My 400 - MOT / APK done

 Earlier this week my 400 had passed it´s MOT (Dutch APK) in one go without any findings. Not a surprise as I barely had driven it since last time. The MOT costed only € 55,-  and no further maintenance required this time. Although I need to look into rear shockaborbers as one of them is bad (left backside), or mabye it's the load leveller. I think I will park this job for the winter. 

The good news is that the MOT is valid for another two years and the car is also roadtax free (in the Netherlands cars older than 40 years and registered before 1st jan 1988 are eligible for this ruling). Next to this I have also the all-risk insureance to pay which is € 872,- per year. 

Not much interesting info here, only adding it just for the records in my maintenance archive. 

My Ferrari 400 maintenance + MOT

Yes, it was time for the bi-yearly MOT on my 400. A few weeks earlier I had my 400 appraised for the insureance. The value was more or less the same as 3 years ago. All good. 

The MOT did not reveal anything unusual. I hardly have been using it either. Thats the downside of having multiple cars and not enough time. And of course when bringing it to the garage I noticed the right indicator failed as it was making a very rapid clicking noise (previously it was the left side).  And there was still an outstanding airco switch item that had to be installed since last time. 

Also this time around the bougies (spark plugs) had been renewed. And the distributor caps have been cleaned as well. And apparently there were another two light failures (front and back) which required one new mass connector and more connector cleaning. 

Still in total it was a 3,5 hour labour job, not to bad though. Credits to Classic Paradise 

https://www.classicparadise.nl/

I only made this photo when I brought it at the garage. 

New battery - Windscreen washer bag

Yesterday I cleaned out the garage but the 400 had difficulty to start up. It was time for a new battery after 8 years or so. I never put them on a charger/conditioner and I know I should. 

So time to get a new one. It's a simple job so adding it here only for the maintenance records. Pumping up the tyres and to the gas station to get a little new fresh gas for the upcoming winter. 

When I removed the battery I spotted this paper snippet:

One of the owners of my car was Frits Kroymans. I just looked up the part nr 101563 and it turns out to be a windscreen washer bag. Which makes sense as thats located next to the battery. So likely that must have been renewed somewhere in the past. It's indeed in a very good shape and condition, so that explains :-)

MOT and maintenance completed

So today I received the bill from the garage. Meaning the 400 is ready to be picked up again. The actual MOT was in fact already done a few weeks ago. It was a pass in almost one go. I knew one lightbulb was broken so I informed them about that. And that was indeed the only failing item to pass the MOT.

In fact I informed them a day later or so on how to fix that. I should have done it myself but I was simply lacking time. I was affraid they would damage the front lense. Depspite the front lense has screws they are sealed with kit as well - so don't attempt removing it as the likelihood is great you will damage it. 

As I did had a spare light housing unit on stock I could show them how these lightbulbs are fitted with these cross bars on the back. 

(see blog: https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2015/11/ferrari-400-tail-lights-front-marker.html) 

Unfortunately they read my email to late and the garage nevertheless had figured it out on how to reach them (from underneath) and get it replaced. So for the records the photo's I made:

Next to this I asked them to perform the following maintenance: 

- Oil replacement

- Oil filter replacement

- Gasfilter replacement

I supplied them with these items. I purchased a can of oil (Agip 10W60 - 20 Liters) via Ebay in Germany. Including shipping to the Netherlands this costed about € 135,- which I consider dirt cheap.

I also asked them to renew the brake fluid. They also cleaned the reservoir. And it was noticed the front brake pads required new ones. Which they replaced accordingly and the rearside was cleaned as well. So all is properly working again.

On my request they also renewed the "automatic gearbox supporting mounting rubber / bushing" Not sure how to describe it. In fact they pointed out last time it was not in a great condition, so this time around it got renewed. Sorry, no photo ...

Next they replaced the oil hoses to the oil-cooler. In fact this was something pointed out by one of the blog readers. See this blog:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2022/06/top-tech-tip-oil-return-house.html  

Apparently they have also replaced a gashose in the trunk (0,6 meter). No idea what's that about, need to check that. I know I once replaced a gas return hose, see blog:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2018/01/gas-leak-repair.html

Next they fixed the electric power windows, which was caused by a failing relais. They also cleaned the relais housing unit and secured all the fuse fittings. The failure by the way occured on my last trip. All was working the day before I left. Luckily this was temporary fixed by bypassing the fuses with extra power wires from another source when I arrived in the evening. It was not exactly a pleasant first day trip with 30+ degrees Celcius burning on the front screen. Which brings me to the next point. 

The airco was serviced. I was actually not to bothered about the airco as it's a very old system. In the past I had it serviced and working. But thats already ages ago. See blog:

https://erwin400.blogspot.com/2014/06/ferrari-400-maintenance-ac-airco-part.html

Back then it seemed to have been working temporary and very poor in my opinion. Meaning it did not got really cold. So I thought any further money would be wasted, likely the whole system needs replacement (dryer, pump, hoses, etc). But they found something wrong with some "adapters" and I  thought ok, give it a go and just throw some more money at it and let's see. So they replaced it and filled it up with 800 gram and presto:

I can't believe it, almost 12 degree Celcius. I can't wait to pick it up and feel that.

One more item that occured on the last trip and that more or less manifested on the way back home. Since we were stuck in a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge traffic jam I had to drive very slowly and I noticed this strange wobble from the left backside of the car. For a moment I thought we lost some wheelnuts so I had that checked but they were all there and tight. Also tyre pressure looked ok. Was it a driveshaft issue? Flaky shock absorbers? Later on when moving again at certains speeds it felt strange with small bumps. Most of the speeds were ok, it was more around 80 and 120 kmh when it manifested. 

They checked it and the tyres are not fully round anymore due to broken/damaged steelbelts in the tyre. I'm pretty sure this must happened on the poor Italian roads as I sensed twice a hit on the left rear side. So ultimately I think the shocks needs replacement. Something that can be done on the next round. I already informed about overhauling the koni levellers which is quite pricey. Getting replacements is even more pricey. So I can do some savings again ...

Luckily I still have a set of wheels with tyres, so I will get these on again. Coming weekend I will be picking the car up. Looking forward to that!

I'm still waiting for the guys to finish the compilation video of the last trip. Hereby a small footage of me driving by with an open window ;-)  Happy driving everyone!

Update 13-9-2022: Oops, I forgot the credits for this work. All done by www.classicparadise.nl

Update 1-10-2022: Earlier this week I finally collected the car from the garage and drove it back. Needless to say, it was a very pleasant drive. The left rear wheel was replaced with the spare one from the trunk. Which did happen to have a Michelin XWX tyre, so all is still identical. And better, the silly wobble is gone now. 

The brakes felt firm again with the new front brake pads and having fresh brake fluid.

I also questioned the fuel hoses that were replaced. It appears these were the ones fitted to the fuel filter in the back. Apparently these were in a poor condition and explains the gas smell in the trunk (which was present as long as I have the car). At the time I only checked the rubber fuel hoses connected the pipe to both tanks and they seemed fairly new, so I figured they had looked into this gas smell issue but unable to cure it. It never crossed my mind to deeper inspect the fuel hoses to the filter (there was no leakage or whatsoever that hinted towards a poor hose). So if you have a gas smell you definately want to consider checking and replacement.

In any case both hoses have been replaced by now. Funny that I also only noticed now that the fuel filter is actually FIAAM (not FIAMM) and I had supplied them with a UFI filter. Not a big deal obviously but only an observation

Furthermore they did not only replace the oil hose towards the sump but also both hoses to the oil cooler were done. These are however original stainless steel so I was less concerned about these becoming brittle or snapping. For now I have not worry about these for the coming years.

And last but not least, the airco is working again! So yes, it was a really nice drive back home. Next items on my list are the rear shocks and levellers. And finetuning the carbs, at least it needs to run idle slightly higher

My Ferrari 400 MOT 2020 - Pass!

Earlier this week my 400 passed the MOT. It failed on the fist attempt though. The left blinking indicator failed. I was not made aware of this failure. Else I could have informed him about the culprit. It was replaced already a few years back and since it was working mostly all the time. See blog:

http://erwin400.blogspot.com/2016/07/ferrari-400-apk-mot.html

Since then it was almost cured but very occassionly it's still playing up though (but it always normalized by itself). I suspect there is still some corrossion on the inner side of the connector shoe (that's my theory). And of course this rare failure just happened at the MOT. So when trying to fix this it was attempted to replace the relay. The new relay burned out instantly, apparently some heavy current is used for these silly blinking lights. So when the original relay was pushed back all worked fine again. Sigh! 

Other then this all was fine, including the emission test, all within specs. Not bad for a carburetor V12.

Next on my request all exhaust rubber holders have been replaced. Most of them lost their power and were dried out. This already resulted on the right side the exhaust pipe hitting some chassis when cornerning and thus making an annoying "cloink" sound. 

Now everything is done the exhaust is firmly attached again and hanging slightly higher/closer to the body. Meaning the ground mufflers are no longer hitting/touching the ground when leaving the garage.

One remark though, the bushing for the automatic gearbox is getting poor and requires replacement in the near future

Full credits to Garage https://www.classicparadise.nl/  If you are based in the Netherlands I can highly recommend them. I have trusted them also my 8.32 and 130 for MOT and maintenance. 

Ferrari 400 starter motor problem - alternative solution

Finally a more technical blog. A discussion was kicked off on Facebook by someone who complained about the starter motor. Well, more about the hassle to get it replaced. Apparently it does make a difference if you have a carb version or injection. With carbs it's even more of a hassle. Also you need to enhance your wrench to reach the screws.

Interestingly a few weeks earlier another owner reported he had changed his starter motor too. But then quite a few other owners popped up in this thread. And just a week before that  I was approached by someone directly who had trouble with his starter motor when the engine was warm, meaning turning over slower and thus more difficult to start up. And he had his starter completely refurbished and the problem still manifested.

Although I don't know the exact cause for this issue, the fix for this issue is simply to get it replaced for a new modern one. Which isn't to expensive, more compact and more powerful (and half the weight).

So far I have never run into this issue myself but now I know what to do if so.

Hereby the Facebook posting with all remarks:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/8727831092/permalink/10158237887271093/

Apparently the preferred option is the LMS029 by WOSP in the UK: 

http://www.wosperformance.co.uk/

Attention: one of the owners reported the following:

I went with the WOSP LMS029 after trying a Hi-Torque that didn't fit. There are a few variances of the LMS029 though as they changed the design after I bought mine & they didn't fit as well. WOSP have rectified this with the latest LMS029. Something to be carefull of if buying cheap old stock.


Another owner reported the following:

 had my starter motor replaced with a WOSP on my 365 the mechanic bent a spanner in 3 places and did not need to remove the carbs or exhaust manifolds . But the WOSP starter motor was catching on the flywheel when engaging. It was found that the Wosp unit needed to be serviced with grease so you may want to do this prior to instalagion

#110459: Tube connecting filters base to vacuum pump

After the last maintenance job as per blog:

http://erwin400.blogspot.com/2018/08/mot-10k-maintenance-interval.html

I made a very short test drive myself. All felt nice and good but occassionly the gas appeared to be hanging and not moving back to low idle or at least very slowly. I left it and would look into it the next weekend. Once I had lubricated the gas cable all was working smoothly again. The weather did not look great so I made only a very small testdrive. When I parked back inside the garage and opened up the bonnet I was in shock as there was a severe oil leakage visible

 When checking underneath the car there was more spill:

And at the front end of the engine there was a clear sign as well but I couldn't find the culprit:

I immediately checked the oil dipstick and to my relieve it was still almost full. Phew! So likely the oil leakage must have started when I parked it. I checked everything over again but still couldn't find the source and the oil was everywhere making it difficult to trace it back. So the only solution was to start the engine and quickly check. And it became evident very quickly:

When I touched the hose it felt off completely. I was stunned and did not understand how this could have happened.

The oil hose is going to the oil filter and is part of the lubrication system. Since the oil spill hit the alternator belt it was scattered all over the place. Nice.

Question remains, how could this have happened? Although I spotted the new "copper" spacers used on the banjo bolt of this hose connector I only figured he had taken it off for the maintenance and put new spacers on it. I'm sure the engineer would have spotted if the oil hose was poor.

Guess what? When the engineer was doing the maintenance the Original (40 year old) oil hose did snapped off! He had it replaced with a new one (something I was unaware off). So basicly that means a brand new hose did snap off this time. It really looks like it's cut off, definately not torn or bursted (there is hardly any pressure on this hose). My theory was they "clamped" the iron sleeve faulty resulting in a damage of my new hose:

The engineer did had the old hose with the other (replaced) parts put back in the trunk:

At first I figured to order a new complete hose but this part (110459) is not available. I called Kroymans in the Netherlands and they confirmed it's not available and advised to make a new one. I then called Italauto (hoping they might have some old stock) but they also confirmed it's not available. Furthermore they informed me it's not unusual for these hoses to fail. At least they do replace them at a "regular" interval. What!? Excuse me? The Original hose survived almost 40 years in my case. So they also advised me to make a new one.

The engineer offered to make a new one again. I wanted the Original banjo bolts and fitting (instead of shiny new ones) to be used again and supplied him the Original and new (failed) hoses. I also liked the Original hose with the breaded clothing cover. So a new one was made (using breaded clothing) but he also looked into what might have caused the fault. Apparently the thread of the banjo bolt fitting was actually quite sharp and more or less had made the cut in the new soft hose resulting into this specific failure.

In any case, a new one was made:

The old Original hose still had the label of the manufacturer: Pfister - Milano Turin Bologna. I suspect these days they are called: www.angst-pfister.com When checking the website I see their red logo AP, which is also visible on the label. So yes, it's them ...

So the new oil hose was connected (remove the oil filter and brake booster):

Started the engine again and presto; no more oil leaking. Driving the car backwards and the spill is still there.

I didn't make any further testdrive since the weather was poor again. But I expect all is fine now.

MOT + 10k maintenance interval

Once this issue was sorted:

http://erwin400.blogspot.com/2018/07/maintenance-flaky-distributor-capacitor.html

The car had to get the MOT shortly as only a few days were left before it would expire. It passed in one go and honestly I did not expect any different.

So now it was time to perform the 10k maintenance interval. Except for the issue that crept up as written above I have driven a problem free 10k across Europe. Such a joy to drive this GT.

In any case, I had bought all ingredients for the upcoming maintenance:

The engineer was quite pleased how well all looked and all very clean:

Even the valves had all perfect measures and didn't require any adjustment. Certainly something I did not expect. The previous time they were all good too. According to the engineer it shows the quality of the used valve seats and the hardness of the valves.

And building it up again:

And then doing the filters, fluids and some other routine checks.

Yesterday I got the car back again, needless to say I'm very happy and I'm looking forward to the next long road trip. By now the car has driven in total 114.000 km whereby I have done the last 16.000 km myself. As said before, such a pleasure to drive this car and in my humble opinion a great looker as well. It's not flash but stylish and the automatic suits the car nicely. Connaisseurs only.

Maintenance : flaky distributor capacitor.

Remember this blog:

http://erwin400.blogspot.com/2018/05/engine-playing-up-weber-carburettor.html

Well, it turned out this didn't cure it after all (nevertheless worthwhile to check though). Despite I had run a few tests up and down the highway without any issue the problem is back again. The week after I had done this I drove my car to have the valuation report redone for the Insurance company. Only just a few miles away it started to play up again just as before. Sigh!

By now it was also time to get the bi-yearly MOT done. Plus it did require a proper 10k maintenance check up to be done. I have driven a problem free 10k kilometers untill this nasty issue popped up out of the blue. Initially Stefan, the mechanic, stopped doing any activity as he's planning to move out of the Netherlands. But since this turned out to be more problematic as anticipated he's staying a little longer and as such could plan in limited additional work. So I consider myself Lucky as he could look into this issue and also perform the 10k maintenance interval which does include the valve check/adjustment and distribution chain check/adjustment (if needed) and the fluids, filters, etc.

He suspected an ignition issue which makes more sense. As he has got the required test equipment he easily could check out the distributor. And it became apparent it was problematic indeed, see for yourself:

And a small video on how it should be:

I was being told these type of distributors tend to be problematic due to some internal timing mechanics being used. He's quite experienced with this matter and had given up to get this fixed. The best solution was to get it rebuild electronically. On further checking it appeared there was more going on with my distributor. Internally there was some fireworks going on:

The root cause turned out to be a flaky capacitor - Sigh!

So I had to look up the correct type and model used. This particular item was not listed in the part manual.

But further checking online revealed it was the following:  Magneti Marelli CE29T part nr 56181116 and 0,25 uF. It's been used on many Ferrari's (likely other Italian brands as well). And for the records, the distributor is a Magneti Marelli S138C

Since Stefan had done already many electronic conversions he did happen to have a good capacitor on stock of the right type. Also the contact points got replaced and all was tested fine. Additional a test run was performed and no more hiccups were experienced. Phew!

I'm glad it did not require an electronic conversion as I like to keep car Original as much as possible and besides it's a very costly swap.