Hey All, I quit posting mostly over the last 1.5 years. I just lost interest with the car community but all is good now so I’ll start sharing my DIY stories again. I bought another F430 (red) and noticed it didn’t feel as tight as my other one (grey). It has 8k more miles. I determined the gearbox bushing was bad, and I think the front ball joints too but I haven’t got to that yet. I’ll also be re-aligning the side windows by disassembling the door so I’ll post that thread. Gearbox bushing, 237531: I apologize for not doing this step by step but I did it a while ago and didn’t care to post at the time. A Ferrari dealer on the west coast was the last to work on this, and I do have a receipt for them replacing this bushing. However, they didn’t assembly the bolt and washers correctly so the threads of the bolt ate away material on the subframe. I had to remove the subframe, have it repaired, and repainted. Symptoms: excessive vertical play of the gearbox/engine on shifts. I will also be replacing the engine mounts due to possible excessive force on them prior to me fixing the gearbox mount. The engine mounts were recorded as replaced as well, by the same dealer. Upon inspection, I saw metal shavings atop the gearbox directly under the bushing/mount for the gearbox. very summarized steps (from memory): -Remove the engine bay panels and under tray. -Find a jack to hold up the engine and gearbox from below. -Remove the 2 air boxes. -Remove the main air box that holds the filters. You’ll need to remove the rubber elbows that go behind the engine bay panels, so just remove the panels from the start. -Use the bushing removal tool to pop out the bushing and replace with new. It helps to put new one in a freezer for a day. Replace the nylon/lock nut and/or lock washer, never cheap on hardware. Which is likely why my subframe got messed up in the first place! -Reassemble. When I did the engine mounts and gearbox mounts on my other F430, there were noticeable immediate differences. And, it only had ~14k miles. As always, refer to the workshop manual and especially torque specs. I like to nicely organize all hardware in labeled baggies, or tape it to a large piece of cardboard and label everything and keep it in order of disassembly so I can just go backwards after. I like to get my parts from ScuderiaCarParts. They have always been great to me. Attached is a photo of the tool needed. I’m happy to loan mine out if anyone needs, just PM me. Sorry for the messy post. I hope you all have a happy Ferrari ownership. This was an easy job, minus difficulties removing the bushing. View attachment 3799248 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login 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 forgot to mention, you have to remove the hood struts when removing the side engine bay panels. It helps to have two people here but you can wedge towels or something between the fender and hood to support it when removing the struts to remove panel. Then, reassemble the strut once the side engine bay panel is out. Dont loose that little C-clip that you pop off the strut. It’s tricky to remove, but simple overall. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Through this process, and any other job, I like to clean everything thoroughly. I also replace any electrical cloth tape. I replaced all the hooks/brackets that hold the wires too. Replacing these cheap little things cleans up the engine bay, helps spot issues, makes it look better, and is really nice long term so there isn’t crap falling all over (like tape and broken/dried rubber pieces from the little wire mounts).
I love that part as well. I've found that silicone tape holds up fantastic in high heat areas and is self fusing.
Yes! I bought some at the suggestion of another FChatter but haven’t used it yet. Thank you for sharing.
Are you asking why my subframe and gearbox mount/bushing was messed up? It was because the Ferrari shop that replaced it last improperly assembled it; they lacked washers for proper spacing and keeping the threads of the bolt off the subframe. The improper assembly allowed the bolt’s threads to eat away the subframe material.
I removed the subframe, got it to a race car shop, they repaired it and painted it. I then bought new hardware and finished assembly.
About to do this this weekend on my 360. I'm hoping to just loosen the aluminum frame and raise it a bit and not have to remove it completely. I've never done anything involved in the engine bay yet, and removing it seems difficult.
In the f430, you totally don’t have to remove, or even loosen, the subframe. I only did because mine was damaged. Do you have the bushing removal tool? Remember to put the new one in the freezer for a while. Removing the old is still a bear, at least on both F430s I’ve done. I carefully used a blowtorch around the housing of the gearbox that holds the bushing. Get a new locknut too. Personally, I replace all hardware when I can. Engine mount bolts are goobered up overtime so I definitely would replace those. I don’t recall about the gearbox bushing bolt on my other F430 but mine on this one was all scored up so I replaced it.
I borrowed the tool from a local shop, the dude there are super cool and helped me out a lot with advice. Shout out to https://gpautoworks.com/ I removed the old mount, the tool wasnt making it budge so I did the old hacksaw trick. Which is to remove the rubber guts on the old mount somehow, and use a hacksaw from the inside of the mount to relief cut the outer ring. But my subframe is destroyed like yours. I will have someone repair it, but how do you know where the original hole is located?? Can you show a photo of your repair? Did they weld a patch over it? or fill the holes with weld and re-drill? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I'm doing the Dr S manual swap at the same time so that's why the F1 shifter stuff is removed
They filled the holes and repainted it. It looks like new again. I changed my other F430 bushing around 14k miles and did not have the problem as yours or this new one of mine. How many miles are on your’s? What region of driving? To clean the engine bay on all my cars I use this spray (below). I’ve used it on my 1978 280z without modern connectors, 348 TS, two F430s, 599, day cars, etc with great results and no consequences. I let it soak for ~10 min, hose down with water, then another coat, soak for ~10 min, hose down, then use a leaf blower or auto detail hot air thing to dry it all, then go for a drive. Granted, I meticulously ensure my connectors and wiring wrap is good. I also tend to get in there with brushes and degreaser during odd jobs. I often then use WD40 for a protective layer depending on the surface. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The threads can only damage the subframe if the bolt is left loose so it can move. If it is tight enough the threads cannot do any damage. By the way, Ferrari built them that way. Your extra washers are just not required. In 3 days here I have seen pictures of 2 damaged subframes from loose bolts. Never seen on in real life in the shop. Replacing the mount is much easier if the long bolt in the Hill Engineering tool is thrown in the dumpster and replaced with 1/2 inch fine thread grade 8 bolt and grade 8 nuts. It requires far less torque to get the bushing out. Its like going to a lower ratio gear. Using a coarse thread in that application was a mistake.
Fantastic suggestion on changing the bolt for the removal tool!! Some threads on mine got stripped due to such high torque so I had to use washers to space it. I’ll replace the bolt the next time I use it. What extra washers on mine are you referring to? I did upsize the outside ones (had to cut a corner so it laid flat due to curved section of subframe) because I didn’t want the washers to eat into the subframe again as it happened prior. Albeit, because it wasn’t assembled correctly by the last shop to touch it. On the diagram, I highlighted 4 washers that appear to be for the assembly. Two for the outside and two for the inside. Is 4 washers for the assembly not correct? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ah yes, I forgot about that. I talked to an Indy car mechanic about that and he was saying that it was stupid to add and was overkill but wouldn’t hurt anything. I was just being OCD to add a bit of resistance on each end of a long bolt, paired with lock nut. Good eye, and thanks for pointing it out. Do you think it’s worth removing or just useless and leave it there?
The company that invented nylocks purposely used nylon so they could be reused and retain their self locking ability.
Next time put about 100 lbs of torque on the bolt then with an oxy acetylene torch with a rosebud tip heat the transmission housing at the mount until you hear a loud pop then remove it. Ferrari used way too much of an interference fit on that mount.
I just finished mine yesterday. i put about a hundred pounds of torque on it and i heard a pop. once I heard the pop then a smooth sailing from there with Just a little elbow grease. at 16000 miles, mine was not cracked or dry rotted. However, it was sagging and bottomed out Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
