550 engine cooling improved!

Did anyone discuss the really bad radiator caps? The oem cap always fails. You could buy 10 new ones and have only 3 hold pressure and vent properly. I forgot about this because I modified my tank to take a standard stant type totally reliable cap. You need to hold pressure to maintain the pv=nrt temp capability and lower boiling in the system that destroys heat capacity of the system

 

Good point about the coolant tank cap. I am going through this at the moment with my F355, have one on order and hoping the new one will work as designed. Coolant temp has not exceeded 90°C/190°F yet though despite the engine's location unfavorable to cooling and 28 years old stock Spal fans, but I do see traces of dried coolant around the cap after each drive, suggesting it is on its way out (and no sign of head gasket failure, thankfully).

We can be nice to eachother but every time I come on here I try to wear the shoes of a newcomer who may not know much about these cars and interested to learn as much as possible before possibly making an educated purchase, and cooling issues is one of the most important topics with the 456/550 that I think one should feel most comfortable with when approaching a car for sale. In this regard I do appreciate folks attempting to put forward contradictory arguments as it allows putting the nail in the head each time a little deeper - the stock 456/550 fuseboard is a POS that WILL fail at some point down the line, and in the short term EVERY 456/550 needs (at the very least) an external cooling harness for the cooling system to work correctly, and in the long term Guido's or any other upgraded/rebuilt fuseboard to avoid any potential electrical Gremlin initiated way back in the life of the car by the high current draw of the fans that the stock fuseboard cannot handle.

I can totally understand that most of this topic can go way over the heads of a majority of owners who may not care much about how things work on their cars and who just trust their shop for the maintenance, and I can also understand the reluctance that pro mechanics may have to recommend fitting non-original equipment to such exotic and expensive cars for liability reasons. This is where any owner should IMO do a minimum of their own homework and decide for themselves what is for them the best choice before raising their arms in the air and shout that the poor cooling on the 456/550s is a feature rather than a bug, and can in fact be definitely fixed.

 

Unfortunately our FChat guy who sold radiator caps at a decent price stopped advertising here last time I looked. Brian Crall used to buy them in bulk because so many failed. I bought two extras, but so far have not needed them. Mathematical odds of them both being good are probably pretty low.

FBB solved that problem by welding a standard fitting for US style radiator caps. Prettied it up with an aluminum Ferrari cap on top.

 

Would any 550 owners who have installed the fan kit recently please message me. I have a question about fitment and routing on your car. Especially as it relates to the left fan. Even better if your undertray is currently off and could get access pictures

-Nick

 

Evening

i bought the kit but am yet to fit it, i will try and have a go this weekend.

Does Right hand drive pose any issues ?
thanks

 

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