Is there a quick & easy way to inspect the diff?

It would be tough, there is a tin shield behind the crown gear. I thought maybe going in through a fill hole might work but I doubt it with that splash shield there. Removing the left exle and side carrier support would sure give you a great look but thats a bit of work.

 

As Newman said..there is no quick way to really look at the diff. Obviously the best way is total removal. But with your skills, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Really - really good borescope with articulation like docs use for surgical procedures is a great idea.

What you gotta know is can you get a steerable shaft that's ~6 - 8mm dia alongside that weld with the mentioned shield? Is there side clearance adjacent to the carrier bearing to get the scope in place? Once there, rotate slowly while looking.

Lat prob is finding a doc to loan you their 2oK scope

 

I found it best to look one piece at a time ...
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to see a crack with a borescope (and no dye) would require a pretty big crack..... like a crack that would have failed on your next corner or two.

likely a bore scope check is a waste of time.... you would have to be extremely lucky to catch it 'just right' before a disaster takes place.

Rgds,
Vincenzo

 

I'm seriously considering a particular early 1986 TR. It is a one owner with 11K miles. The car was clearly babied and truly "adult owned" Fully serviced since new with a no expense spared attitude.

The one thing that is holding me back is my terrible fear of the dreaded diff failure. Is this failure primarily abuse related or can it fail regardless.


On this car, If the numbers work, I will be getting a PPI at an authorized dealer near me. Is there anything I can do to get some piece of mind on this problem? From this thread it appears the answer is no...but I am hoping someone has come up with something since

Is there a retrofit that can be done before the failure, and how good is it? I could have sworn I read that Newman had done something, but I can't find the thread to save my life.
Also, does the retrofit, if there is one, make the problem go away or send it further upstream. There are two 512TR's at my dealer right now where the next component upstream blew up!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Im the 3rd owner of my 86 (and ive had it for 12 yrs now) - and i just turned 61,000kms (40,000m) -

i wouldnt worry about the 86 if its a one owner car, odds are he hasnt ever done a burnout - so, i wouldnt even worry about it -

Now - that being said, im going to be doing an engine out in 2014 (3yrs) as im already at the 4 yr mark, at which time i figure i will be at maybe 63,000kms - i plan to go inside3 at that time -

I think the TR diff is not a matter of if, but just when - just like the manifolds and headers of the 355 -

 

nI am contemplating the purchase of a Testarossa. It has an exceedingly well detailed ownership history with all maintenance records having been recorded from day one. Plus, every stamp is in the book. In short, the promise of a perfect collector car.

It has been owned by one little old lady, a nun, who only drove it to church on Sundays and never exceded 1/2 throttle input. Never exceeding 3,100 RPM by her account.

Should I have any concern about the differential failure issue under this or similar cases. I have some amount of belief that it was not abused, whatever that means. At least I have the assurance that it was never excelerated hard. Not on a Sunday at least.

What do you think? Should I risk it? Should I ask for a guarantee?

I have heard that these are performance cars that need to be used as intended as part of their care. Should I be afraid of carbon on the valves because it wasn't treated properly by the previous owner?


Signed,
Confused






LMAO



OK I will acknowledge that there are some histories that are real and not as above. I recognize that there are some better circumstances that others.

 

Hmmm.

Let's assume for a moment this is not my first merry-go round. I know this car VERY well. I know the now elderly owner by reputation, the sales manager who sold him the car in 1986, the Ferrari Master Technician who has serviced her since new, I have all of the records for the car, etc. This is one of those instances where I pursued the broker once I heard the owner had finally decided to put her up for sale, not the other way around. So yes, she is that good. If she wasn't I wouldn't be wasting my time posting, as I wouldn't have any interest in the car. So, accepting everything I say as true just for a minute, do you have anything meaningful to add that could be of assistance, or is your role here to sit behind your computer making snide remarks?

 

I'm sorry Joe, carguy and anyone else I may have offended.

The OP posed a valid question. I think Newman answered it pretty well.

I'm not familiar with the beefed up dif but want to find out more. I'll do a search.


I was going to post a follow up yesterday but had to run out the door. So it came out wrong.

Right now I'm looking for busted Boxers. The worse they are, the better they are for me.

 

Joe,

From what others have said on this site, the retrofit for the diff is the same as what the 93 512tr had out of the factory, and is very reliable.

Jim

 

Dear Ferraristi,

Well...I laughed....

I did assume the part about looking for a Testarossa was real though...

Ask your questions....we're all here to help...


Shamile

Freeze...Miami Vice !

 

The car in question seems about the best you can get, but you never know if this old guy did a few burnouts without anyone seeing him right? Just because he's old doesn't mean he doesn't have a lead foot.
From what i've read here on the chat, if you drive the car normally and don't do burn outs or speed shifts, it should be fine. There are thousands of Testarossa's that don't have the problem. You only hear of the ones that happen. You have to throw the dice and pray to the car Gods to protect you.
If it breaks, down the road just fix it. Part of paying the price to be in the club. Nothing like the sound of those 12 cylinders behind you wailing away! I say buy it!

 

+1

I asked the question a while back.... "How many Testarossa do you know have the diff problem?"

ZERO so far

Buy, drive and enjoy.


P

 

I was hoping to hear comments like this. I know there are no sure things in life, but I at least wanted to believe that the problem is not as prevalent as the boards would have you believe.

 

Just like timing belts... Nobody knows someone who had one broken. It is the fear that rules.

 

Buy it! It's worth it either way..

Here in Norway I know about 15-16 TR's and I know about 2 differential problems. It's probably about 20-25 TRs here..

Without speculating too much in other peoples cars, It seems that one of the cars had been abused in the past, and the diff housing cracked and started leaking oil.

In the other case, the TR had one owner in 10 years + without any problems at all.. Then it was sold and had a few other unknown owners. Two years later the differential broke down.. I don't think thats a coincidence..

My car has 60 000km on the clock without any problems, I just hope it stays that way..

cheers
Daniel

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226140&highlight=TR%2FBOXER+CROWN+PINION+SOLUTION

Heres the thread.

 

Now that Newman has topped up the thread, I'd think a low miles car like you are considering would be an excellent candidate for the preventative fix..

 

I have another part for the boxer/TR boxes in the prototype stage right now that will fall into the prevention catagory, ill post pics and explain its function in about a week.

 

Everything I have heard and read on this site and elsewhere is that only the very late 1994 512TR's and 512M's have the solid differential. The rest have welded differentials.
Newman and AHudson can collaborate this I think.

 

As far as the belt(s)..........Now you know of one.....Me (see pix)

And concerning the diff/carrier.....There is one in Virginia...the owner just called me asking what my suggestions were as far as fixing and/or parting.........

I have replaced mine with a one-piece unit.

So these "problems" do show their ugly head...........

Been there Me
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Hello Kerry; Be VERY interested in the specifics in regards to your timing belt failure. My questions being.....age of belt?....was belt failure at "start-up"?....where it has been speculated that this is the highest stress period for timing belts, high rev period?...or just "normal driving"/r.p.m.'s...the extent of damage caused by failure in terms of "cost to repair"?....I won't open up the "can of worms" about the 3 year belt change as advised by Ferrari....I'm going on "7" years....but then...."I live ON THE EDGE"!!!.....Appreciate your comments Kerry...Thanks, Mark

 

Sorry to intervene on the question, but having read Kerry's account, it seems too painful to have the patient go dredge up his own records so here you go...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281914

Trying to Avoid a Relapse Me