new to the 456, need advice

I am new to this model, I had a 328.

I have read, on this site, all kinds of horror stories re maintenance costs on these cars. Some mechanics say they are very costly, one very well respected one says they are a great car.

Bottom line, is a well sorted 456 one that is reasonable ? Is $2-3k per year a reasonable budget ?

many thanks

 

I think the 456 and 355 are misunderstood vehicles - if you drive them at least once a week: Ferrari's are a solid vehicle.

The craftsmanship is there in any vehicle. Biggest nightmare scenario with those 12 cylinder engines is the valve guides were of poor material. That can get costly like 6-8 range. But once fixed, consider it done. (I am regurgitating info from Taz).

Past that $3000 for a belt change every 5 years and all other expenses should be about on par with any other vehicle (fluids/brakes).

When purchasing a car - a couple things to check off the check list are:

1) Leather shrinkage on the dash or anywhere for that fact
2) Service history and mileage throughout the years (steer clear of something that has been sitting)
3) I'd suggest an off-color as the front engine 12's look great in off-colors

Common Problems with the 456: (not costly/just annoying)

1) Window Alignment (usually $234 for new actuators)
2) Shocks ($80 a piece to rebuild)

That's all I have for now. I am a new 550 owner - but looked into the 456 heavily.

Best wishes. Others will chime in and correct me or add on!

 

Well-sorted is the key: checking the motor mounts, testing for worn valve guides, window gap fixes, door locks, radiator leaks, leather shrinkage, bubbly/sticky knobs, switches and hvac control surfaces, maintenance records, shock actuators, alarm siren battery, having 3 fobs, including the red one, plus the usual things you'd look for.

The usual annual maintenance is $1K or less, but any of things noted above can cause the expenses to take off.

My valve guides failed late, but when they did, the bill, including the major which made sense to have done at that time was over $10K with new custom ground Manley valves as well as guides.

 

Depends totally on your yearly mileage, condition of the car at purchase, your tolerance for things to go wrong, your mechanical skills or skills of the garage, creativity for finding parts, and one secret ingrediënt called luck.

Be very, very careful with the mode of maintenance of your choice. A lot of garages will not be able to resist to ask you very big bucks for everything and/or talk you into unnecessary maintenance. If you want things to stay rational and reasonable, you need to know your stuff and be able to stand your ground, so you don't become in the position where you're at the mercy of your garage. In my experience, it really pays to be able to do a lot yourself - but only if you know what you're doing.
These cars have their quircks but in essence they're just cars, not rocketships.
If you're used to a 328 then the maintenance cost or cost of some parts won't upset you (too much).

 

to the above posters, thank you. please keep the comments coming. What about the stories regarding the infamous automatic trans. autobox repairs ?

 

I have a 99 456m gta. I got it in May of this year. I drive it all the time...almost daily and have put ~1500 miles on it. So far so good. No issues other than sticky stuff which will get done this winter. No leaks. Not a drop on garage floor of anything. Its a pretty neat car and my first Ferrari. It is Blu Pozzi, looks almost black at night.

 

I've never seen a verified story of an autobox failure in the seven years I've been on this board. BTW, it is essentially a Chevy truck transmission modified by Ricardo in England, if I recall correctly.

 

1+ to Allan's list

Consider looking at the degrading rubber gaskets on the fuel pumps plugging fuel filters and potentially poor performing injectors. My set up was terrible and almost none of the injectors misted but rather dripped when tested. Did not notice any poor performance. After all it IS a V12. They were all cleaned and bench tested, fuel lines cleaned, filters replaced , tank cleaned and all seals replaced ( hint of gas smell in trunk).

Thanks for ALL the Ethanol gas corn lobby!

Enjoy it!

Best

AK

 

How did the rubber gaskets get passed the fuel filters?

 

I agree with everything 2000 456M / Allan states and I could add a couple more like gas tank and hoses, but, to be honest the M is a better one to go with as many updates were incorporated and you'll not be making some changes possibly right away.

You budget 'might' be ok, but REALLY REALLY get it checked out and KNOW. They are great cars otherwise and I'll be looking for another in the future unless a 458 drops into the lap at same price

 

See this thread
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575-sponsored-bradan/379853-another-case-dissolving-rubber-550-gas-tank.html

 

Dave-In your link, I don't see any evidence of the deteriorated rubber getting past the fuel filters in those examples. That was the question I posed. I don't know the answer, but if it does get passed the fuel filters, I'd like to know how and why. The OP suggests that his injectors needed cleaning as a result of this failure.

 

GS- It clogs up the pump inlet and the fuel filters and chokes off flow. There is so much of it, it does not need to get past the filters.

 

Gaskets start to decompose as a result of ethanol effect. Filters were fully clogged. The assumption is that the filters filter largest particles. Do not know the filtering limit of these filters, however , some particulate matter of some size gets to the injectors. The injectors were all individually bench tested pre and post process. not sure how this occurs from an engineering perspective. Upon completion of service they were at 100% of expected atomization process.

Te service (bench testing and cleaning of each individual injector)was rather inexpensive, perhaps $300. It was a "send out" service for the AutoGallery in Calabasas

 

Its not the gaskets that deteriorate, its the rubber isolation/vibration dampeners that hold the actual pump in the housing.

The poster who called them gaskets is misinformed.

As for rubber particles getting past the filter, they may in very small particles but basically they don't, they just plug it up.

 

Thanks Dave for correcting a newbie's use of incorrect terminology

best

AK

 

Its possible to completely eliminate this problem by installing 575 pump baskets which have no rubber parts.

Its not plug and play, it requires a bit of fabrication but I've done two and they have been working for over a year now.

The thread:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575-sponsored-bradan/417423-575-fuel-pump-550-a.html

 

Thanks Dave. WIll store that link away for future reference! Wish I had seen that thread last summer.

 

Where I was heading with my question is that electronic fuel injection fuel filters are usually around 10 microns and should keep just about anything out of your injectors. The filters will clog up, but I doubt any of the particles would slip though. Carbureted engines will run anywhere from a 30 to 60 micron filters. They have to run these larger micron filters because of their inherent low fuel pressure. Alternatively fuel injected engines run very high fuel pressures and as a result can run 10 micron filters without issue. A human hair is around 70 microns in thickness to give you an idea what we are talking about. So, if the deteriorated rubber was in the injectors as stated, I'd sure like to know how and why.

 

GS- All irrelevant if you are getting no fuel flow through the filter.

 

Here is a sumary of 1 of the banks pre and post.
Image Unavailable, Please Login