Help! Coolant leak from under front left bumper in 458 *video*

So I was walking back to my 458 in a parking lot and saw a puddle of coolant under the front left of the bumper. Climbed underneath and saw coolant dripping in a steady stream from the front underpanel.

I am going to I guess pull off the underpanel and bumper and see what is going on, but wanted to know if anyone has had a similar leak before, what should I be looking for, and what was the leak from?

Here is a video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjbS_R2sXlV/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Wow! I really didn't know that they went back to front-mounted radiators (and am surprised that they are in series)!? Hopefully, just a loose hose clamp (5) or bad rubber hose coupling (4) -- worst case = leaking radiator (32):

https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/diagram/ferrari/458-italia/021-cooling-radiators-and-air-ducts

(Wouldn't surprise me if it's on the "hot" side of things.)

 

Just realized that I made a typo -- should be: "worst case = leaking radiator (33)" for the LH side.

 

Yes, it is on the “hot” side of the car. For whatever reason the front left is always hot when driving, and even the front life tire pressure/temperature is higher than the others by a few degrees.

Is this why the left radiator tends to fail/leak first?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, I would think so if the two radiators are the same basic design/construction -- the average temperature of the LH radiator will always be higher than the RH radiator, and the inlet area of the LH radiator will see the highest peak coolant temperature. Have you confirmed that it's the LH radiator leaking (and not something else)?

 

Still struggling with this. I had a local shop tell me the 458 radiator had plastic tanks and can’t be repaired and must be replaced. this doesn’t sound right, can anyone confirm?

 

Unfortunately, that's true -- the "modern" plastic tank radiators aren't readily repairable.

 

I had thought the 458 radiators were all metal?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Confirmed through three different Ferrari dealers with my 458 VIN that the tanks are in fact metal.

 

I have no idea if 458 radiators are all metal or has plastic tanks (nor if early ones are all metal and then they went to a plastic tank design later). I was only commenting that the plastic tank radiators are typically not repairable.

 

All the 458's have plastic tanks on the radiators whether spider, coupe, speciale or Challenge and we have seen several crack it the car is bottomed out hard or on the parking spot stops. Another area to be careful of is any holes drilled to add aftermarket splitters or aero items. Hopefully yours is just a lose clamp or bad drain plug. They have had several supersessions of part numbers

 

Hole in the radiator likely from a rock at 150mph on track. Repaired:

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have a similar problem that surfaced recently. In fact the exact same. Mechanically, im pretty inclined so im not too concerned. Would you mind telling me how you got to the radiator itself? Does the bumper have to be removed or can i access it via the frunk? Thank you and hopefully you see this i know this is a dated post.

 

The bumper has to be removed, be careful of the side marker lights plugs they are kind of tucked away and hard to see. Here are the steps I use:
1) The trunk liner/box has to be removed as do the panels under the bumper and the panels that surround the truck box/liner,
Note: It is probably a three hour job to remove the above pieces and the bumper.
2) Next remove the bumper; watch for the spacers that align the bumper with the hood, you need to put them back in the same place(this saves time from readjusting the bumper from scratch) they came from to make sure the bumper is flush with hood. When reattaching the front bumper masking tape is your friend, cover the fender area where the bumper attaches.

3) The LH radiator has the AC condenser attached to it so you will need to evacuate the freon and then remove condenser; then the coolant radiator can come out next. Be sure to replace the green O-rings on the AC fittings when you reassemble.
4) To drain the LH radiator I remove the coolant sensor in the coolant pipe, this is near the the attaching point for the rubber hose to the LH radiator. Doing this makes it easier to drain that side vs. removing the lower hose which can be messy.

I don’t think you will have to drain the right side but, if you do you will have to remove that hose to drain it, there are no drain plugs in this system.
5) I will remove the hose clamp and then slide a small oval tube between the hose and it’s attachment port on the radiator; this allows you to drain the RH radiator without pulling the hose off first and getting soaked with coolant. It takes a few minutes to drain it this way but, a lot less messy.
Just reverse the the process when putting it back together. Hope this helps.