.....at Pocono! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Barry, if you get a chance, I'm sure that many of us would be very interested in your car's maintenance history. What has broken? Clutch life? Shocks? Tire life? Gotta say I love the color combination of your car! Glad to see someone enjoying such a great car so much!
David, My car was purchased new at Ferrari of New England, but has always been regularly serviced at Classic Coach here in New Jersey. Routine oil changes have been done every 3,000 miles with Shell Helix 5W-40. Brake fluid has been changed yearly. Major services were done every 30,000 miles. Classic Coach performed a major service before I bought the car at 59,000 miles. There was a timing belt failure at 29,000 miles (just before its first scheduled major service) and so all valves and guides for the right bank (cylinders 1-6) were replaced. The pistons suffered little damage and were retained. The clutch was rebuilt at 38,000 miles. Front shocks and engine mounts were changed at 40,000 miles. My 550 was tracked regularly by its previous owner and I will be doing the same, perhaps three times a year. It's hard to really comment on tire life as the previous owner had a second set of wheels and track tires for the car. I bought it last December with its current stock wheels and Michelin Pilot Sports mounted. I'll have to check my records as to when the tires were changed last. The driver's door hinge and oil pressure sender had to be replaced earlier this year. Barry
With so few cars with any miles on the clock, it's interesting to hear what parts actually wear out and when due to use, rather than age. Thanks!
Happy to help, David. In hindsight, I would say that if the car is driven spiritedly and tracked, more frequent timing belt servicing is necessary. Ferrari now recommends every three years. At the time of the timing belt failure, the recommendation was every 30,000 miles or five years. Ironically, the failure occured one week before the car was scheduled to be brought in for its major service. I'll have to post pictures of how the car looked before I purchased it. There was impressive road rash up front. It gave the car charachter in some ways. It looked "badass!" But Classic Coach took care of the cosmetics. Here's how it looked when I test drove the car after its makeover last December: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Brian, It was the original belt that failed in October, 2003. The car was purchased new in May, 1999. Classic Coach changed and modified the position of the coolant hoses and shielded them after the car started leaking coolant at around 17,000 miles. This was in early 2002 and might have been before Ferrari sent out its bulletin on the subject. Barry
Beautiful car. If you drive it to Oregon, I will take you to dinner. Michael Brown PS. you can park it in my garage (heated) to keep it safe at night.
Thanks for the response. This thread and others like it make me wonder where all those idiots are that say they have never heard of a timing belt failure and changing them as Ferrari says is a waste of money designed to make someone else more money. Laughable, illogical and stupid on its face.
Brian, Thank you.... I should print this story for every client who tells me, "we can do the belts next year" We just did a PPI on a 456, told the buyer it needed belts like yesterday and not to drive it. He knows better, takes it for an extended road test before purchase, and guess what................ now it needs a valve job. A case of 5 years or 50,000 miles or what ever comes last.
Hi, It's great to see that you have hit 63k miles on your car! I have only owned mine for about 3 months now, but have already put 5300 miles on the car. I bought it from a friend who drove it as his daily driver and I am doing the same. It now has 43k miles on the clock. So far the car has been fairly trouble free, but has been a bit quirky. It is starting to make some whining noises in the clutch, the "Slow Down" light has come on a few times, but at times when I was only travelling about 30mph, and the suspension light tends to come on and off occasionally. I intend to service the car at normal intervals and to put a lot of miles on it. It should be interesting to see what happens once the car gets north of say 150k miles. I wonder how long the motor will hold out etc....Cheers!
hey bill rice, would love to see pics of your car. I think it is great you use it for a daily driver. Have been toying about getting a 456 as a daily driver (plus room for children) but still debating. (Plan on getting a 360 first) Mbrown
Fantastic guys! Just love to see/hear people really using their cars and not just owning/posing. Good stuff, keep on going and thanks for the info too!
hi everyone, i have posted before about my 456gt (1997) that has covered nearly 130000km (about 82000miles) by now. although it's not my daily driver, i use it often and for any distances at any weather or season. it's been troublefree since thousands of kms and feels more solid than ever. all the best, ethan
I agree with both of you on this. And so would the original owner who has four other Ferraris (a 330 GTB and GTS, a 400 and 355 challenge) which he maintains, religiously, by the book. Another bit of irony was that when he purchased the 550 as its second owner, he purchased a one year extended Ferrari warranty. The timing belt failure occured a month after the extended warranty expired (and, as mentioned, a week before the already scheduled 30,000 mile major service. The belts were 4 1/2 years old with 29,000 miles on them). It's pretty easy to check the condition of the belts and tensioners on the 550. I'll certainly be doing this frequently and adhering to the new three year directive.
Thanks, Michael. I don't know how my 550 would react to all of this. I have an unheated garage! Barry
These cars are well-built, Ethan, and properly maintained will do very well. My 550 is very responsive and drives quite well. I consider it a trouble-free car. Barry
Nice to see another person driving his 550 frequently, Bill. Here's a good thread on the slow-down light: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162470 Is it the ASR light that comes on occasionally? Barry
