Clutch problems | FerrariChat
Buy

Clutch problems

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by JeffBarber, Feb 14, 2013.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. JeffBarber

    JeffBarber Karting

    Feb 6, 2011
    175
    Lascassas, TN
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    #1 JeffBarber, Feb 14, 2013
    A quarter mile away from my driveway, returning from a brush up at the grocery store, chicken thighs to prepare mexican pulled chicken as the highlight, something went wrong. The clutch pedal in my 97 355 GTS went to the floor and stayed there. I popped it out of gear and made it to my driveway but had to stop shy to yield to a white mini van in the opposite lane of the highly unfrequented country road, and there i had to shut it down with the hazards on because she wasn't going into gear. After screwing in the eye hook and some help from the neighbor i dragged her ashore. Ok, enough drama, would someone please tell me what i'm in for? I notice fluid underneath, especially around the gearbox, but haven't put it on the lift just yet, so it could be blow back from somewhere but i doubt it.
     
  2. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    29,213
    socal
    #2 fatbillybob, Feb 14, 2013
    Maybe throwout bearing done blowed up. Everyone buys the hill one from ricambi.
     
  3. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    Dec 7, 2003
    16,464
    Winston Salem, NC
    #3 Ricambi America, Feb 15, 2013
    Clutch on floor and puddle of fluid under the pumpkin are the most common signs of a throwout bearing failure. Sometimes they can be resealed, but it sounds like yours burst the aluminum housing itself, which is (sadly) quite common with the Valeo built units. The Hill Engineering replacement is here:

    Ferrari Parts : CRB355MS : CRB355MS Clutch Release Bearing (168594)

    .
     
  4. JeffBarber

    JeffBarber Karting

    Feb 6, 2011
    175
    Lascassas, TN
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    #4 JeffBarber, Feb 17, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Found many good posts on 348/355 t/o bearing replacement thanks Ernie and RF128706 to name a couple. Mine is for sure blown, i can see it torn in the back. My question now is how to get it off from this point, i see 2 8 mm bolts at top with a bolt perpendicular to them in the middle, and a smaller bolt to the left of those, then the 4 big bolts, do i remove them all? From Ernie's thread it looks like he just removed the 2 8 mm ones ..
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  5. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    29,213
    socal
    #5 fatbillybob, Feb 17, 2013
    Best to remove the 4 big for 4 reasons. 1- check the seal behind for leaks, 2- close inspection of shaft so that you don't wear your new seals, 3- cleaner easier placement of new T/O bearing on shaft especially for a newbie (use brake fluid to lube and make sure you are on perfectly straight to not damage seal), 4- to replace the two small o-rings behind the flange. Check with ricambi as to the flange changes. There were a couple along the model runs and so your flange may not be compatible with the latest hill bearing. My wag is that you are compatible as that looks like a later design t/o bearing and someone put bolts in the flange access ports. The factory put aluminum plugs in there and peened them down. Change your 3x seals will you are in there.
     
  6. JeffBarber

    JeffBarber Karting

    Feb 6, 2011
    175
    Lascassas, TN
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    #6 JeffBarber, Feb 24, 2013
    Well it could have gone worse - I could have ripped the seals inside the new Hill Eng bearing but i don't think i did. I could have had trouble getting the pumpkin half to go back into place but I didn't. Could have had trouble bleeding the clutch but the little suction bleeder i got from the parts store for 40 bucks helped out a lot. Could have gotten it all back together and the clutch not work at all or slip but it didn't, feels and acts good. I could have put the bumper, the wheel wells, and the under carriage covers back on but left them off until i could do a proving run, but didn't. I did end up with what looks like a gear oil leak but it's hard to tell, could be brake fluid but it don't smell like it and it's thicker. I didn't replace the 3x seals so i'm hoping that's what my problem is. I also didn't replace the seal behind the flange.
     
  7. 2NA

    2NA F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner Professional Ferrari Technician

    Dec 29, 2006
    18,221
    Twin Cities
    Full Name:
    Tim Keseluk
    #7 2NA, Feb 24, 2013
    You answered your own question.
     
  8. JeffBarber

    JeffBarber Karting

    Feb 6, 2011
    175
    Lascassas, TN
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    #8 JeffBarber, Mar 4, 2013
    Turned out to be the lip seal behind the flange, i took a chance and didn't replace the triple seals since it look like the gear oil leak was all on the back end side of the flange. No leaks! Thanks for help again!
     

Share This Page