Just Bought a 360 ... What's Next ?

Do a Google search for Aldous Voice and on You Tube. There’s tons of good information on both places.
I bought a 430 in February and learned to do all the maintenance myself and am saving a ton of money and having a great time doing it. I’m on the Internet a couple hours a day doing research about my car. I had to buy a couple special tools over the last few months, but now I have them forever.
Don’t let anyone scam you, it’s just a car.


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A few basic hand tools and a soldering iron and you can fix your alarm siren for about $20-$30

 

Never ever go back to that dealer. As someone suggested, sounds like they do not want to work on it and gave you silly high quote to run you off.
For the dash. You can pull it yourself and replace the plastic defrost vents with billet aluminum and that will stop the stretching, Dash leather can also be re-stretched using the metal vents. The 5K quote is about right if they are pulling it and sending it off for new leather.
Most do not want to even think about DIY repairs and service on any car, much less a Ferrari, but you can save a small fortune if you do your own work. It is just a car.
Since you have a spider with F1 tranny, you are on the hook for many more problems and repair bills than a true manual coupe but nothing that you can do about that.

 

I don't know, you see the same thing in the industrial machinery business (my day job). After awhile, Caterpillar doesn't want to work on old equipment either.....their business is to sell new equipment...hence the term "Planned Obsolescence". The good part is that it creates business for enterprising individuals.

 

You should really get that pre-cat inspected.

Right now you might well need new manifolds. If a pre-cat fails you'll need new manifolds plus an engine teardown to clean up the mess.

 

I will second that...you really want to consider replacing the headers before they completely fail. The pre-cats are metallic construction. If they fail and any of the material goes into your engine, you're looking at a very big bill to rebuild the engine. When I researched this I saw people talking about 20-30k bills to repair engine damage, depending on how severe it is. You could drive until it completely fails and may get lucky if the metallic cat material doesn't get sucked in.

One month ago, I decided to put new headers on just to have peace of mind. My headers only have 16,000 miles on them and the precats are fine, but I didn't want to worry. You can buy new headers for 1k-5k depending on the brand. I'm not sure how much installation would be at an indy mechanic. I did it myself and it is a difficult job, but I bet they could complete it in 8-12 hours if they're experienced. The first side took me 2 full days. The second side only took me 1 full day. I also did spark plugs while I was in there, so that took a couple extra hours. Anyway, now that you're informed you can evaluate the risks and make your own call. Glad we can help provide you with the info.

For the dash, I also just installed the aluminum vents from another member here. They are AWESOME, just as others have mentioned. Ignore that 5000 quote and just get someone to install the aluminum vents for you. Your exiting leather may shrink over time, but the aluminum vents can pull the leather back into place. The real problem is that the original plastic vent snaps aren't strong enough to hold the leather in place. Pulling the dash is a pain, you have to take apart all the leather panels from the seat belt area forward (b pillar, a pillar, visor trim, and then the dash). I also did this recently and it took me a few days, but I only worked on it 2-3 hours per night after work.

 

help guys i know this does not pertain to this thread but i need some help making sure im putting the right fluids in my ferrari f430 can anyone help. thank you

 

Guy, just because there is an obsession about the pre-cats doesn't mean that they fail often. Failures are rare AND engine damage even more rare. Get it checked, sure. Get all panicky that you can't drive until everything is changed, definitely not. You guys say it is just a car then get all cranked up for no real reason.

 

Are you looking at the timing belts or auxiliary belts for water pump, power steering, a/c etc? Timing belts are the important ones, and can't be seen just by looking in the engine bay as they have a cover over them for protection.

Have a quick look at this video at the 4:10 minute mark to see the timing belt...

 

Seeing a timing belt is irrelevant. There are a few ways to check them but generally the problems are not visible and take elaborate equipment to understand if they are bad. AND if you take them off to test you might as well have just put a set on and be done with it. Not to mention that the tensioners and other failures cause the catastrophes more than actual belt breakage. The forces are huge, particularly if you run it to redline periodically. Pick a time interval you are comfortable with, change them and move along. No fuss no muss.

 

It seems like installing the metal vents would be a cinch just taking out the windshield and reinstalling. No?

 

Oh absolutely agree, and looking at aux belts and thinking they're the important ones that others have referred to in this thread is what I was aiming to clarify for the OP

 

Access to the bottom is required so you can hold the nuts in place and torque down the pan head screws on top. There's no access to the bottom area unless you take the dash off the car.

Wish it were easier

 

Herb, what are the date codes on the belts? They should be clearly visible and the Dealer should know this.

 

You have to take stuff pretty far apart to see this. At that point why wouldn't you just change them?

 

You are getting solid advice to bite the bullet and change the belt and headers.....it will enhance your ownership experience.

 

You need to do your research on replacement header options. If you want to stay CA emissions compliant you need OEM headers, as no aftermarket units are CARB legal. Note that this is basically just resetting the clock as far as future failures go, as new OEM units could still suffer the same problem down the road.

FWIW I did elect for new OEM units even after my pre-cat failed at 40k miles and required an engine teardown/cleanup. I wanted to stay 100% CARB legal, and didn't want to deal with the potential for CELs that aftermarket units tend to introduce. My intention is to have the OEM units specifically scrutinized at every annual inspection going forward (to the extent possible).

Worst-case scenario new OEM units are about $4500 per side, plus installation costs:

https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/part/11359/ferrari/184394/lh-exhaust-manifold.html

 

I think you can find plenty of smog check places in CA that don't know the difference between OEM and aftermarket headers.

"what's that?"
..."thermal blanket so my Ferrari doesn't burst into flames like the others"
"okay, you're good"

Maybe I'm being optimistic since I'll have to deal with this in early 2022.

 

Sure some will pass you but once you get caught your car/vin is tagged and you will NEVER get another easy run. You will spend a LOT of time at the referees station proving that the car is correct. Not to mention that taking off smog equipment is a federal crime and the penalties can be up to $10,000. So yes, you MAY get by without blankets and probably won't with blankets, but there are clear risks.

 

that’s nuts!