456GTA Torque Tube Bearings.

This is a great initiative... I ended up re-using my rubber housings and changed the NSK Bearing on the inside. I had a an edge grooved into the housing and used a C snap ring to lock in the bearing. Used plenty of green loctite as per Constantine's recommendation.

It did the job fine and cost me about 500$. However, I definitely would have preferred using a new alternative like the one you mentioned above. At that price it's a no-brainer.

I know the production may be costly but I would ask Daniel at Ricambi and/or other part suppliers if they would resell them for you or you could put them up on eBay as a permanent listing. I'm sure this is going to come up again as these cars age and Ferrari's replacement parts are priced at 2000$ a piece.

Thanks to efforts like yours that we can contribute to making a great brotherhood and helping each other out. No offense to Ferrari but sometimes with these cars we need all the help we can get.

 

Hi fellow 456 fans,
I've ordered a set of bearings from Scott already, but I'd like to publicly acknowledge my appreciation for his making these bearings a reality.
It takes a lot of careful effort to reengineer parts for our cars so we can continue to enjoy them on the road.
So, thank you very much!
Bill Harrod

 

Maybe you could interest Ricambi or Eurospares in buying some?

 

Thanks Scott. Somehow I can’t open the attached images.
Does it work for 456M GTA? How to order?


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Hi Scott,

I read with interest that you've recently asked NSK Bearings of Japan to manufacture bearings specifically for the 456 GTA. I presume therefore these are not standard off the shelf bearings or is it the case NSK simply stopped production due to low volumes.

I'm determined to rid my 456M GTA of the infamous torque tube rattle so I'm interested to hear why these NSK bearing took the noise away.

Also, have you found a replacement for the rubberized vulcan ring. I was thinking with the advance in 3D printing someone could produce these so we 456 owners coud have a total solution to the cars ills.

I look forward to hearing from you

Mark

 

I have the dreaded torque tube rattle that is quite loud stationary in park or neutral but not loud at all when stationary in drive. Looking at recent history my car had these TT bearings changed in 2017 and again in 2019, so I'm suspicious on two counts - first were they actually changed properly and second, are the bearings actually ok and the noise from the torque tube is something else??
Along with the noise is a vibration on light acceleration and occasionally a transient rattle on light throttle application. The odd thing is that if I'm driving at say 40 mph and slip into neutral then rev the engine (which I assume spins up the shaft inside the tube), its really smooth and no vibration....put it into drive and accelerate again and the vibration comes back. So could the TT noise be the normal noise that people complain about (and mine is really quite loud) but the vibration in drive only is something else?? I was going to get the TT bearings changed, but IF they've been changed twice already, that maybe points to something else causing the low speed drive vibration??
Or maybe its one of the bearings either at the engine or gearbox interface with the TT rather than inside the TT itself?

 

Why don't you check out @ChipM 's post about Torque Converter rattle. I think my GTA will need TC rebuild to resolve the rattling problem. In your case, see if you can go underneath the car while the engine is running and try to trace where the noise comes from. I did mine and the noise seemed to be coming from the TC area rather than the long TT. In your case, you have changed bearings twice. I don't see the point of changing them again. Keep us posted.

 

I've had the car on a lift engine running and the noise (checked with steel bar pressed against various parts of the transmission) is coming from both ends of the TT It's very obvious at idle and at 1750 RPM get quieter but there is then vibration between 1750 and 2000 RPM.

 

Brief clip of the noise

 

Few years ago when I had the TT bearings replaced by a well known UK Ferrari Specialist, I was informed the weights in the flywheel had come out and where laying in the bottom of the housing! I was told this is a common issue as the glue dry's with age.

Personally I think there are a couple of vibration sources, the biggest one I suggest is the Torque Converter as ChipM posts elaborates on, that said, losing balance weights from the flywheel won't help the situation either. The quality of the original bearings and how they are retained is also another potential vibration source.

I've written to Ron at the Auto Repair Shop ChipM used for the overhaul of his TC, I've asked if he would provide the details of the parts used. Sending my TC to Houston from the UK isn't an option given the exhorbitant shipping costs these days.

I think there are enough owners of 456GTA's with this issue that hopefully between us we can clearly define all the issues and remedy's.

 

I need a specialist preferably in the south of the UK who has torque tube/GTA gearbox experience to diagnose and fix my noise and vibration. Any recommendations?

 

I would happily recommend Darrell Parker at DnB Mechanical Services - Norwich.

Darrell is a first class Engineer who works to the very highest of standards, please take a look at his website and the quality of his workmanship.

Darrell has worked on my 456M for several years and so has become very familar with the foibles of owning a Ferrari. Prior to that, his business partner owned a 456 so he's very familiar with all aspects of the model.

I live 10 minutes away from his workshop and would happily meet to pass on my learning from 12 years of 456 ownership.

I was going to do my torque tube rattle this year, however, the wallet is still recovering from replacing all the valve guides which BTW Darrell did.