Maserati Ghibli gearbox rebuild - ZF S5-325

Maserati Ghibli gearbox

This is an in depth view of a Maserati Ghibli gearbox rebuild ZF S5-325 which will be stripped and inspected before being assembled with many new parts. All the steel hardware will be NDT’d to check for cracks, but happy to report none found. The synchromesh rings will be lapped in, this is essential to achieve a non crunchy gear shift. The lapping process requires using the gear, the hub and bearing to keep the parts concentric with each other.

Fifth gear had some odd damage, probably from a previous repair. The teeth were chipped, but these have been dressed out and polished and post dressing no cracks could be detected. Fifth gear is over driven so the torque is reduced which meant it could be reused without concerns for long life. New RIV bearings were sourced with bronze cages for the two bearings on the first motion shaft. ZF used a plain roller bearing and a single groove bearing for this application. The third bearing is a QJ bearing on the rear of the mainshaft with a split inner race.

Parts supplied by

http://www.bpaengineering.com

Gearbox inspection

Gearbox disassembly

Maserati Ghibli fifth gear synchromesh — Noting position of 5th gear synchro cone and pawls, very important.

Maserati first motion shaft removed from ZF gearbox — First motion removed.

Maserati Ghibli RIV roller bearing — First motion roller bearing with circle groove.

Maserati Ghibli ZF S5-325 first motion shaft bearing inner race to be removed — First motion inner race, removed using bearing separator and a press.

Maserati Ghibli ZF S5-325 layshaft to be removed from casing — Layshaft and reverse idler.

Rectifying damage

Gearbox assembly

Maserati Ghibli gearbox casing red oxide going on — Red Oxide going on externally followed by satin black, glyptal inside.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox intermediate plate red oxide

Maserati Ghibli gearbox casing with glyptal paint — Reverse gear in situ.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox mainshaft — Building up the mainshaft

Maserati Ghibli gearbox first motion shaft — New RIV bearings with bronze cages fitted.

first motion shaft and cone — Noting alignment of cone to first motion. ZF markings not visible when installing shaft, so needs to be marked with paint pen.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox mainshaft fitted

Maserati Ghibli gearbox mainshaft fitted — Mainshaft fitted to casing

Maserati Ghibli gearbox mainshaft bearing measurement — Measuring the bearing shoulder to main case face to set the shims. The shims fitted originally are correct.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox intermediate gasket — Gasket on, ready for intermediate plate.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox intermediate plate fitted — Intermediate plate fitted with lock tabs.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox intermediate plate fitted with fifth gear — 5th layshaft gear on.

gearbox fifth gear fitted to mainshaft — 5th mainshaft gear on.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox fifth gear fitted to mainshaft — 5th gear hub on, heat up inner splined hub, its an interference fit.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox tail housing fitted — Extension housing fitted, no gasket here so hermetitie sealant is used.

gearbox tail housing fitted — All the bolts have been chemical blacked.

Maserati Ghibli gearbox top cover gear lever — Top cover has just been cleaned, no disassemble required.

Completed gearbox build

Bell housing back on, again there is no gasket, so Hermetitie sealant is used. There is a shim between bell housing and first motion shaft bearing. Clutch fork and shaft in situ.

That concludes the Maserati Ghibli gearbox rebuild which will be put to one side, the next article coming up is the engine from the Maserati Ghibli. The engine came with the car in a completely disassembled state, please go to the link to see the progress.

https://www.classicandracing.co.uk/projects/maserati-ghibli-engine-rebuild/