348 shifting innto second gear

true

 

Very true with all 348's... and it gets worse in winter when its cold. We all experience it. When you get a chance, change the Gear Oil to RedLine 75w90ns and you'll be OK.

 

It's very typical for the 348 not to want to shift into 2nd until it is good and warm. Actually, if I'm not mistaken the 348 isn't the only Ferrari to suffer from this.

 

When I drive my car (92' 348ts) I was advised by my mechanic (who also happens to be my cousin) to avoid shifting from 1st to 2nd when the car is still cold. So, I shift 1st to 3rd until the car warms up (this does not take too long here in southern california). Then I can shift 1st to 2nd without a problem. P.S., you should have the car checked out by someone who knows these cars, so there won't be any surpizes.

 

True for my 360 and that's even after the transmission oil was changed to Redline!

Don't be spooked. It happens.

 

Two things make a difference with shifts into 2nd gear when cold:
#1: gear oil (proper type, proper fill level). I've had best luck with Red Line's Superlight Shockproof, though Redline's 75W90NS (the "NS" at the end is important) comes close to being that good.

#2: rpms. Don't shift into 2nd at idle or 1500 rpms. Give the poor car some gas! I'm not talking about the rpm level when you first depress the clutch and come out of a gear...I'm talking about the rpm level when your clutch is already down on the floor and you are going *into* 2nd gear. 3000 rpms going into 2nd works really, really well for 348's.

Wouldn't go much over 4000 rpms when cold, though. That gear oil and your transmission output shaft need to come up to temp before you start revving into the upper ranges (e.g. 5000 to 7500 rpms).

 

Same for the 355. Forced Shift = Bye Bye to Synchros !
Make sure it is THOROUGHLY warmed up.

 

Invest in some of this stuff.........

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101885&page=7

 

I remember when I purchased my 348, the salesman took me out in it first before letting me drive. He was hopeless!! He couldn't shift the car worth a damnn! I thought "Oh, no! This thing is going to be a BEAR to drive!" Then we switched places, I took the controls, never having driven a 348 before, and I had no problem with it at all. I wouldn't be surprised if there is nothing wrong with the car you're trying, just a salesman used to driving girly cars. If it doesn't "grind" on shifts, or "whine", or pop out of gear, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Too true. Did this a week into my 348 ownership. Now shifts like butter even from cold...no, really! It's not Honda light and you still gotta shift like you mean it but I was blown away by what a huge difference Redline does over the OEM crap Dino oil.

 

Same thing with my 92 348 - I don't shift into second until I've been driving 5 or more miles. Just go first to third, it doesn't make that much difference when you're warming the car up. Good luck and enjoy the car!

 

chill...sounds normal.

My 91 348 doesn't want to allow 2nd until she's nicely warmed up so I just ignore 2nd for a while. I tried the gear oil recommendation (in my case Syntrax), and checked the adjustment of the shifter cables, not really noticeably any better after both. Having read about it so many times I now accept is as normal idiosyncracy for the design, although I accept mine as probably a little worse than the norm for a 348 due to its ludicrously low mileage/use.

It is certainly a gazillion miles from any 'normal' car shifter I've ever come across and I'm in the UK, we do manuals a fair bit here(!) so there's been thousands I've had the pleasure (or not) of trying.

 

my 90 348 is the same. it's somewhat better with the redline oil in gearbox
but still has to be warmed before it shifts easily.
as i remember my 328 was the same way....

 

Personally, I have to disagree with those who've experienced the sticky-until-warm 2nd gear shifting.

Maybe I'm one of those lucky ones who has the gearbox adjusted just about right but after switching to Redline 75W90NS, my second gear simply slots in from cold with no fuss at all.

My daily driver is a Subie WRX so it's not like I comparing to a clunky 4x4 military spec vehicle. Unlike exhaust sounds, unfortunately I can't share the "feel" online, nor can I tell you exactly what has been done (besides the switch to Redline) but if you drove my car (and hadn't experienced the pre-Redline shifting), you'd be wondering what everyone is talking about.

So, I'm proof that if the stars are aligned, the 348 can be shifted just like any other car - either that or I've grown more chest hair and larger biceps due to the non-power steering... (in contrast, supposedly new F355 owners start losing facial hair and speak in higher octaves...)

 

yes, you are a lucky one.
Both the 348, 355, Mondial T and now, even my 456 have a cold, hard-to-shift-into 2nd gear....I just skip it to 3rd as a lot of people to until it's warmed up....NOT a big deal....FofSF even told me this when I bought it years ago.

WORST thing you can do IMO is try to force it when cold and you get the 'car*ncn**h' sound [did that a couple times] so go into 3rd, wait about 20 min and all is well with the world

 

This is what bothers me most. A dealership that has an interested party, even by proxy, and they don't let a prospect drive it?! Idiots!

As for the trans, mine is only slightly balky when cold, but easily shifts when you just walk it into gear. These trans' do not like speed shifting at any speed or operating temperature. When cold, make the 1st to 2nd shift at 4000 rpm max and pause for a 1/2 sec in neutral, then move it into 2nd. If revs fall below 2000, give the throttle a quick blip. I use Red Line too. Great stuff. Drive the car like it's loaded with nitro until it warms up. I wait until the water temp move up a bit. Oil temp will already be moving to operating level temp, or do I have that backwards? See gauge on console left.

 

I believe it's the oil temp, not the water temp, and it doesn't have to be hot, it just has to have moved off the cold marker.

 

Agreed.

 

Amsoil 75w-90 Severe Gear oil works even better in my Mondial-t than the Redline 75w-90NS. So now we have another choice besides what the dealers are commanded to put in.