Thermostat Gasket Problem

Hmm, I am looking less forward to doing this on my 456 now, it might be I am facing the same issue. I have just received all of these parts and will let you know how I went on after this weekend, for which I have this job planned.

 

I went through same pain four months ago. even I took the old gasket to ferrari I can prove it to them so they can match, every single gasket they try was bigger the old gasket and reciepy for leak. I ended up using the old one and forget changing with the new one. And no leak.

 

I have just changed my thermostat on my 456. I bought the two rings to go with it, the tiny one was installed without a fitment issue, I just put it on the thermostat itself, then dropped the thermostat in and put the larger ring in the cover. Ten minutes, done. And no leaks.

Funny enough my car was missing the larger ring. From factory? The screws still had some green paint on them, I hated that I had to break it.

The temperature behavior is exactly the same though! Temperature is still too low at highway speeds. Anyone any good tips? Oil thermostat broken, perhaps? Or maybe is my meter off, indicating too low?

 

Your profile doesn't say what year your 456GT, but I'm assuming it's an early one.
Have your dealer check the Service Bulletins. There is one pertaining to oil & water temp senders being mis-marked when delivered to Ferrari. I don't have access to my bulletins right now, but something about a red or orange collar on the sender itself and water sender was installed for oil or vice versa.

Hope that helps.

 

4redude, that's possible. Mine is an early one with 57.000km. If you could look up how to diagnose that, that'd be great.
If that's the case then I have another problem because that would mean my car overheats when not in motion. At highway speeds the temp is too low, at stop and go it goes to the middle of the dial, and then the fan is on at full. It could mean it's too hot right there...
It would explain why I feel the temperature and subsequently the fan come on quite quickly after a cold start.
Mine is an early one so it could still benefit from getting a smaller waterpump pulley (166464) installed, I think I still have the larger one.

Maybe I should rebleed the cooling system first. Can one of the small 8mm hoses being clogged cause this? I replaced the one to the radiator but as it turns out there is another one from the expansion tank to the Vee of the engine. That one is probably just as bad as the one I replaced. On the to do list.

 

Are we talking O rings or gaskets here? Sorry I'm not acquainted with these but if we are talking O rings (and yes I know some folks are not going to like this) why not take the parts to Napa and find the correct O ring for it? Most Napa's have a huge generic bin full of O rings, and I've never had any issues as far as longevity with them.

 

First post ever here.. Please forgive me if there was a previous post that I didn't see regarding the issue I'm having.

I as well have a slow, but steady leak coming from the thermostat gasket at the water pump. I ordered the part from an online distributer which was the Ferrari 137873 GASKET (Item 15 in the parts breakout). Upon installing the gasket I realized that they were in no way similar at all.. Ive tried to install it anyhow, and it continues its leak. The new gasket is the one pictured in the plastic in the photo and has a smaller I.D, Smaller I.D and approximately 2 mm thinner.

Does anyone know if there is a match to what I have pictured that is in rough shape or any suggestions on a viable option?
Hoping you may have had some luck!

I'm pretty certain that it can't be repaired, but, may have to attempt.

 

Doug, it is a long term issue. I have had the same issue with these "o-ring" style thermostat gaskets. I just did a 348 and that one was the right size. I will see if I can find out from my parts guy where he got it and let you know. I am not sure it is the same but it may be worth a shot.

 

Much appreciated Merlin! That gives me a slight bit of hope, Ive been running into many road blocks along the way with this... I'm hesitant to go the "Permatex" gasket, however, without the right gasket, i'm not certain there are many choices.
Again, I thank you for any assistance or guidance you may have!

 

I wish I had a better answer for you. Getting part that work is becoming a real problem as these car get older. Its not just Ferrari parts, not picking on anyone, it is across the board on old car parts. Sometimes, it just won't fit.