- 11,297
- Marin County
@Heldenzeit - buying all the unreliable cars so you don't have to!
Last edited:
Heldenzeit's Garage (Endless Maintenance)
- Thread starter Heldenzeit
- 1,149 comments
- 88,494 views
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Yup, I did buy a Maserati Coupe 4200 CC.
Also rented a Type R for a work trip. Was really impressed! Super quick, and easy to heel/toe. Suspension rebound sucks, as it's pretty bouncy. Love the big bolstered seats.
On to the 4200:
It's an 02 model in Verde Goodwood with the not-as-bad-as-expected Cambiocorsa automated manual. 49k miles. Parts availability kinda sucks if you need something local. Both Maserati and Ferrari dealers carry very little (Ferrari had nothing).
I like how it drives. Its definitely on the GT side of things, so not nearly as sporty as an equivalent 996. Engine sound is just fantastic. Love the rev matched downshifts too.
Will keep it for a little, fix a few things and likely upgrade to a GranSport.
Also rented a Type R for a work trip. Was really impressed! Super quick, and easy to heel/toe. Suspension rebound sucks, as it's pretty bouncy. Love the big bolstered seats.
On to the 4200:
It's an 02 model in Verde Goodwood with the not-as-bad-as-expected Cambiocorsa automated manual. 49k miles. Parts availability kinda sucks if you need something local. Both Maserati and Ferrari dealers carry very little (Ferrari had nothing).
I like how it drives. Its definitely on the GT side of things, so not nearly as sporty as an equivalent 996. Engine sound is just fantastic. Love the rev matched downshifts too.
Will keep it for a little, fix a few things and likely upgrade to a GranSport.
INEEDNAWZZZ
Premium
- 1,752
- Lincoln
- EGGSBAWCKS
- DigitalLuke64DD
Lovely car (and what a noise they make!), but by God you're a brave man; two ABC Mercedes and a Maserati. Luckily you're pretty handy at fixing things yourself, because I shudder at the potential for bills down the line. 
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Little trip to Tucson to visit family, and changed the hood struts on the 4200. CL600 is trucking away. Planning some scheduled maintenance for it soon.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Little update. Was able to get the build sheet from Maserati with all the options from new as well as an original dealer advertisement and 56-page brochure.
Also went to a pretty awesome collection with the Benz club.
Next up for the 4200 is the air filter, headlight bulb, and reflector. All parts have arrived.
Also went to a pretty awesome collection with the Benz club.
Next up for the 4200 is the air filter, headlight bulb, and reflector. All parts have arrived.
Last edited:
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Fixed some stuff, and more broke.
Headlight was out, so i figured it was just a bulb. Remove the wheel, and they give you a nice access panel. OE toolkit screwdriver pictured.
Bulb didnt fix the issue, so I'm going to look for an igniter next.
Glad i ordered the air filter. It also requires removing the wheel.
Replaced a broken reflector. Part is shared with Pantera, Countach, and I'm sure countless other Italian cars.
Then it blew a coolant hose at 7500rpm. Waited 4 hours for Roadside Assistance that never showed up. Ended up having a friend yank me home in his Cayenne Diesel.
Can see the massive rupture here. Odd, cause all the hoses are soft. All new hoses and reservior will be ordered.
Headlight was out, so i figured it was just a bulb. Remove the wheel, and they give you a nice access panel. OE toolkit screwdriver pictured.
Bulb didnt fix the issue, so I'm going to look for an igniter next.
Glad i ordered the air filter. It also requires removing the wheel.
Replaced a broken reflector. Part is shared with Pantera, Countach, and I'm sure countless other Italian cars.
Then it blew a coolant hose at 7500rpm. Waited 4 hours for Roadside Assistance that never showed up. Ended up having a friend yank me home in his Cayenne Diesel.
Can see the massive rupture here. Odd, cause all the hoses are soft. All new hoses and reservior will be ordered.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Some updates. Starting to get parts in for everything's planned maintenance.
Bent one of the Walds again...same one i repaired a few months ago....
New plates for the Maser! Still waiting on the hoses to come from Italy.
Right rear tire wore horribly on the 600, so had those replaced. Needs an alignment, and i think the shock is worn out.
Fixed the cluster on the S65! The transformer shorted out.
Replaced the CD slot cover on the Coupe. This piece was missing completely.
Attemped repair on the fragile glovebox door. Superglue wasnt strong enough, or at least the one i used.
Some parts for the 600. Air filters, serpentine belt, spark plugs, ignition voltage transformer, and fuel filter.
Removed K&Ns, they were pretty gross. Replaced with OE Mann filters.
Original voltage transformer, as it sits on the intake manifold, these start to cook.
So a guy in CA makes new ones that relocate it to the firewall.
S65 engine with new oil filter cover by Weistec. They make a lot of cool parts for M275 engines.
Did some Grand Touring today to the San Jacinto Monument on the East side of Houston.
So waiting on some more items on all the cars. Will play wheel musical chairs later this week too, as I have a new set coming in. 600 will get one of the coil packs sent out for rebuild, and an alignment, with possibly a new shock.
S65 I'd like to get the rear valve block rebuilt, as it sags overnight and looks awful.
4200 I can't wait to drive again once the cooling items arrive. Still might sell it and import something weird from @SVX .
Trip to Bay Area , CA at the end of the month so might rent something cool again, we'll see.
Bent one of the Walds again...same one i repaired a few months ago....
New plates for the Maser! Still waiting on the hoses to come from Italy.
Right rear tire wore horribly on the 600, so had those replaced. Needs an alignment, and i think the shock is worn out.
Fixed the cluster on the S65! The transformer shorted out.
Replaced the CD slot cover on the Coupe. This piece was missing completely.
Attemped repair on the fragile glovebox door. Superglue wasnt strong enough, or at least the one i used.
Some parts for the 600. Air filters, serpentine belt, spark plugs, ignition voltage transformer, and fuel filter.
Removed K&Ns, they were pretty gross. Replaced with OE Mann filters.
Original voltage transformer, as it sits on the intake manifold, these start to cook.
So a guy in CA makes new ones that relocate it to the firewall.
S65 engine with new oil filter cover by Weistec. They make a lot of cool parts for M275 engines.
Did some Grand Touring today to the San Jacinto Monument on the East side of Houston.
So waiting on some more items on all the cars. Will play wheel musical chairs later this week too, as I have a new set coming in. 600 will get one of the coil packs sent out for rebuild, and an alignment, with possibly a new shock.
S65 I'd like to get the rear valve block rebuilt, as it sags overnight and looks awful.
4200 I can't wait to drive again once the cooling items arrive. Still might sell it and import something weird from @SVX .
Trip to Bay Area , CA at the end of the month so might rent something cool again, we'll see.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Service update on a few items:
Restored my set of factory forged Segins for the 600. This is what the car would've had originally.
Had to get the super pretty original wheel bolts too.
65 is trucking along. No real updates here. Back on the wheels it came with.
Maserati cooling parts finally arrived!
Glad i bought a new reservoir, this is gross.
Missing panel came in too.
Heres what failed. Just an old hose even with only 49k miles.
Ear clamps are really annoying, but work well. No leaks at all when i fired it back up.
New reservoir sitting pretty.
The cylinder heads have a bleed screw, for easy bleeding of the coolant system. Car cools better than ever before now.
And I moved again. Finally have a garage! Still in Houston, just a little further from downtown.
So I took the Maser to the shop to have the AC diagnosed, as well as for an oil change. Turns out we needed to replace the compressor. Was driving the car home from the service shop, and when I requested 5th gear, the car went into neutral and wouldn't select any gear. Was able to find first again after a reset, and kept going. Again, couldn't find 5th. Stopped in a safe place, then reset the battery kill switch. Now, it wouldn't even find first. I can hear the F1 pump running as expected. Back to the shop it goes....
At least the AC works well now. Hopefully get it back, as I have a 600 mile round trip drive to San Antonio and back for a Concourse on May 27th.
Restored my set of factory forged Segins for the 600. This is what the car would've had originally.
Had to get the super pretty original wheel bolts too.
65 is trucking along. No real updates here. Back on the wheels it came with.
Maserati cooling parts finally arrived!
Glad i bought a new reservoir, this is gross.
Missing panel came in too.
Heres what failed. Just an old hose even with only 49k miles.
Ear clamps are really annoying, but work well. No leaks at all when i fired it back up.
New reservoir sitting pretty.
The cylinder heads have a bleed screw, for easy bleeding of the coolant system. Car cools better than ever before now.
And I moved again. Finally have a garage! Still in Houston, just a little further from downtown.
So I took the Maser to the shop to have the AC diagnosed, as well as for an oil change. Turns out we needed to replace the compressor. Was driving the car home from the service shop, and when I requested 5th gear, the car went into neutral and wouldn't select any gear. Was able to find first again after a reset, and kept going. Again, couldn't find 5th. Stopped in a safe place, then reset the battery kill switch. Now, it wouldn't even find first. I can hear the F1 pump running as expected. Back to the shop it goes....
At least the AC works well now. Hopefully get it back, as I have a 600 mile round trip drive to San Antonio and back for a Concourse on May 27th.
- 11,297
- Marin County
Is it feasible to swap a Corvette transaxle into those? Either auto or manual. Seems like it would be a more reliable and probably more useable car.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Anything is possible with time and money. Can't say I've seen it done before though.
Voltage transformer went out on the 65, so I stole it from the 600. 😅
Maser still in the shop, no ETA. 🥲
ROAD_DOGG33J
Premium
- 13,889
- IL, USA
- holyc0w1
- holyc0w
A hose from 2002, the grim reaper was bound to pay a visit.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Polished the headlights on the 65. Still too hot to do longer projects like the valve block. It's been 110F here for what feels like weeks.
Maserati is still in workshop jail. They say it goes into all forward gears now, just no reverse.
Maserati is still in workshop jail. They say it goes into all forward gears now, just no reverse.
- 11,297
- Marin County
Headlights are hugely better! Well done. I did the same process on my 986 (which weren't as bad to begin with) and had a frustrating experience. They came out better than when I started, but not as nice as yours.Polished the headlights on the 65. Still too hot to do longer projects like the valve block. It's been 110F here for what feels like weeks.
View attachment 1276356View attachment 1276357View attachment 1276358
Maserati is still in workshop jail. They say it goes into all forward gears now, just no reverse.
Last edited:
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Thank you! If you do it again, get the kit by Sylvania, it's really comprehensive.
- 11,297
- Marin County
I used a 3M kit which entailed using a cordless drill. The problem is that you can very easily get the headlight lens too hot which actually burns these white scratches into the plastic that then take forever to get out again. It also shoots polishing compound all over the place...I actually had better results when I stopped using the drill and just used the pads by hand. I'll remember the Sylvania for next time.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Cleaned the lights up on the CL also. So much work need to do on this car. So little motivation. Will take the little wins though.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
And another crappy Euro car joins the fleet! This one my wife had an eye on, so it's mostly going to be her daily and short trip car. 2014 Fiat 500 Pop in Verde Oliva over Marrone/Crema. 103k miles. Came with a goofy roof rack which I immediately removed.
Two new front tires and an alignment for the S65 and its the best it's been since I bought it. Had some pro photos taken.
Two new front tires and an alignment for the S65 and its the best it's been since I bought it. Had some pro photos taken.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Mini-update.
Investigating front end clunk on the Cinquecento. Looked under the skirt, and it appears to have aftermarket lowering springs. No wonder it's so bouncy. I think this endlink could be the culprit, but a lot of the forums talk about the upper spring perch coming unseated, so could be that too. Hopefully not.
Maybe if I move the toolbox, and park it all the way forward I can fit another 500 in the garage....
Investigating front end clunk on the Cinquecento. Looked under the skirt, and it appears to have aftermarket lowering springs. No wonder it's so bouncy. I think this endlink could be the culprit, but a lot of the forums talk about the upper spring perch coming unseated, so could be that too. Hopefully not.
Maybe if I move the toolbox, and park it all the way forward I can fit another 500 in the garage....
- 14,422
- Los Angeles, CA
- Lma_robot
- lImaRobotl
It is most likely the latter, it's almost like clockwork for the cars from what I've heard/seen. Still waiting for mine to happen.
Some sites:
mix of aftermarket and OEM replacement parts
https://www.euro2ner.com/
Https://www.dicorse.com
There's Also https://ngencustomsandperformance.com/ and https://500madness.com/ but that's more aftermarket. They do have some maintenance items, and occasionally have part out sales for things that could come in handy, but again, mostly aftermarket.
I'd recommend checking out the Multi Air Filter. It's not something typically serviced, I don't even think it has an interval on the manual, but it should help with some reliability if it's a bit gunked up. Most people do it at about 75k miles. Which reminds me, I still have mine sitting in my drawer, gotta do it while the heat isn't as bad.
Last edited:
- 2,429
- Heaven's Fence
- Anathema-Kure
- Justin Jectlol
I don't think you need to take apart the whole suspension when replacing said endlink (sway bar end?) but you'll need a 5mm allen key to stick in the bolt end and hopefully not break something...
I had my whole suspension out when I replaced mine (was doing front struts as well) but you shouldn't have to deal with east coast problems like I did. Hopefully that's just it though.
I had my whole suspension out when I replaced mine (was doing front struts as well) but you shouldn't have to deal with east coast problems like I did. Hopefully that's just it though.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Thanks for the info guys.
Saw a video of someone flipping the upper shock mount, so I think I'll try that too before going aftermarket.
Saw a video of someone flipping the upper shock mount, so I think I'll try that too before going aftermarket.
- 11,297
- Marin County
A CL55 is routinely streetparked near my office and every time I see it I think of this thread. Those cars have aged so well...
- 797
- PA
- attilag78
- TheHun99
Agreed! I'm not a Merc fan by any stretch of imagination (although I would accept a 190E Evo II anytime) but that CL series does look great. I remember seeing quite a few back in Germany when we lived there, in many cases driven by 18-20 year old daddy's boys' with their girlfriends next to them...
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Some small updates.
Found the 2nd owner of the 4200. It was traded in by the original owner for a DB9, and the traded in by owner 2 for a Ferrari California. Pic from 2011.
Visited the old GF at my company's test facility in Vegas. Same plates and stickers.
Drove the 65 to the gulf. Didnt get stuck.
Havent been driving it much since the Fiat arrived, so the suspension has sagged out. Lifts up again when the engine starts.
Wife hit a massive bump and disloged this hanger. Found a bolt, and it stopped rattling now.
Finally registered the CL in Texas. Might steal one of the coil packs on the 65 to diagnose this car, feels like 11 cylinders at idle.
Found the 2nd owner of the 4200. It was traded in by the original owner for a DB9, and the traded in by owner 2 for a Ferrari California. Pic from 2011.
Visited the old GF at my company's test facility in Vegas. Same plates and stickers.
Drove the 65 to the gulf. Didnt get stuck.
Havent been driving it much since the Fiat arrived, so the suspension has sagged out. Lifts up again when the engine starts.
Wife hit a massive bump and disloged this hanger. Found a bolt, and it stopped rattling now.
Finally registered the CL in Texas. Might steal one of the coil packs on the 65 to diagnose this car, feels like 11 cylinders at idle.
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
Big update, as a few things have been sorted.
The Maser is back! Multiple issues with the Cambiocorsa box have been solved, all related to the electrics. They had to dive into the reverse selector, paddles, and the ECU to get it all sorted. 178 working days to fix.
Now that its back, i was able to fix the failed headlight ballast. This part is shared with R52 Mini and probably also 996.
Have put about 300 miles on it since returned.
Good timing too, cause now the CL doesnt start. No crank, no start. Friend with STAR was able to help me out, and we determined that it does have authorization to start, but for some reason its not starting. Need to keep digging.
Service A was done at a friends shop. 11.5 quarts of dino oil.
Found its a bit leaky. Neat...
Then 4 days later it blew an ABC hose. Looks cool all dumped. $165 for the part and a few hous labor. 😬
And shes looking good again. Doesnt sag overnight as often as it used to. Still have more work to do here.
The Maser is back! Multiple issues with the Cambiocorsa box have been solved, all related to the electrics. They had to dive into the reverse selector, paddles, and the ECU to get it all sorted. 178 working days to fix.
Now that its back, i was able to fix the failed headlight ballast. This part is shared with R52 Mini and probably also 996.
Have put about 300 miles on it since returned.
Good timing too, cause now the CL doesnt start. No crank, no start. Friend with STAR was able to help me out, and we determined that it does have authorization to start, but for some reason its not starting. Need to keep digging.
Service A was done at a friends shop. 11.5 quarts of dino oil.
Found its a bit leaky. Neat...
Then 4 days later it blew an ABC hose. Looks cool all dumped. $165 for the part and a few hous labor. 😬
And shes looking good again. Doesnt sag overnight as often as it used to. Still have more work to do here.
- 5,014
- Panama City, FL
The only thing that blows ABC lines is a failed accumulator. The accumulators soak up the spikes of suspension compression by compressing the gas behind the diaphragm, but if the isn't any gas... well, then the hydraulic lines have to try to absorb that pressure spike.
