Suspension oil reservoir and power steering tank | FerrariChat
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Suspension oil reservoir and power steering tank

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by PeterMercedes, Sep 21, 2015.

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  1. PeterMercedes

    PeterMercedes Rookie

    Feb 17, 2014
    25
    UK
    Full Name:
    Peter
    #1 PeterMercedes, Sep 21, 2015
    Having only recently bought my 1984 400i (details previously posted), and being new to these cars, I am starting to find my way around it a little bit.
    In the owners manual it refers to a rear suspension oil reservoir for the hydraulic rear suspension (this car does have that suspension) on the right had side of the car and a power steering tank on the left hand side. My car does not have separate tanks, seeming to have a single tank located on the left hand side of the car, that does both jobs. The tank has a dip stick fixed to the lid with the marked max and min levels about 4.5inches apart. The outlet pipe goes into a Y piece that seems to feed into the steering box and into a pipe that runs to the rear suspension.
    I have found a couple of photos on the Internet that show the same arrangement of a single tank. My car is a right-hand drive so the space where the rear suspension tank would be is occupied by the steering box. So, does anyone know if this arrangement was just used on right-hand drive cars? If a single tank works, why did Ferrari continue with 2 tanks on left-hand drive cars?
    Anyone any ideas?
     
  2. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,679
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
    Full Name:
    Ken Battle
    #2 SouthJersey400i, Sep 22, 2015
    They only designed left hand drive and fudged the RHD cars.

    Second outlet from tank goes to suspension pump first before going to suspension. The tank you describe is probably the normal suspension reservoir as the PS pump reservoir is quite small and round with no dip stick (it has a line scored on inside.).

    Good luck with car, you will find lots of other interesting things along your path of ownership....electric gremlins to follow.
    Ken
     
  3. PeterMercedes

    PeterMercedes Rookie

    Feb 17, 2014
    25
    UK
    Full Name:
    Peter
    #3 PeterMercedes, Sep 23, 2015
    Ken, thanks for that information.
    Electric gremlins - I was warned about Italian cars of that era before I bought my 400i. Already had one, top alternator, turned out to be a corroded connection on the small wire to the alternator.
    Peter
     
  4. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    33,242
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    #4 Ashman, Sep 23, 2015
    Peter, a common trouble area is the fuse and relay panel located under the passenger footwell (in the LHD cars, at least), where the soldered connections tend to loosen over time. When that happens, you will still have connectivity and power but the loose connection causes heat and that will eventually burn the area around the connection and lead to a failure.

    Rebuilt replacement panels are available from a couple of sources.

    I hope that you have many happy smiles and miles with your 400i!
     

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