Shock Actuators I have started a new thread on Shock actuators titled simply Shock Actuators so that future searchers can find it easily. There are several problems that can occur with the actuator that will trigger a suspension light. I deal with the actuator only here, there may be other problems which are beyond the scope of this article. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1)The small gear on the top of the shock shaft is broken. This can be repaired with a replacement from Ricambi. There is an excellent write up on this procedure here. See post by MRONY http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199095&highlight=sewing+needle Image Unavailable, Please Login http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=261324 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) The plastic drive parts (not the black plastic gears under them) are broken. Take the actuator off and remove the rubber gasket on the bottom. You can look inside and see if the brown and black plastic drive parts are broken, (not easy, but doable). This can be repaired by Captain Z or parts are available separately so you can DIY. Image Unavailable, Please Login http://captainzcnc.com/_wsn/page3.html ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) The motor is not working. To test this hold the actuator in your hand while a helper cycles the ignition on and off, or you can make test connectors by cutting the insulation off just at the end on the metal ferrule of a red butt connector and crimping a lead on the other end. These will fit on the male terminals in the actuator connector and allow bench testing. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login You should feel some movement of the motor before it stops due to gears jamming. If there is no movement check the plug for 12 volts with key on. See schematic here http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=677492&d=1203148110 C (brown) = 12 volt positive or negative depending on rotation. B (blue) = 12 volt positive or negative depending on rotation. Probe C (brown) and B (blue) wires for 12 volts/ground (depending on direction of rotation) with key on to prove power supply to actuator. If there is continuity to the motor and you feel no movement with the key on then there may be a broken wire as 3200GTA found. This is a DIY repair; you must open the top half, not an easy task, but it can be done. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137405&highlight=shock+actuator See post by 3200GTA. If there is continuity (12 volt power) and no broken wires the motor section has simply failed internally, in which case there is no recourse I can think of but to buy another actuator. The Corvette motor will not work as it has only one Hall Effect sensor Pin Labels and wire colors of connector on actuator, not the connector from the car harness Image Unavailable, Please Login As you hold it in your hand looking at the open end with the latch on top From upper left, D (black), F (yellow), E (green), Image Unavailable, Please Login From lower left, A (red), B (blue), C (brown) Use this chart to correspond colors on car harness connector. Image Unavailable, Please Login Examples: C (brown) on actuator connector = pink/yellow in car harness connector. B (blue) on actuator connector = orange in car harness connector. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) The plastic gears (probably the larger plastic ring gear) in the lower half of the actuator are broken. Image Unavailable, Please Login This can be repaired by obtaining a new Corvette actuator, separating the gear section from the motor section on both actuators and replacing the broken gears with the new gears from the Corvette lower section. The procedure is outlined below. You do exactly the same procedure to both the Ferrari actuator and the Corvette actuator. The first step is to carefully separate the motor section from the gear train section. Image Unavailable, Please Login I used a lathe and a Dremel tool with flex shaft fixed to the tool post with a fine tooth cut-off saw blade in the collet. I tied the pigtail up so it wouldnt flail about when I chucked up the actuator in the lathe with the gear section facing outwards. The lathe is set on slowest RPM, or you could turn the chuck manually while advancing the cut-off blade with the cross feed. Then I cut exactly in the center of the recessed section, you must be very careful to cut only the depth of the red/black plastic, (about .070) and not into the underlying brown plastic, which both locates and determines the depth of the gear case. Image Unavailable, Please Login You must also be careful not to let the parts separate until you are ready to separate them. Once cut the proper depth, remove the actuator from the lathe and hold with the gear section down and carefully lift off the motor section. The three black plastic gears will probably stick in the motor section; note their position (equidistant radially) so you can replace them in the gear section correctly. Note orientation of small black plastic spacer. Image Unavailable, Please Login Once both actuators have been sectioned, and gears have been replaced, lightly coat the area the joining ring will cover with Devcon Plastic Welder, and join the two sections together, Image Unavailable, Please Login making sure that all the new parts from the Corvette actuator are correctly located in the Ferrari gear section and that no epoxy can get inside the gear section, and that the rubber gasket is in place, then let set for 4 hours. I made the joining ring by turning down a 1 ½ plastic pipe plug. That was all I could find with the necessary ID and OD. You should be able to get two rings out of one plug. Image Unavailable, Please Login OD = 1.750 ID = 1.550 Length = 0.350 Image Unavailable, Please Login The finished product, it would have looked nicer had I not ripped the motor section apart, but I wanted to see what was there and this one will go on the front where you cant see it. This procedure has been tested and it works.
Thanks for the great post. Question: If all the actuators have been repaired properly does the "Suspension Error" (picture of the car with two triangles) automatically clear itself or do you have to take to the dealer to clear the error with an SD2? THX Franck
Mine light went out immediately on starting without a drive cycle, although I've been told by very knowledgeable people that if the key is cycled three or more times without moving the light will come on and set a soft code. The light will then go out after a speed signal is received, but I dont know if the code remains in memory. I suspect it does, but it does no harm. Ill know more the next time I take Brian to lunch.
Thanks, I guess that tells me I need to recheck all 4 corners... though everything was working ok - guess not
Is your speedometer working? I non functioning speedo sender (or disconnected one) will also trip the suspension light. I found that out when my speedo sender failed a year and a half ago.
Dave, congrats on fixing your actuator! Thank you very much for documenting your experience for the rest of us.
Great post, my acuators are working and I don't have an error light but they spin to the point of stressing the connecting cable, is there a fix for that? Stan
Stan, I have a 355, I've never heard of that happening in a 355, but I have heard of it in 550s. Does the whole actuator and support turn? item #28, is item #46 in place? I'd really have to see one to figure it out, when I first heard about this I wondered what was going on. As it is I haven't a clue Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I just repaired Cavelinos shock actuator. It was a mess, I cant for the life of me understand how it got broken where it was. It was a left front. I simply dont believe motor torque is responsible, besides motor torque would have no effect on the plastic surrounding the strain relief. What happened internally was that the large plastic ring gear was shattered. Same thing as happened to mine. This is not the part Captain Z replaces, nor is it the part Daniel supplies. The only source is a donor Corvette actuator. This is what I received; notice the gears are no longer evenly spaced. This is a sure sign the ring gear has fractured Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login These are the pieces of shrapnel of what used to be the ring gear. Notice the part Captain Z replaces is intact.. Image Unavailable, Please Login This is the splint I had to make to support the case. Image Unavailable, Please Login This is the finished part ready to return to Carm, tested in my car and no suspension light. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dave, If you want the work, I see a potential opportunity for you...considering the $1400 option of a new actuator, your charging $500 or whatever for a rebuild service would be a literal bargain for Ferrari owners. In fact with a few broken ones to start with, you could start an exchange service.
Seems crazy, but my left (driver) front is also cracked just like this! yeah, this thing is always covered by the storage liner, nothing outside can ever hit it. I haven't taken it apart yet for failure analysis... I think a 'new' actuator just sold on Ebay for $380 something (I think). New is just insane...I don't think anyone wants their shock actuators to work that badly.
I think the first thing that happens is that the ring gear breaks jamming the transmission and the constant reversing of the motor every time the key is turned on eventually breaks the plastic case. There must be more torque in that motor than I thought. Strange, mine was a left front, Carms was a left front and so was UConn Huskys Coincidence ???
Dave I just got back from a track event and was pleased to see the actuator back home. I was very fortunate to have a friend traveling close to your city when we discussed this repair. Thank you very much for taking care of this for me. In case its not obvious for the rest of you I am from Ottawa, Canada so my Actuator had to travel across the border and back
I just finished putting the repaired actuator back on the car and I was all set to take it for a test drive to see if the suspension light would go out but as soon as I started the car the light went out! Since I was ready for a test drive anyway I went ahead and enjoyed a drive with no suspension light on. I even switched the suspension to soft just because I could. I am a very happy with Dave's repair and talk about quick turn around it was repaired within two days of him receiving it. Dave, thank you for offering this very valuable service to the FerrariChat community.
Speedo is working... any other potential source of the problem? All my actuators are fine and the shock "gears" rotate easily except for one which a little harder (still can move it by thumb). Does the self leveling system (456M) come into play?
Took apart my front driver side actuator with the broken housing..found the almost rectangular black plastic piece broken. Hard to describe...not a gear, but one of the pieces that Captain Z replaces with metal. My only problem is during cutting away of the red plastic casing I cut into the ring gear a bit...need to see if that's going to be a problem. As for the Corvette actuator, is there any chance that would just work complete as is? does it fit the 355? I see those for $290 new on Ebay.
The Corvette actuator will not work in a Ferrari. The electronics are different. The Ferrari has two Hall Effect sensors; the Corvette actuator has only one. The case and transmission are exactly the same so the procedure is to effectively replace the motor of the Corvette actuator with a functioning Ferrari motor. This is easy to do if the case is not broken, a bit harder if the case is broken.
Less than half the price of a new one! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FERRARI-355-550-575-F50-SHOCK-ACTUATOR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1210Q7c39Q3a1Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem170268188993QQitemZ170268188993
My suspension light is on. The actuator works properly, but the gear on top of the shock spins freely. Is there a way for me to tell if the shock shaft is broken inside, or if the gear is the issue? Will the Ricambi replacement solve this?
The gear is attached with a roll pin. If the pin is sheared off, then the gear could spin freely, and you should be able to pull it right off the shaft. If the gear is properly fixed to the shaft and the entire shaft spins around freely then there may be a problem with the shock itself. When working correctly, I believe the gear will only turn about 1/2 rotation or so...not completely around. Replacement gear from Ricambi, shocks can be rebuilt by Bilstein USA.
