550 service history - correct documentation?

Mike- My 575M has no stamps in the warranty book, but records documenting the work was done, like the car you are considering. The little stamps are not nearly as important as documentation showing exactly what was done. With that, I think you are in pretty good shape.

With my Euro 308 GTS and 5000 km (3107 miles) oil change intervals, I filled the little boxes in myself when I changed the fluids. The car was my daily driver for three years in the UK.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Yes, owner service books with windows for filling in that the service was done DO exist. However, many dealers/maintenance facilities are pretty cavalier about filling them in and so, some owners misplace them as they aren't essential.

If the cars have fully documented histories but those histories consist of receipts documenting what work was done, you should not be concerned. It's much more important to really see what's been done than to have all the little stickers just right.

Good luck with your search. They're great cars.

 

Mike- The warranty book contains personal information on the first owner and for that reason many are removed when they are sold the second time. As long as you have the leather book with the Owner's Manual, the radio code/warranty paperwork, and, most importantly, the alarm system PIN, I would not worry.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

The mileages are in the owners manual - if your car does not have it when you buy you can join the Owners site in Italy and download a pdf or someone here will email it you

Also : http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138144704&postcount=7

 

Meanwhile you could just print out the linked post which has clearly been copied from the manual

 

I purchased some time back (and it has come in handy), the workshop manual as a pdf download, all 400 odd pages 2 volumes etc. here's a link to a site that looks to do this, and it also includes in there a pdf of the owners manual. They look to have for most modern F cars. I have never used them I'm afraid so cannot guarantee their offering either way, was in the first couple that popped up in a google search.

http://greatworkshopmanuals.com/ferrari-550-maranello-workshop-and-owners-manu.html

Hope it helps, Jon

 

Jon,

I purchased that same CD when I bought my 550 in 2007. The price has not changed. It's a great resource!

Barry

 

Thx Barry, good to know, does seem very reasonable. Jon

 

Jon and Mike,

The quality of pdf file manuals on the CD is the same as the print editions. For the 550, you'll find US and Euro version Owner's Manuals for every production year in addition to the Work Shop Manual. The 2 volume WSM picks up where the OM leaves off and answers most questions you'll have regarding the various 550 systems.

Barry

 

If it only had 5000 miles to do the belt change a little late may not be an issue BUT it might therefore suggest double-checking that the annual oil changes have been done more or less annually - also is the second belt change due and/or done ?

 

Mike- There is no such thing as a major for a 550 or 575. There are mileage related services and time related services if mileages are not reached before the time expires. Maranellos have hydraulic valve lifters, so if the valve covers are not leaking, the recommended three year belt service is not horribly expensive, even if you replace the tensioner bearings. Search other threads for way more info than you want on belt change interval.

I would have sent you all the service data for free, except
my PC is on the fritz. Once you get the service schedule, you will understand what I mean about 550 service. Many dealers will change the belts and tell you a Maranello (or other Ferrari) had a major. Not true. No removing the engine for belts on the V12s.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Mike- PC back up. Do you still need the technical data?

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

TAZ,

The work to change belts in these cars and the change this and that while you are there is easily as difficult as engine out. I've done both. Access is easier with engine out and faster to do jobs. That is offset by not taking the time to pull a motor. I'm in the middle of my 550 belt change now. There is no way to properly do the belts without removing the valve covers and having access to the valve buckets to place your dial gage to time your motor unless one is in the "nail polish marks are good enough camp". Once you have all this stuff off you are doing a "major" if you will. All kinds of little things add up to good performance. For example my car ran great before I took it apart. I sent the injectors out to be cleaned and flow tested which is not part of any routine service except my own. I was shocked at how poor the FI flow was and how good a clean injector will flow. There are a dozen little things like this as another example the 6mm bleeder hose under the plenum to the overflow tank gets crud in it and causes cooling problems. A water pump rebuild is under 200 bucks and less than 1 hr of time so why not do that too. I touched my cam sensor and the connector just fell apart in my hand. It snowballs when you look at your car closely. These snowball items are what causes failures down the road and more time to take a bunch of junk off to go after it. So experience will tell you and the manual what needs to be done when. But experience accounts for a lot of my painless running.

 

I would never even dream of pulling the motor unless the crankshaft had to come out.

Short of that here is nothing hard to do on a 550 motor left in the car.

 

FBB, Brian- Thanks for the info.

FBB- Unless I am mistaken, you should be able to determine TDC by using a gauge in a spark plug hole. I am big on degreeing cams, but even Brian and Dave say it is not necessary for every belt change on a V12 (or V8). Everybody (my technicians, Brian, Dave) all tell me how easy it is to work on a Maranello. Maybe you and I just have arms and legs that are just too short. I am 5' 7". My arms are so short that during my Golden Gloves time, if I could get inside I could pummel someone and he could only hit me with his elbows. A good jabber, though, would beat the snot out of me and I could not even reach him.

All the rest of the work you did will definitely extend the life of your car, but the only thing close to a major is the 30k service, and that is not bad unless it lines up with a belt change, which it likely will not here in the US. For Onno maybe, but not for most of us.

If I remember correctly, the last two Ferraris for which you degreed the cams had the TDC and cam marks perfectly aligned after degreeing. If you had just determined TDC and lined up the marks, the car would have worked perfectly.

Brian- Have they improved the accuracy of those marks on the later cars (348+) ? I know on the earlier cars they were only assembly marks to keep from bending valves during assembly, but have things changed? My 575M WSM says to line up the marks and swap the belts unless more serious work was done that required removing the cams.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Yes but TDC is only the beginning of the degree process. It is easy to make a car run. It is harder to get them to run really well, reliably, and flawlessly where you could drive your ferrari accross country like a honda and spank it on a race track.

We are about the same size. I find the 550 difficult to work on and did not suggest taking the motor out. I find it easier to work on a 348 variant because the motor is out and easy to reach. With a lift I find the 550 can be made easier if I actually get it up off the ground a bit so I don't have to hunch over but then short arms get in the way. I looked pretty dumb when I unbolted the pleunum and stood on the inner fenders to hoist that 50lb sack of rice out of there. I just did not have the "back" to lean in and hoist it out.

Yes my 348 I posted a thread about it and my 550 is also on the marks. But I also have a very good eye. IIRC I calculated 1 degree on the cam to be about 1/3mm of movement. In my line of work that is a mile so it is easy for me to see on or off the marks. Your comment about, "have things changed?" I wonder that too. I wonder if they make a bunch of cams all with marks and a bunch of caps all with marks and just throw it together thus force you to manually degree the cams 100% of the time. But I noticed on my 550, which is a german one, that my marks look more like a chisel cut where the car may have been factory timed "then" a chisel mark made in one stroke on the cam shaft and the cap leaving readable marks. I think this is plausible because if you look at all 4 of my lined up marks the width of the blade cut grows from one end to the other in a perfect taper but not perfectly vertical. The marks just do not look like perfect prefabricated castings into the cam or caps. I timed my motor two ways using lobe centerline calculation and the workshop manual cryptic crossover opening method. It was only after timing by the lobe centerline that I was able to understand what the ital-eng-ian was trying to say. It is actually really easy to time a car once you understand the process and fun for the diy'er.