In for its first annual... not the good news I was expecting.

So I dropped off my 430 today for its first annual service under my ownership.

Just got a not too positive email about the car.

The only good things reported are the brakes are at 9mm and the clutch is only 9.5%worn...

On to the bad news:
The water pump is leaking coolant,
the gear box F1 actuator is leaking fluid, the muffler mounts are cracked and the front suspension ball joints have moderate play.

The shop is tallying up the parts cost and I'm waiting for a response on the estimated cost!

I take it these issues will not be friendly to my wallet!

Anyone have any guesses at what the damage will be?

-Christian

 

The exhaust brackets will continue to break. I've had 5 broken , 3 on one side 2 on the other, I replaced with Capristo units.

The water pump seems to be a common problem. I think the F1 pump can be rebuilt.

I would do an advanced search on all these items before agreeing to work done.

 

Does your car have aftermarket headers? If you are running factory exhaust manifolds get the Capristo brackets..

 

No aftermarkets... just the factory Mk2's that were replaced a couple years ago. Thanks for the info I'll look into the Capristo brackets...

I'll probably hold off on all repairs and do some research before committing to anything. Just wasn't expecting it. Only put about 1500 miles on it since I bought it a year ago and it had a clean bill of health then! Perhaps my lack of driving the car enough is conducive to the leaks. Ugh

 

If your stock manifolds are good, then look into the Capristo bracket... If you do not have the bracket you will continue to replace stock exhaust manifolds.. This would be a good time to go to headers if you were looking that direction already.

The oil/water pump can be rebuilt.. So can the F1 pump.

 

Guys, OP said F1 actuator, not F1 pump... Guess at estimate, if you are doing everything by the book, >$10k.

 

Here is a thread with information about rebuilding F1 actuators: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430-sponsored-yellow-compass-group/452591-f1-actuator-rebuild.html

 

Thanks for the link... And yikes! Definitely gonna try and soften the blow any way I can. Anyone have a good vendor for the Capristo brackets? Will also look into rebuilding the actuator.

 

Don't despair, you will have a fully sorted car with "reset" service history and years of enjoyment

 

Have kyb handy and try not to scream too loudly.

 

Wow this thread is super sobering as I'm presently contemplating the purchase of a 430.

 

Just got of the phone with the shop. Spoke to the tech who worked on my car. The water pump has a moderate leak, so getting that replaced for sure at a cost of around $5500 parts/ labor.
To those unaware like I was... the water pump in the 430 is actually an external all in one water/oil pump hence the insane parts cost!

The F1 actuator is just a minor leak, he thinks I can hold off on it and take a closer look at it during the next service. Also they have a place that will rebuild them at about half the cost of a replacement part.

Lastly, the exhaust brackets are only a few hundred, and they have a local welding shop modify them to prevent the cracking issues.

Anyways, just figured I'd update for anyone curious/ following the thread. Not the greatest news but at least only about half the damage I was expecting to be in for last night!

-Christian

 

The water pump is about 3k. You can probably do this one your own if you have a lift or a method to lift your car enough to get this work done. AW Italia sells rebuild kits for the water pump for about $500, might be worth looking into that.

The F1 actuator is very expensive, you can get it rebuild for about 3k-4k (by GTE Engineering), plus labor for removing and installing. Buying new it will be about 20k including labor.

The exhaust brackets are not that expensive and you can change and install yourself, superformance has them at reasonable prices. My exhaust brackets haven't cracked, I am running aftermarket headers, but once they do I'll go with capristo brackets.

 

Thanks... unfortunately I dont really have access to a lift nor would I trust myself turning wrenches on this car.

I will ask to keep the old pump though and look into having it rebuilt. Perhaps then I can sell it and recoup a little $ back.

 

Christian,
What year 430 and how many miles are on the clock?

 

was there coolant on the bottom cover?was it leaking or just crusty around the weep hole?my friend had a 430 scud with low miles when under warranty had the waterpump replaced and after 2 years he was told again but just dried coolant stains on it he didnt repair it and its been again another 2 years with no coolant loss

 

Christian:

Hi. Just curious as to which shop you are using? Thanks.

 

'07 with 17.3K

about 1500 driven miles since last years annual

 

I didn't personally have eyes on it... but the tech told me it was leaking out of the weep hole at a "moderate" level

 

Considering the water pump can be unbolted from the oil pump I would source a rebuild kit. The major part of the expense is the dry sump oil pump, which is still healthy.

 

Just found the waterpump rebuild kit from AW Italian

Ferrari 430wpkit2

I will ask the shop if they will consider rebuilding it for me. We shall see!

 

Unfortunately, these are all old Italian sports cars that while generally better built and more reliable than Ferraris of 30-40 years ago, still have stiff running costs. The classic case of you have to pay to play. No one likes paying a fat bill, but at the end of the day your car will come back fully sorted and then you can focus on it as what it is, a joyous car to drive that you likely worked very hard to be able to earn- any owner is fortunate to have one. The problem is when people think of these things like investments (with the multitude of valuation threads I read on here and obsessive thoughts on if cars will appreciate, not depreciate, premiums for stick cars, etc etc) if one is focused on these cars as an investment it will not be an enjoyable ownership experience.

Christian- hopefully you are working with a great independent shop...the dealers are generally a lot more expensive if you are using one of them.

I remember people saying how much more reliable a 360 is vs 355 back in '09 when I bought my 360 (car was the same age as your 430 is now)- at the end of the day still had a five figure repair bill during my 5 year ownership...any of these cars can give you a big bill- F1 system, convertible top if spider, exhaust manifolds (430 or 360 with the pre-cats that break apart), clutch, waterpump, etc etc. If you sort your 430 with these repairs, it sounds like hopefully you'll have many more miles/years before anything big bites you (but again, it is essentially a decade old ferrari so things can happen). It will be nice to get in the car and drive when you get it back from the service- you'll feel better!

 

Concur. That is the way you have to look at it.

Also OP - think of it this way - at least you didn't get stranded or have to limp to service under stress.

Good luck; this stuff always sucks.

 

+1. I totally agree with Andrew.

Ferrari ownership costs money just like other cars. Yes. Honda, Lexus, Nissan will have a lot less to repair. My MB SL ran out of warranty but we decided to keep the car. A specific ABC problem which you could find hundreds of complaints on the web has cost a lot more money than my Ferrari. And my Ferrari is not a garage queen. Drive the car as much as possible is another way to get to know the car and prevent from surprise things.

 

I'm surprised at the clutch reading. The car's on its second clutch?