550 Maranello Oil Change

Very straight forward except the OM and WSM are wrong and it takes 12 liters of oil, not 10. You will see as you change it. Make sure you drain the sump and dry sump tank.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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Taz, nice write up. I am about to do my first oil change on the 456. Whats your favorite oil viscosity for these v12s? Is it normal to get the oil pressure light on or flickering at idle with a fully warmed engine? with revs it goes up to mid guage. Thanks again. Andy

 

Andy- I would use either 5W-40 or 0W-40, as recommended. I use Valvoline full synthetic, 5W-40, but any of the good synthetics in that weight range will work, including the recommended Shell Ultra Helix or equivalent. It foams a bit to much for me is the reason I changed. RedLine comes highly recommended, too.

I do not think the oil pressure light flickering is normal. Maybe some of the other 456/M owners can chime in.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

It takes me 15-20 minutes to do an oil change on my other cars. It took me 2 hours to do it on my 550. I had a very hard time getting the filters off. I didn't have the correct tool, of course, and I don't have a lift. Give yourself plenty of time.

 

Dave- Sounds like someone did not put oil on the gasket before tightening the filters.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Antoher little tip, is to fill the new filter with fresh oil before fitting.

 

I also do not think the flickering light is normal, what value does the oil pressure settle on the meter at idle? Mine is about 2.5-3 bar, as per the manual. It could be the oil pressure regulator on yours is stuck open.

Taz, are you sure about the 12 litres? Isn't that for a first fill?
12 litres is *for sure* not true on the 456, the 456 takes 10 litres. I recently did an oil change and with the talk going on this forum that the 550 takes 12 litres, and figuring the 456 would be the same, I started by putting in 11 litres. Bad move. I had to take one litre out again as the level on the dipstick was 5 centimeters over maximum.

 

The 550 and 575 both take 12 liters on every change, confirmed by my techs and numerous owners on FChat. Not sure on the 456/M. The 456-612 all use the same engine sump cover, but the oil tanks are different on every model, so that is probably where the difference is. The funny thing is, the 575M, Superamerica, and 612 owner's manuals all show 10 liters, and that number probably came from the 456 originally and was never changed.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I did and I torque them to spec. If you do not need to nearly destroy the filter to remove it it was not installed tight enough and you are risking destroying the motor from oil loss.

That is why Hill Engineering had to redesign his sockets for the V12's and UFI redesigned the filter so we quit tearing the can off the filter base on removal.


Everyone here is using a socket and a torque wrench to install their oil filters right? Lots of motors have been lost from people not doing that.

 

Brian- Welcome back. I guess that would eliminate oil on the gasket from being an issue at all. Sounds like Dave probably did not use a torque wrench. Bad Dave.

My techs do use a torque wrench.

Any comment on the quantity of oil in the various V12s?

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

To the best of my knowledge I was the one who last installed them and that is why they were hard to remove.

Amount needed to refill depends on how much was removed. That depends on circumstances when drained. It really does not matter how much, that is why the car has a dipstick. People get far too wrapped up in draining oil. You will never get it all out so if you get 88% instead of 82% it really makes no difference.

 

I still tighten them the old fashion way - as tight as it will go, by hand. Does that make me irresponsible?

 

Yes.

The car that crashes in your oil slick will be your fault.

 

Gee Rifle, you like to scare people don't you? As if these filters are that different from the 50 something previous filters I changed in my life, which were never a problem.

 

Yes unless you have the experience to know you are right. There are some pretty limp wristed people out there and one guy's tight is loose as a goose to others. I do know what you are trying to say and the spec Taz listed above is 15ftlbs = 21nm and that is just about as tight as a normal guy can get a filter by hand. The picture is funny by the way that does not look like a torque wrench to me. Also, like TAZ I have seen some pretty wrong info in the WSM's in general. TAZ's post also shows the torque of "breather caps" (I have no idea what they are talking about) at 75nm which is about 55 ftlbs. When I change oil there is nothing at 55ftlbs. That is a big number. Fortunately for me I have been doing this stuff for so long that I admit to not using a torque wrench 85% of the time except on critical fastners. An oilfilter is not going to stay on because of the initial 15ftlbs it take almost can crushing torque to get them off. The gasket sort of drys up and sticks to the surface or something and then the torque to remove is always greater than the initial applied. I never thought about the mechanics of this but an Ofilter torqued is not like a nut torqued on a bolt. And if anyone is really parnoid this is what I do on my racecar because I never want to be "that guy" who oiled the track.
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When I read about ripping the can apart I tend to think someone is overdoing things... and yes, there is more dependence if you do it by hand. How greasy your hands are and how strong you are determine how tight you can get it. I never said it is reliable to the Nm. But does it have to be? I always use gloves that are rubberized when wrenching, they give good grip, and I tighten it with all my might. Loose as a goose, not here. Loosening afterward is invariably hard, probably because the gasket absorbs some oil and expands a little. It needs a wrench most of the time. Hardly a recipe for disaster, think I've got some more important things to worry about in my life .

 

It is impossible to tighten them sufficiently by hand. And it is irresponsible not to do it correctly.


Further if you were qualified to even change your own oil you would understand that not all cars and oil filter installations are the same.

 

Oil filters in some applications expand after running. That is why they get tighter.

 

FBB- The photo with the rachet is removing the filter, not tightening it. Oil breather caps is stilted language for the drain plugs, I believe, with the oil tank plug acting as a breather for the engine sump. Even though when you remove it, oil obviously comes out of it also. The engine sump is the low point in the system, so I guess if you did not open the oil tank drain, all (most of) the oil would slowly siphon out.

I have read several threads here in FChat about the high pressure Ferrari filters see when cold. In some cases blowing at start or during warm-up and also distending the shape of the filter if a bad filter was used. Ferrari even issued a recall for a batch of bad filters a few years back.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Everyday of my professional life I see cars that are improperly maintained, like yours. Everyday I see reminders that there are irresponsible people driving cars, sharing the roads with me and people I care about that are taking chances with other peoples safety.

People like you scare me and to make it worse you come here and spread your disinformation with others.

 

oh...

I am way under torque for the drain plugs then. I am no where near 55ftlbs. I don't feel good with that number.

That was on ufi italian filters totally believeable based on italian QC I have experienced. I think blowing filters is over rated. The rumors where mostly on fram ph2804 iirc and very cold conditions with old 20-50w oil and I would not be surprised if the blowing oil was a great coverup for people following frams and others rec of touch base to seat and make 3/4 turn by hand and you are done. I always did more.

 

I did not have the proper Hill Engineering socket that Brian describes. I put them on with (gasp) a Porsche socket, but the challenge was getting them off. I was indeed afraid of tearing them off and creating a mess. Ultimately, I used a rubber strap wrench to get them off. Once you break it free, it takes at least two full turns before it will spin freely. I filled the car with 12 quarts of oil and it never did register full on the dipstick hot or cold. Isn't this why we love our Ferraris?

 

Wow Rifle, that's quite a statement. Now that's not nice of you, using insultive language to "prove" your rightness.
Are you saying you know it better than the Ferrari owners manual, that clearly states to tighten filters by hand? Or are you just someone trying to show the world you're such a much more bright (or completely over the top) mechanic than others?

You're the one scaring me, you'll be the mechanic that a client comes in for tune up and leaves with an engine overhaul of 25k because you found one cylinder had 3.25 percent blowby and you told him that would cause his engine to explode soon. It's not as if it was necessary, but your mindset brought it onto him and you poisoned that owners' mind with your own fears.