[SCM246]

I've heard the downfall of the 550 model were

1) the motor mounts which could fail, allowing the engine to drop onto the oil pressure sender. If it breeches or shears off oil could quickly escape and an engine and bad things happen

2) three small coolant hoses under or around the intake manifold.

Can anyone add anything to this?
Thank you

[tazandjan]

Affirmative, the solution is to replace the motor mounts with 575M mounts, which are a direct replacement. For the water hoses, Three of the five were replaced on the 575M with silicone hoses, which are again direct replacements.

For the water hoses, however, the best solution is to replace all five with Scuderia Rampante Innovations hoses from Dave Helms, which will still be on the car working perfectly when you die.

For nearly all the problems on the 550, fixes are available and the cars are pretty much bullet-proof. If you are interested in one, there is a wealth of Maranello expertise here to help you make a decision on a car and repair any problems you may encounter.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[Jimmy Chen Shiba DDS]

What more can you ask for ? That's called peace of mind. w/ smiles Jimmy

[ECSofVirginia]

Agreed with Taz. Most of the other "issues" one may run into are less prevalent. Scuderia Rampante has both a complete silicon hoses upgrade kit and an electrical connector upgrade kit (perhaps the latter is still under development?) for the 550. I've installed both kits and see an immediate correction in behavior.

[cribbj]

Originally Posted by SCM246

I've heard the downfall of the 550 model were

1) the motor mounts which could fail, allowing the engine to drop onto the oil pressure sender. If it breeches or shears off oil could quickly escape and an engine and bad things happen

2) three small coolant hoses under or around the intake manifold.

Can anyone add anything to this?
Thank you

In addition to the things already mentioned, and perhaps you're asking from the perspective of a prospective buyer:

1. Intake manifold gaskets leaking
2. Dash leather shrinkage at front, near windshield, also airbag cover and steering wheel. (not just a problem with 550's)
3. Sticky plastics (again, not just a 550 problem)
4. Fuel fumes in/from trunk (rubber seals / gaskets deteriorating)
5. Door glass alignment/adjustment
6. Alarm siren battery failure
7. Rubber hose and fuel pump cushion/coupler deterioration inside fuel tank
8. Bogus "Slow Down" alarms
9. Cam belts/tensioners t/b changed every 3 years, unless upgraded to 575 parts which can go 5.


And here are the various campaign bulletins that have been issued for the 550:

– Magnesium wheel recall and replacement with aluminum wheels (DOT or NHTSA recall + Ferrari campaign #32)
– Replacement of Motronic ECU’s (Ferrari campaign #29)
– Leaking fuel lines (Ferrari campaign #???)
– OBDII connector fix (Ferrari campaign #148)
– Theft siren replacement (Ferrari campaign #98)
– Handbrake lever ratchet material not well hardened, causing handbrake to fail (Ferrari campaign #???)

There are probably more than this.......

[Ferraridriver]

There's even a fix for that drooping passenger side sun visor.

[JazzyO]

The things that I've encountered in 40,000kms of blissful 550 driving:

1. The side windows go out of alignment, need adjusting every 18 months or so (depending on how often you use your car)
2. The main ECU failed, replacement was $1500
3. Clutch pressure group failed at 60,000kms, that was a $3k repair I think.
4. Every once in a while I get a message the active suspension is not working properly. The message always goes away and we have never been able to locate the issue. The car never feels any different, so ignoring it has been the best policy for the last 2 years.

Reading this thread might give you the impression these cars are pretty poor quality - they are not. For an 11 year old supercar that gets pushed on the track as well as on the road, I think my car has done very well indeed.


Onno

[henryr]

list would be a ton longer for other models......


glad i found u guys

[tazandjan]

Henry- Welcome. Start an introduction thread on yourself and your 575 and we will get Andrew to sign you up as an owner. Would love to see some photos of the car, too.

How many of those sets of Maranello wheels do you still have left? At one point you had a set of 19" BBS LMs, 19" modulars, and a partial set of 18" Barchetta modulars. Did not know how many you had sold.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[henryr]

Originally Posted by tazandjan

Henry- Welcome. Start an introduction thread on yourself and your 575 and we will get Andrew to sign you up as an owner. Would love to see some photos of the car, too.

How many of those sets of Maranello wheels do you still have left? At one point you had a set of 19" BBS LMs, 19" modulars, and a partial set of 18" Barchetta modulars. Did not know how many you had sold.

Taz
Terry Phillips

thanx.... still trying to figure out / navigate this site..

sold the 19" mods to fund my purchase from aaron (your tech). still have the bbs lms and two barchetta wheels

[tazandjan]

Henry- Did you buy that huge set of brakes or the FHP suspension? I had never seen a set of front calipers as big as those ex-AMG units Novitec used on Maranellos.

See you found the member intros.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[henryr]

the brakes...... too good a deal to pass up at least to play with even if i can squirrel away the cash for those movits..... i found a place that can replicate the sport seats if you care.

[tazandjan]

Henry- There are a couple of guys here who would be very interested so please let us know where. I am too fond of my memory seats to give them up. You picked up that real set on E-Bay, I think?

Taz
Terry Phillips

[Rallyman]

Someone mentioned this as a typical fault in 550s: "6. Alarm siren battery failure". The alarm LED in my car is alway on. I was told it is related to the battery being very low in the past. I assume it will be an easy fix.

My car is a MY1999 and has covered 15.000 kms. It is scheduled for a 'big' service in September. Shall I ask for any reliability-specific upgrades? The previous owner did the last big service at 9.000kms, 3 1/2 years ago, but I do not have the detail of the work done. What's the cost of the 575 motor mounts?

[tazandjan]

RM- The best way to fix that problem is to replace the siren. Those run about $85 for a GM replacement siren or up to $350 for a Ferrari replacement. They can be replaced from the bottom or by removing the headlamp unit.

Ferrari Parts : 177148 : 177148 SIREN

The 575M motor mounts are ~$350 each from our sponsor Ricambi, but the big money there is installing them. The driver's side mount requires disconnecting and reconnecting quite a bit of stuff.

Ferrari Parts : 192022 : 192022 TAMPONE ELASTICO SUPPORTO MOTO

Taz
Terry Phillips

[cribbj]

Originally Posted by Rallyman

Someone mentioned this as a typical fault in 550s: "6. Alarm siren battery failure". The alarm LED in my car is alway on. I was told it is related to the battery being very low in the past. I assume it will be an easy fix.

My car is a MY1999 and has covered 15.000 kms. It is scheduled for a 'big' service in September. Shall I ask for any reliability-specific upgrades? The previous owner did the last big service at 9.000kms, 3 1/2 years ago, but I do not have the detail of the work done. What's the cost of the 575 motor mounts?

Rallyman, your car is the same year as mine (MY99).

Definitely suggest you look into getting SRI's (Scuderia Rampante Innovations) silicone hose kit installed as part of your major. I don't know if you've had problems with yours, but on my car, it was in for replacement of various individual under manifold hoses 3 times during its service life, prior to me buying it.

Here's a shopping list for those 575 mounts that Taz mentioned:

Part.........Qty.....Description
192022......2.......WICK BODY
15981634...2.......SCREW
12601774...2.......WASHER
176573......2.......NUT
15970634...8......SCREW
14496624...8.......WASHER
127497......8.......WASHER
182141......2.......WASHER


Also ensure that the later 575 timing belts, tensioners and tensioner brackets are installed during your major, along with a fresh set of serpentine tensioner/idlers.

[eddevine]

Originally Posted by Ferraridriver

There's even a fix for that drooping passenger side sun visor.

A little late to this thread but what is the solution to the drooping passenger sun visor?

[tazandjan]

Ed- Ferraridriver (Dave) has a permanent fix that he did on my drooping visor (same problem 575M). He replaces the plastic piece that breaks with an aluminum piece he machines.

Look further up in this thread and PM or e-mail him.

[eddevine]

Thanks Terry
I'll get in touch with him.
Ed