F1 not engaging in 1st.

Bad Clutch??

 

Sure the problem is the F1 box itself. Buy a 6 speed, lol. JK I will look around and see if anyone else had a problem. I dont think its the clutch, because then it would do that for all gears, maybe the bearing that leads to your gear selection is worn. Again I have no idea about F1 boxes, but in manual sometimes it does that because of worn bearings or synchros, mainly bearings.

 

I've experienced Gear selection problems on both Ferrari and Maserati and both times it was time for a new clutch, you can take it to somebody with an SD1/2/3 and they can get an indication of the wear level

 

I would first suspect a sensor; when it doesn't engage does it try but can't get there, or does nothing sound to happen? If the trunk or engine cover is open you can't shift out of N. I believe your foot has to be on the brake too (can't say I've tried it without being on the brake).

 

We need more details about what happens, is it when down shifting to 1st or when selecting first from N or both? Is the gear selector flashing when this happens? Gearbox light? Noises? Is it selecting second instead? Put it in "snow" mode and see if it selects second properly?

 

The clutch sensor has forgotten it's location due to excessive clutch wear.

 

I would have the F1 fluid changed by someone who knows the system.

Unfortunately that sounds to me like the F1 pump is not building enough pressure....

 

The symptom you describe leads me to believe the clutch is out of spec. Once it gets close to maximum wear (6mm? for 355) the sensor starts to lose the ability to know where the clutch is in relation to the pressure plate. Hence no gear engagement...sometimes. This can actually begin to occur at 4.5-5mm wear.

SD2 is the best way to confirm clutch wear.

 

Possibly your rear deck lid; there is a switch that needs to be made in order for you to put the car into first gear. I seem to remember an adjustment and lube around the switch assembly. I experienced the same problem as well. This is not a big deal and don't need to replace the clutch.

 

This sounds more plausable than my thoughts, but I would assume the problem would also happen when selecting reverse?

 

I'm with the "clutch wear" school of thought. I also have a '99 F1, and love it. I've had the clutch replaced once when degree of wear warranted, and the dealer did point out that a missed gear or, worse yet, the inability to shift into any gear can be the outcome when wear reaches a certain point. It's definitely worth having someone do a quick check for you. BTW, I've also occasionally experienced the slow shift from neutral or reverse into 1st. When this happens, I often get a bit impatient and click the paddle a couple of extra times, usually resulting in the tranny going immediately into 2nd or 3rd. Not sure on the cause of this (could be,as someone else mentioned, a computer or sensor problem) but it does seem to be independent of the clutch wear phenomenon.

Good Luck,
Doug

 

+1 this is also a possibility.

 

Wouldn't he experience clutch slippage by the time it got to that point? That was my experience, shifting was ok but slipped if I got on the gas.

 

If the wear was extreme, past the threshold I wuold suspect that one would experience some slip. The first initial event would be the car not finding a gear.

 

whats the avg. F1 clutch job run these days?

 

Clutch in a 355, F1 or not, is pretty easy. My old 6-speed was $1200 with flywheel work, parts and labor (Sport Auto). F1 only adds the sensor reset, if necessary, which apparently is not always a problem.