Car broke down, here we go again...

[michaltalbot]

You hit the point, macaroni at these times it's easy to buy lot of very fast or luxury cars, but what to do with them? Their price is only a small part of their expenses. For less than 3000,-E you can find old Maserati Biturbo, Mercedes 500SE W140, BMW 750i, Renault 25 V6 Turbo, Peugeot 605 3,0 V6, etc. but they are full of electronics and lot of complicated systems of equipement. Service and spare parts are very expensive on these cars, so when somebody is selling this car, of course that isn't spending money for its service, it means that it's a hole for money.

[davidewanprice]

My father has a Bi turbo 424 (i think?) which has the late Italian spec 2 litre twin turbo, now the biturbos aren’t to everyone’s taste but this one so far has been reliable and cheap-ish to run... The engine is sooo nice and sounds beautiful.. But Italian car electrics are like French car electrics... testing! And then theres the tin rot. My fathers car was a fresh Italian import so all is very good but the first one he had which was a larger UK spec car was like a colander! He deals with a guy in Leicester who seems both helpful, and fairly cheap… He has allsorts available at all budgets!

You sound like the Murena has lost your affections at the moment… that’s a shame!

[roy4matra]

As always, tracking down a fault involves collecting information and analysing the results, to lead you to the cause of the fault.

Roy.

That all sounds very dull and boring, so I just replaced the coil, as that was the only thing I could actually buy, and would you believe it, it works!

I don't know if it was actually the coil, or something else I fixed while faffing about, but anyway, it starts.

It may be dull and boring, but it makes sure you know you found the fault.  As the Murena is quite a simple car, you hit lucky but it could have been a waste of money simply because you can't be bothered to do a simple test.  So you are not even absolutely sure you have cured it (it could have been a poor connection that you disturbed and if so it could fail again, but you will simply blame it on the car, not your lack of correct fault diagnosis!)

If you buy a more complicated car like the Italian twin turbo, or any more modern car with complex electronics, how do you expect to sort problems on them if you can't even be bothered to do it correctly on something simple?  No, don't bother to answer, as it's a rhetorical question.  I'm trying to help but if people don't want it, I'm wasting my time...

Best of luck with your more complex cars, you'll need it.  Or a lot of cash...

Roy

[Anders Dinsen]

You will be missed in the Matra community, Antony, should you decide to move on, but I appreciate a mans need to follow his dreams.... and a Maserati quattroporte is a bella macchina in its own way!

/Anders

[suffolkpete]

The last Quattroporte I saw was when I was on my way to the Club run at Romorantin.  It was being pushed through the barrier at Dover by the four Poles in the Golf behind after it broke down.  I did 1000 miles in four days inthe Murena that weekend without problems.

[macaroni]

Sorry Roy, I didn't mean to offend, it was just a silly comment.
As it happens, despite extensive and successful testing yesterday, it broke down again this morning, so it wasn't the coil!
Anyway, a garage who will undertake a far more methodical approach than I did are now looking after it.

Any Maser I buy will not be worked on by me, that's for sure.

David, I will PM you...

[macaroni]

Got it back today and the garage claimed it was a problem with the wire going to the ignition amplifier.
I wouldn't have found that in a month of Sundays.
I have given it a good thrashing and will give it a couple more before chancing the M25 commute to work.
Fingers crossed!

[Jon Weywadt]

They are old cars, so unfortunately they break down from time to time.

Yesterday, on the way home from work, I got stuck in a queue. We moved maybe 100 meters per minurte.

After a kilometer of that I noticed steam coming from under the car. I pulled over and looked underneath, only to discover that one of the coolant pipes had cracked where the bracket holds it to the bottom of the car (and where they rust the most)  Steam was pouring out, but not a stream of water.

Since we were nearly where I turn for home, I decided to drive it the last kilometer.

Then, 200 m before I make a left turn at the light, we were picking up a little speed. I shifted from 2.nd. to 3rd. only to discover that the shifter linkage popped off and I was stuck in neutral. I tried to coast to the turn lane, but didn't make it.

So there I was in the fast lane, now a new problem for the queued up trafic. Hazard flashers on I opened the lid to the engine and tried to twist my arm around the airfilter to get the link back on. Burned the sh... out of my right arm due to the now very hot engine compartment. No luck.

Changing tactics, I got my mechanics mat out of the boot, laid down on the ground and got the link back on from underneath.  Just as I was removing my arm, my elbow touched the exhaust pipe. %&/¤##=.  Now I had two burnt arms and the pain caused me to not pay attention when getting up, so I crushed my sunglasses. 

I have now temporarily patched the hole in the pipe and need to figure out how I get the system filled up again. The water I pour into the expansion tank, only slowly seeps in. I have opened the bleed screw on the coolant hose over by the thermostat. But does the thermostat need to open for the water to fill the radiator and hoses?

What an end ,to an other wise nice day. 

[Anders Dinsen]

Jon, to answer your question about refilling the cooling system: Roy's FAQ has this:
http://www.matraclub.org.uk/faq8.html#top

I told you they weren't going to last long, Jon!

And I'm going to urge you not to drive the car before you have new pipes fitted! The reason you didn't get any water out the system is that it was boiling inside the engine. This happens when pressure can't be maintained inside the engine as when a leak occurs. It doesn't have to be a large leak to cause boiling! Even with apparantly sufficientl amounts of water in the expansion tank, the engine may become damaged, when you have leak.

The problem with boiling water is that it cannot transfer any heat. This means that the cooling effect of the water system degrades seriously. So I'm afraid you are a bit lucky that you didn't damage the engine when you drove it with the damaged pipe...

Even if you think you have repaired the leak, it will most likely break again - either on the repair, or another place. You might be lucky once, but twice... I wouldn't count on it! New cylinder heads for your 2.2 are extremely expensive

/Anders

[macaroni]

I feel for you Jon. I've had 2 separate problems hit me at the same time before.
Its almost like the car hates you...

Anyway, I've given mine another blast around the Kent countryside and it goes very well, so I have enough confidence (courage?) to try it on the M25 tomorrow.

[Jon Weywadt]

Jon, to answer your question about refilling the cooling system: Roy's FAQ has this:
http://www.matraclub.org.uk/faq8.html#top

Thanks Anders. Roy's site is, as always, a goldmine of Murena information. 

Jan, Jesper and I are ordering the stainless steel coolant and heater tube kit from MatraMagic. We have negotiated a special shipping rate for the three sets, so I am placing the order tonight.

I will take your advice and not drive it until the pipes are changed. The caked rust has made the pipes brittle in several places.

You are right abot the steam. I think the engine was just about dry. Perhaps the nanno-ceramic RVS compound I put in the oil, kept it from seizing up. It still fires up and still runs smooth.

[KiJa]

I feel for you Jon, hope that your on the road again soon.

Will you post som pictures of process of change the stinless pipes, i am self a bit interested in these, to avoid problems in the future.

Kim

[Anders Dinsen]

Thanks Anders. Roy's site is, as always, a goldmine of Murena information. 

Indeed it is. I'm personally hoping (perhaps even expecting) that it will move over to the new Wiki section Lennart is implementing. That would make it easier to access, and we would also be able to amend information to articles. Instead of relying on one person to update everything, we can all do it.

Jan, Jesper and I are ordering the stainless steel coolant and heater tube kit from MatraMagic. We have negotiated a special shipping rate for the three sets, so I am placing the order tonight.

That sounds like a very good idea. It's a solid investment

You are right abot the steam. I think the engine was just about dry. Perhaps the nanno-ceramic RVS compound I put in the oil, kept it from seizing up. It still fires up and still runs smooth.

That's very good to hear. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your head, then... well not yours, of course, but the cylinder head. They don't like overheating. Watch out for water in the oil! 

@Anthony, yes I think we all know the feeling of "my car hates me!"... it can be quite devastating. I would like to think my car likes me as much as I like it

/Anders

[macaroni]

Small update, the car runs, but badly. It was OK for a couple of commutes, but at the end of each, 20 mile, journey it coughed and spluttered its way home/to work.
Now it coughs and splutters all the time and the idle is very lumpy.

Checked;
Compression - good (4 x 150psi, engine cold)
coil - new
ignition amp - new
plugs - new
dizzy cap - good
No wiring arcing anywhere
Mixture at idle, MOT-passable.

Next job, replace ignition leads.
If that doesn't help; set fire to it.

[suffolkpete]

You can do a rough check on the ignition leads with a multimeter.  Measure the resistance, anything up to about 40k ohms is probably ok.  If it's higher, or if the resistance changes when you waggle them, change them.  If it were mine, I'd be looking at the carburation.  The fact that it's an MoT pass doesn't tell you much.  Look for air leaks on the induction side, round the brake servo and headlamp system.  Take the carb off and clean out the float chamber and idle jets.