Kerry’s Superb Shift Shaft

Kerry,

I am tired of shift shaft issues and remembered your design.

Any chance you want to sell a few like you do with your vacuum pump rotor?

Perhaps just sell the modified section for customer installation.

Seems like a great design. Are you still happy with it?

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Kerry’s just seems quick, easy and foolproof.

Laying on my back while threading my old bones through a scissor jack and trying to precisely realign the shaft is a PIA.

 

Yes, true point.

Kerry’s design however, specifically allows the shaft to be taken apart and reassembled -without- disturbing the original rotational orientation or length. Once adjusted per the OEM method it should never need to be fiddled with again. Drop a bolt that is easily accessible and you’re done. No muss, no fuss. Reassembly is the easy reverse.

Here is the full thread...
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/quick-question-on-taking-testarossa-motor-out.507230/#post-144365809


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

We could all use fchat time in more productive pursuits.

At least my free time is abundant in retirement.

What is your excuse?

 

Besides...

Think of the time savings this modification provides. You no longer need to drop the belly pans. No need to carefully mark the threaded connection for both rotation and length. No need to fiddle about to get it right... or heaven forbid - drop the side plate of the tranny and readjust after you have filled the tranny. Then dump fre$h fluid down the drain along with your shop time.

Yeah, I know... no big deal.....
...while you are youthful and standing under a two post lift.

Try it when you are older... laying on your back with a four inch scissor jack’s tube trying to fold your shoulder blades over backwards.

That single little bolt on Kerry’s design is easily accessible. Fast and easy - a far better design than the OEM version. The OEM version doesn’t give a rats a$$ about easy maintenance.

In my opinion the SOLE reason why the Testarossa has LOW resale value is the high cost of maintenance. Stupid designs... like the OEM shift shaft are all over this car.

Look at those absolutely wicked wires running all over the place to lift and drop the side windows! What a rubic’s cube!

Just try and replace all three heater hoses! Gad!

Look at the cam adjustments... incredibly time consuming to dial in properly. There are a ton of better designs out there like the one that is shown in the following pic. But Ferrari in their arrogance don’t give a rats a$$ about maintenance.

i could go on and on... but you no doubt know of many more.

So, yeah... if the car can be easily improved with a thoughtful design like Kerry’s shift shaft... count me in.

PS - that cam pulley is not the best design... but you get my drift

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

In the new movie “Ford v Ferrari” with Matt Damon - they bring forward the exact same issue.

It was faster for Ford to change out the entire suspension sub assembly rather than screw around with brake replacements.... they figured out that ‘easy maintenance’ designs will win races. Ferrari did not learn that lesson then... and still has not.

 

Customer v Service Tech:
Customer - loses money on onerous repair costs and low resale values
Service Tech - makes money on onerous repair costs
Different perspectives.

A properly secured, an adjustable cam pulley is rock solid. Here is a pic of the electramotive design as used on the multiple championship winning GTP car.

Ferrari Example:
cam gear is on the most counterclockwise cam position and the pully pin is in the fourth hole from the most counterclockwise position.... you need to advance the cam by 1.2 degrees.... to what new cam and pin positions do you change?

It is a time consuming PIA. Many (most?) techs bypass checking the timing and just slide new belts on. As you know - it is incredibly bad form. There are a lot of cars out there with ‘close but no cigar’ cam timing.

The sloppy cam pulley video is of course, off the Testarossa.

Example 2: How many cars have terribly slow windows because of the high costs associated with the spaghetti wire system?

Example 3: How many cars have a rotten coolant hose at the heater box. What? You need to take the dash apart to replace a 5$ hose!?!

Hmmmm...
what about all the redesign people are doing on the diff carriers? Would that cause you “to suspect other questionable changes”?

Hmmmm...
what about all the redesign people are doing on the fuse boards? Would that cause you “to suspect other questionable changes”?

Regardless... Kerry’s design is a good one. If you can challenge his design... I am all ears.

 

Customer v Service Tech:
Customer - loses money on onerous repair costs and low resale values
Service Tech - makes money on onerous repair costs
Different perspectives.

 

Your character etc is not in question.

 

It appears that Kerry is no longer on F-Chat....

If possible, would somebody please PM his contact details to me?