Hi there, I am working with a friend to solve the small quirks of their Testarossa. They've just gotten it out after a long slumber. The car drives very smoothly, and I would say it's temperament for city driving is not like the older Ferraris I've been around. The shifter is rather difficult to get into 2nd and 3rd. It seems there's a stiffness in the shifter linkage. 1st is occasionally hard from a dead stop, but I assume there is a gear clash that you have to get the input shaft rotating a bit in order to slip it in(this is only sometimes). 4th and 5th slip in rather easily. Is there any advice you can give that may lead us to a solution?
Replace the shifter bushings, lube the shifter. and readjust the shifter adjustment. I did this to my 87 TR, can't believe it is the same transmission. The shifter adjustment is very important to smooth shifting. Ago
Sorry for no formal intro. My name is Adam Hammer, I restore all things automotive. The owners of my building are auto officionados. They do several events throughout the year Vintage Racing, concours, and tours like the Colorado Grand. I'm relatively new to Ferrari, I did some electrical sorting on a Daytona and am currently in the process of a FIAT Dino Engine/mechanical restoration. Mileage on car is approximately 50K. Timing belt was done at 36K. We're considering doing a timing belt in the near future since the car has sat for quite some time. Your help is greatly appreciated. Adam
Make sure the clutch system has sufficient fluid and the clutch is disengaging completely. Second thing to consider, the transmission and differential share the same gear oil. The dilemma is the limited-slip clutches in the diff require a gear oil with a friction modifier (LSD additive) in it to function properly. The common mistake is fill the entire gearbox/diff with a gear oil that already includes the friction modifier. In most cases the amount of friction modifier is too high for the synchros in the transmission to function correctly. The speed of synchros need to change from one gear to the next. The friction modifier prevents this and results in balky gear changes, second gear being the worst. There are a number of solutions by many different people on this site, and I am sure you will hear about them. Here what I did for my TR and the result is like shifting my BMW. I filled the transaxle with Redline 75-90NS synthetic gear oil. IT MUST BE "NS". The 75-90NS does NOT have any friction modifier. I then added 4 ounces of GM LSD friction modifier. For my car the 4 ounces was just right. Any less and I could feel the clutches in the diff bind up on the corners. The amount required for your car may vary. There will be some residual LSD oil on the clutches so start with less and work your way up.
Despite what anyone says on a car of that age not really. Once it is out it gives access to all manner of things that may need attention due to age. Oil leaks, coolant hoses, radiator repair or service, oil hoses, fuel plumbing, cleaning etc. The sky is the limit. I own one and I work on them and I will not give an estimate until I see the car and even then if I don't know the car I make it pretty clear there are a lot of unknowns until it is apart.
Got mine done at a Ferrari dealership. Very competitively priced at $6,500 but they also rebuilt the water pump. All hoses and bearings replaced but no cam seals or adjustments due to the low mileage. Job took a week to complete. As you may read in other threads, it's not the belts that need immediate attention, it's everything else that can only be accessed with the engine out such as the water pump and tensioner bearings.
Since the car you are talking about has been sitting for a while. The shifter mechanism in the console possibly could have stiff grease. Ago
