[Nigel]

My boss and I bought a 355 each in May/June. Mine had to have a new manifold before I picked it up. It has just gone back for the service they should have done before delivery and BOTH manifolds are now cracked

Boss's car has also gone in for bodywork (plonker in a 4x4 overestimated his barge's brakes :roll: ) Turns out one of his manifolds has gone too.

That's four manifolds across two cars in three months in less than 7,000 miles between them.

At least its all being done under warranty. Must be costing Ferrari a fortune!

Do they pay up in the USA, or do you have to fork out your hard-earned cash yourselves?

 

[manu]

Nigel - this is the SINGLE most common fault with the F355. The stock manifold is a load of SHITE.
The cats are too close to the engine (they have to be to heat up fast enough to clean emissions and allow the car to comply with regulations straight from idle).
When you're thrashing the 355, the cats raise the temp in the whole manifold - it starts to expand under the heat..... Turn the car off, the manifold cools....and contracts.... net result? Cracking and eventual failure.

My soultion is to chuck the cats in the bin until MOT comes around and fit test pipes for 99% of the year - get a better sound anyway.

 

[Gregg]

Is there a recognizable sound, or symptom which would indicate a cracked manifold? The reason I ask is that when I start my F355,
and then put it into gear (reverse or first), there is a tinty, metallic
rattle coming from the rear. The noies abates completely once the
engine is warm.

Regards,
Gregg

 

[Rorytiger]

Is there any way to avoid cracking the manifold or is it just a matter of time with the 355 ?

If it is just a matter of time how long do they normally last ? Also what are the signs that its cracked ?

I agree we should thank God for the warranty. Two weeks after I bought mine, the whole steering rack had to be changed along with a few other bits connected to it. The bill was about £3000 from what I heard.