Maserati 3200 Oil Loss
Discussion
Ok.... This is getting ridiculous.
7 litres of oil used in 2,500 miles in my 3200 Gt.
No signs of a leak, engine running fine, no black smoke from exhaust when car is been driven.
In fact car is running perfectly.
Off to Maranello for a compression check - Can anyone inform me of what this entails ?
Is there anything else I should be looking out for ?
I know the Maserati Oil is like water and the cars can go through a few litres here and there but this is ridiculous !
Help Please lads !
>>> Edited by maserati3200gt on Thursday 17th March 23:03
7 litres of oil used in 2,500 miles in my 3200 Gt.
No signs of a leak, engine running fine, no black smoke from exhaust when car is been driven.
In fact car is running perfectly.
Off to Maranello for a compression check - Can anyone inform me of what this entails ?
Is there anything else I should be looking out for ?
I know the Maserati Oil is like water and the cars can go through a few litres here and there but this is ridiculous !
Help Please lads !
>>> Edited by maserati3200gt on Thursday 17th March 23:03
Hi Pete
Hope you are well...........7 litres of oil in 2500 miles isnt right......a litre every 350 miles NO WAY.A compression test will take about 30 minutes and each cylinder should give approx the same reading, they will be looking for a/some cylinders to have less, this will indicate a problem.......If it was me I would leave the car with them and tell them I will collect it when they have sorted it out.........I would have thought a litre per 1000 miles is acceptable.
The higher rev's i drive at the more it drinks. Granted no where near you loss. I generally get through a can every three months. Having said that, the car has only done 13,000 miles and it's three years old. Spend most of my working life in the mini. It's done 40k and i had to put a bit of oil in about 6 months back 
The one thing that bugs me is that my oil preasure gauge is allways on full. The garage has been asked three times about this and they say it's fine. The engine is spot on. Granted it's bearly run in at the mileage.
Hope u get it sorted, long as you don't have oil in your coolant
The one thing that bugs me is that my oil preasure gauge is allways on full. The garage has been asked three times about this and they say it's fine. The engine is spot on. Granted it's bearly run in at the mileage.
Hope u get it sorted, long as you don't have oil in your coolant
Chris,
Thats a good point - When I drive the car at a higher speed than 30mph I do notice that the rate of oil consumption is higher - perhaps this is normal ?
But not 7 litres !! Im looking for group discounts for the oil now !!!
Can you also buy oil for the car anywhere else apart from Maserati ?
Thats a good point - When I drive the car at a higher speed than 30mph I do notice that the rate of oil consumption is higher - perhaps this is normal ?
But not 7 litres !! Im looking for group discounts for the oil now !!!
Can you also buy oil for the car anywhere else apart from Maserati ?
What is important is to post the actual results of the compression and leakdown tests per cylinder, when you have them so that we can all take a look - This will help explain a lot.
Early 3200s suffered from blown head gaskets and all were recalled to fix this - I believe that this only affected 1999 vehicles however. As a result, the build and spec were changed to avoid recurrence although the new h/g fitting procedure is still as follows:
- Head bolts initially torqued sequentially to setting 1
- Retorqued sequentially to setting 2
- Wait 30 minutes minimum
- Retorqued sequentially to final setting 3
Although the first 2 steps are pretty much standard nowadays, the last 2, particularly step 3 is not and suggests that the procedure is very sensitive. If the heads have been lifted at any time and the above not religiously followed or the engine has overheated (look for new waterpump or other cooling probs in the car's history etc) this is one possible cause. I am doubtful however.
Another possibility and more likely, is blocked breathers including the oil/vapour separator (large black box adjacent to cylinder 8 to left of engine at front). Checking / cleaning of same is supposed to be a service item!
Could also be a worn / damaged seal causing oil leakage whilst underway (eg rear main seal) but not whilst stationary. Visual examination underneath will validate this.
Worst case is damage to piston rings and / or bore wear requiring an engine rebuild or replacement with a serviceable second hand unit that is often cheaper (through Eurospares etc).
With a turbocharged cat engine, oil "consumption" would not always be apparent from the drivers seat.
Early 3200s suffered from blown head gaskets and all were recalled to fix this - I believe that this only affected 1999 vehicles however. As a result, the build and spec were changed to avoid recurrence although the new h/g fitting procedure is still as follows:
- Head bolts initially torqued sequentially to setting 1
- Retorqued sequentially to setting 2
- Wait 30 minutes minimum
- Retorqued sequentially to final setting 3
Although the first 2 steps are pretty much standard nowadays, the last 2, particularly step 3 is not and suggests that the procedure is very sensitive. If the heads have been lifted at any time and the above not religiously followed or the engine has overheated (look for new waterpump or other cooling probs in the car's history etc) this is one possible cause. I am doubtful however.
Another possibility and more likely, is blocked breathers including the oil/vapour separator (large black box adjacent to cylinder 8 to left of engine at front). Checking / cleaning of same is supposed to be a service item!
Could also be a worn / damaged seal causing oil leakage whilst underway (eg rear main seal) but not whilst stationary. Visual examination underneath will validate this.
Worst case is damage to piston rings and / or bore wear requiring an engine rebuild or replacement with a serviceable second hand unit that is often cheaper (through Eurospares etc).
With a turbocharged cat engine, oil "consumption" would not always be apparent from the drivers seat.
Something else has just ocurred to me. Selenia Racing , a synthetic 10/60 wide multigrade is the ONLY oil recommended for Maseratis and is not particularly light or thin out of the tin, being similar to any other fully synthetic. As Mr Tony has said, Alfa dealers usually stock this but shopping around (Maser dealers as well) will show a wide variance on price so worth doing.
Despite what some have said in the past, other oils having a different grade (ie other than 10/60) are NOT suitable and court disaster. Castrol now produce an RS version of their GTX at 10/60 but I would use only if I had no choice.
If an oil of the wrong grade has been used OR the oil change has been left unduly long so that the oil has thinned, that too could explain excessive wear and consumption.
FWIW, my oil is changed circa 3,000 miles or annually whichever comes first. Plenty of fresh oil is always cheaper than a premature rebuild.
>> Edited by Nigelo on Friday 18th March 11:28
Despite what some have said in the past, other oils having a different grade (ie other than 10/60) are NOT suitable and court disaster. Castrol now produce an RS version of their GTX at 10/60 but I would use only if I had no choice.
If an oil of the wrong grade has been used OR the oil change has been left unduly long so that the oil has thinned, that too could explain excessive wear and consumption.
FWIW, my oil is changed circa 3,000 miles or annually whichever comes first. Plenty of fresh oil is always cheaper than a premature rebuild.
>> Edited by Nigelo on Friday 18th March 11:28
Nigelo said:
Something else has just ocurred to me. Selenia Racing , a synthetic 10/60 wide multigrade is the ONLY oil recommended for Maseratis and is not particularly light or thin out of the tin, being similar to any other fully synthetic. As Mr Tony has said, Alfa dealers usually stock this but shopping around (Maser dealers as well) will show a wide variance on price so worth doing.
Despite what some have said in the past, other oils having a different grade (ie other than 10/60) are NOT suitable and court disaster. Castrol now produce an RS version of their GTX at 10/60 but I would use only if I had no choice.
If an oil of the wrong grade has been used OR the oil change has been left unduly long so that the oil has thinned, that too could explain excessive wear and consumption.
FWIW, my oil is changed circa 3,000 miles or annually whichever comes first. Plenty of fresh oil is always cheaper than a premature rebuild.
>> Edited by Nigelo on Friday 18th March 11:28
I agree.
Maserati informed me that if you are stuck then use an alternative but as this is my "toy" I use only use maserati Oil to keep warranty valid and to avoid any arguements should a dispute arise.
I notice that if my car is used at high speed then the oil use is higher as the turbos's create such high temps.
Maybe my car is ok afterall and I have to accept it.
But maybe im wrong....!
All will be clear on the 30th !
P.S Driven her today in good weather for the the first time (e.g warm day etc) and the engine sounded excellent! what a great car !
>> Edited by maserati3200gt on Saturday 19th March 22:40
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