Any 360 F1 owners had this transmisssion problem

You're putting your foot on the break right, when upshifting?

 

I have had the same thing happen on my 99 355 after a hard track run on a hot day.

When it cooled down every thing was back to normal.

Could it be heat related resistance in the solonoids?

 

The problem you are experiencing may be getting recorded in the computer memory as an error and can be checked with the SD2. Both of the dealers you have mentioned have good people that can ck. it. By the way if you are putting the car in N at stops for safety reasons thats OK, but if you are doing it for the same reasons that you would on a man. trans. (saving the throw out bearing from the stress of keeping the clutch springs compressed) forget it. The F1 sys. keeps the clutch compressed any time the motor is running unless the car is in motion.

 

I was told to put it in neutral while stopped to save wear on the clutch. You are the first person to say otherwise. Where did you get this information?

As to the problem of not immediately going into gear fron neutral, I suggest as someone else has done, is press the brake pedal harder and then shift into gear.

 

I was factory trained on that car in 1999. If you hook it up to the SD2 and watch on the parameters section it shows the position the throw out bearing is in. At all times when the motor is running, doesn't matter if N or a gear is selected, the bearing is holding the clutch in the realeased position. The only time it releases the clutch is when either you request power transfer (press on the gas) or shut down the motor.
By the way, some early cars had the wrong seals installed on the slave cyl. F1 and 6spd use different fluid and the seals are not compatible. I have seen many 360's seals swell up to the point that the slave cyl. was sticking on it's sleeve. That may be the source of your problem.

 

Wow. Why would they do this? Are later systems programed this way?

 

I was told by the dealer mechanic to put the car in N to increase clutch life. It makes sense right?

 

I tend to agree with those who say to press harder on the brake pedal.
I suspect the brake sensor for the gear change request is hydraulic rather than electric, and loss of pressure due to brake fluid boiling is causing the sensor to not read that the brakes are applied.
As I think back to the times this has happened to me it’s been after a hard track session, with the resulting loss of pedal coming into the pits.
When the car sits for a few minutes the heat soak into the calipers exacerbates the condition, and the transmission ECU ignores the request for a gear as it has not received a signal that the brakes are applied.
A change of fluid would probably help. I went to Motul RBF 600, and haven’t seen that problem since.

 

It's just the way the sys. was designed. It was prob. for faster response once the command was given to select a gear. I left the dealer a year ago and it was still that way, as I recall the 575 is the same and I don't believe they have had any reason to change.

 

just for clarification this explanation is applicable to 360's right and not the 355? i *think* the 355 behaves just the opposite of the 360 in that if you put the 355 F1 in "N" it does save the throw out bearing, right?

 

I don't recall, (but I suspect it does) as shop foreman I delt mostly with new cars and new issues. I have a 355 F1 in the shop right now and as soon as I put it back together I will ck and let you know. Prob tomorrow. The important issue to me however is what it is doing to the thrust bearing on the crankshaft. That is why it stands out to me on the 360. On the 355 due to the different design the big (easily replaced) bearing on the back of the bell housing takes all the thrust of the clutch.

 

Rifle-

So...on the 355 F-1, should we keep the car in 1st gear, or, "N" while stopped and waiting at a stop light, or....does it matter (as far a clutch life)?? What is your recommendation?

Dino

 

I don’t doubt you for a second, but I do have a question: If the clutch is always held in when the motor is running and the car is stopped, then why does the computer automatically throw the gearbox into neutral after ‘X’ seconds (and ‘X’ plus when the brake is on)? Why not just leave it in gear?

 

The trans should never go to N if your foot is on the brake, one of the service procedures we do to those is to let car idle in gear for several minutes with our foot on the brake. In that condition it just should not go to N. Going to N with foot off brake is for safety, keeps you (from other things) from forgetting that car is in gear, same with going to N when you open door. The thing they never did explain is why does it not go into gear with hood open but it will with trunk open.
PS. We have had malfunctions (rare) when clutch would engage itself without pressing on gas, with foot on brake the motor just dies, but without foot on brake.......not a good thing. So it's good they designed it that way. By the way it was during diagnosing that one the first time that I discovered the thing about the clutch staying compressed all the time.

 

No, I mean hood as in engine cover.

 

I can confirm the "won't go into gear with the hood open".

I had to close the engine lid when on the dyno to get the car into gear. I didn't try opening it again once in gear mind you. I recall seeing pictures of thomas_b's car on the dyno with the lid open and the engine running and had meant to ask that question.

 

Nex time if you need to do that just manually latch the latch. The extra ventilation isn't a bad idea on the dyno.

 

yes that's what I do - simply reach into the locking mechanism and push the right side into close position - don't forget to unlock the latch with the release in the driver door before you slam the engine cover close!

 

You are correct. I just checked a 355 F1 a few minutes ago and it does allow the clutch to go to the at rest position when in N with motor running.

In case it was missed in an earlier post, the 360 mechanical brake light sw is what the TCU is watching not a hyd sw., so changing brake fluid or pressing harder on the brake pedal would have no effect unless the sw is incorrectly adjusted.