DIY Maintenance 458 thread.

I started the yearly maintenance on the car today.
This year included: oil & filter, coolant, cabin filter, Engine air filter, accessory belt, and brake fluid
I have 2 questions, one regarding the coolant (never done it myself on this car) and one regarding the air filter.

I drained the coolant, and everything went smoothly. The dealer said that I would need 4 gallons to refill it. However, when I started filling it, it filled up with only 2 gallons. I assume that it's just air in the system, but I didn't start it yet. For those who have done the coolant, will it drop as soon as I start it? Is it ok to run it with that much air in the system? Is there a way that I can "burp" it before starting it? I fully expected to have to add a little bit of coolant when I did the filling procedure, but I didn't think it would be an additional 2 gallons!

As far as the filter goes. The new filter is just a typical paper filter that I would expect (OEM Ferrari). But the one that was removed, looks like the same filter, with a plastic mesh (looks like a gutter filter material) hot glued on it. That filter is also an OEM Ferrari part, and they both seem to show up as the correct filter for the Ferrari 458. It looks really restrictive to me, so I'm happy to not have that on the new filter. Does anyone know what the purpose of that mesh is? And which one is proper for my car? See the attached photos showing the old, and new filter.
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I just looked into it, and it looks like the one with the extra black filter is the USA model, and the one without is the European version. I watched a Normal Guy Supercar video where he calls it a "sound material". If that's the case, maybe they use it just to muffle the intake noise a little. I prefer the less restrictive Euro version! As long as there isn't a good reason for the material that I didn't think of.

 

Going off memory on the coolant. 2 gallons. Crank it but let’s say for about 15 seconds and cut off and you will get another gallon plus very easily. Run it and let it burp for about 15 minutes and you will get just under 4 gallons total.

Ahh the air filter. I have never been a fan of the mesh on the bottom of the filters. On a NA car it is probably fine, but in my shop days in the 90’s I saw collapsed filters on turbo’s and mesh sucked through the turbo’s. Not always a lack of maintenance issue but a POS manufactured filter from name brand suppliers including OEM’s

 

Thanks!
I’m going to complete the filling process and I’ll report back.

 

I'm reporting back as promised.
I finished burping the system exactly as stated in the manual. For those who are interested and decided to tackle this job themselves (very easy if you follow the manual),This is the way it went for me:
- remove left and right front underbelly covers
- Remove front portion of center cover
- remove bolt holding metal coolant pipe to chassis
- on drivers side, unplug temp sensor (must first slide blue locking clip outwards to release lock)
- loosen hose clamps and separate rubber hose from aluminum hose to drain left and right radiators (take antifreeze bath, lol)
- Put hoses back after drained
- Fill coolant slowly until slightly above the seam in the coolant tank
-Perform burping procedure as per shop manual

Only 2 gallons fit in originally. Then I ran it for about two minutes and added another 1/2 gallon. Then performed the bleeding according to the shop manual, I added approximately 1/2 more gallon during that time. Once the thermostat opened up, it dropped VERY rapidly, and I had to quickly add another 3/4 gallon.
After that, I shut the car off and let it cool for a few hours with the coolant cap off. The level dropped again, and it took the last 1/4 gallon to bring it up to the proper level. So it took EXACTLY 4 gallons total. I then took it for a proper drive to check for leaks. Thankfully no leaks, and the level was perfect! The last step is to clean all the underbody panels and screw them back on.

 

I only removed the belly pan once. I think the diffuser stayed in place, just removed some bolts from it.

Belt every 2 years? I am 8 years old and 50k miles on the original drive belt.

 

458 Engine rebuild time lapse video:

 

I would STRONGLY recommend that you replace the belt ASAP! It's well worth the $60 (if you do it yourself). I'm actually shocked that your car is not screeching like crazy during higher RPM shifts. Or is it doing that, and you like it/ignoring it?

 

It's a common misconception that the squeak/chirp during high RPM shifting is caused by the accessory belt. My independent (former dealer master tech and winner of the annual tech competition in Maranello years back) let me know that it is actually a bushing that secures a gearbox oil pipe in the rear left section of the engine bay. High RPM shifting induces some movement in that pipe inside of that bushing and creates the chirp sound. He told me their solution was to grease it, but eventually the chirp will come back. The whole engine bay is subjected to ridiculous heat that I'm sure contributes to the temporary nature of the fix.

I had my service in April, including a new drive belt. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later I gunned it on one of my favorite straight roads and the mild chirp was there.

 

I hear a noise at high rpm shifts. I never associated it with a belt noise. It, to me, sounded like an air actuator of some sort. It never sounded like something was amiss, in my opinion.

 

Well if it isn't the belt, it sure is an amazing coincidence that it does it every high RPM shift (after belt is 2 years old), then I pull into my garage, replace the belt, and the chirp/squeak is miraculously gone. Only to arrive approximately 2 years later again (especially in the colder weather). And, not only does my car follow this coincidence, so does my brothers 458, as well as about 7 other people's 458's that I know. Based on that crazy luck, I'm having a hard time believing the master tech's explanation over my "common misconception".
A little food for thought....At my local dealer, I had the techs stumped a few times with different things as well. Several years ago, I fixed a transmission issue on my 360 by diagnosing and replacing a brake light switch. That was after the tech told me that it was "impossible to be the brake switch". Well after I looked at the electrical schematic, I realized that not only was it possible, but that $45 switch actually fixed my problem. Another time, I had to show them how to fix a common problem with a certain part of the window molding on the 360/430 after they said it couldn't be fixed. And finally I had the master tech try to fix a creaking noise on my 458. After the tech had it for 3 days he couldn't find the source of the noise. I told him to give me the car back for the weekend with the dash still apart. I found it over the weekend, and they fixed it after I showed them where the noise is coming from.
The whole purpose of me mentioning these occurrences, wasn't to try to "brag", or say that "I'm a great mechanic" or anything like that. I'm just trying to show that even master techs might not know everything even if they are very capable, and great mechanics otherwise.

If at any time, I replace the belt, and it doesn't prevent the squeak, and then I replace the belt tensioner and it still doesn't prevent the squeak, then I will be convinced that there is another source. All that said, I can't say that the tech is wrong either, because what he is describing, might actually be ANOTHER source of a similar noise.
However, in my case, I'm 99.99% sure it's the belt (and potentially the tensioner on occasion). This year, I'm actually replacing the tensioner as well because I checked the belt vibration frequency, and it was a little low, signifying that the spring may be starting to get weak. I'm big into preventative maintenance, so for $80, it was a no brainer to replace it while I'm under there.

 

You askel why to do the coolant change? I recommend to go to 360 section and read about the heat exchanger problems. Old coolant losing the corrosion inhibits resulting heat exchanger to leak water to gearbox. Unfortunately I went this through with my 360 10 year ago (car was 11 years old that time). 348 and 355 got coolant flush on every belt change due to engine removal. I am told that 458 do not have similar set-up, but I would still change fluids regularly to avoid any other problems.

 

A follow up regarding the belt tensioner:
I replaced it during this years' service because it's 9 years old, plus I checked the frequency of the belt (according to the shop manual) using the "Easy Tension" App on my iPhone. It was out of range and low, signifying a weak tensioner spring (assuming the app was accurate).
Well, since I had no idea if it was accurate, I decided to change it based on age. I'm happy to report that after replacing, and re-checking the frequency, it was perfectly in the range of the proper specification, so it's well worth the $80 for the part and 4 minutes to replace (once the belt was off).
Since it's a free app, and apparently accurate, I recommend that anyone who is doing their own drive belt replacement, take the time to download the free App, and check the tensioner pulley.

 

I agree! There is no such thing as a lifetime fluid. I do the coolant every 4 years. It may be over kill, but for $120 for fluid (at Ferrari dealer), and 2hrs of my time, it's well worth it. It's also a very easy job. I also do the rear/gear box every 5 years. That's assuming that I only put between 1, 000 - 2,500 miles/yr on the car. Obviously if I put more miles, the schedule would be different.

 

I know this is an old thread but do you mind identifying the shops you use/used? Are west of Orlando, or east? I’m west (close to Sarasota) and even the independents locally want basically dealer prices on yearly service. Thank you!

 

Werkshop49 in Gainesville

Continental IMPORTS in Gainesville

Maranello Autiepsport in Eusris.

 

Could you Share with me what Brand and where did you buy the Coolant / Antifreeze ? Thanks

 

It’s Parafull (I never heard of it), ready to use. Purchased from my local Ferrari dealer (Ferrari of Long Island)
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I did Peak European pink..

 

Absolutely unobtainable in the USA. At least by individuals.