Hi there, I'm bringing my car for my first big service since I bought the car 2 months ago. This is a reputable garage who seems serious, so I guess he'll know what to do on the car. Nevertheless, any advices of what should be done at this occasion and shouldn't. I mean I can't afford to change everything possible in preventive as some do. So what is the essential (really usefull)? Thanks.
Some items to consider depending upon recent service records: Hill Engineering tensioner bearings. If it's original and showing sign of collapse, also change the tensioners Check the heat exchanger, they wear out in time not miles You really want to change all the cam seals, paper gaskets, and o-rings All coolant hoses now that the engine is out, it's a lot easier Are your fans 25 years old and blowing fuses? Are your oil hoses leaking, fuzzing, or drippy? The little one between the engine and the oil tank is the worst. Now's the time Dump the spark plugs. You can never trust the color Repaint powder coat the cam covers Your engine mounts under the headers, if they collapse more than 1/4 inch, they are gone Beyond 35k miles, change the oil pump chain tensioner If there is an oil leak between the engine and gearbox, change the RMS Leaky inspection ports under the gearbox, change those gaskets The original aluminum banjo bolts at the gearbox oil lines, they do not last 30k miles Your timing case cover has cracks, JB weld to the rescue Smoke test the headers. Replacing them when engine is out is much easier TDC sensors... cheap Coolant temp sensor... cheap CV boots cracked? $100 each And then there is that pesky water pump.
Thanks. TDC sensor is already done as I was left side of the road because of it just after buying this car
Saved? If only... Sensor costs me €230! And it costs me nearly a grand in total to have the car fixed (sensor included + wiring harness repaired and couple of other things). And this was only my third time behind the wheel.
There is a non-ferrari TDC sensor for about $30. You could have saved some money. But, I understand that some shops do not allow you to bring your own parts. Oh well, it's a Ferrari with its Ferrari taxes. You drive it, you pay it.
Yeah, I noticed. To find the price of a Ferrari part, just take the usual price for a normal car and add a zero at the end of the number. It's also work for second hand parts.
In a lot of cases, the technique is: find the Bosch part number and find the identical part in a Volvo, Fiat, BMW, etc box for 1/10th the price.
I had no choice. I was left side of the road just on holidays time (France stops in August), and I was very glad this shop could fix my car when all others were closing. So next time, if I have the time I'll check the prices.
My mechanic told me the fuel lines should be replaced. What would be the best choice? Original parts or Earl's or else?
Fuel lines on the 355 are very robust especially if they have been upgraded to the stainless steel braided lines. Those are almost never replaced unless something drastic happened to them. There has to be visual cuts, knicks, or wear marks for your mechanic to suggest that. Ask for them. Coolant hoses, that is a different story. Almost every coolant hose gets replaced at the major service time because it is so much easier to get to them with the engine out. You can get non-OEM coolant hoses for every one of those without having to spend large dollars for something like a SCR hose kits. I simply cut them during process of removal so that I don't fight with them during removal and skin my knuckles.
Like this one I’m working on. Wow. Ordered a new line. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Something really bad happened there to the braided lines. Even the rubber protection piece is worn down.
I just got my car back from the shop 2 days ago. After checking the bill a couple of things are disturbing me. They didn't change the belt tensioners (I guess the old ones are still good as they were changed 4 years ago, but still...). But what surprised me the most is they charged me for removing back bumper in order to paint the exhaust heat shield. But wouldn't a major include the rear bumber removal to to get easy access to the engine frame anyway? They told me they could do it without removing the rear bumper. What's your opinion about it?
You can drop engine without removing bumper yes. But you can also remove the heat shields without removing bumper. Sent from my SM-G990U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
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This is not the hill you want to die on. Move on. It's a small thing. While you can remove the engine with the bumper on and the muffler disconnected, some things are easier with the bumper off. The amount of work is just about the same.
Right. I was just expecting the rear bumper to be removed in a way to perform the engine removal, so I was surprised to be charged again for a bumper removal to paint the heat shield.
If only I could! Nearly no gas available here, and this is definitively not the right time to make the queue at the station with a Ferrari when people are fighting to get gas to work or to go on holidays
