Newbie, just a few questions regarding my new 360 :)

Nah, you've something wrong if she wont pull cleanly to red line. Short of traction control kicking in the engine should rev out freely.

The fact that the slow down light lit up will hopefully have registered a fault which Verdi will be able to read with the diagnostic equipment.

Good luck and be sure to post the cause and solution.

 

Why not let them keep it, sort it out AND repair it?

If something is amiss it should be taken care of before it becomes catastrophic.

Again...as always...just my 2¢

Yours,

Tom

 

I feel for you buddie but I'm afraid I can't give you any technical assistance.

What I would say is that your problems might be relatively minor so don't panic! Your problem pulling through the higher end of the rev range could well be due to the engine management preventing and not be mechanical at all. If, for example, you have a faulty sensor with indicates the fault Cat Control ST that might well be something that then prevents full fuel delivery in order to prevent bad emissions etc. Additionally the one fault could well be throwing more than one error code.

Have the shop given you a suggested course of action?

 

You may be lucky (as little as 3 loose or faulty plug leads) with this but for example the owners manual (is it that you do not have it or just have not looked at it ?) describes the engine management light (yellow engine) as follows : When the warning light 'engine check system failure' switches on as remarkable reduction of the engine performance may also occur

The alignment is relatively cheap as is an alternator / voltage regulator rebuild

By the sounds of it you have not had the slow down red light yet which is probably a good thing

It is probably best to get it booked in BUT they could be fiddly time and/or money consuming faults to resolve

Wait & get a few more opinions here before you decide anything

 

Hmm.. as just another peanut in the gallery... have they pulled the spark plugs? My 99 was running a tad rough but only at lower RPMs.. got the slow down light as well..

On mine turned out to be a couple of coil packs gone bad. Might explain the hesitation and with fuel dumping into cats leading to slow down lights when going all out...

Just a thought..

 

OK, battery is easy. Open up bonnet and turn battery isolation switch to off position. Can be difficult to turn but persevere and get it turned off. The battery is located under the footrest on the passenger side. Remove the footrest, disconnect the battery and bring it to your local motor factor. He will be able to put a test rig on it, let you know whether or not it's in good shape and should be able to provide you with a replacement from stock. You do not need a special or a "Ferrari" battery here! Standard replacement will do perfectly well.

Spark plugs are equally easy. Four on each side. You need to remove the individual coils on top of each one and then remove with a regular spark plug spanner. If you're not happy doing this yourself order the correct replacement plugs and then bring the car to your regular (non specialist) mechanic and ask him to do it for you.

Your regular mechanic should be able to diagnose a faulty alternator or voltage regulator also.

 

Good point : presumably if OP knows which cylinders are misfiring he can swop for a known good & check that way - fairly easy to do oneself - part no 177074 sits between spark plug and ignition lead : item 2 http://www.eurospares.co.uk/parttablePopup4.asp?ID=1663483

 

No, not a particularly "heavy duty" battery, just one of the same spec. !2 Volt, 65 Amp Hour, 450 Amp (peak) - pretty standard stuff.

There are fancy alternatives out there if you want to spend extra money and/or save weight but a regular old car battery from your local motor factor will do you nicely, particularly if you use the car regularly.

 

You can buy these from these guys for a fraction of the Eurospares price:

http://trepunti.net/PartDetails.aspx?s_pc=0221504015&s_vid=

 

White smoke or condensation - does it go after 10 minutes or so ?

 

I had fun with mine when I cranked it (cold start) with the Capristo valves fully open. It gave me a rude shock when I looked into the rear view mirror and all I could see was black smoke. LOL...needless to say I never did that ever again.

 

Engine starting from cold will make white smoke (steam) for a little while - more pronounced in winter conditions generally but it will generally be there if the metalwork of the exhaust is cold.

You shouldn't see it when warm.

If concerned you could / should check your coolant level. It should be approx an inch and a half from the neck of the filling cap when cold. If lower, add coolant and monitor over the coming days.

Remember, don't panic, these cars are just cars and their engines are just engines.

 

Telling you you paid too much or too little is to some extent dependent on whether the faults turn out to be bad and also what the actual condition is which we don't really know yet

Its too late now anyway so either answer isn't helpful - just get it right & enjoy it