Adventures of a 95 Verde Mugello GT

Are you still making these?

 

Are you coming to FCA Nationals in Wisconsin?

 

Didn’t know about it! But now I do! Sept 8 is actually my B-day- maybe I can convince my wife that we shoot up there for the weekend!

 

I never made these, had a friend print mine out. Can ask if he will do a run for me

 

I'm not unfortunately. But feel free to swing by Indianapolis on thr way to/from.

The guy with the F8 with yellow stripes next to me is going to be there. He lives near me and we do go to a lot of local events together.

 

Well I guess it's worthless now. I suppose I'll just keep driving it into the ground
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Nick- Not to worry, my 575M has about 28,900 miles and I am not planning on turning her into a planter.

 

So if anyone needs a shift spacer I had a friend make a small run of these for me.

Made out of High temp PLA. I am running the original one made out of PLA with no issues. Just pulled my original and swapped in a new one to test fitment. It fits nice and snug.

They definately fit a 456GT, based off the file from a 550, which shares the original part number with 456M/550/575/612/599.

If you need one send me a message.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

How’s the car doing post some more pictures

 

It’s been awhile for this thread. Good summer meeting fellow Ferrari people, but overall less driving than I hoped for. Just lots of traveling and other things.

Onto my current potential issue need some suggestions.. Recently have had an intermittent, but short belt squeal at startup and only when cold. Was something that I knew needed to be addressed. Yesterday the squeal lasted a hair longer than I liked, so I pulled the accessory belt covers and found the idler pulley dust cover hanging off the bearing on the Alternator/AC belt. This one and the other idler bearing were replaced about 2 years ago. Hoped that was issue, a contaminated soon to be failed bearing. The WP/PS pulley looked clean and intact.

Before I removed anything else I tested the tension of both accessory belts. They were set in spec previously, and now reading low(er) than the WSM/612 document says to set, but not terribly so. I assume a stretch over time is normal. Visually neither showed any obvious signs of deterioration.

Once the belts were off, A/C, Alternator and PS all spun smoothly and with an expected amount of friction. Both idlers spun freely and without any noise or friction. I pulled the suspect one and it’s on my bench at the moment.

Now the water pump….I haven’t done any maintenance to this one since I acquired the car and I simply haven’t torn apart a belt driven RWD water pump in a few decades. Compared to the other components, how smoothly should a cold WP spin? It turns freely, but doesn’t carry any additional inertia when hand spun. Got me thinking that an overhaul or replacement may be in the near future, but don’t want to shotgun parts just yet. Have been reading threads about WP maintenance this morning.

I have 2 idler bearings in the mail to me, but in the meantime was going to reinstall just the WP/PS belt and run the car briefly to see if the startup noise returns or if I can confirm or isolate it. Any input would be appreciated.

Any issue starting/ running the car hooked up to a CTEK?

 

Rebuilding the wp is a pita. I would buy the SPUK unit. It’s a plug in play alternative.

 

So with a properly tensioned belt on the WP/PS side, the car was started with me observing the water pump pulley and associated area. No noise, no slippage or indication of anything less than normal. So perhaps the original thought of idler bearing is the fault. Ill wait until the new one comes tomorrow to put things back together any further and reassess everything.

 

I would use the old WP again until it starts leaking or really makes noise.

 

My theory is the Specialty Parts UK water pump “183760/A” shown below is simply an updated version of the original GT pump that was later replaced with 184038. I do not even see 183760/A for sale on their site anymore.

It appears to be just an aluminum body with a billet impeller in the same old 6 blade style (the 183760 had a plastic 6 blade impeller). But THEN Ferrari PN 183760 turned to IMPROVED Ferrari PN 184038 (shown on left) which has a revised aluminum 8 blade propeller shown below - taken from my LATE 2003 GTA. The pumps are VERY specific. I work on the OEM parts side specifically. I see this all the time with the aftermarket outfits. They do not keep up with factory supercessions of this nature. There are simply too many.

FastCars did not make any guarantees when I asked, the parts guy just told me they use the 183760/A aftermarket pump “All the time”. I trust them. I have to and they know their stuff.

Here I am hoping I am wrong.


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

After speedy delivery, I swapped in the new Idler bearing and put things back together. Belts are to tension, everything is presently running smoothly with no noise or other concerns

 

Nice diag and fix man !

 

Was part of a bigger regional this weekend. Perfect weather and great turnout. Didn't end up taking many pictures, so hopefully I start seeing better ones on FB/IG soon.


Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The 184038 pump is +$1700 from Eurospares. The SuperformanceUK (SPUK) pump is about $500. My understanding is the location of the impeller height is an issue and it has been engineered for best performance. The PSI rating seems good as well. Time will tell. My 93mm pulley is still on back order.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

This thread needs an update and wish I had more to share and show but a 2024 summary will have to do....

Overall less driving than I hoped, but they were all certainly fun miles. Ended the year at 27769, what was 1519 more than I started 2024 at. 30k can't some quick enough!

Went to some great meets, and did some worthy maintenance on the car. Notably the MSW COP setup, and replacing my sagging motor mounts. Little by little it's a better car each year.

Got to meet a lot of other owners over the year as well. Will continue to reach out to anyone in cities I layover. I hope to shake many hands and a few drinks.

Got out today for a quick oil warm up and splash of gas too. Winter weather is expected this weekend.

Look forward to 2025 adventures. I have some planned maintenance I'm about to dive into. See you on the road.

And if any 456 and 550 owners are still considering adding a cooling fan harness to their car I am still happily making these and suppling to Ricambi.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Got the winter maintenance started this week. This will be a multi post update, and I’m just getting started on the repair!

Still troubleshooting an annoying hot start issue. I have touched everything I can reach so far. I Decided about all that’s left was to replace the coolant sensors under the manifold. So out she goes. Figured this was a good time to refresh the fuel injectors too. The PDF card that @ColGraves made was a fantastic guide and easy to discern the differences between 550 and 456 cars.

Injectors and rail off, they were grimey. The O-Rings really gave me a tough time coming off the manifold. Had a few of the Pintle tips come out cracked or fully broken, including one that decided to fall into the head and sit on the valve…. Got that retrieved once the manifold came off. Now All packaged up for Mr. Injector service Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

Like others have said a 10mm universal socket was the perfect tool to access all the manifold bolts. I had a small rare earth magnet inside the socket held onto the bolt for removal. Manifold came off rather easily and it wasn’t too bad by myself, but hope to have help with the reinstall.

• Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

I found a relay puller pliers was the perfect tool to squeeze the injector electrical tabs for removal

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Both my under manifold hoses are silicon and were done in 2019 according to a service records I do have. I don’t really know how to approach them, if I should mess with either or leave them as is, I’d prefer that, but now’s the time. Its always talked about replacing originals, but how long are the improved ones expected to last? Thoughts?
Image Unavailable, Please Login


Before I replace the coolant sensors, I decided to replace the protective boots that were showing cracks and deterioration. Re-pin, and a new boot. I have done a lot of these on the car now. The best advice is to slide the boot down the tip of a tube of caulk to expand it, then use a semi hard straw or section of a pen cap around the narrow end. This lets you feed through the wires and sheathings easily. Then cut the straw or pen cap off. Makes these jobs much easier.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

I began fully disassembling the manifold. Only have 1 side off now. No surprises, I dont think I had any air leaks. Just a little oil and grime on the manifold trumpet piece. These are screwed in and seem to be held in place with some hylomar type material. Any idea what’s used? Also and after the fact I unscrewed them, are they seated all the way or is there a difference in ‘step’ on each cylinder intake for balance? For stripping and painting them, anyone have any recommendations on the correct color and material that can withstand the environment it sits in? Also seems like the gasket has the same hylomar type material holding it.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

That's where I left things tonight.

Oh and I'm not due for Cam belts for a few more years and my valve covers don't leak at all, so I'm not planning to go any lower into the engine this time.

 

Also, should I do any treatment or care to the fuel rails? I don’t see any gum or gunk at any of the injector ports, just flush it with carb Cleaner and call it a day? Is drawing Vacuum on the FPR a good idea or not to see about condition?

 

It will be interesting to see the before/after on the injectors .I recently had mine done and it was startling how poorly they performed during the initial assessment vs after the cleaning. Bunch leaking, poor spray pattern, cc/min < 166 on several, etc…great thing to do !

 

I am pretty sure the large coolant hoses usually blow up because without a current feed to the cooling fans directly from the battery they have to endure temperatures that continually exceed 100°C - they are located at the hottest spot of the coolant loop, out of the heads and before the thermostat. They look good to me and I would not replace them. Traces of dried-up coolant on the thermostat housing begs the question if coolant escaped after you upgraded the car or if it took place before. I would clean off those traces and monitor if they appear again after you get the car back together, as the thermostat housing cover can be removed with the intake on. The low mileage and the slightly rusty look of the bolts for the thermostat housing cover suggest the thermostat housin cover has never been removed.

Can you please post pictures of the 2 large round connectors of the 2 injector harnesses? I am considering removing the intake on my 550 just to rebuild them.

 

Great job on the work done so far, and thank you for the great pics and explanations.
I don’t think the hoses need to be replaced after just 6 years - I’ve had cars with silicone hoses go 15-20 years (although for the relatively low cost of new hoses, and while you’re there….).
The new boot trick is very helpful - that’s always a struggle getting new boots on wire connecters. I always inevitably end up using half a bottle of lube spray, and pushing and my ringers and what a PITA. I’m gonna try your pen cap trick next time.
Keep up the good work!