FERRARI PARTS INTERCHANGE AKA HOW NOT TO GET SCREWED BY FERRARI!

Unless one already exists, I'd like to start a thread devoted to providing parts interchange information. Ferrari is a rip-off, no two ways around it. I'll start with my contribution here.

For the F355 Ferrari: Thermostat and Thermostat O-ring

Ferrari: $48 for the o-ring
nearly $200 for the thermostat!

Lexus GS 300 is nearly identical and the 0-ring is identical!

Lexus GS 300 O-ring $10 at dealer
I purchased A "FAIL SAFE" thermostat which Autozone carries for under $20! which FLOWS BETTER than the Ferrari Tstat and if the Fail Safe t-stat ever fails, it locks in the full open position so your motor still gets coolant. If your Ferrari T-stat fails while you're on a nice Ferrari run you are stuck or you will cook your motor as it will fail in the closed position which will cause your motor to cook.

Ferrari T-stat and O-ring? Over $200
Lexus /Motorad T-stat and O-Ring? $28 (and better than OEM)

Knowing Ferrari crooks aren't getting my $$$? PRICELESS!

 

The mods are great here and made a sticky in the Dino section for our parts interchange.

For your Thermostat, it seems Birdman has the $15 Behr solution, might this fit your Ferrari too?
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138598112&postcount=65

 

I got one... the other day we were doing an interior restoration/detail on a 512tr and all the sudden the emergency flashers turned on and we couldnt turn them off... seems as though the switche's internal mechanism just decided to fail.... Checked with 2 parts sources and it seems ferrari has decided to put a premium price on this part because they say it is in short supply... I thought I was dealing with an oil company!!!!!!!!! ck this price out $450.00 at both fna and ______
With a little luck I remembered the 2002 bmw had a switch that looked almost identical.. We ordered one from bmw for under $100.00 swapped the red lenses and wala!!!!!!!!! direct fit exact same connection and mounting. $350.00 savings I believe the testarossa the 512 tr+m all share the same part...

Scott
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So maybe you didn't try looking first ?

There's the Dino one already mentioned plus the 308/328 one and a big 348 interchange thread and a couple of shorter 355 ones already

 

I replaced the fuel injectors on my mondial qv, ferrari dealer wanted AU$247 each, I got them from a fuel injector shop for AU$19 each, turns out the K-jet fuel system and injectors are exactly the same as 80's model mercedes, I was very happy with the saving

 

These parts interchange threads are great, but the items need to be placed in lists for various models, otherwise it is very difficult to find them back.
Maybe it would be good to have sub-forums dedicated to this, there are many parts that can be sourced from other makes.

 

This is a very good idea. All cars are pretty much multi National now.

 

A major parts house like Rockauto or Napa could make a killing just by cataloguing all the crossovers, and not just for Ferrari but all of the other "exclusive" marquees.

 

rebuilt my 308 engine bal seal $7 , dissy seals $6 air pump $4 , cam drive seals $7 all bought from my local transeal shop bonus is they are all viton also had luck with most of the roller bearings

 

Knowledge is power- power is money... If it's only a cross referencing task it's a no-brainer. I suspect there's also many simple mods or other clever things members know that could build a huge data base! For me- someone on here recommended "Easy OFF" oven cleaner for sticky interior bits and that's saved me lots of money! I bet the collective knowledge on this site is awesome- so I'd vote that we focus that power.

Happy Friday-

 

Seems to me that the "Fail Safe" thermostat is a dumb idea. I stopped at my local AutoZone store and had the clerk punch up the application for the Lexus thermostat (7296-180). To quote the readout:

"Designed to lock open at approximately 280 degrees F to provide maximum coolant flow during overheating condition."

Let's see, you're driving down the road in your Ferrari, and your temp gauge starts reading higher than normal. But you aren't worried, you have a "Fail Safe" thermostat! The gauge goes to maximum (250 degrees), and it's still climbing. Should I stop? No, it will be OK once I get up to 280 degrees. Does this sound smart? No, it doesn't.

I fully agree that Ferrari parts are often ridiculously expensive, and I fully agree that we should take advantage of SUITABLE substitutes. But I wouldn't want a Fail Safe thermostat at any price.

 

why not?

 

All thermostats do the same thing: at a preset elevated temperature, say 150 F, the mechanism opens up, and stays open, until the car is shut down and the temperature starts to drop.

It takes at least 6 hours for a car engine to cool to ambient temp. The thermostat does not close for a period of hours after the engine is shut off.

If you blow a hose, and all the coolant all leaks out of the engine, the thermostat now does nothing, open or closed, since there is no coolant flowing.

I don't see where it matters either way. I think the safest way to protect your engine from meltdown due to coolant loss is to be sure your hoses are always fresh and tight, and check your coolant level weekly. There are other sources of coolant loss, but they are gradual...the blown hose is the coup-de-gras....

 

Why wouldn't I want a Fail Safe thermostat at any price??? Because the entire concept of the thing is dependent on the driver being willing to continue driving his car when the temperature gauge is telling him NOT to drive the car.

Even if the problem IS the thermostat, then before it goes into "fail safe" mode you have been operating the car with a coolant temperature more than 80 degrees over its normal level, greatly increasing the risk of a hose failure, a head gasket failure, warped heads, blown radiators, failed water pump seals, heater core rupture, etc.

If the problem ISN'T actually a failed thermostat, then what's the point of having a "Fail Safe" brand that doesn't help anything? The "fail safe" feature is totally useless if the overheating is due to a loss of coolant, for any reason.

The manufacturers are telling you "Buy our thermostat. If it's so crappy that it fails, all by itself, when the rest of your cooling system is fully functional, then this will help." Well, what good is that if you now have a thermostat that's permanently stuck open, and your engine needs extensive work because you ran it up to 280 degrees instead of stopping?

Edit: Also, remember that greater temperature also means greater pressure. While you are waiting for your thermostat to get hot enough to go into "fail safe" mode, the pressure in your cooling system continues to increase. Eventually the radiator cap (or expansion tank cap) will start to release pressure, but it will also start losing more coolant, potentially making the real problem even worse, and increasing the risk that the driver could suffer burns if he tries to check his coolant level.

 

That just doesn't make sense to me.

Even assuming the locking concept is not quite right or the locking trigger point is too high, I don't see how one can draw any logical or meaningful conclusions as to the quality of the thermostat.

It may be the highest quality thermostat in the world, or the crappiest, I just don't see how we can determine that when the only fact we know about it is that it is designed to lock open at 280.

No biggie, tho.

 

There is already a 'sticky' thread in the 308 section about part sources.

Re prices...we really don't need price police, everyone knows factory boxed parts are 3-4 times higher from on Ferrari than elsewhere. There is a good reason for that which is immaterial. And there are plenty of reasonably priced parts dealers and many are sponsors of this site so nothing is gained by ragging on Ferrari.

 

Paul,

It's not about ragging on Ferrari, they decide what price to put on an item. It's downright silly though that I have to pay 4X the price at the dealer for an oil-filter than what I pay from other sources for an identical filter.

Quite another thing is that many parts are identical to parts used in other vehicles, and a list with these references is a very useful thing for obvious reasons of economy, as well as availability.

The format, however, would need to be a searchable data-base, not a bunch of posts that mention a part and its' counterpart. (No disrespect to the contributors to the thread in the 308 section)
Such a list can't be too difficult to set up and make work within the F-chat format.

 

308 brakes are from vintage 911 porche and bosch jetronic parts look for mercedes,volvo,bmw

 

Many of us have database/programming ability, just a matter of convincing someone to spend the time. Perhaps you can make the proposal to RobLay and see what comes of it. Personally, when I need a part I never use the sticky list. Too cumbersome. First task is determining the categories, then decide how many columns are needed in the database. Actually I can see two tables, one for parts and one for suppliers.