V12 ferrari manual gearbox problem

Hi -- I have a 99 550 and have the same problem, as does a friend of mine with a similar car. What we have learned is several things: 1) Warm the car up for about 5 - 10 minutes before driving off to avoid the problem; 2) Skip second and go right to 3rd if the car is not warmed up; and 3) When going from 1st to 2nd, increase the revs when passing through neutral -- this seems to work most of the time when I get it right. Regards, Frank

 

I am thinking this can't possibly be normal, so I am wondering if anyone else has had an experience like this with their manual gearbox.[/QUOTE]

I currently have a 456 and it has the popular Ferrari 2nd gear lock out when cold as did my 348, 355 and Testarossa. When people ask if the car is a 5sp or 6sp I tell them it depends on if the car is cold or warm. I was able to help the situation with synthetic gear oil but it's still is an issue. Like was said before, let it warm up or skip 2nd until warm. Another way to minimze it is to use first to just get the car moving and then shift into second.
Welcome to the club!

Rick . . . .

 

Take a look around here - EVERY Ferrari manual box hates 2nd from cold - in the 308/328 section they often recommend a different gear oil but essentially you are describing what every manual Ferrari owner experiences

 

Try different oil, use a full synthetic and lower viscosity.

Start out with 75W-90 full syn.

 

Just skip it into 3rd before it's warmed up. You will not be able to warm up the gearbox idling in place.

 

If you can't shift into 2nd gear, your transmission isn't operating properly. Change your oil. I run Redline. Others have success with Royal Purple. My '85 Mondial wouldn't shift into 2nd until I changed the transmission oil to Redline. It's a simple fix.

 

Exactly, try different oils

 

Every 3 pedal ferrari I have worked on since 1975 has sticky 2nd gear. This is known ferrari charm. However, this issue can be greatly reduced to completely eliminated by wear in of the box with miles and use of different gear oils. No other car I know is flakey with gear oils except ferrari. Some here love redline some love M1 other royal purple etc... There used to be a way to relieve this pressure by drilling a relief hole in the 308 gearboxes but it was hardly worth the effort and I can't remember where to drill anymore. This is only a problem if you can't shift a hot gearbox.

 

I have also experienced the same. It does help when shifting from 1st to 2nd to put it in neutral and release the clutch, then raise the revs just a little, and while engine revs decrease, slowly put it in 2nd. That use to work on mine. Or just park in a downhill in 2nd and put on the handbrake.....

 

When the engine is still cold, to engage second gear without undue effort, follow this simple and tested procedure used in the past for gearboxes without syncronizers:

- build up some speed in 1st gear
- shift into neutral
- release the clutch
- tap the accelerator
- engage the clutch
- shift into second gear

With a little practice it will come natural and you will be shifting gears like Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti

 

Not just a Ferrari charm: all my Lancias, Alfas, FIATs and BMWs had this "charm" when cold.
Not sure why 2nd gear and not 3rd, or not as much, but it is something you get used to and you learn to work around it until the oil is warmed up.

 

My Porsche had the same, "double clutching" helps, but definitively change the gear oil, go to full synthetic 75w-90

 

I guess every Ferrari I drove, did what you said. My godfather had a 328 and often drove me to school. He never used second gear before the gearbox was not warm. after 10-15 minutes of driving he used to say..."ahh, now shes confi" and then he started using second gear.

I do the same when I drive my Maranello in the morning. And never had problems thanks to the torquey engine.

Very true what you say. This is how cars were driven before they had syncronized Gearboxes. The "tap the accelerator" is only necessary to match the higher revs of the lower gear when shifting down. Shifting up in gears does only require releasing the clutch in neutral. When the gearbox oil is cold you need to act fast, when it is warm you need to take your time.

 

+1

bill

 

575 manual says 1st gear is really only needed for hills. i start in 2nd nearly all the time and its smoother and easier on the drivetrain. i get resistance for 1-2 shift when cold too, but no resistance to starting out in 2nd.

 

I have a 1999 550 that likewise was very stiff shifting. This was after gearbox service with Shell gear oil. I switched to Readline 75W90 NS with great results. Doug

 

My 1999 550's previous owner did my delivery orientation and told me to skip 2nd gear until the car warmed up. I'm used to that in my 308 though after its clutch service in 2004 which included a new main shaft, 2nd gear was never balky again. My 550 is serviced by Classic Coach, an authorized Ferrari service center, so they use the specified Shell Transaxle Oil SAE 75W-90 which I have changed every year. Sometimes I forget to skip 2nd gear when the car is cold and I see there's no problem shifting into 2nd even in freezing weather. I currently have about 68,000 miles on the car so maybe that's a factor. Who knows?!

Barry

 

FWIW, on my 98 550, 2nd gear was sometimes balky when I bought it many years ago but never had any weird noises. After replacement of fluids with the recommended Shell Transaxle Oil, it's been smooth.

I had the same experience with my 400i, both 348s, and 355 - all fine after a fluid change, even in sub-zero temps in New York. The 360 never had a 2nd gear problem but that was a Hong Kong car; never gets cold here.

 

Mine does the same thing when cold. I either skip second gear, or when shifting from 1 to 2nd, I let the stick passsively return to the neutral position (between 3rd and 4th gears), and then push left and down into 2nd. All with the clutch depressed one time, and relatively quickly. For some reason it seems to get it past the difficulty

 

I have a 612 6-speed manual purchased from new. The manuals are wonderful transmissions. I have other V12 Ferraris that exhibit the same charateristics. Just give them time to warm up. All the suggestions from the above are correct.
Whatever you do, DO NOT force the transmission into gear, you are putting additional wear on the synchros by doing so. (Manuals are old simple technology and have their personalities, some boxes are squishy, some clunky, some knotchy, some sticky, some stiff, some with levers that rattle, etc. etc. ...just like the old engines, without computers or ECUs, they had their own unique personalities and needed to be warmed to operating temperatare to run smoothly. It's the state of the art technology for that era of automotive engineering and that particular manufacturer.)
Lastly, if it really is disturbing, then you can go out of factory spec and put Redline synthetic transmission fluid in it. When it is cold, it will shift like it is warm.
ccferrari