1998 550 Maranello "sorting" thread--DIY

The MSW ignition deletes the heavy coil boxes that sit under the airboxes, as well as the nasty spark plug wires. It is entirely the brainchild of John Cribb and Dave Burch, the geniuses behind MSW.

First step is to use new plugs, onto which special extensions must be installed (Photo 1)

The system uses Denso coils from a Hayabusa motorcycle. (Photo 2)

Once the plugs and COP are installed, you connect everything together using a beautifully made custom harness. (Photo 3)

That's it!
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Brakes and clutch were bled (Photo 1)

There has long been talk about the fact that you CAN assess clutch wear in a Maranello, by looking at the relationship of the pin that comes out of the thrust bearing to the stroke adjustment bracket. Mine is pictured here (Photo 2)

Can anyone translate what this means? From a photo in the 575 WSM it appears that when new the pin sits all the way at the front of the bracket (the side closest to the clutch splines in my photo).
At this point my clutch feels fine with no slippage, and 21,000 miles on the odo. Original clutch.

Reassembly proceeds (photo 3)
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At this point the car was fully reassembled and it was time to restart.

Imagine my horror when a large stream of coolant shot out from under the timing covers and dripped on the floor. After some disassembly and cursing, it was discovered that the WP that I rebuilt was shooting coolant out of its weep hole (Photo 1)

I am so over this waterpump. It appears that you have to be Albert Einstein to rebuild the damn thing. So over it in fact that I ordered a brand new one from my friends at FerrParts, who overnighted it from Cali. It appears to me that the WP now being supplied is meant to be replaced at every major (It has a "D" in the part number which I assume means disposable).
Once that pump was reinstalled and everything vacuum filled again, the engine started with no more leaks.

I only had one problem. The exhaust of bank 1-6 was "puttering" somewhat, and not "purring" flawlessly like the exhaust of bank 7-12. After checking for obvious things like loose connections, vacuum hoses, or plenum nuts, I ran pending codes using my Actron scanner. I had random misfires on all 6 cylinders of bank 1-6.

My buddy John Cribb pointed out to me that he had experienced this same issue when he replaced his throttle push/pull cable, which I had done this time as well. The problem had to do with synchrony of the TPS positions on both banks. Because I am 2 hours from the nearest SD2 or Leonardo, I just loosened everything to do with the throttle cabling system and gave it the old college try to make everything snug and equal.

To my absolute joy, it started back up without the "puttering" and with no misfire codes. Problem solved....THANKS JOHN!!!!
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I took her out and ran her hard several times with the undertrays off, to look for leaks, etc. None were found after 80 miles of driving (Photo 1)

Now, with the undertrays in place and fully detailed/protected, she's ready for the driving season, albeit a little later than I wanted (Photo 2)

The car is running now better than it ever has before. I think the extra effort I spent relative to the timing as well as the COP ignition are primarily responsible for that. It is an absolute joy to drive.
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Rob,
I have always used the gallon of gear oil; this time as with my first change I added the friction modifier which in my opinion makes the gearbox "feel" smoother. That bottle is 400ml.

Ultimately the gearbox filler plug (which is found by putting your hand flat on the rounded back of the gearbox and sliding it up until you feel the vertically oriented plug) has a dipstick molded into it and I use that to determine filling.

There are a lot of great technicians here in this subforum; if you run into any troubles someone will undoubtedly chip in!

Regards,
Pete

 

Old solution mounts. Shot.
Need 575 era mounts, and yes those need replacing.

 

It is time for the Maranello's yearly fluid change (engine and gear oil, coolant, brake flush, and PS fluid). Current mileage is 21,550 (just under 1000 miles since the major of last year).
Car has run magnificently, except for what I would characterize as "bearing noise" that I would hear from time to time. During the fluid change I decided to remove the front engine covers to get a look at everything.
Timing belts were nice and tight.
No leaks from cam seals, a small bit of dripping oil at bottom of timing cover. However, shining a light under the timing cogs revealed something suspicious looking, so I broke down the timing cover for a look.

Here you go, compliments of the factory supply chain:
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Needless to say, this frustrates me, as I had gone back and forth last year about whether or not to wait until Paul Hill's bearings were available.

Thankfully, they are now:
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Upon disassembly, the bearings from la fabbrica di cuscinetti Italiano were almost completely devoid of grease. I am guessing that this was the source of the periodic whirring noises that I would hear particularly on startup, as nothing else seems amiss.

 

Of course!!

 

So I began the yearly service while I was waiting for parts. For me, yearly service is engine and gear oil, coolant including block drainage, and brake/clutch fluid/flush.
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