Bradan 550 service

Where was he when he took the pics beside the water?

 

Lots of water in Maine.

 

Dan- Looks like she needs a bit of maintenance. At least the large under plenum water hose was replaced with a 575 one, though.

 

Dan,
Sometimes I think about moving back east just so I can have my car serviced by you

What's the mileage on the car? Just wondering if there is a telltale that one can derive from the carbon deposits pattern on the valve lifters for the mileage.
Thanks,
Riad

 

There's not many things that make me wish I lived on the east coast...but Bradan's shop is one of them.

 

So is that mess Ferrari’s fault or someone else’s after the car left the factory?

Very disconcerting.

 

And that is why I stop by his place when i come back to LI.

 

Just curious what symptoms led you to pull the pan and inspect the oil pump drive shaft bearings, especially at only 24,000 miles.

 

A bearing rattling noise from the front of the engine, which another shop diagnosed as the cam belt idler pulley bearings and said not to worry about them until the belts were changed. Glad to see Bradan is a bit more thorough in their work.

 

It's crazy that the bearings on the timing gear always seem to puke out the grease. I just got the 550 but starting to get concerned about my choice. The Murcielago has the typical things like clutch, and the one little cooling hose by the firewall that's worth replacing when the engines out ($40 part that would need an engine out if it failed) but it seems these 550's are all leaking somewhere and bearings are failing, doesn't say much for Ferrari quality honestly, Not bashing but how can other car companies install bearings, seals and hoses that last 400K and 20 years and Ferrari parts crap out after 3 years of light weekend use? Hopefully what we see on the forums is a small sample of cars

 

Buy Hill Engineering parts where available, and most of those problems disappear. Many Ferraris did not get regular coolant changes because that is not in the recommended maintenance schedule, and that has caused some problems with cooling systems and even wet cylinder liners. Have not heard of any company whose hoses, etc last 400,000 miles, and most other cars are not as highly stressed as Ferraris, especially with frequent redline runs during light weekend use. Last 550 was built in 2001, so getting up there in age. 575 fixed a lot of the 550 problems, but many are common.

 

Apologies Taz my intention wasn't to crap on the 550 its just disconcerting the quality of some oem parts. I get that Ferrari doesn't have the R&D $$, time and volume compared to large mass manufacturers, and that Hill Engineering has solved some issues. Are the Hill timing gear bearings holding up better?