360 F1 Shift Issue - 1st to 2nd

When your heat exchanger fails you get engine coolant in the transmission oil. But the actuator is NOT using the transmission oil, it is operated by a separate circuit with a different fluid. The actuator is located above the transmission oil level (not immersed in it), it is just splashed with it as the car is being driven around providing some lubrication for the actuator's "fingers".

So it is almost impossible that heat exchanger failure contamination has anything to do with the actuator problem, unless the actual transmission shafts and gears which the actuator moves got worn out/damaged/corroded to a point where the actuator could not move them and got mechanically damaged/broken. Can you find out what exactly was wrong with the actuator, how it was determined that the actuator is bad and even get the broken part back? One can not only visually inspect the actuator "fingers" for any damage but also connect the actuator to the F1 pump without installing it and run the test cycle/calibration to see if it works properly.

If the actuator was good and changed for no reason, most likely you need a transmission rebuilt.

If your transmission is only marginally deteriorated and the loud "clunk" is actually caused by the actuator sometimes slightly missing the gear, I have an idea which may work - simply grind off actuator fingers to shape them to be like in Maserati Duoselect transmission. No parts needed, just a grinder and some labor, and there should be no downside if that does not help. Let me know if you want to try that route so I can post more details.

 

A clarification - reshaping the actuator would primarily help in a 2-3 and 4-5 shifts, but since your biggest problem is 1-2 it will likely not help. So unless someone else has a better idea it looks like a new or rebuilt transmission is needed. I would advise against a used transmission as it could have the same or other problems.

 

See if Aldous at AV Engineering can help you with what is wrong and offer to pay him for his advice, he's located in the UK.

 

Why does it not help?

 

incidentally, the 1-2 shift is probably the most used shift in any gearbox. It would probably be the first to wear out.

 

Below is a photo of the transmission I've taken. The horizontal bars operate (each): reverse, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 gears. Once an actuator "finger" is placed for example inside the 1-2 bar, it moves the bar left and right regardless of the shape of the finger. The fingers are almost rectangular in Ferrari and have the corners cut in Maserati. So I don't see how the cut corners could matter in the the 1-2 shift, but they matter as the "finger" moves for example from the 1-2 bar into 2-3 bar, as it helps in the "jump" between the bars (which have the slot corners slightly rounded off for exactly the same reasons).



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If anyone knows why Maserati has cut the corners of the fingers but Ferrari has not adopted that design (except in CS, which is the only place I've seen it in Ferrari) it would be interesting to find out. My guess is that the Maserati is newer so have learned from earlier designs and that the cut corners are superior for faster gear changes, but it's only a guess.