550 service: Say it ain't so!

I brought my 10k mile immaculate 2001 550 in for annual service and said "while you are changing the oil, check the AC/heater fan, as it stopped working, maybe it is a fuse"

Ok, so I have had my share of ferrari's and I maintain a prototype racecar; not much shocks me anymore.....

Ready? Ferrari Long Island "Can't get a new fan motor, but we can get it rebuilt for about $400; oh, and with labor, it's $15,000"

There, I said it. And yes, I did say "are you kidding me?"

Car is home with fresh oil and I may wear a sweater this fall.

Any thoughts are welcome...

 

How thorough were they with their faultfinding? Apart from the fuse, there is a fan speed regulator and possibly a fan speed relay. Not to mention the DIAVIA ECU.

 

Sorry...LOL! These guys are on drugs...

 

How was that Labour cost calculated?

 

I assume this is all because the fan motor lives inside the dash, so you'll need to remove the whole dashboard to get to it.

Even with that, $15000 seems like a crazy number.

 

You can short out some pins (or rather, sockets) on one the fan speed controller electrical connectors to prove it's the motor and not a control issue.

I can guide you through the process, but it helps if we know what the "experts" have already tried.

 

How many hours of labor is it to change that motor???

 

Time to find an independent tech...?

Ferrari needs to support the stock price [emoji6]


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isn't that the old 'don't want this job' quote ?

 

Just take it to @BRADAN and get it sorted...

 

Maybe they missed a decimal point and it’s really $150.00 as opposed to $15000... that’s nuts!

Ruben

 

You'd probably have to remove the entire evaporator unit to get to the motor. This means removing most of the dash.

Here's what it looks like on a 456

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/fun-with-hand-tools.314409/

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The fan speed controller looks impossible to get to (by simply removing the panel on the side of the centre console). You might be able to locate the plugs for it, however.

I think an easier way to prove that the fan was working would be to jumper the relay.

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Exactly the point. That’s highway robbery


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Seems to me that is a "Don't want to" quote. When a shop really doesn't want to be bothered with an annoying job (which by the 456 photos, this one surely is. And the Diavia unit is unloved for good reasons...), then the price of doing that job goes through the roof. Simultaneously, the quality of the job done falls through the floor.

 

Even with the evaporator unit out, it's not clear how to access the blower motor

Here is the 550 unit (looking at the rear)

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Maybe the engine has to come out

Here's a better shot of the cylindrical fan housing (on the engine side of the evaporator):

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What's behind the heatshielding on the firewall?

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THIS is your answer....they don't want to work on 20 year old cars, all dealers hit this point eventually.

 

You got that right. Having an experienced independent savant (Al P. & Reina in my area) that has seen everything and can actually fix something makes the whole owenership experience just that much better.

 

@BRADAN

 

Time to buy a couple of electric vests!

 

Happily mine does. Carrs are Ferrari main dealers and they work on Ferraris of all ages (in my case '73 Dino and '98 550) very happily. Their charges are reasonable and they have mechanics with the skill and experience to know what they are doing.

 

My main dealer, Joe Macari, is the same. I had one of my cars in there this week and in the service area I counted a CS, NART Spider, Superamerica, 365 GTC/4, 355 and a real GTO.

Joe was there in one of his cars. His DD used to be a Daytona Spider, with cigarette packets and chocolate wrappers strewn across the seats. Now it’s a GTC4 Lusso but with an engine that sounds like it will make the 812 speciale sound like a Mazda.

some people do it for love and as well as money

 

Were there any other symptoms? Noisy fan? Did they say the fuse was ok? Did they look for power on the control panel (the lights may be on, but there may be no one at home ). Can you tell if your recirculation function is operating? Stopping cold air coming into the car is a good start.

How much time did they spend on diagnosis and how much did they charge you? Was the quote a worst case scenario, based on experience?

 

To this day I am still embarassed to relate the repair/replacement quote for 2 fuel pumps on my '01 550M from the local dealer. Suffice to say it put me over the edge.....

 

Geez, I can afford the cost of a 550, which is at the top of my list right now to buy, followed by the 360, but I cannot spend $15K for this job, should it come up in the future. Maybe I need to rethink my wish to own a Ferrari 550. Lol.