Took my 2000 456 M in because check engine light was on. My mechanic tells me the air pump is failing. New air pump is $1200 (ouch!). Has anyone had similar experience ?
The suction inlets on these air pumps are not well protected - there's only a flimsy fiberglass filter mesh which is typically damaged or dislodged. I removed the mesh screen and put a 3/4" K&N breather/filter on mine. These are SPAL air pumps BTW (at least on the 550's), but I was unable to find them in SPAL's catalog. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The secondary air pump on the 575M is much simplified and much less expensive than the 550's (~$735), but not sure how easy it would be to adapt it to the 550. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Can you ask the shop why they think this? I have a 456 GT (95) and I have removed the air pump at times to troubleshoot the emissions system. The system does not know it is disconnected. What it does look for are the solenoid valves (only one on the 550 - shown as item 13 in the above left) that port the air to the flow control valves (shown as item 16 in the above left) that allow the air to be admitted into the exhaust manifold. The system is looking for the resistance of the coil in the solenoid and will throw a code if it doesn't see it. BTW - I have a spare air pump if you are interested; can't verify its condition though...
On the M the engine management may be more fussy than on the GT, and notice (through the lambda sensors) that it isn't working. I would check whether that is true before replacing parts, though. I think that part price is very high for a simple plastic secondary air pump that costs $100 - $200 for any other vehicle. The check valves for this system (four in total) are outrageously priced as well when compared to standard cars. Ferrari tax, eh.
Hello I have one time put some KN oil on the filter to lubricate a little this plastic pump .I put it at iddle when the engine is cold.There is no sensor in it so i think it is good for the pump to be sometimes lubricated .I ve noticed that the noise of the pump was quieter after having done that. Some diy more ! Regards Phil
You may be right about being fussy, though I still have a hard time believing the system will pick up the change in airflow from the pump with the narrow band sensors they use. The pump is there to add air to mixture ahead of the cat to get it hot quickly - this is why a system with a faulty valve on one side can divert all the air to the other cat getting it too hot and causing slow down lights. Before I sprang for a new pump, I would have all the electrical connections to the solenoid valves and the O2 sensors checked. Sometimes just the act of removing and reconnecting them does the trick.
