Hey Gang, Does anyone know where I can get a used or scrapped power unit for my 355 F1? I sent mine out for a rebuild but it turns out I have two valves blown out in mine and they cannot be fixed nor replaced; and I'm not buying one from Ricambi for $30k. I have contacted several breakers in the States and abroad who claim not to have any, so I was hoping someone on here might be able to give me a lead. Thanks Zach.
Who told you it can't be repaired? Everything can be repaired, it just comes down to cost, parts availability and knowledge. $30K for a new one seems there is a lot of room for repair. More details would be helpful.
There's (similar) actuators being repaired in one of the other sections - 360 perhaps - yes here : http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143397682-post17.html
Dave, I'm attaching photos of the EV valves (2 and 4) that have gone wrong. As you can see, the top of no.4 is simply shredded. Grey, I had the actuator rebuilt and the pump conversion done by GTE, that turned out fine. It's the valves inside the power unit itself that are the issue, they can't fix them and they can't be had anywhere. I've located the original manufacturer and am going to attempt to see if they can refurbish. I don't know what else to try. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Zach, If you still have 2 valves that are working, you can pull the spool out and reverse engineer them and get them made a shop. My shop is not the best at spool type parts. I don't have any experience with this power unit but I am a mechanical engineer and own a shop. I could reverse engineer the spool and likely get them made. If all else fails and you want to send me your entire power unit, I'll give it a shot. PM if interested.
Zach, what was the symptoms your car displayed? Did you rebuild the actuator and upgrade the pump in an attempt at solving the problem, only to discover the power unit issues? Also, may I ask how many miles your car has? The reason I ask is that I'm still trying to resolve my shifting issues after many, many months. My car has 46K miles, and had a clutch replaced (slave leak contaminated the old disc) and the car has been laid up with bad shifting ever since. New pump and actuator later, still working on understanding the issue. The new actuator seems to move in all directions freely and solidly, but the car keeps jumping to neutral on upshifts. Now I can't help but think that maybe my car has more going on than we've been thinking. Frankly, in your shoes (which I may in fact be in) I would just convert the car to a stick shift. I am on my last ounce of patience in regards to my car, and have told my mechanic to proceed to conversion if the current "to do" list produces no results. The parts can be had for a couple thousand bucks, and the labor should be under 15 hours. Finally, Dave, that is a very nice offer you made Zach. I hope he solves his issues soon. John
Guys, since I too have an F1, I'm eager to learn all I can so if you are at your limits and you want to be a ginny pig, I'll give it a shot. Remember, this is just a hydraulic system. Yes, special parts but we should be able to figure it out.
This is a concern. Almost as if we have to reverse engineer it as Dave said. Hilte built the system for Ferrari and I assume you have reached out to them. Curious as to what they say. I think, short of the ECU, this is the last remaining "unknown" in the system. As an F1 owner I am very interested in this thread and will do what I can to help. Keep us all posted.
My transmission shifts fine if the gas is backed off during upshifts. Downshifts work well, because I heel-toe blip the throttle and it shifts as expected. With the actuator detached, the transmission shifts fine by hand via the shift rod. So I don't think it's the transmission.
I'd love to understand how you do this in an F1 car? It makes no sense since you don't have control of the clutch to disengage and "blip" before re-engaging. And, the F1 system does this automatically. If you are bliping the throttle, you are in gear, and that's not the point at all.
Dave, try blipping the throttle while braking into a corner at the same time you pull the "down" paddle. The sound is amazing, of course, but more importantly your shift will be smoother. No throttle-by-wire, so if you don't blip your shift will be jerky and you are making your synchros work much harder. But I am not trying to hijack this thread. I am very interested in what symptoms led Zach to look into his power unit. Did the car shift at all? Must have been metal shavings in the hydraulic fluid.
If you can do that, and properly rev match, you are dam good Please post a video I've done this many times in a manual car - I can't imagine being successful with an F1 that shifts so quick.
I had no symptoms until the pump in the power unit failed and was whining and clunking like a skipping record. My actuator had to be rebuilt because one of the bolt anchors in the case broke out and thus it couldn't be secured properly. I sent the power unit out at the same time to have them do the 360 pump conversion and kill two birds in one service. Everything was running and shifting fine until that pump went. No issues whatsoever--shifting was real smooth on all gears and clutch is near 50%. My car has 54k on it, and I've put 27k on it in the three years I've had it. I have yet to call Hilite Int. to see what they can do, but I'll be doing that in the next few days and will let you know what happens with them.
And I have yet to find a scrapped or used unit, seems these things are the first thing taken off the cars and sold when they come in.
I'd bet you can get the parts from these guys, or the dealer can (they probably have an agreement to only supply Ferrari) Hilite International: Control valves
Thanks Zach. My problems sound different than yours, so maybe my power unit is ok. Btw, it appears the the actuator bracket failure you had is common (same as mine). The bracket typically fails concurrently with the hydraulic internals going bad. So it was with me, anyway. I hope the mfgr proves fruitful regarding power unit valve replacement. Thanks for sharing the problem you face. John
This is the way I shift when pushing it as john says it's actually not that hard once you get the hang of it. It does shift nicer on the downshifts.
I just got a message from my dealership, the EV2 from a 612 fits, they just need to alter the wire because the plug is different. One down, one to go.
