430 Help ! F1 Tranny Stock. Car's not moving

Hi Guys, Sorry my first post had to be a problem but hope someone here can help. So I was visiting a friend in my 430 and parked on his garage ramp as there was no other place to park and was a bit steeper than usual . Car has F1 transmission. As I was trying to back up slowly out of the driveway ( reversing uphill on the ramp ) there was a fairly strong smell ( no smoke , just a strange smell but not severe ) and the car stalled. Started the car and put it in reverse and as soon as I would be off the brake and on the gas the car would stall again . Entire process was less than 1 minute and less than 30 seconds in reverse. Put it in 1st gear and tried to go forward and it stalled again. With 5 guys we physically push it up and out of the driveway while in neutral, not to risk further damage . Once on flat suface the car would still stall going into 1st or reverse and would not move more than a few inches . Car only has 3000 miles always serviced, driven almost every week 20-25 miles and just went out of warranty. As of last service 4 month ago clutch had only 10% wear so almost new. Has anyone here experienced anything like this? I've always been very careful in stop and go situations, hardly ever driven the car in traffic, shifting was always perfect with absolutely no issues. I know when in reverse clutch is always slipping and I've always been very careful not to stay in reverse too long or let the car crawl in 1st gear , always firm on the brake on stop situations. Is the clutch that sensitive that even with 80% + left it can burn out so easily with only a few seconds of uphill reversing? Considering that I did smell something have I burnt the clutch or could this be a different problem like the F1 transmission or Flywheel or...??? I have to wait till Monday to tow it in but would really like to know it anyone here has experienced anything similar and know what this is likely to be and how major is the damage ... Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks Hitch-Hiker . This has indeed been a learning experience. I did try on Sunday morning with the suggestions of great Southern California Ferrari mechanics to reset the battery opening/closing, shutting tight engine compartment cover, front storage compartment, convertible top, doors , windows, making sure F1 pump comes on trying to reset the memory etc... Car was still stalling as soon as in 1st or reverse. Finally I pushed hard on the throttle and car took off , reved fine all the way to 5000rpm and second and third but as I slowed down on the first traffic light a few hundred yards away car stalled as I stopped and it auto shifted to 1st. At this point I did not want to risk possible damage and decided to tow the car to my mechanic.

Since it happened on the weekend it was very difficult to find the right company to tow the car. It took 3 different flat bed towing trucks and the entire Sunday to finally be able to properly hoist the car up onto the flat bed truck.

First company got scared off and left, at least 2 other companies who claimed they handle exotic cars for $200/ 7 mile tow changed their mind and cancelled the call. Second supposedly exotic towing service showed up with regular flat bed and a 70+ year old driver. First thing he said with a big grin was that you should have bought a Honda and hey for $300k the car can't reverse up a 20 foot ramp ?( not to mention how many passers by and cars were laughing , honking, pointing with similar comments, kind of embaressing...all day long) including a couple of ultra fast talking hyper German tourists who were definately on something, and would not leave us alone constantly taking pictures and trying to play mechanic all while they took 50 pictures and video ( probably ended up on youtube) and kept rambling on about Porsche and how well made it is compared to Ferrari and that short of Downshifting from 6th to 1st at speed nothing can happen to them and on and on , so irritating and they would just not go away ( I told them I have a porsche and trust me Ferraris are in a different league and well worth the extra TLC) In the meantime the old guy was trying to align logs in front of the ramp to reduce the incline angle and as soon as I put my foot on one edge the other side flipped up 6 inches ....and the guy was saying well what do you think should we give it a try ....NOOOO way..I sent him off . In the end I found a real company with a proper split tray on the back who can drop the suspension and did a great job lifting the car in 10 minutes and to my mechanic who was kind enough to open up the shop to take the car in Sunday evening.

Monday we put the car on the SD diagnostic which showed the clutch only has 20% wear but overheated for 30 seconds and failure of clutch positioning sensor but upon further physical inspection after lifting the car and opening the undertray we noticed a leak that seems to be from the transmission area but my mechanic determined to actually be coming from the clutch hydrolic lines ? As a result of a loose screw ! We have now ordered the part and hopefully it was just the leak that caused air to get inside and hence the Stalling effect .

I also Googled (f430 leaking cluthc : http://www.usedcarsplus.com/ferrari-recalls/f430/index.html) and noticed recalls for the F430 and there seems to be a recall for almost the exact same issue in addition to one for the convertible top hydorlic lines that can catch fire as a result of heat in the engine bay which is a bit scary so and something to look into as well.

What I'd like to find out is if my issue is the same as what they mention in the recall or something different.

All in all it doesn't seem to be a major issue but I know I'll be much more careful on any incline with this car from now on specially in reverse and hope this info helps all the fellow chatters .

 

I have found out the hard way that a very simple reverse situation and a 30 second overheat on the clutch even though unlikely COULD cause a real problem and certainly not due to any kind of reckless driving. I wish I could report good news but the puzzle is widening without a clear answer.

As I mentioned earlier my mechanic noticed a leak from a tiny crack on a small black junction box (2"x2") attached to a 20 inch hose that feeds the hydrolic fluids to the clutch ( you can see it if you look from above to the right side of the engine near transmission just a few inches above the under tray with the pipe coming back up and going into the container under the panel behind the tail light.

I must first say that my mechanic is very competent and honest with decades of Ferrari experiance and a great reputation. Today he installed the junction box and hose hoping this could resolve the issue and he increased the PIS point to 6 to see if the clutch will release. It is now drivable but somehow NOT QUITE right per his test drive.

I know keeping PIS point at such high levels will burn up the clutch anyway and is not a solution as the normal range is 4-5 therefore not a real solution. Next guess is Throw out bearing within the clutch assembly being stock due to heat damage to the seals within ? But to find out it needs to be physically removed and checked which is no longer a quick and easy fix. He is also suggesting at that point once we open it all up it is recommended to go ahead and change the clutch assembly , Clutch position sensor etc...

He asked me to take a test drive in the morning and see how the car feels. It is just doesn't make sense that a 3000 mile car can get into this situation with 30 second overheat on the clutch . Are these cars that delicate?

I must also add that neither my mechanic nor another very reputable Ferrari mechanic that he consulted with today have quite seen these issues occuring as a result of short overheat on a 3000 mile car which makes things even more confusing. 430 clutches are supposed to be a big improvement over the 360 and should last 25000+ miles and he is puzzled at what he is seeing as well.

So I would really appreciate if any fellow F-Chatters or Pro Ferrari Mechanics here have experienced anything similar and if they can share their experience.

Thanks for reading.

 

Thanks. I'm had the dealer check them today. Apparently the one for the exhaust manifold is the main one and they said it has a 7 year /70000 mile warranty due to smog warranties but they will only fix it if it breaks within this period. After that they are not responsible.

 

A Happy Ending for now and we hope for the best ! This morning we started the car let it run for a minute , clicked on reverse , car glided back smoothly with a little gas, back and forth several times to pull the car out of the mechanic's garage and on the street ( un-expected surprise as his test drive the previous afternoon was not smooth and we were preparing to physically open up the car to see what has happening inside the throw out bearing , seals and clutch dics themselves even expecting to see warping due to heat as we had exhausted everything else) . Got in the car pushed on the gas and a 1 second delay but car took off normally , shifted up to 3 back and forth in the same block , reversing to turn a few times and WOW all seemed normal. What could have happened over night is anyones guess. He said parhaps the setting of the PIS and other resets had a delayed reaction ? Perhaps changing the clutch assembly and bleeding the clutch got rid of any possible air in the system OR in combinatin with increasing the PIS to the MAX it might have just released the position of the internal parts to where they needed to be?? Who knows but the car felt normal within the ten minute test drive. Left the car there for him to return the PIS to normal 4-5 range and see if it jams or stalls again and IT DID NOT so all settings back to normal , I drove the car home 7 miles of L.A city driving obviously worried and nervious as hell that it might stop any minute and thinking about the Flat beds towing was making me very uncomfortable in traffic . As I drove furhter and further I felt more confident and drove it all the way slightly harder up through the quieter parts near my home and BACK IN MY GARAGE .

So this time it seems that I was fortunate and might have narrowly missed a potentially big issue not so much the cost but just the thought of opening up half of the back end of the car and in the shop for weeks just really was not a good feeling to go through on your MINT spotless 3000 mile Ferrari but all is good and I'm very grateful and happy now.

It's funny how we feel about our Ferraris. I must tell you I have several other top exotic cars and many had issues even much more major ones at times and none bothered me a bit , but Ferraris are a different story . It was weird seeing the empty spot in the garage like you miss a member of your family ( well not quite ) but certainly to a different level that us guys get attached to any other Brand we might own. The headache and challenge make us appreciate and enjoy these cars more afterwards as opposed to disliking them. Kind of like women in our lives LOL... these cars are really like women even the part that the problems are not logical and don't make much sense and hard to figure out like the above. They need demand respect and tender loving care again like women, big difference is that they don't talk back and give you the ride of your life every single time and sound even better every time LOL .

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL , PATIENT, HONEST AND EXTREMELY DETAILED FACTORY TRAINED AND CERTIFIED Ferrari mechanic Guiseppe Cappalonga at of F & M Motorsports one of the best in the business and very highly recommended, and great advisor and consultant Euginio and our fellow F Chatter Brian Crall known as Rifledriver for the PMs.

Happy motoring and be extra careful on those inclines ....I know I will.