Happened to me twice already, once in 2nd gear and once in 3rd. What happened was... Spirited street driving, changing up and down, but at certain places, I had to hold the gear to slow down for a turn/corner. You know, when it revs up to almost the redline, and you just lift off the gas and let it slow down? The revs come down, and I depress the clutch, but I need to step WAY down before the clutch disengages. MUCH more than normal. What's going on? No sign of slipping or anything. Is it time for a replacement? Year 2000 360 Modena 6-speed, just under 21,000 kms (13,125 miles) on the clock. Help!
could be a number of things, ranging from air in the hydraulic system to damaged/compressed thrust bearing, damaged pressure plate diaphragm spring or dirt or damage on the splines stopping the friction plate releasing. If the problem is intermittent the likely culprit is air. If you have a small amount of air in the hydraulic circuit it gets compressed when the pedal is pressed. Air will compress, but fluids will not. After a few pedal pushes in quick succession the air is compressed and the volume is filled with fluid from the resevoir, making the clutch operate as normal. When you leave the pedal for a while the air expands again, pushing the fluid back through the master cylinder and into the resevoir and the cycle repeats. Best way to diagnose this is to leave the car in neutral, engine off for a couple of hours. - Start the engine in nuetral without depressing clutch. - Push the clutch once to the floor and keep it there. - Try to select first gear. - Release the pedal slowly and find the biting point. Keep this in your mind. - Select neutral. - Pump the clutch pedal 5 or 6 times quickly, select first and find the biting point again. - If the bite point is different (higher) after you have pumped the pedal then you've air in the system. If it makes no difference then you need to look at a mechanical issue. One other thing; double check your carpet mats. I have seen issues caused by carpets riding up under pedals and causing intermittent issues. I hope this might help ! Rob.
Thanks for that detailed and informative reply! I went down to my car immediately to try it out, and I saw no difference in the bite point after "pumping" the pedal. I then went for another drive with a friend, and the problem appeared again, this time accelerating in 4th gear. When changing up to 5th, I had to press down much more on the pedal before I felt the clutch release. Looks like a trip to the mechanic... Hopefully a cheap trip...
An independent mechanic told me that manual 360s have an inherent faulty design in the clutch actuation system which can result in the pedal to go straight to the floor (inoperating clutch actuation). I did not quite understand the explanation, but the bottom line was that, while 360F1s chew clutches, several of this customers owning manuals found themselves with a clutch pedal down to the floor. Can't make sense of the fact that F1s wouldn't have the same problem since the inner clutch mechanism must be identical to manuals.
Sounds like a well known problem with certain 2000 six speeds. The issue is a small plastic bushing within (I think) the throwout bearing assembly. The fix (which Ferrari covered for me--not sure if a campaign or under warranty) involves pulling the tranny to fix it. Sorry--unless this a campaign this may be an expensive fix. If you need more details let me know and I will pull my service records and provide the info.
Same thing happened on my old '02 360 - the upside was they put on a Tubi for no labor when they took off the back of the car to change the clutch stuff. Mine was described as an "actuator" problem - didn't enquire much further since I wanted the car back, but I did have the same symptoms.
I have a problem that is like that also. Every so often the clutch goes to the floor and I have to take it out of gear and pump the clutch and it is ok. Happens in traffic. Will bleeding the slave help? Buzz 2000 360 Modena 6 speed
Pedal to the floor resulted in a replacement of a faulty throw out bearing. Ferrari would not pay for any parts eventho this is a KNOWN defect. This was the second replacement in 7000 miles. This appears to be a faulty design as I inspected all parts and expect this will happen again. I never ride the clutch or keep foot on clutch till ready to move, I suggest all 6 speed owners do the same. Buzz 2000 360 Modena 2003 Cooper s 2005 Harley Ultra Glide Race driving instructor
There is a factory service campaign out for 360 clutches on certain model-year cars. Some parts on the clutch assembly were poorly designed. Read my thread here. I had it fixed for free under warranty. http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45424
