Not to be argumentative, but sometimes it's just about being frustrated and never wanting to be in that position again. Been there, done that with another car.
I think I said this prior but will say again: I have no issue with the OP's decision to convert - it's his car to do as he wishes. My comments have been about value (which he asked) and technical details / time and effort to convert and convert back. Again, if he wants to paint his car pink, it's none of my buisiness. But when folks say it's only a dozzen parts and can be converted back and forth over a weekend, I disagree.
Dave , no hard feelings. let me elaborate on the issue. Car was at Reina for 2.5 months for major and clutch, a job that I was told would be done in 2 weeks. Finally after much frustration over 2 months later I get to drive all the way to Wisconsin to pick up my baby , I'm exited.. I leave Reina and within 20 miles my trans lite goes on so I pull over to make sure all was good, car never shifted again , stuck in neutral, so towed it back. one more month of back on forth still no solution to the problem, so he tells me he wants to ship the car to Continental maybe they can figure it out? so I agreed since they wer not getting anywere. Continental spent two more weeks trying to figure it out with no luck, keep in mind they received a car with a problem not caused by them and had no clue how it happened. so they tell me the pump is not working correctly and suggested putting in a 360 kit and I agreed, well ...no dice , still no gears.. at this point over 4 months have gone by and I'm at my witts.. So Gary at Continental advised me to change complete pump and actuator and that would prob take care of it , so he searched to find a used pump/actuator and found a used set from someone that had bastardzied his car, price$ 5500.00. So I asked the magic question ....what my cost for final repairs and parts? he said $10,000 , but there would be no warranty on parts since they where used and had no history on them... so I started to think **** I could go through all this all over again? no way! If the parts installed where new backed up by a warranty , yes its a no brainer...and that would have cost a fortune for parts. so a bell went off...I said what about a manual conversion? cheaper safer no more haedaches.. yes I'm in! I don't ever want to deal with that again it was stressful had no car for over 5 months , and I would be paranoid every time I drove the car. Some have suggested to just sell f1 and buy another manual , as I said before I wont get rid of her . So if shes a bastard now , shes my bastard.
Very sorry for the situation. To be honest, from your last post, I would not have much confidence in Continental as they should have been able to diagnose it properly but it seems as they threw their hands up and wanted to part swap. Please tell me they have and used an SD?
Witch leaves the question..... what about Reina International..? Should they take no responsibility for this whatsoever? I know if I never took the car in it would not have stopped shifting.. what could they have done wrong ..and should I persue the issue with them? I feel cheated .
As I said earlier, I really don't know as you have decided to not fix the root problem. Sounds like one mess after another. Bad situation. I feel for you as you hired people and it seems you have been not treated well.
Ken-Nope, but you might want to take the pro's (David Feinberg) opinion on that instead of mine. The seals are not the same for F1 fluid and brake fluid. If they had been compatible, Ferrari would not have bothered with separate seals all the way from the F355 through the 599. When in doubt, verify rather than bluff. Especially do not give bad advice like not even bothering with the clutch.
That's what I was thinking. Did they fit a new clutch and not reset the PIS setting with the SD tool???
Having extensive F355 experience and an SD-2, I can tell you that it is extremely unlikely that the first shop had one whilst doing your clutch. And if they did, they surely did not have a clue how to interpret the voluminous amount of diagnostic data that the SD-2 will returned when connect to the TCU. To have any expectation that a dealer (and a good one) could or would sort this mess out is perhaps wishful thinking. No one enjoys cleaning up a mess left by others. And secondly, their overhead and flat rate structure doesn't work particularly well with diagnostic-intensive work. And lastly, the parts situation with these car borderlines on absurd, which often limits what dealers can do. Onward...
Yes i agree , i have no beef with Continental. This was thrown at them and they did what they could. I made the mistake of taking things in my own hands just to get this done finally.. Im sure Reina is happy about that, but im not done with them. Let me get my car back then il deal with them one way or another.
Dave, I'm assuming the car did not show up to the dealer without prior notice? And, while I can respect and appreciate the challenges of "cleaning up someone else's mess" (we do it more than I care to admit), seems like they did take the car in. And, mess or no mess, if a customer is willing to pay for their services, how does it matter? In life, many professionals fix the mistakes of others. Really no different. What was the OP to do - take his car to the scrap yard? Surely you don't support what the OP has laid out as a method of proper diagnostics by shop 2. I'm also taking the OP's statements at face value based on what's been posted as that's all that can be done. I've been in similar situations where a profession has not taken responsibility (ask me about the bubbles in my $50k shop / office floor coatings) Furthermore the same shop is now willing to take on this conversation in lieu of fixing the initial problems - seems strange to me....(if they did not want to touch the mess made by another)
Dont forget The connection at the shift rod to transmisson, you need that as well if not sourced with the shift rod. Also the clutch release bearing, and the bearing support flanges are called out as being different between the 6 speed and F1. I have a 6 speed and a F1 trans in the garage if anyone really wants to see the difference side by side.
Had the same story here. F1 hydraulic pump failed. Took it to my local Ferrari dealer whom suggested at first that my clutch is due to change. After a month or so, my new clutch arrived . The dealer Installed it. Same problem !!!!�� Again the master mechanic at Ferrari, redicoulsly said the problem is with the flywheel ! Here I go again ordering a new flywheel . Another month waiting ! Flywheel arrives ! Same F**king problem . It was time to meet the CEO of the company , with no hope we went back to square one. F1 hydraulic needs to be changed !! I ask , how much will it cost ? Around 15K USD from Italy . My answer to the dealer hell No !!!! ������ So I decided to send my F1 hydraulic unit to get repaired through a friend in the U.S . When I shipped it DHL returned the package 4 times to me Saying that the package contains fluids and it is against flight and company policy to ship fluids !!! I tried my best to drain the F1 unit as much as possible in the damn sun !!! Finally the package went through and got fixed and came back. �� Again Ferrari , after installing the unit did not know how to calibrate the unit and bleed the system !!! I was totally depressed and started a law suit against them !!! In the meanwhile , I shipped over my F355 overseas to another Ferrari dealer, who was a life saver. The guy is a genius !!! Totally saved me. He installed the F1 unit and shipped back the car. Thank GOD there are still people out there who know how to fix old generation Ferrari's . Total cost 6k for F1 unit repair +clutch + flywheel . Duration : 1 year to repair !! Conclusion : Most Ferrari mechanics at the dealership in Saudi Arabia don't know what the hell they are doing ! And are only trained ( I doubt ) on F430's and beyond !!! Thanks Roger @ Ferrari Bahrain ! I owe you big time .
This is a sad situation all around. Some observations from someone who knows all the repair centers involved... Reina does not have an SD computer. Their reputation as a repair center is sketchy at best. Continental does, and they know how to use it. They fixed (bled the system) on my car after Motion Products messed it up and their SD computer expired. As an aside, Lakeforest is the supposed "Big Boy Dealer" around these parts. My car went there first for the F1 bleed using the SD system. They took the car in and then proclaimed that my car had a "broken carbon fiber actuator shaft. For $12,000 they could fix it". I took the car away from them.
