Aussie Ferrari mechanics 'rip off' again

Well I thought I would do a little write up on some of my experiences thus far with my F355 and some of the mechanic here.

I was taking it initially to a Ferrari mechanic(not the authorised dealer) here in Aus land and he was charging an 'arm' and a 'leg' but the car would still have these problems here and there even after coming out of his work shop. The first problem was when my alternator died. He said it was due to oil in it that came from the cam seals. He fixed it and away I went.

In fact when I did the engine out job at my home it was found that the oil in fact came from the main oil line from the engine block into the oil cooler. That was where the oil really came from. Yet I am sure he knew when it was in his workshop but didn't say anything because he knew it would happen again then he could charge even more but say it was a different issue this time!!!!!

I had one of his supposedly chief mechanics come to my home to do an engine out job on the side. I stripped the car with him and learn't alot which was good. Everything went well and I changed at my discretion all hoses,sensors etc. I literally had a brand new engine. I paid him half the money after the first weekend and the full amount on the second weekend(BIG MISTAKE). On the third and fourth weekend he finished the job but did he?????

Well here is what happended - He left on the last day and I had to tighten all the chassis bolts by myself, put bumper bar, splash guards on myself. When I first drove the car there was an oil leak and 2 xcoolant leaks plus the Hyperflows were red hot and there must have been a small leak. Mind you we had just taken the engine out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I pin pointed the oil leak coming from another oil hose and repaired that myself so that is fine now. Took the hose to ENZED and they did a fantastic job. But coolant leak was still there. One is coming from either water pump thermostat housing or in fact water pump(he actually rebuit my pump but did he??) and the other from the driver side radiator that he pressure tested and said was fine.

I was also getting a missfie occasionally which I didn't before the engine out job.

So seeing as though I learn't alot about my engine whilst it was out in my garage I did some of my own mechanic investigation work and this was confirmed by my new Ferrari mechanic who I believe is reputable and will not 'rip off' clients.

1. Leak was occurring becuase there were missing bolts from the manifold to the engine block. Surely any mechanic worth his weight in gold would have seen that or did he take them out on purpose. In fact I believe with this type of leak I could have had an eventual fire??

2. Missfire is due to poor wire plug stes as the 1-4 set are split. Also my spark plugs were not tight. Hmmmm shouldn't he have checked all this??

3. Now for the good bit. Coolant leak. In fact the coolant leak is coming from all over the place. The front of the engine including my NEW belts are all coated in coolant. One leak is coming from the thermostat housing even after I told him to change the gasket. The other one is coming from the 'S' bend hose which he forgot to tighten the clamp. And now the good bit. There is one leak from the water pump itself. The radiator is in fact leaking as well that was supposedly pressure tested.

So there you have it!!!

An engine out service but really a sh... service.

I now have a good mechanic that picked all these bits up with me and car should be right with no leaks soon but I am so frustrated that I had to post this.

The advantage of you guys in the US is the vast number of places you can utilise but here it is a very closed market.

I suppose my fall back is just to take it to the authiorised Ferrari dealer and not to these people that say they are but are just merely 'rip off' merchants.

Lastly the only good thing I have to say on the engine out job is that the parts supplied by Dan at Ricambi were of the highest quality and that was about the best part of the engine out job.

 

Guys no worries now as I believe I have found the right person to do the job. Thanks for all good wishes and advice.

Will let you know how it goes in the next couple of weeks.