I getting annoyed with the pundits that mention the looming $60K repair bill everytime a "GTA" sold or bought. I am aware the transmision is expensive (there is one for sale on Ebay for $25K) but what isn't on those cars... Break a timing belt and your repair bill is likely to be close to that amount is not more yet no one makes a huge deal about it (V8 guys do b/c of the engine out to replace the belt every 3 yrs), break a 6 sp tranny and you are in the same price point. So lets get real - if I remember the numbers, 1/2 of the 456 made are Autos - Has ANYONE on the forum lost an auto transmission and paid the $60K repair bills that "experts" keep bringing up? Please stick to the facts - not the "brother's second uncle's friend" stories! Also, in the spirit of making this marginaly scientific - if you have a GTA please speak up, have you had any problems with the transmission? Lets get a count!
Had the tranny serviced as part of my 30K. No issues of any kind. (I think you'll find this a pretty boring, i.e. no stories, thread).
I did not not know about this thread until I posted my response on the $60K trainy replacement thread. Please allow me to join in this thread by letting me to copy and paste my earlier response as below: "$60K trainy for 456 again!!! I've been driving one, year 2000, and so far has no problem, except, just once, engine oil was about one quart low. Should I go ahead and order one from Italy now? Or perhaps all of us, who are driving 456, should order in bulk, so we may get some discount?"
LOL. Here's a thought: A cheaper alternative would be to establish a mutual insurance company with a $1K/year annual premium. Get a few hundred members and everyone's covered!
Excellent points.......... I don't recall (not that I am 100% checking this specific sub-forum) that anyone has blown a 456 autotrans and even if so, reported on what the repair cost was either here..........meaning nobody has every come back and said "Hey, I had a 456 yadda yadda yadda....... blew the trans....... and it cost XYZ"
I've searched high and low and found one guy who had a major issue. That guy had the whole thing rebuilt by a local shop for about 8 grand. Ferrari of Atlanta does a transmission service every 2 years that they say will make it run perfect forever. I'm not sure if that was the original factory timeframe or not for this service. Less than a couple grand every two years isn't bad. I say this because I am also a 355 owner and really get bent over every three years at the dealer.
Someone wrote a letter to the editor in SCM to rebuff some of Sheehans commenst. The letter stated that the internals of the 456 auto were the EXACT same as some american car, just the casing was different. The letter mentioned that the internals were cheap, but did not mention which american car the trans supposedly came from... Any ideas? Comments?
I remember reading somewhere that the 456 autobox was a GM transmission. I know Rolls used turbo hydramatics for years so seeing one in a Ferrari wouldn't surprise me.
Ferrari itself used the GM Turbo hydramatic 3 spd unit in the 400/412 cars. Porsche used a unique case with ALL Mercedes internals in the 928 autoboxes. So, it is not uncommon for something like this to happen. It is just a matter of figuring out who uses what and then finding the REAL (and affordable) source for the 456 auto internals! Wish someone would publish this info for those who might unfortunately need it. The good thing is that it sounds like this is VERY RARE and that someone must have just got pissed about it and put it out there where it would be seen and it got way more publicity than it deserved and has now become an urban legend! I hope to have a 456 GTA at some point in the not to distant future. Best, James Austin, TX
If you do a search there is a very detailed description here on f-chat about the type of transmission and its origin. here it is http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118551
Ferrari used Gm trannys? wow! Thats disturbing. I kNow Bmw use's Hydromatic for the newer cars,and Getrag for there manual cars. (North carolina) Please dont yell at me here. But you guys bought a ferrari,So why is there a GM tranny in it? I mean would you still have got it if you knew a Gm tranny was in it? at the same point, i dont think any manufacture anymore makes there own trannys? But a Gm on any exotic just seems like someone went halfass.
And I suppose, by the above comment, that you do not know who really designed and manufactured the suspension system and climate controls of the 599?
When you make something high-end, you put in the best components, whatever the source. Connolley hides from England. And no country has had more experience in building automatic transmissions than the US. Rolls Royce has used them for years. The particular GM unit in the 456 is used in some of GM's trucks and is very robust.
What do you mean by "designed and manufactured" and "suspension system"? We know GM pioneered magentorheoligical shocks, but do they actually make the 599 shocks or did they merely convey a license to the technology? Are you also saying FIAT passed the 599 to GM for HVAC? Re The 456(M)GTA transmission provenance: I don't imagine that anyone who's swanning about in an automatic Ferrari has any concern where any bit of it was sourced; be it a 355, 360, Enzo, 430, 456, 599 or 612. Someone in a 'Vette thread (and not 'VetteChat) says the 456 uses the C5 'Vette automatic, perhaps believing it had to be born as a transaxle or a bolt in replacement.
FWIW the auto trans from Hanover, Germany on ebay is now going for $24999 or best offer. No offers noted yet.
that tranny has been on ebay for over a year.....from what I've been told [RD] it is possible to get a used one for about $8K less.
I hereby offer to send $100 to the first person to post downloadable step-by-step instructions, GM parts list and photos regarding how they actually rebuilt a 456MGTA transmission. Then, if the mythical event ever does occur, we're armed and ready to go to our dealers and have the work done at a reasonable price. Fair?
Wow... A hundred bucks to solve your $60,000 transmission problem for you... You haven't actually worked in a long while, have you?
