you check the latest parts of Anders posting 'Getting ready for the road again', it has a bit about his fuel sender unit too.

Roy

Hello, my Murena fuel level sensors are rusted and I need to replace them. I don't know if I can do it myself or if I need support from the technical department. Thank

It works by electrolysis. I connect a low voltage (12V) DC supply positive terminal to a piece of reasonably new, sacrificial iron. This is the anode. The more surface of the anode, the better. I'm cutting out pieces of sheet metal. The negative is connected to the subject I want to derust which becomes the cathode.

The bucket contains water with a spoonful of baking powder to ensure its lightly acidious. When the voltage is applied, a current of negatively charged electrons starts flowing from the cathode to the anode. This releases the rust, paint, and other stuff, while the anode corrodes. I usually leave it in the bucket for about 24 hours.

The subject still need to be brush cleaned with a rotating wire brush, but the result is a clean, somewhat darkened surface without corrosion. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, so I always do it outside.

The picture shows the anode after derusting both rear shocks.


Thanks both. I'll buy myself a suitable pick and try it that way

Gonna get me a lotery ticket as soon as possible then since I managed to get all three of them off this way without breaking anything. And they still lock firmly in place when I place them back. (have had them off multiple times by now)

You mean the three buttons on the levers for flow and heat controll? They just pop off if you pull at them with enough force.

[/quote]

NO,NO, NO.  You should never do that as it rips the bottom off the slider knob and it can never lock on again.  If you managed to get one off with out ripping it you were very lucky.

Roy

Yes if you mean the three heater control slider knobs.

You need a pick with a 'U' type bend on the end, because those slider knobs have a hole in the bottom section that goes over the end of the metal arm, and that arm has a small button sticking downwards from the underside.  So when you push the arm knob on, it sides over the button and that locks into the hole.  To get the knob off, you have to flex the bottom of the knob down off the button and then pull the knob off.  You slide the end of the pick through the slider gap so that the pointed end can be brought back into the rear of the knob to flex it down off the button.

Roy