Hi A quick intro: I’ve had a 360 for the last 12 years and done a fair bit of DIY on all the usual things. I managed to “sell” the idea of an additional California to the wife so that we could have a fun car that the whole family (kids 11&8) could use. I got a Cali 30 last September. Both are Rosso Crema. I have a squeak on the Cali which seems to be coming from steering shaft or rack. I’ve done a search but couldn’t find anything. Has anyone else had anything like this to point me in the right direction?
Hi Jon, If it’s a squealing then I heard this happen to others and had it happen to me. I ended up replacing the whole steering pump. In hindsight I suspect replacing the seal in the pump could have been a less costly solution. Getting the pump out is not an easy job. You have to remove the intakes, battery box and AC pump to remove the power sterling pump.
I have a 458 that had a loud steering squeak. My dealer thought I was nuts until he heard it. Without having heard yours, and having deleted the video I sent my dealer, I do not know if your squeak is in anyway similar to what I experienced. Mine turned out to be related to the leather on the steering wheel. Somehow it was being pinched on turning. Quickly remedied by a slight adjustment in the wheel. That being said, my technician had me change my power steering fluid a few years back. Said that there had been some Cali power steering pump failures. He feels changing this fluid which is beyond anything Ferrari recommends is worthwhile. Not a $$ grab in my opinion. I watched as he changed it. There were shavings in the filter and fluid color almost appeared burned vs fresh fluid. I had changed every other vital fluid at the same time before warranty ran out. wanted to pick up any potential problems when repair cost on Ferrari's dime. None of the others showed any signs of breakdown. Net: I hope it is a simple leather issue and not your pump. Best
Thanks for the pointers both. I got the car up on jacks today and the noise vanished, back on the floor and its back. Eventually I traced it to the Aux belt, it squeaks when the power steering pump is loaded up. It only does it at low revs. I wet the belt and it went away but I'm sure it'll be back, I'd guess the pump is on its way out.
Hi c928jon, It sounds like the belt only is on the way out, the rubber deteriorates over time and heat cycles making it necessary to put more pressure on the belt to stop squealing. Don’t be tempted to just tighten, replace as constantly re-tightening it will then put undue force onto the power steering pump bearing and then you will be definitely be $ into a new pump. Cheers Andrew
I have a 2014 and my belts were just changed under the annual 7 year maintenance warranty. Hopefully yours is still under that warranty. Otherwise my dealer said this big service would be around $2300!
kinda a trick tip but... turn the car off, let it get cold, grab some RTV sealer and put it on the rib side of the belt, start the car and let it run for a few minutes and that usually takes care of belt noises. any kind of rtv sealer will do, it rubberizes and acts as a kind of silencer on the belt. def change the belt if you see any signs of cracking on the ribs.