Is this a problem real problem or a rip off?

As a leak that’s not anything worth bothering with on a Ferrari imho .

Unless he’s referring to seemingly lack of tightness of the hex bolt ,the gap ie it’s lost its grip ?? Signifying a larger issue ?

 

Very suspect! How is this dx made?

 

Lol..never..6k? Dude, drive.the car..

 

As Clara would say . . .

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Find another shop.

 

This new shop (to you) is just testing you ! They want to see how far they can go...when you accept this. Next time it will be more expensive for lesser things.

 

Run Forrest run.

 

Annual service at dealer a couple months ago detected a weep at what looks like the exact same spot. They said they'd replace the gaskets for $1990. A lot of labor involved IIRC. They suggested I wait, great advice


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That is a sensible assessment, interesting that that same leak has occurred. Paying for labour to keep a car in a state of perfection is a choice that is nice to have, for those more practical a small leak that leads to no knock on problems can be left alone.

Why would a leak require a whole new oil pump? Unless there are some known casting or pump sealing surface flaws that are the root cause of the leaking that the factory knows about but does not want to admit.

The original poster might want to inquire of the shop as to why removal and reseal is not the course they advised, may be they actually have a reason.

 

He said “ shop “ .
Therefore can the op clarify if he took it to a franchised service centre ( official dealer ) ? I assumed he didn’t with the word “ shop “

How ever like you I held back on outright condemnation, bcz I am unfamiliar with exact anatomy of that particular engine .
Like you thinking that seep might be a prognostic indicator of something more sinister.

I have been a Ferrari owner for over 30 yrs inc Testarossa, 360 etc . Weeps + seeps are par for the course .

Even if you had bottomless pockets and were to instruct “ chase it “ to a technician there’s no absolute guarantee that within a few months say 1000 or so miles or less that leak wouldn’t return or indeed ( aged cars in particular) another would pop up .

I still have the twin parallel line stains in my garaged floor from the 12 yrs of Testarossa cam cover seal weeps .
In my tenure I had three engine out belt jobs + cam seals ……lasted less than a yr before they started to weep .

With my 360 fully franchised SH for 9 yrs the official dealer at cam belts ( through the hatch behind the seats - no engine out ) always mentioned in the report something along the lines of “ slight cam seal weeping - advise monitor “ . When I challenged this in terms of a coffee with the suited service adviser …they told me a lot do and it’s a huge job to fix in a 360 = better just monitored .So WE did .

My 76 208 GT4 …has a permanent drip tray under it . A Indy did chase a few at its last belts , both pans off all the pulley seals ( not just the cams ) etc etc …lasted about a yr .

My 348 had a belt job by a highly reputed London Indy last Nov and ……no prizes for figuring out I have now got a slight weep around the fwd cam covers .

So what ?

I run a couple of Porsche s as well and basically just resigned to the fact that in my experience Ferraris weep + seep and mess up your garage floor . Leant to live with it .

Having said that the pic posted assuming as said it’s not a tel tale to something more sinister……that’s nothing to worry about in the world of Ferrari ownership.

 

I'd get a second opinion!

 

How ?

I see from experience that the techs kinda ( quite rightly imho ) close ranks in the sense they don’t want bad mouth other local guys .
They all for obvious reasons need to be on good terms especially with the franchised mob(s) .

It’s bcz the punter never describes the back story or paints a full picture , or misses important info when he describes his woe to the 2 nd party . Once the punter has the “bit between there teeth “ etc .

Aside it needs a full examination of the history , a lift up and under tray removal which is bill time . Ideally a written report to back the decision to either monitor or strip it down and replace the oil pump in Q .Why would a 2 nd guy opt into to a potentially argument later down the tracks with the owner coming back with a issue which he thinks is related to the 2 nd guys advice? Liability- no thanks .

At the end of the day it will be something like “ in an ideal world yes we can [ insert the fix ] replace the gasket or and oil pump “ or you can just leave it ,monitor it , keep it under review etc etc and if we have to dig around that area in the future ,maybe never in your ownership then we can revisit this weep .

Every one has an opinion . Two isn’t scientific ,

 

.... And at the same time, if they didn't say anything about the leak... the next post will be " Ever since it was in the shop there is a new oil leak ... "
NOTE: I am smiling as I post this... not serious... well, maybe... LOL

At minimum, the shop owes you an explanation of their findings, is there a leak... clearly, yes... what is the root cause? Why do they feel it warrants replacement vs reseal. There's a reason, just ask them. Then, is it worth $6,000+ to you to fix it? That's entirely up to you.
IMO the first step, ask for clarification , get more details, make an informed decision.

Steve

 

I took a deeper dive into this .
Appears the oil pump on a 458 is a rats nest of seals . So there’s an inevitability here of a dried / perished O ring , or a few as there are so many .

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/458-oil-pump-leak.668033/

On the second vid the guys having trouble retrieving the one , that goes vertical. Imagine removing this fitting the kit and finding it still leaks due to a casting / manufacturer ing defect ?Or the flanges get marred …not intentionally of course but nether the less it happens .

Hence …speculating here a experienced tech might opt for new pump with a unmarred housings that increase the chances of a good outcome ?
Just saying !

 

I can't speak to your models, but my 88 Mondial 3.2 is leak/drip free, and as I do all my own work, if there is a drip, I go at it and do the repair. The cost of a dealer/shop doing all this would be very high, but if you really want a drip free car it is certainly possible. But eg. I had to redo diff seals twice to get the leak free outcome, and if a dealer did it there would have no doubt been complaints. I think we expect too much from techs in a rush to make the economics work, and need to roll with the imperfections of people and parts. If you pay people to maintain an exotic car, just accept you have chosen an expensive path. Kind of like a sporting or business club membership, only you can determine if the means are there and the value proposition works.

That said, some minor drips are no big deal, and leaving things until a natural service opportunity makes perfect sense. The pleasure of driving rolling art does not require concours level restoration and maintenance.

That 458 pump design does look like there is too much design complexity, the Ferrari engineers should pay attention to that sort of thing as leaks on fairly new cars affect perceived quality in a big way. Parts swapping is the lowest risk way to deal with a repair. But I think a customer should be briefed on the option of reseal verses replace, and take ownership of the decision like an informed consent medical decision. Trust is required, and life is too short to assume you are being ripped off at every opportunity.