Hi, I'm hoping one of the pros on here might have seen this before and be able to point me in the right direction.... I'm getting F1 fluid leaking out of the top of the reservior. The attached picture shows the leak after a 50 mile journey (mostly motorway so fewer gear shifts). Prior to this journey the reservior was bone dry as I had cleaned all previous fluid off. Points to note: - The pump is cycling on and off as I would expect it to - The pump relay has been replaced very recently - As it happens I had the car on an SD2 machine immediatly before todays journey - there were no errors - The F1 fluid level was correct this morning. Does anyone have any idea what would be causing the fluid to leak out the top of the reservior? It has been very hot here recently (UK) - would this affect it? Thanks in advance! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Check that the seal on the cap is in good condition and not allowing fluid to escape as it gets sloshed around in the reservior first.
Voicey- Here is the correct way to check F1 fluid level. Easy to remove excess and should be done soon so you do not damage the seal. Seems they had problems with this, hence the tech bulletin. Taz Terry Phillips Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree with Brian. Could be overfilled. And the rubber seal inside the cap could be bad. Had a similar experience a while back, when F1 fluid was sweating badly from the plastic reservoir, dripping directly over the exhaust tail pipes, and causing a trail of blue smoke, which was very embarrasing. I was told these tend to crack quite often, so I replaced the entire reservoir (it comes with a new cap/dipstick) for less than $300. Good luck.
Thanks guys. The cap seal is intact - good. However, I've been using the dipstick on the cap to maintain the level (I wasn't aware of the service bulletin). As I don't have the fancy Ferrari tool I sucked out a load of fluid until I could see the line inside the tank. I then put fresh fluid in until it hit the line and then added a small amount on top to what I thought was 5mm extra. I'll keep an eye on it.
Seal or no seal they are designed to breath. It will not hold pressure and when the fluid gets hot it expands and it will find a way out.
Dumb question; "Why don't they use non-expanding fluid?" Problem solved! . . Dons flamesuit Cheers, Ian
There are some low expansion fluids out there that might be compatible and I am looking into that. In this case it is just that P/S-ATF was just too easy to use, it works well for the app and it can be bought anywhere. The problem is they decided to use an existing off the shelf reservior that is far too small. If you look in the res after the car has been sitting all night, then open the door to pressurize the system you will see that 50% of the res capacity just disappeared. Now consider being out on track and getting the fluid smoking hot and fully expanded. It FILLS the reservior. We have seen track driven cars with PS and F1 that needed to be filled so low they were in real danger of sucking air before the fluid got hot. An F1 system, like any other hydraulic system does not work well if it gets air in it. And we have found that not all the correct fluids seem to have the same expansion rate for some reason.
Hi My Guess Your F1 System need's the "Bleeding Procedure" A) Clutch B) Actuator C) Pressure Canister In F430: D) E Diff Best Regards Serkan
In my honest opinion, I would check the gasket first as it would be the cheapest fix, and like another poster stated these things tend to crack, a 300 dollar investment may not sound that bad, especially if will solve the seeping issue.
It's funny when you think about it, Ferrari spent more time designing a nice Ferrari logo cap then finding the proper sized reservoir....
Its over filled. Seen it before when training new techs that can't listen. Its fun to clean up too so they never do it again.
Just found this thread, Terry, do know the length of the pipe on the tool, from the rim of the reservoir to the correct fill point? Thanks Terry.
I found EZ check is with a steel machinist rule. The ferrari service bulletin says the level should be like 5mm above the plate on the bottom of the reservoir Just open your door and wait till the pump cycles off, dip the rule in the reservoir until it strikes the plate and remove to measure. If too full, I just sucked some out using a piece of vinyl tubing Steve
John- The length will not make much difference as long as it can touch the rim ledge in the reservoir. Take a ruler, or even a stick, and measure the height from that rim ledge to the top and then allow a little for the bend and you should be okay. If you do not have a tube bender, you can borrow one or buy one of the cheap spring inserts that allows the same non-collapsed tube bend.
help please is the right fluid that goes in here Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes that is Matt I see you posted same question in 3 or 4 different places I see you are new here .. congratulations on your f430 In the future when you a question on your car use search function in ferrarichat first (can also use Google with key word and "ferrarichat") and then if you cannot find answer then open a new post .. asking your question on someone else's post probably not going to get you far Another good for thought .. since it seems like you may not have the user manual etc .. consider getting a CD(really a download) from eBay for less than 20 dollars for a incomplete but helpful workshop manual It also would be good to create a introduction post with pics and maybe a.bsck story Welcome .. I hope I help give you some insight to our family dynamics here Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
F1 fluid level is like the amount of water for a pot of rice. Stick your finger in and fill the liquid up to your first digit. For F1 fluid, it's where your fingernail ends before the first digit. Easy =)
thank you i am gonna do that i was worried because i put it in and when i got home it was leaking in the back that fluid i thought i may have put the wrong stuff, could it be since i just filled it up that i put too much in and thats why it was leaking on the ground
i did that i started my car for about 10 mintutes opened door checked it and it was very low in there, so i put a little at a time till it was about a fingernail, took car for a drive when i got back, it was leaking underneath and it had the red item that popped up on dashboard wouldnt even let me into first gear. do you think it was i just put too much?