488 Spider engine pulled to replace head gasket - concerns?

I have a 2018 488 Spider under CPO, it had a tiny oil leak and the dealer pulled the engine and replaced the head gasket, along with some other maintenance as long as the engine was out - 100 hours of labor. It was all covered by my warranty, but now I don't know if I should be concerned long term with all that work done?

I love the 488, recently installed a Ryft titanium exhaust and DME stage II tune, it drives and sounds amazing.

 

It would be a valve cover leak. Very common, and very expensive to fix. Who ever designed that engine requiring so much disassembly to fix a very basic leak, needs a cement block tied around their neck and dropped into the ocean.

 

100 hours of labor is insane. One mechanic worked 2.5 weeks full time on your car?

Surprised your warranty covered a thing after installing a tune.

 

Right? Especially with increased boost.

 

Has a non-factory tune on the car and has concerns about a valve cover repair for reliability.. lol

 

Head gasket leaks are common enough repairs, that while the entire process may have taken 100 hours, the repair itself shouldn't have.
Regardless, with the dozens I have overseen, none have ever returned, one and done if you will.
Yes, its labor intensive, yes it looks horrible if you were to see your Ferrari apart, but no, it's not a big deal.
While it's out and apart, front covers, valve covers, and several other items are resealed, it's a nice perk when warranty covers it.

However, as mentioned already, having an aftermarket tune & exhaust may cause you more of a headache moving forward that this warranty repair.
Posting about it on the internet while assumed anonymous, has the very real potential to come back around and bite you and your dealership, even though the repairs are already completed.

Enjoy your Ferrari in good health, however you may put a little back for if/when future warranty-able repairs are denied.

Steve

 

What Ferrari dealer is fixing a 488 like this with aftermarket exhaust and tune? Please explain how you got around this with the dealer and Ferrari the manufacture.

 

Slight tangent, but is the head gasket replacement an engine out job on a California T as well?

 

For what it's worth, the OP did not specify, or make clear, when the exhaust and tune was done. Their post first describes the engine out work and the next paragraph says they recently got the exhaust and tune done. I think everyone is making assumptions but maybe he got the engine out work done and afterwards got the exhaust and tune.

Alternatively, everyone's assumptions may very well be correct, and if so, I'm also curious what dealership covered the work under warranty with exhaust and tune.

 

Yes, it is.

Steve

 

Every time I think I may want a 488 someday, threads like these make me change my mind.

 

Think of it as education.

 

Is there a Ferrari that doesn't have a catastrophic flaw in it?
From an engineering perspective, they all suck.

 

100 hours of labor just puts things at an entirely different level. And that doesn’t even include DCT issues…

 

It’s just shocking to me that cars not even 10 years old are blowing head gaskets at this rate. And even worse, resulting in having to pay 100 hours of labor plus parts! How is this type of build quality even acceptable today?

 

First, they are not " blowing head gaskets " by any stretch of the imagination, rather head gaskets are seeping oil, hence repair prior to larger problems.
Second, it's not 100 hours of billable labor, it's less than half of that. ( if additional repairs were performed, that's a different story )
Build quality is just fine, failures happen, power warranty is your friend, for when it does.

Steve

 

LOL

Troll like comment..

S

 

Is it wrong though? Is there a model that doesn't have a common problem that costs 5 figures to fix. Maybe a gated 360?

 

Understood. Thanks for the clarification. It still seems unreasonable for all these cars to have leaking head gaskets in under 10 years. But I guess you go into a modern Ferrari purchase knowing they have different issues.

 

Did Ferrari source some of their engineers from Boeing? it it’s just that… wow

 

If you want to see what is involved in doing a valve cover repair on a 488 or newer Ferrari. Visit the "alfa doc" on Instagram. The Alfa engine is the 488 engine with 2 cylinders chopped from the front end. The process is the same. Engine out, gearbox removed, timing covers removed, cams locked with speacial tools, covers removed. Its at min a 50hr job. Removing the engine on a 488 is not a simple job. Never mind the liability if anything goes wrong. It's honestly a problem that shouldn't even exist. Not worth today's modern sealants.

 

Is this issue common on cars with low/high miles? Random? Most?

A 488 in my family has 14k and has been absolutely trouble-free.

 

I know of 3 or 4 running around with the leak. So its not an uncommon occurance. The California also suffers from the same issue. To be real, it should be covered by Ferrari under some kind of campaign. Same with Alfa. It seems to be a production issue.

 

Just wanted to put my pedantic hat on, California T suffers from the same issue, California doesn't. We have our own issues

 

Ouch. LOL