Ouch! Ferrari 360 Gearbox

[blueg33]

I'm interested to know if other 360 owners have had this problem

I put my foot down to make an overtake and there was a small bang and I lost all drive. I assumed that the clutch has suddenly gone (I was expecting it to go soon)

Turns out that the fault was not the clutch, but a sheared input shaft in the gearbox which as well as being an issue in itself has damaged various gears by spreading chunks of metal around the box. Looks like it may have been caused by a collapsed bearing but we can't be sure.

So its a new (rebuilt) gearbox for me. Anyone else experienced this issue and if so what were the symptoms?

I haven't driven the car since the summer as work issues meant that I couldn't get around to fixing it. I'm looking forward to getting back working even if I am not looking forward to the bill. Doing the clutch as well, and a belt service and a few other odds and ends.

PS. As always, amazing service from Aldous at AV.

[davek_964]

In all the years I had my 360 (about 7 or 8 I think) I've never heard of that happening before.

Mind you - I'd also never heard of them snapping cam variators and smashing the top end of one block to pieces - until mine did it and I found out it was a "known" issue!

[blueg33]

davek_964 said:

In all the years I had my 360 (about 7 or 8 I think) I've never heard of that happening before.

Mind you - I'd also never heard of them snapping cam variators and smashing the top end of one block to pieces - until mine did it and I found out it was a "known" issue!

Aldous hadn't seen it before either. Its annoying as I had the cash earmarked for some other improvements!

[FezSpider]

I have seen this on one 355 before.
This can be a thing on 355s. Fchat has a few threads on it. It's been a while but iirc Hill engineering or some one simular might make replacements.
On the 355 gear box they just slide out once the clutch is removed it's the shaft that the 3 seals go over the end of. Did not harm any of the gears iirc.

[FezSpider]

I have found a link to an 8 year old thread talking about several examples of the phenomenom on the ferrari.
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/major-fa...

[blueg33]

Thanks for the links.

[cgt2]

I remember having something like this happen on a 355. Very similar was driving up a hill, bang and loss of drive.

Car was trailered in to the specialist I used at the time and repair was around £4k but that was 20 years ago.

[blueg33]

cgt2 said:

I remember having something like this happen on a 355. Very similar was driving up a hill, bang and loss of drive.

Car was trailered in to the specialist I used at the time and repair was around £4k but that was 20 years ago.

It’s a lot more than that now!

[Babw]

What is the cost out of interest to repair and rebuild the gearbox?

[mwstewart]

First I've heard of that type of failure. Unlucky. Maybe a previous heat exchanger failure left some of the bearings damaged. Out of interest what is the cars age & mileage?

[blueg33]

It’s 23 years old m, 46k miles.

[FezSpider]

I would like to see any pictures of the damaged gears, to understand what has happened.
The one I saw and fixed was a clear shear. As well as the ones in the link I posted.
The shafts are easly replaced without stripping the box.
Please keep us informed and I hope it gets done quickly.

[blueg33]

Apparently it’s a different shaft from the ones that fail in a 355.

More info to come

[FezSpider]

blueg33 said:

Apparently it’s a different shaft from the ones that fail in a 355.

More info to come

Oh interesting, please let us know which shaft it is exactly when you discover.

[Mark_Blanchard]

Sorry to hear. Hope you get it sorted.

[Rusty Old-Banger]

blueg33 said:

It’s 23 years old m, 46k miles.

I know it's obvious when you think about it, but on first glance it seems crazy that 360s can be that old!

[blueg33]

FezSpider said:

Oh interesting, please let us know which shaft it is exactly when you discover.

It’s the main input shaft. Looks like previous work was done on the box and it was assembled incorrectly allowing the shaft to float around. Also incorrect tools used as there are chisel marks on large nuts that seat the shaft.

New box is now installed and has been tested.

MOT failed Headlight bulb replaced, MOT passed

I collect next week.

Total bill including belt service, clutch, flywheel, thrust bearing, some coolant pipes, engine bearing seal etc just into five figures.

[FezSpider]

Great news that it's sorted, and so quickly to
Main input shaft?
Are we talking about #6 mains shaft or #26 clutch shaft? Thanks for letting us know.

[blueg33]

I think Item 6. It’s about 30mm diameter, a lot thicker than the other one which fails in 355’s

I have a vid where AV explain it.

I can’t fault their service.

Edited by blueg33 on Saturday 25th May 20:06

[voicey]

It was the main shaft (#6). It snapped right in the middle of where the two locknuts (#22) should have been - the forward locknut was loose and had wound itself along the shaft and dug into the case.

I’ve never seen anything like it before - the shaft is over 35mm diameter of hardened steel at that point.

The resulting debris wrote the box off (I have spare input shafts). Some debris got into the pinion and crown which chewed up the teeth faces. Pinion/crown sets are NLA and NOS are going for over £7k. Plus we’d have needed new bearings, a case and god knows what else that had been damaged.

Edit: the shaft that breaks in the 355 is more like #23 in a 360 box. The 355 shaft is like a drinking straw in comparison to the shaft that snapped here.