1998 550 Maranello "sorting" thread--DIY

Dont worry, after a few runs and "heatcycles", the color will tone down and look perfectly orginal.

 

BOO-YA! Engine reassembled (Photo 1)

Fuel filled? Check. All fluids double checked? Check. Entire fuel system checked for leaks? Check. Am I ready to start the engine? I say yes. Battery tender says no :-( (Photo 2)

Yes, I will wait until tomorrow when the battery is fully charged to restart the engine. Patience grasshopper.
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Let the battery sit for a bit after it is "charged" to see if it hold charge or even load test it. These cars don't like weak batteries and weird not so nice stuff happens. When in doubt get a new battery. And CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB WELLDONE!!!

 

Well done Pete, and congratulations. We'll all keep our fingers crossed for you when you hit that starter tomorrow.

BTW, that stallion in red is a big improvement over silver, IMHO.

p.s. did you pressure test the cooling system from the expansion tank? It would be a real pity to have coolant over all that beautiful new paint.

 

Pete,

It looks fantastic. I'm almost sorry that you're just about finished (I'm sure YOU don't feel that way!) as I know a bunch of folks have really enjoyed reading about and following your progress. Congrats in advance on what I know will be a great day tomorrow -

Bill

 

Bill, you spoke too soon!!!

I fired the 550 up today after priming the oil system and lifters. Turning the motor over with the starter with the fuel pumps disconnected takes care of this.

She fired up nicely. I let her sit idling for a while, observing all the warning lights...ABS, ASR, Slowdown, etc. There is some lifter noise, and injector noise, and a bit of smoke from the headers as the little oil drips are burned off from my prior work. No biggie. As she warmed up I raised her on the lift to inspect the underbody area for leaks. My excitement quickly turned to horror, and boy was I sad to see this (Photo 1)

A quick inspection revealed this to be the crank seal I just replaced leaking fresh oil. (Photo 2)

I took the belt covers off so I could better peer up under the timing covers, and it appears to me to be entirely localized to the bottom of that crank seal. The timing belts are free of any oil, and the cam gears that I can see don't appear to have any oil anywhere near them.

I removed the auxiliary belts and the torsion damper bolt, but the heat of the engine has frozen the damper on. I will wait for the motor to cool to remove the damper and verify the leak site.
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Ok, you will solve this too, much easier compared to the other repairs you carried out.

Judging by the amount of oil coming out, it would look like either the seal is damaged or the position of the seal with regards to the rotation of the shaft is incorrect - seals can only work in 'direction'.

 

360, tell me what you mean by direction? The seal only appears to go on one way, I.e like it is in the photo.
Thanks.

 

Pete,

Your seal is put in right just nicked or something. Try making sure shaft is totally clean with no dirt lip or ring. assembly lube the shaft and the inners of the seal when you drive the seal home and make sure to drive the seal perpendicular to the crank. Before you take it apart start the car again after it cools to see if the oil is coming out again. Sometimes you get a dry spot and oil dumps and then a little expansion contraction changes the seal to shaft interface and good things happen. That is usually a four letter word though...hope.

 

Pete,

You're right - I should have kept my mouth shut!

Bill

 

I could not wait to rip this thing apart to find out exactly how I screwed up this seal, and so after removing the torsion damper, I carefully pried the old seal out.

Photo 1 shows the seal sitting in the vise, in exact orientation as in the car. If you are looking straight at the front of the crankshaft end, the vise is gripping the seal at exactly the position the seal was leaking at. As you can see, there is a rent in the plastic of the inner race at exactly that position, not visible when the seal is in place on the crankshaft.

Photo 2 shows the seal reversed, so the back side (inward facing) portion of the seal is visible. Again see the rent at 180 degrees, with a breakage of the spring that holds the seal flush. The inward dent in the external metal ring at about 5pm on the seal is my pry mark from removing the seal.

I have no idea how it happened.

New seal arriving tomorrow. Thank you Ricambi!
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Pete,

Sometimes you are the bug and sometimes you are the windshield...

 

Carl...truer words have never been spoken!!

 

Pete where is the torque specs list in the WSM? I'm too lazy to look through this whole thing.

 

Great! At least you know everything else is working

With all the work you did, you really shouldnt be afraid of anything...well maybe a "clutch" job will be a physical challenge!

Post a video if you can when you drive the car!

Great work and thanks for the post.

 

Carl, what torques they give you are on pages B69 and B70. For example, if you are looking for the torque for a minor part like lets say the INTAKE MANIFOLD NUTS, you must guess

 

Today received new crankshaft oil seal from Ricambi. It is a different seal than the one I got from them one month ago. Another Ferrari supercession. :-(

After very carefully cleaning the end of the shaft as well as the seal seat, and coating both the seal and the seat with redline assembly lube, I tapped it in very gently. Not with the standard expensive Ferrari tool, but using a short length of 2 inch PVC pipe from Lowes. Seated it perfectly (Photo 1)

Torsion damper back in place (Photo 2)
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Pete, start the engine check for leaks before you put the cam covers back on. Question for you, how satisfy you were by using the sonic tensometer you used. next I have the same problem with my right banck timing cog gear ( the inner fence is lose). Now how can I secure the cam gears from moving while I am changing the lower cog gear without things moves or I should remove the cams befor I consider any work on it. Thanks. Sark

By the way the oil leak I had was not comming from cam seals and belts are dry, but instead I found out the above issue.

 

Pete- This is a great thread. You are to be commended on the thoroughness and stubborness with which you have approached bringing your 550 back to new condition. I really want to save all your photos and text to use as a future primer for Maranello owners.

Incidentally, you had me curious on the transmission banjo unions, and the 575M unions/bolts (shared with the 612) are completely different from the 550 banjos. Depending on location (power steering, transmission, etc) they vary in recommended torque from 35-45 Nm. A bit different from the 550's and so not surprising you broke one.

Sark appears to have the only complete set of 550 WSMs out there, including the elusive Section M, or Bodywork. We should all think about bribing him to get a set of complete manuals.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Good to see you back on F'chat Terry.

 

Welcome back TAZ!

 

A true treat to see you back again Terry!

Thank you.

 

+10 on Terry's comments on Pete's work. The most comprehensive thread on a job I've had the pleasure of reading, and on not the simplest of work.
Thank you Pete, well done!

Taz, +10 to see you back!

Bill
FL

 

Yes, it is wonderful to see Terry back!
Thank you all for your kind words. However, I had a ton of help along the way with this, particularly Dave Helms, Carl, Terry, and every single person who posted on this thread! Thank you all for the help and patience with me.


I tried to post a video of the motor running but apparently unless the video file is less than 488Kb *WHAT?* it won't allow me to post it.

I hope to keep the thread going as I'm now going to fully correct the paint and replace all the interior carpets.

 

Terry, I can not express my feelings to say how glad I am to see you back. God bless you.
Sark.