CALI MOTOR MOUNTS

I assume you were out of warranty

 

Yes, same issue. Mine were replaced under warranty before I sold the car.

 

Eek. I have a 2011 & just rocketed past 6 K miles today. What were the symptoms that led you to believe something was amiss & take your Cali in to get looked at?
T

 

OK. Will keep an eye and ear out for that. Thank you...T

 

My 12 Cali just went in under extended warranty......same issue, to include my drive train fell as well which might have damaged the transmission..... so far, dealer tells me the cost is 15k and if they need to replace the transmission that’s another 35k... waiting to see if warranty will cover this.... it better.... to include my rental. My car is at 30,000 miles.

 

Sorry to hear this. Keep us in the loop. Hoping for a positive outcome.
T

 

Sorry to learn of how the engine mount problem has affected other Cali owners. Yep, the ones on my 2013 Cali30 were also bad. They were discovered by Martin, the certified Ferrari mechanic at my tuner SPEEDSTAR (Markham Ontario). They were doing my Capristo exhaust system upgrade at the time. My car's odometer was only at 14000km. Original engine mounts on the Cali are known to fail prematurely.

I was lucky as I didn't even realize I had an engine mount problem but Martin who's worked on many performance cars noticed the vibrations when the car was at idle. He pointed it out to me and then of course, I felt it too and realized it was actually affecting the handling because the steering vibrations made the suspension feel a bit "woolly" (vague). Since Martin was already working under the car on the exhaust system upgrade it was simple to replace the mounts.

I bought the replacement mounts from Ricambi USA for USD 640 (USD 320 each). Very reasonable prices. Service from Ricambi was incredible fast, just took a couple of days to appear at my doorstep in Canada. My mechanic replaced them for CAD 280 ( USD 217). So my total costs was just USD 857.00 + FedEx, duties and taxes. The work is actually quite simple to perform once you have the car on a lift as the mounts are quite easy to access.

My advice to all owners of Calis with original engine mounts is to replace the original engine mounts when their cars are on the lift... at least have them inspected.

Here are a couple of photos I took at SPEEDSTAR while they were working on my car. The old engine mount simply collapsed - you can see the difference in height. The steering now feels tight, the car handles noticeably more crisply. The second photo shows part of the edge of one rubber mount has started to wear away from the rim.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Here's a shot from a video I took underneath another Cali which shows the (driver's side) engine mount location. You can access the mounts once you remove the undertray in the forward section of the undercarriage. Notice the engine oil sump cover and catalytic converter nearby. Due to the proximity of the exhaust manifold and cat, the engine mount is protected by a heat shield.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Finally, here's a shot of Frank and Martin, who swapped the mounts while upgrading exhaust system at SPEEDSTAR. They were really customer service-oriented and wonderful to work with.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I just realized I omitted a bit of information regarding the servicing of the engine mounts.

After the plastic undertray is removed, there's a metal underframe supporting the engine that also has to be removed before the mounts are exposed. Prior to removing the underframe, the engine is supported by a stand placed below the sump pan.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I just got my car back from its yearly service and they made a note about the engine mounts. Car is a 2010 with just under 26000 miles.

 

So if I am understanding this correctly, engine mounts should be inspected at each service and should be on everyone's list as a replacement item every 6-10yrs, not mileage dependent? Even the new ones you put in (since they are factory) will fail unless they have aftermarket units out there.

 

The 2010 I just purchased had them replaced during the inspection. That was at 14k miles. The 2012 I looked at needed them as well. It had 15k miles. I’ve read on this forum somewhere that the original engine mounts have been improved upon so maybe it’s no longer a factor.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

Thanks for the info. I hope your right.

 

Great posts, as usual, 4th. I'm @ 15+K, 2011, so this sounds like a possibility in my near future...T

 

Just bought mine and the dealer told me one week after purchase that the motor mounts needed to be replaced. They are covering it, but I have to drive the car to Landover and back which is about 60 miles each way today and I'm a little nervous.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

i had to do mine on a 2013 Cali 30 with 7000 miles on it. One was failing and the liquid was coming out and the other had begun to degrade. I did not notice any difference in driving but better to be safe than sorry. cost was more aggressive at $2K I am based in NY

 

Why would you be nervous? It's a short drive, the work is free and you didn't notice any issues driving the car.

 

See above. I read that, and it made me nervous to do a 150mi round trip with full knowledge the motor mounts were failing. And I didn't say I didn't notice any issues. I took the car in because it felt rough at idle right after purchase. It wasn't the engine running rough. It was a shake, a vibration from the motor mounts.

I have an appt to drop her off on Tuesday.

 

I took in my 2010 California to the dealer for my first checkup/baseline. I asked about the engine mounts, based on these threads. The dealer mechanic said they did not recommend replacing the mounts until they were actually leaking. So much for preventive maintenance...

 

Sorry, IMO your dealer is either dead wrong or lying. If a detectable vibration is felt on the steering wheel at idle, it's likely due to worn mounts and it is a very well known problem with the original mounts on Calis. You replace them immediately. This is not a Lada.

My engine mounts were not leaking but the car vibrated in a noticeable manner on idle and it affected the handling. One photo I posted clearly shows the old mounts were also (4 mm) shorter, probably due to the degradation or substandard design. Why would a person ever tolerate such a degree of degradation in an expensive car? I paid over $300,000 for my 2013 Cali30 when I ordered it so why would I avoid a $1,000 bill to replace the items after 4 years of driving?

It's like the person who tolerates driving a sports car on worn tires until just before he sells the car and have to replace the tires for the next owner. It only benefits the buyer and I won't rule out your dealer expecting you to be selling the car when the mounts finally leak.

FWIW, I also replaced all 4 tires and all 4 rims after 4 years. My car now drives way better than when it was new.

 

I completely concur with all you say, Michael. For my car, there is not detectable vibration at the steering wheel yet. Or not that I perceived. (And, I am likely not very perceptive on these things.) There are good recommendations here on FC for non-dealer mechanics, and my intent was to use one of them after the dealer got the car to "factory" standards. Seems like I have goo reason to do that now...

And, when I bought the car, 3 of the 4 tires had date codes more than 5 years old. So, even though the tires looked good, and had a fair amount of tread left, all 4 got replaced in week 1.

 

Good to see you checked the date codes on the tires.

IMO, if there are no detectable vibrations, leaks or handling issues, your mounts are probably still OK and do not need service. I would just keep an eye on them as they are known to prematurely fail. To detect the vibration, place both hands on the steering wheel at 9+3 o'clock after starting the car - compare that feeling to doing the same thing in other vehicle(s) that are pretty new and devoid of engine mount problems. I have a 2013 RAM 1500 which at 45,000 km felt dead calm compared to my 2013 Cali30 with 12,000 km.

As I reported, it was actually my tuner's Ferrari-certified mechanic who first picked up on the problem. My tuner does the servicing for a winning local Porsche Cup racing team so they are pretty picky.

 

Just replaced my engine mounts and transmission mount yesterday. No more vibrations... All mounts were torn and separated, especially the transmission mount. I bought the mounts at scuderia carparts in the UK for only $197 each. Their prices are by far the cheapest around. Shipping took one day. I ended up buying other items to save on shipping but saved $400 compared to the other sites. The mounts very fairly easy to do. Took us 3 hours with most time consuming was jacking up the car and removing the undertray

 

Good work, and thanks for sharing. Please post photos if you have them. I've bought some upgrades from Scuderia Carparts UK and agree they have some of the lowest Ferrari parts prices around. Items in stock ship quickly. They have a US location too.

I also like that you picked up on your especially badly degraded transmission mount. Based on what my engine mounts looked like and the driving I've been doing I will likely have mine swapped when it's in for service next Spring. Unfortunately I have to open my garage door to access the rear undertray and -10°C outside temperatures don't make it very pleasant to DIY at the moment.