[GrndLkNatv]

So I had my 2002 coupe on the lift tonight and found the drain plug on the gearbox but I didn't find a filler level... I found the vent tube on the top of the gear box and I know how much oil and what kind the gearbox takes but was wondering if there was a fill level plug or a place other than the breather tube to add in the 75W-90 Oil..... Anyone here have any idea's before I go pester the Maser Mechanic?

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Figured it out....

The drain plug on the transmission/grearbox is on the very bottom, looks to be a 17mm Hex Key and the there are two plugs, plastic threaded plugs, on the drivers side of the gearbox about 2/3 of the way up housing, in line with where the drain plug is... The top plug is the filler plug and the bottom plug is the level plug.... I am going to do the service tonight or in the morning and will update the board on the results this weekend. I am going to also check out the differential, it might be the same oil reservoir but I think it's probably separate... I will let you all know... It should be a 30 minute job on the gear box and while doing it, I will check the fluid level on the CC... I am using Mobil One 75W-90 Full Synthetic Gear Lube which exceeds the standards needed....

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Well it worked....

The previous owner had removed the two plastic plugs and replaced them with 90 degree elbows for attaching fuel line or something of the sort. After putting in the new oil, Mobile 1 75W-90, that obnoxious thump when shifting at high revs is almost completely gone and the shifting at lower R's is amazingly smooth... I am going to put in a few more trial runs to see if it continues this way!!!! Tomorrow it's new denso iridium spark plugs and then order a new K&N like Air Filter from those performance guys here on the blog.... It's new tires tomorrow as well, Nitto, 555 which are ZR Rated, A temp and A traction and according to my buddies who race, a little more sticky on the road than the Michellins, even in the wet.... I will let you know what I find after a test drive.. I currently have the Michellin Pilot's..... I already have the Tubi's and now it's going to just be time to enjoy the summer.....

 

[Troesma]

Looking good man..

Keep it up, eager to know how things move and any perceptible changes in performance (e.g., as you noted in gear shifting after changing the trannuy lube).

Ahhh, and the Tubi...

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Saturday Report........

Well the new tires are on, Nitto 555's... I am very happy to report they are just as sticky as my Michellin Pilots and after hanging a few hair pins at a decent speed I cannot tell the different in performance.... The ride is the same as far as smoothness goes and the grip seems to be just as good, best part is that the tires are $500.00 less for a set of 4... I am now going to see how long they last... They do have a 35K warranty on them so I will let you know as I do the miles...

Later today it's spark plugs and then later this week it's the new air filter.... I will give the car a bath this afternoon and put the cover on for the night.... My wife is getting jealous so myself and my two boys, ages 6 and 3 will have to put the car away this afternoon!!!!! My kids are Ferrari/Schumi fanatics, much like the old man, so they are into washing the Maser....

I can say with all the service done so far the car is by far smoother and is much more predictable, etc..... I will probably stop after the basics here for a while and enjoy the summer, then this winter I will look at a chip upgrade....

 

[Troesma]

My wife is getting jealous so myself and my two boys, ages 6 and 3 will have to put the car away this afternoon!!!!!

Know the feeling...

Once you hook-in the new Denso plugs you will notice the engine kicks-in much faster and smoother. As for the K&N air filter, it is not a bad choice (certainly better than OEM) but reckon the BMC is better quality. You may want to consider hooking-in an Optima RedTop battery and ditch the OEM FIAMM; it gives you far more CCA. Expensive maybe, but you will not be dissapointed.

And enjoy..!

 

[chris7469]

Tramsmission and differential oil / Lube?

Sorry for my ignorance but is the tranmission oil the same as the differential oil? Just different terms?

If not what is recommended for changing the differential?

Thanks for all the info.

CM

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Yes....

In the case of the CC the differential and transmission use the same oil... I am currently using Mobil 1 75W-90 Full Synthetic....

 

[chris7469]

Thanks..

I am about to buy the transmission oil.

How many quarts did you use?

Thanks. CM

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Three Quarts....

The Manual calls for .76 gallons, I actually got three quarts in there and then it start coming out the over flow just a little bit so I didn't add any more... I bought four quarts to start with, one for a spare.

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Iridium Plugs....

So I replaced the old NGK's with the Denso Iridium plugs... The car is now much smoother in the power delivery, more responsive in the torque department and it still has the top end... I am impressed!!!! I am getting my BMC this week, ordered it from the FormulaDynamics folks so I will do that on the 4th or this weekend and then tell you how that goes...

I ended up staying with a out of the box .028 plug gap as I couldn't find that information anywhere in the Maserati Literature.... The plugs that came out seemed to be at .022 so if anyone here knows what it should be, please let me know!

 

[Troesma]

So I replaced the old NGK's with the Denso Iridium plugs... The car is now much smoother in the power delivery, more responsive in the torque department and it still has the top end... I am impressed!!!!

Told you

I ended up staying with a out of the box .028 plug gap as I couldn't find that information anywhere in the Maserati Literature.... The plugs that came out seemed to be at .022 so if anyone here knows what it should be, please let me know!

You should have used the IU24 series with a 0.7mm gap (or 0.02758in ~ 0.028in, so you're fine).

Once you put the BMC filter in...

 

[GrndLkNatv]

Denso IU24..

Thats exactly what I put in, the IU24's.... I picked them up for under 100 including shipping from http://www.clubplug.net

DENSO-IU24(5362) : 8 : 11.20



I am hoping for cooler weather, it's been at the century mark all day here in Denver and I would like to be cool for test drive after the BMC installation.

 

[Troesma]

Thats exactly what I put in, the IU24's.... I picked them up for under 100 including shipping from http://www.clubplug.net

DENSO-IU24(5362) : 8 : 11.20

As said, you're fine. Now time to enjoy the baby...

Changing the air filter could be a nightmare due to access; not the fact that you have to remove the wheel, but unscrewing the cover where the filter sits could take some time and effort. Would get armed with some WD40, spray lightly the screws, wait for 15 min, and then give it a go...

Once you get access, taking away the old one and putting in the BMC is a breeze.

 

[GrndLkNatv]

BMC Filter Time...

My BMC showed up yesterday, will be putting that in early Saturday morning and then will let you know what my results are... So far the new plugs are flawless, the engine is so much smoother than before with the NGK's I just have a hard time believing it's that much difference... The weather here in Denver has been really hot lately so the car is running great but would be much smoother if the temps were cooler... The tranny definately seems to be getting hotter while driving, just tell by the watch the clutch seems to act that the temp is hotter..... Anyway, will update my results on Saturday... So far I have never been happier with a car in my life...

 

[cardiffGiant]

The drain plug on the transmission/grearbox is on the very bottom, looks to be a 17mm Hex Key and the there are two plugs, plastic threaded plugs, on the drivers side of the gearbox about 2/3 of the way up housing, in line with where the drain plug is... The top plug is the filler plug and the bottom plug is the level plug.... I am going to do the service tonight or in the morning and will update the board on the results this weekend. I am going to also check out the differential, it might be the same oil reservoir but I think it's probably separate... I will let you all know... It should be a 30 minute job on the gear box and while doing it, I will check the fluid level on the CC... I am using Mobil One 75W-90 Full Synthetic Gear Lube which exceeds the standards needed....

So the fill and level plugs you used are on the opposite side of the gearbox as breather tube? Also, I am assuming the metal-shrouded hose that loops from an upper to lower hole on the passenger side of the gearbox is what you are referring to as the 'breather tube"? What exactly does this hose do?

I took at look at this while changing the oil and it seems this hose would be a decent way to get fluid into the gearbox from the top plug, as there is not a lot of room to get something else in there if I were to take the plug hose completely off. Also, do the plastic threaded plugs need to be replaced if those are used?

 

[GrndLkNatv]

I actually filled from the top

on the passenger side and let it run out the bottom hole. Apparently after looking at the manual these holes are normally plugged with plastic plugs and they are taken out when the tranny is rebuilt and used for pressure testing as well as filling. My plugs had been replaced with two 90 degree stainless tubing adapters and hose clamps to keep a small piece of clear plastic tube on it between the two adapters. I pulled the plastic tube off, filled the tranny from the top until it just trickled out the bottom and then put the plastic tube back on, tightened up the hose clamps and went driving... I used the Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 75W-90 weight gear lube, tranny runs very quiet these days, smooth as glass so far.

 

[cardiffGiant]

ittle worried...

I went ahead and replaced this fluid as well. After removing the original fluid, I removed the lower elbow plug from the passenger side of the gearbox, took off the hose clamp and pumped the new fluid in. The problem is, I got more than 3.5 quarts (.76 gallon capacity should be about 3 quarts exactly) in there and none came out of the bottom hole...

Seems to be driving fine though, can't say I notice a perpectible difference is shift smoothness, but am unsure if I've over or under-filled the gearbox.

 

[GrndLkNatv]

How much came out????

I am pretty sure I ended up putting over three quarts in there, have a bit left in the 4th quart, even though only three came out... I did let it sit for a while too, the oil is so thick, just to make sure I hadn't over filled it... I actually waited for about an hour before I buttoned it up.

BTW, I think we have exactly the same car.... Or should I say, man you have a nice car!!! : - ) I have put on 2500 miles since I changed mine and all is very well.... Did you have it level when you filled it? On a lift? Or did you jack up the rear end and do it? That might be the difference.

 

[cardiffGiant]

Yea, same photography skills too I still like my color a lot, but go round and round on the wheels, or whether to think about getting a spyder or GS (still haven't driven one...).

Anyway, I had the car on a four post lift, so it was level. I didn't get a good estimate of how much came out unfortunately, as my buddy hadn't emptied his catch pan since his last change, but I left the drain plug off for a good hour probably, so it was dry.

On my first attempt I removed the hose and elbows completely on both plugs and tried to fill directly into the top hole. This didn't work at all, I could hardly get any fluid in there without it backing up and spilling out the hole I was filling from. I assumed there were baffles or a tight passage from these holes into the gearbox, so I reattached the elbow and hose to the top plug and connected a fluid hand-pump directly to the open end of the hose and filled this way. This worked fine, but as I said, no overflow from the bottom hole after at least 3.5 quarts... I decided that maybe there were baffles on the lower plug preventing any overflow, and perhaps I had the wrong level plug, and considering I had more than the capacity in there already, I buttoned it up and hoped for the best. I sent you a PM about the maseratitechinfo site BTW.