430 GogglesPisano's F430 Ownership Journey

@modificator
Took the selector cover off. Not really easy to shift any gear without the leverage. 2nd seems to hit a wall halfway into engagement. Transmission is cold now though. Noticed some odd chips on a couple on the gear in the lower right corner. Not sure if that’s related.


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Man, isn't this the truth. I've been doing extensive online research on this and there are posts that go back generations lamenting the 2nd gear. Some to the point where they don't even use second gear until the car is warmed up.

Oddly enough, I noticed a slight improvement after reassembling the selector housing. Not sure why other than my I held my tongue the right way.

A rebuild might be in the future but really only because something obviously was rattling around in there enough to chip that lower gear. Don't think whatever did that is still there no, but it makes me curious what else might have been damaged. Right now, nothing is bad enough that I need to worry about it. It really is just a slight annoyance.

 

I don't mind a bit of wait until warm up. What I'm trying to understand is that every keeps saying that once warm, 2nd shifts super smooth as the rest. I'm not getting that when warm. It's much better but It's still a bit stiff most of the time. On occasion, I'll get a super smooth shift to 2nd but it's not often.

 

yeah, 3-6 are all super smooth. They just fall right in with the right amount of feedback to feel the gears meshing through the knob. 1-2 and 2-1 are a pain regardless of temp but 2-1 hardly ever happens as I usually go from 2nd to neutral when slowing down.

 

Haven't tried that yet as I haven't been blocked out before. I have for first, but that's not unusual in any car.

 

Lol. it would be less hassle to just get another one

 

Going there Friday. I’ll see if he has pictures of the wires.

 

they sent me a pic. They were not used and just tucked away. Hope that helps.



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@KnightSolaire had recently posted an image of a 360 power steering cap that resembled the aluminum oil cap. Apparently this was an option for the 360, Ferrari p/n: 185353

However, us F430 owners had to check our power steering like peasants, twisting hard plastic instead of nicely milled aluminum. I decided to buy a 360 cap and see if it would fit. After all, it’s not like Ferrari to not recycle as much as possible from previous years. I found a decent deal on eBay and bought this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/153331601496

So, the cap came in today and I was able to check out what’s actually going on here. The good news is that it screws right on with no issues. The bad news is that it sits crooked once installed. Makes sense I guess since the stock ZF cap sits sideways as well. Otherwise, the two are identical minus the different style of dip stick. The 360 has a flat tab while the 430 has a rounded tube like stick. both are graduated at the same levels though and both are the same lengths. I did notice this cap was updated once and some pictures show the tube like dipstick like the F430 so not sure what the difference was or why it was updated.

It was pretty obvious what Ferrari did by looking at the bottom of the cap. they basically made an aluminum cover for the ZF cap and attached it with a roll pin. Someone here had previously milled their own replica in the same fashion. Using a pick, I pried the side opposite the roll pin up until the cap came out. As suspected, standard ZF cap.

Instead of rotating this one and reinstalling it, I decided to reuse my stock cap in case the venting system was updated as the bottom did look a bit different and somewhat cheaper on the 360 version. The aluminum cap has an extra recess cut where the plastic cap vents which no longer aligns to the new orientation once changed. So, I simply drilled out an impression around the side of the vent so the hole was not plugged by the aluminum walls. Much easier than drilling the aluminum.

The cap is a super tight fit. I ended up having to hammer it down to get it to seat which is great. I then drilled the small hole out and reinstalled the roll pin. I now have a new aluminum cap for the power steering that matches the oil nicely and is a pleasant upgrade. Fair warning though, the cap overturns by about 2 degrees so if I crank it until it doesn’t turn anymore, the logo is slightly crooked. It’s pretty tight at level, but I have to be extra careful to not turn it the last mm or two, something that I fortunately do not have to do often and something I’ll look at fixing in the future. I just have to remove it and redrill the roll pin location.

Anyway, happy to report that this was a super easy mod that just about anybody could do.
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Thanks. Worth noting the part has been discontinued so if anybody wants one, now is the time to get it. I think the vendor I bought mine from had a few left. Otherwise you're left picking through scratch and dings on ebay.

 

Jazzing up the engine bay made me realize how much grey metal there is back there. I want to throw some carbon bits, but didn't want to go overkill with the sides, coolant tank and all that jazz. Figured just doing the intake covers would be a good place to start as it will mix things up just enough. The trouble was (at least for me), I didn't care for any of the covers I've seen that are available. They all seemed super plain and lacked the indent detail the stock one has. I feel like that detail was an integral part of the design. Up until recently, there was only one place that had an OEM looking intake which was WERKS1 and pricey at $2k:

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However, I recently came across an add for an exact copy from Kline. It's not on their site, but must be a new item I'm guessing as I don't remember seeing it before. I asked my favorite Kline vendor to shoot me a pic and he confirmed with the image below. They also have an "xtreme" weave that looks like a checkerboard pattern but figured that might be a bit overkill. Of course, the usual wait times apply so I'm stuck anticipating this for the next 8 weeks or so, but it will be exactly what I want. I'll be sure to share once it's in.


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Had some time for a few quick updates this weekend on the heels of a camping trip.

First off, I noticed that my radiator cap had a bit of residue around the swivel hose connection. Not a big deal but recently I had a few spots of anti-freeze on the upper hood glass. Guessing it squeezed out slightly and misted things up. Either way, the swivel was on its way out and the cap had lived a good long life. Reused the hose but refreshed the end.

Second, I made a decent size dent on my passenger door sill when I replaced my top a few years back. It never bothered me and I kept it there as a reminder to be more careful. I could have easily replaced it, but there were only one set of sill that I would replace them with…factory Scuderia sills. The aftermarket ones were OK, but to me that little detail of having the Ferrari logo there in the middle and in metal made all the difference. Wouldn’t be the same if it was just plain. As with all hard to find parts, the time to buy it is when you see it, so I jumped on some for sale clutching my chest with pain as I paid the price. . Not sure when I’ll see another set for sale so no use waiting around.

Anyway, install was a breeze and I used double sided tape instead of butyl rubber for a better hold on the lower edge. Also gave me a chance to clean out all the crud from underneath. Afterwards, I made sure to open and close the door several times to admire them,then forced my wife to come out and do the same


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