Ferrari 456 DIY?

HI, is there anybody out there that does all or most of the maintenance and repairs on their 456 themselves? Any such brave people on this forum? If so, I'd like to ask a few questions, maybe offline

Thanks

 

Welcome to Fchat and I see by your 6 posts you are new here.
I would highly recommend doing some searches on this section, and you may not need to ask question too many questions and you may have some we have been asked.

So many people on here tackle all sorts of 456 maintenance, and You tube even has a series on Belt change and major service items.

There are number of got to people like Taz, Fatbillybob, the Guys from the skunkworks,
Business like Brandon's.

Happy searching.

 

Welcome. Yes many do the maintenance themselves.

 

Thanks for the leads. For now though I'll still take the liberty of asking here

Here are the worst items I've heard are potential weaknesses on this car. I understand that when you google a list like that, it gets long, not every car has every problem:
-Side windows, mechanism and seals
-Valve guides
-Anything electrical
-Rear shocks
-Cooling leaks
-Motor mounts
-Gas tank
-Coolant hose under intake manifold
-Front suspension bushings
-A/C compressor
-and the electrical/electronic/OBDII reading and diagnosing

Any major item I missed?

So my question is, for a DIY, are replacement parts available? At reasonable costs? Ideally, I would be able to buy all parts and fix myself, I know it will not be BMW prices, and it may take a week or two before I get the part, so downtime is expected.

What items/services will it be necessary to visit Ferrari dealer for? OBDII? Is there a tool for sale that can read it and give you error codes and clear them?

Today I maintain a Pantera and a Longchamp, and fix everything myself, there’s no alternative. But they're also much simpler cars, I realize that.

Thanks

 

Yes. 95% can be DIY - if you are good enough and trust yourself to work on a car that puts high prices on failure.

Major ones you missed: timing cover bearings, prone to failure esp if the timing belt is overtightened. This is really one to watch when doing a belt change.
Oil leakage from cam covers if improperly sealed/installed.
Torque tube bearing failure does occur. Also I have seen here a failure of the front oil pump shaft bearing on a 550 leading to eventual loss of oil pressure. The 456 design is identical but it does not seem to be common at all. I would class it as a high impact but low probability problem.

Gas tank, mostly the rubber bits - filler hose giving fuel smell and a fire risk when the fuel is topped off, and fuel pump rubber gaskets. The latter can give a chain effect of clogged fuel pumps, filters and injectors.
Cooling system - main hoses yes but do not forget the small hoses that clog from rubber deterioration. Cheap and easy but also easily overlooked as a major source of problems.
Radio system of the first series (main unit in the trunk), quite a few people opt to change it for a more modern one but originals can be repaired and modified, I have a lot of experience with that.
Seat potentiometers leading to a stuck electrical seat adjustment.

Mine had a few of these when I bought it, windows, tank rubbers and timing cover bearing failure were the biggest issues.

As you say, if you list everything that can go wrong, the list will be quite long - as with any car.

 

Hi,

Yes, there is lots of work for DIY guys.

The radio/stereo: I am happy with the radio, the CD changer does not play CD's (could be just dust and dirt, could be cleaned and repaired) but there is a thread in here which helped me, I bought a Sony adapter and can now play music from iPhone/iPad/iPod or any MP3 player etc. I do like listening to the radio when driving in foreign countries, Italy, Switzerland etc.

The OBD/OBD2. Works with OBD2 but only from certain MY for USA and 456 M models with the later Motronic. Early models like mine would need something else. I am still looking for a solution for this. It's no rocket science, basic Bosch stuff and there is some info in the factory ROM, but so far I have not been able to connect anything to the connectors found in my car.

Then again I am not sure what I would need, as there are no codes that need resetting etc. You just boot the thing by giving it power from the battery and it works every time!

I don't seem to get tired of firing up a V12!

Cheers,

Pekka T.
Fin.

 

Pekka, I am in favor of keeping the radio unit, but many of them fail, mostly because of heat so people decide to change them. Imho originality will eventually be important also there. So on mine and cars of a few others I corrected that so it will work again (and for longer than original) and also modified the unit so the "walkman" button on the lower right of the faceplate can work as an input. Nice period item and slightly nicer solution for an extra input. It's possible to use a Bluetooth adapter, and the changer functionality is retained. And if that is broken it can be repaired too.

Reading the 2.7 motronic used to go through a program on an Olivetti PC...
But yes these are quite easily diagnosed using an ohmmeter and voltmeter or scope. DIY is quite fun on these.

 

456 or 456M? 456 has the movable spoiler which has been a known source of problems; eliminated in the M with the fixed spoiler.

 

Allan, the only spoiler problem I am aware of is that it uses the same motor as both popup headlights, with identical failure mode: moisture causing rust and it not to work properly or not at all. It's not very common as far as I am aware.

 

My understanding is that there is a warning light that comes on which is annoying to look at constantly ( kinda like the suspension fail light). No first hand experience, so if someone knows otherwise, I'd be interested to hear.

 

Hi,

I guess that depends on the driver and the kind of driving you do. Yes, if you are constanly changing speed between <70km/h and >120km/h you might find it irritating, but I don't mind. To me it's about as annoying as a "MACH 1" or "MACH 2" warning light would be in a fighter plane or Concorde!

Cheers,

Pekka T.
Fin.

 

Spoiler motor is not a big issue anyway and not difficult or expensive. Do fix it if you intend to do 125+mph speeds.

 

Check this thread by member: Modificata ,

456M major service - and so it begins

 

Excellent thread, thanks. Gotten to 17th video, got tired Seems compared to my DeTomaso/Ford V8 world, everything is twice as difficult and 3 times as expensive

Does any know the price of a major service with cam belts, bearings, oil etc.?

 

5-7 K at an independent

 

The spoiler is a VERY simple system and very easy system to repair/maintain. There really isn't much to be afraid of on the 456, but personally I use a specialist mechanic with a lot of experience, for any major engine /gearbox work. Everything else I do myself.

 

There is a reason why the Pantera was an AWESOME DIY car. I rebuilt everything on mine other than the exterior shell. Great spacing around the engine and very simple carburation, and fairly simple suspension/driveline/electrical system with not one ECU. The F456M is a different kettle of fish. It is very complicated under the hood and, as someone who found the Pantera interesting and slightly challenging, I will admit that the 456 is way beyond my ability to do major DIY work.

Not saying that others can't and don't do - but they are very different cars separated by nearly 30 years of tech evolution.

Having said all that I outgrew my beloved 72 Pantera, and now enjoy the comfort, performance and interior of my 456M.


Good luck Alan.

 

So trying to sum up the potential faults besides normal maintenance. Right now I need to decide to go for non-M or M version. My local taxes are less for a before June 1997 model and I like the early interior better (though everybody thinks the M is better)

So, on the ones below, which are only for the non-M? Are any of the potential faults for M only?

-Valve guides
-Anything electrical
-Rear shocks/all shocks
-Cooling leaks
-Cooling, small hoses clogging from deterioration
-Radio with unit in trunk
-window regulators
-Motor mounts
-Gas tank
-Coolant hose under intake manifold
-Front suspension bushings
-A/C compressor
-Timing cover bearings
-Cam cover oil leaks
-Torque tube bearing
-Fuel pump rubber, filling the fuel system with gunk
etc
etc?

 

All interior leather shrinks.
Ignition wires come on a plastic piece that cracks.
Hydraulic accumulators.
HVAC panel, and HVAC relay.
On pre M, that damn rear console door strut - took me several attempts to find one that worked.
On mine, much of the work was undoing work from others.

 

Hi,

It may be a matter of luck, but I haven't had much of those issues. During two years and some lovely trips to Villa d'Este, Basel, Mulhouse, Le Mans Classic and last but not least, the Nürburgring the only technical problems (besides the speed cameras! ) have been:

The CD changer does not read any CD's, the radio works fine as does the Sony adapter I installed for iPod/iPhone etc.

The passenger door window did a dance in heavy rain once on the Autobahn.

The LH side wiper attachment was a bit loose, which caused the drivers side wiper to get stuck up, fixed with a thin but deep 13mm socket.

The diver's side seat tilting switch does not always want to tilt rearward. The passenger side seat stopped moving when you tilt the seat, but I fixed that too with regular tools, it's easy once you have the heavy seat put of the car. (Adjusted the cables)

Besides that, it's been a lot of fun driving, and I normally have been driving E-types on the same kind of roads (and a 1975 manual XJ6C) so I am used to a soft but firm ride, and to me the 456 GT gives just that, but with more power.

I like both the early interior better too (no airbag in my steering wheel) and also the Daytona/365GTC/4 inspired external look, even if the M may be technically better.

Cheers,

Pekka T.
Fin.

 

Thanks Pekka

But does anybody positively know which of these issues were addressed by Ferrari on the M, so not a problem anymore?
-Valve guides
-Anything electrical
-Rear shocks/all shocks
-Cooling leaks
-Cooling, small hoses clogging from deterioration
-Radio with unit in trunk
-Window regulators
-Motor mounts
-Gas tank
-Coolant hose under intake manifold
-Front suspension bushings
-A/C compressor
-Timing cover bearings
-Cam cover oil leaks
-Torque tube bearing
-Fuel pump rubber, filling the fuel system with gunk
All interior leather shrinks.
Ignition wires come on a plastic piece that cracks.
Hydraulic accumulators.
HVAC panel, and HVAC relay.
On pre M, that damn rear console door strut - took me several attempts to find one that worked.

 

The radio.

 

[emoji23]sad but true


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