Apparently there's a chain at the rear of the engine which drives the inlet cams. This needs to be replaced every 48,000 miles, and this must be done with the engine out. The book time for this job is 30 hours. I just had my clutch and brake servo replaced, and that was 8 hours at £52 per hour = £416 for labour (plus VAT), and that was an eyewatering bill. 30 hours would be £1560 - that's the labour price only. I don't know about the costs for parts.steve_earwig wrote:Aren't Mazzer engines chain cams?
At the front of the engine, there's a timing belt which drives the exhaust cams. This can be done with the engine in, and needs to be done every 24,000 miles. Though this is at the front of the engine, and shouldn't be as space-restrictive as the timing belt on a 406 V6, so should take less time to do.
If you were planning on owning one of these and using it as a daily driver with 12,000 mile annual average, the engine would need to come out every four years, and the timing belt would need to be changed every two years. The chain would therefore cost you £390 per year to maintain (£1560 divided by 4).
However - modern Maseratis are apparently not as labour-intensive; nowhere near the use-it-two-weeks-a-year garage queens they used to be. The GranTurismo and Quattroporte with the 4.2 litre Ferrari-designed V8 lump apparently only has one timing chain, and no timing belt, and the chain interval is greater. No idea if it's an engine-out job to change it though.
