manifolds going?

Yes, that is exactly what mine did. It would stop ticking after it warmed up and the metal expanded. The right side is more prone to blow through then the left.

It will eventually get a lot worse and you can really cause some serious damage to your engine.I would get a handle on this ASAP.

 

Agreed.

A replacement OEM one is less than $2500. You could replace both manifolds with TUBI, NAPerformance, Fiorano, etc. Those options are >$3000, but will probably last longer. True "long term" road tests (i.e. years) are still not available, but all indications suggest they'll last.

 

It's definitely your Manifolds.The "Ticking" sound will worsen over time. I went the Rebuilt (QV) route. Guaranteed for life.You are somewhat Lucky, mine went @ 17K. Please DO NOT replace them with the Garbage OEM Headers !!!
The next owner will thank you.

 

http://mvpeurosports.com/Templates/frmTemplateP1.asp?SubFolderID=421&CatalogID=178&SearchYN=N

You can get the NAPerformance manifolds from NAPerformance dealers such as Ferrari of Central Florida, MVP, or Ricambi America.

17rwhp dyno-proven gain, lifetime warranty, cheaper than OEM, easier to install than OEM, many f-chatters running them with no complaints.

QV London also rebuilds them. I don't know why you'd get them rebuilt though when you could get brand new units that add 17whp for an extra $1,000.

Tubi makes some VERY nice one also. However they're over $5,000 and hard to get.

Fiorano makes some, don't have anything to say about these but you can get them at Nick's Forza Ferrari.

Nick's Forza Ferrari also made their own units, they look nice but haven't heard any feedback on them yet.

Or if you're a purist with alot of money get the OEM ones.

Stop driving your car either way, this is a very serious issue.

If you drive your car everyday you may want to look into some aftermarket ones that will not crack.

Regards,
Kevin

 

I don't understand why people get the junk OEM units, they are just going to break again.

 

Alot of them are ignorant to the fact that other solutions exist or just don't want to put anything non-Ferrari on their car. Their money, not mine.

 

Well even if they went the QV London rebuild route and kept the same header design, no one would know the difference because you could use the stock heat shield to recover the headers. Unless they take the header off, and remove the heat shield, who's gonna know the difference. But I get your point. I just think it's wasted money on a stock unit, that's all. If it was my money I'd get your units for the extra ponies.

 

I don't understand why people don't just weld the OEM units back together. Am I missing something on the 355's special headers??

 

YES, you are. Go read the many threads on the subject, and all the photos. The pipes/tubes literally crack and collapse in on themselves. The metal is too thin. You cannot reweld them...you must replace the damaged sections. QV London actually cuts the pipes at each end and welds in new (thicker, higher quality stainless steel), with proper CO ports and reused the heat sheilds. It is the route I went, as it lends a stock appearance.

 

That's one of the great things about Ferraris; the Market will always return Ferraris to their eventual "rightful" owners...often-times with prior owners paying most or all of the upgrade and maintenance expenses.

 

Thanks, Dave. I don't own a 355 so I'm not inclined to be too well read on the matter. Your succinct header explanation is appreciated rather than have me wade through 355 threads.

To be honest, I'd only seen 355 owners complain of burn throughs in the headers...I wasn't aware, prior to your explanation, that they did more than just burn through at one weak point (e.g. crack all over and collapse in on themselves).

 

The company below here in the Uk done my friends 355 with the same problem, they mandrel bend higher gauge steel to last a lot longer and use your original flanges, they charged £350 + vat per side, they did a superb job, but obviously shipping is going to be the issue for you, heres the link anyway, hope it helps

http://www.jpexhausts.co.uk/

 

Maybe I misread it, but here's what Vern Cornell wrote about his 355 headers: "Anyway a little background, I had a bad right hand unit, holes blown thru it. Replaced it with a new factory header removed shielding and coated it. The leftside was ok to the point of only having a few heat stress points(deformed slightly I guess for lack of better discription) no cracks no holes you could barely see a problem."

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135784995&postcount=1

 

OK, I did the 355 header search here on fchat. Found a picture of the 355 problem from Mondial86 and a note from tbakowsky saying "They crack around the AIR tubes..the actual piping indeed does melt. Infact the majority of them melt as in the pic above, before they crack. Every singal manifold I have replaced, I cut the sheilding off and each and everytime they have melted in the same approximate place."

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=135113280#post135113280


And an experienced racer comments further: "A manifold leak will simulate a lean condition and help early header failure. Why buy new headers when a welder can weld up the hole for about 15 bucks? Just find a good welder who TIG welds aluminium. A guy who does aluminium can do stainless all day long in his sleep. Heck if you send me your header I'll weld them for free you just pay for shipping to and fro. I'm not a pro but I have welded many a Ferrari exhaust system." http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135394938&postcount=10
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It's recommended that it does. If you have a service coming up might be a good idea to get that out of the way since engine will be coming out anyways.

 

No need to remove the engine at all. Its about 8 hours worth of work to do both manifolds. Passenger side is a bit of a prick because of the oil tank, but other then that faily straight forward.

 

It is straightforward to replace 355 manifolds in the car. A day, day and a half should do it.

-Peter

 

When my fabricator and his guys removed the manifolds with the engine in it took them a very long time. My work on Ferrari's is limited to basic things such as ECU Removal, Challenge grill installs, etc. But the dealers I sell manifolds to recommend their customers remove the engine since most of them usually have the timing belts done. From what I understand it takes alot less than 8 hours if you already have the engine out. Again I don't have the experience you do on the subject so if you could provide some insight I would appreciate it.

How many hours would you say it takes to do the manifolds with the engine out as opposed to in?

 

It takes about 8 hours to do both..engine in the car. My personal record is 5 hours out the door.

It takes about 5 hours to remove the engine, and about 7 to put it back in with all fluids and wheels on the ground ready for road test..so 12 hours just to re and re the engine alone. Now add the extra 2 hours to change the manifolds, 14hrs...

If you are combining both the enigne out service with the manifolds, figure around 30 hours+ another 2 hours to swap the manifolds. Of course you have to add the gaskets and such.

 

Kevin,
What about the heat shields with the NA Perf units? Do they get put back in or left out (ie do the new manifolds have a coating making the shields unnecessary).
Thanks,
Chris

 

Chris,

This is a topic that has been discussed many times. The NAPerformance units use ceramic coating and optional heatwrap making the heatshields unecessary. We should be nearing 100 sets by the end of this month and we have had no failures to date. If you must have heatshields I recommend you try the QV London, Tubi, or OEM ones. We offer the OEM and Tubi.

Regards,
Kevin

Tbakowsky- Thanks for the information!