| Author | Message | ||
| Dan (Bobafett)
Intermediate Member Username: Bobafett Post Number: 1097 Registered: 9-2002 |
The notchiness isn't the greatest of concerns, although I will definetly look into the fluid change, as it sounds like a good thing. I was just troubled a bit by the slipping. If she drives fine today, I'll assume no big deal and move on. --Dan | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 794 Registered: 2-2002 |
Clutch on the 550 is pretty robust but you'll find that no matter how you drive it, it's STINKS! | ||
| dave handa (Davehanda)
Intermediate Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 1330 Registered: 5-2001 |
Check theh gearbox oil thread, and look for the posts by Ali Haas. He has a 550. Shifting can be enhanced/fixed by fluid change. | ||
| Dr. I. M. Ibrahim (Coachi)
Member Username: Coachi Post Number: 320 Registered: 5-2002 |
I have never really liked the way Ferrari gear changes took place in all my years with Ferraris. It is always quite difficult to engage second gear especially when the car is cold...and the gated shifter is less than desirable. Why don't Ferrari look into whatever Porsche does to make their gear shifting such a snap? I don't mean to be heretical here, but such great engines deserve better gear shifting....and you would think that this modern "daytona" which I am hoping to add to my collection one day soon, would shift like a 1997 car...not a 1970 car...  | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1429 Registered: 11-2001 |
i think the use of the word "fragile" is probably not appropriate. as you point out, this thing MUST be a beast in order to stay alive, never mind work, even crappily :-). a few thoughts to toss at you. i too was very concerned about the feel of my gearbox when i got my 550. i drove it like my grandmother for a few days until i got it back to the mechanic. he told me it was normal. still concerned, i took it to another mechanic who told me the same thing. i have no grinding or odd noises - it's just a tough shift with some notable "notchiness" and some resistance the likes of which you certainly won't find in your M5. so i stopped driving it like my grandmother :-) i liken the feeling of the system as follows: it feels as if the gearbox wants you to depress the clutch just a little bit more - though you can't 'cuz it's already 100% engaged. i just had her in the shop for an oil change, and discussed this again. my mechanic said that they've seen 550 gearboxes turned into way smoother beasts by swapping out the shell gearbox oil for agip. my gearbox oil was just changed in february, so we didn't futz with that, but when she goes in for her major next year i think this'll be on the list of things to try out. doody. | ||
| Dan (Bobafett)
Intermediate Member Username: Bobafett Post Number: 1092 Registered: 9-2002 |
Ok, so this is gonna sound *really* stupid, but I'm still a little anxious about it. Basically, I was in reverse backing up a rather steep hill, and I must've travelled all of 25 feet, but I was slipping the clutch to a degree. Anyways, it wasn't much, but I did smell some lovely clutch burn. Of course, I immediately stop, etc. About 5 hours later, I'm driving home at night. Car seems to be ok, so on the freeway I'm hammering through 3rd, then 4th. Shifting into 5th, it doesn't engage the gear (feel a bit of the 'grinding', altho it did not grind because I didn't push it in). I of course had the clutch fully depressed and made sure, tried again, same thing. Go back to fouth, release, then go to fifth, it's fine. Also, it seems I'm getting much much smoother at my double-clutch downshifts with the car. First thought was that I'm getting used to it. Second is that it was suffering from the slip earlier in the evening. Now, am I being paranoid about a clutch that can handle 420 ft/lb, or are my concerns real? I really don't think the slipping earlier was too bad, but any slip is bad slip, I guess. So, am I just being paranoid and overly sensitive, or is it worth investigating?? Oh, the particulars are it's a 97 with 12.5k miles (300 in 2 days) --Dan |