Hi there, I just bought myself a 1983 Ferrari 400i yesterday and the bloody thing seems to be overheating already! Admittedly, I got a pretty good price on it so expected it to have a few gremlins. Temp gauge ran almost up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit! Which I completely understand is not good and not smart to run on. I'm not so great with cars but one of my employees is so we are going to do a little maintenance tomorrow and see what the issue could be. I have read a lot of threads about overheating 400i's so I understand it could be one of only a few issues. Our plan tomorrow is to drain the radiator and flush it out, in case there is any gunk in there. Then refill to the prescribed level in accordance with the Ferrari guidelines. Check that all the fans are working correctly and then give the car a good run and see if the temperature continues to go out of control. Any other basic maintenance someone can recommend? Car has been sat for a good 6 months in a dealership so I already knew it would certainly not be in perfect condition. My question is, to anyone out there. If we do the maintenance I described above and the car still overheats, should I just get it to a Ferrari mechanic and leave it at that. As stated before, I'm not so great with cars and would knowingly cause more problems than I would solve if I was to do any work on it. Another question I have is, could I have possibly bought a lemon??? Or is it simply that there is basically a cooling issue and we just need to get it resolved. Worst case scenario is that the water pump is out of action and needs replacing, hence engine removal.. Big $$$ Thanks to anyone that can offer advice.
Hi, any pictures of the car and the condition and what you paid. As far as overheating could be several issues. failing thermostat. waterpump radiator are the most likely but could be others
I don't think a coolant change is going to solve anything but it certainly can't hurt. If the car is low on coolant, changing it probably won't make it run any cooler. Hopefully, you just have a stuck thermostat. If you had a temperature gun you could point it at different areas of the radiator to try and determine if there are any hot spots, indicating poor coolant flow. Usually, if a water pump fails, it will leak, the bearing will be noisy or it will have play in. There's a chance it may not be producing enough coolant flow but I doubt it. It may be a cooling fan issue but if the other components were functioning then The fan would really only be an issue at idle. So, long story short (too late), I hope (and think) it will be the thermostat.
There are a lot of people here with a LOT of knowledge. Be assured that you are not a pioneer, alone in the wilderness. I have not had the problem you describe and so have, thankfully, nothing of value to share. But many others will have experience with the issue. Await their suggestions before plunging into additional expences. Greg
I live in Houston, driving my 400i almost every day chugging in slow traffic, with the air conditioning on, in 95'f ambient--but haven't seen over 100'c coolant temp. I've had other cars that run hot, but the 400 does not need to be included in that list...These are basically very healthy cars I did have repair a small leak in the radiator. But almost all cooling problems should appear in the form of leaks, or fans that aren't turning, or hoses that don't have pressure--so should be pretty obvious (no dirty secret for this car). Good luck, once you sort out your car you'll be happy---Lee
My 84 400iA overheated. It was easy to test the thermostat. Let it cool down. Then start it up and feel the temp of the thermostat at each end. The engine side will heat first. Eventually the radiator end will start to heat and will get as hot as the engine side. If not, you need a new thermostat. Al 400iA 50605
Welcome to F-chat. You´ll be in good hands here. So you have already done pretty well, just coming here. Good luck. Is this your first Ferrari? They are marvelous but can be pissy a**ed machines.
I'll try to answer almost everything with one brief reply, as brief as I can... Thank you to the immediate response, it's overwhelming and it's nice to feel like you are amongst others that have obviously appreciated this "religion" all their lives. Performed radiator clean out and refilled. Radiator cap is buggered and let's out heaps of fluid. In fact, after I picked it up from the dealer and brought it home, it was hissing and there was a little steam coming out from under the car. I had only done 10 miles or so to get it home. Next day did the same thing so I attempted to locate the hissing noise and the steam I was seeing. Hissing coming from the readiator cap and lots of steam from the pipe which comes down to the ground from the expansion tank. Took it home briefly but then went on another little run. Same thing happened and temperature gauge soured. (From my first post) Anyway, a really nice guy just south of Sydney is sending me a new radiator cap. I have also checked the flow from the radiator to the expansion tank, all clear. He has indicated to me that if the new radiator cap does not stop the overheating, perhaps a head gasket problem, he said take if that is the case, take it back to the dealer. Getting nervous! I'll attach a picture of the plate inside the engine bay which has the engine number etc. in case there is any history on the vehicle. I can't believe that can be done! Yep, first Ferrari. My dad had a Mondial 8 followed by a 308 GTS Quatrovalvole, since then, have been in love them, so not the first in our family but my first. Once I put the new radiator cap on i'll try out the tips with the thermostat. Thank you for that advice. Not going to jump the gun with the thoughts it could be head gasket. Also going to change the hose and clamps from the radiator to the expansion tank, pretty cracked and rusty. Once again thank you for the response to everyone. Roger Image Unavailable, Please Login
Good day Roger, Given your comments about the head gasket I am assuming you did not have a pre purchase inspection (PPI) done? If so, then a leakdown and compression test should have been done and would usually indicate any head gasket issues. If not, then I would promptly have a PPI done with the above tests so that you can see the current state of your engine (valves, piston rings, head gaskert, etc). The result will then help you decide if you should return the car. Secondly, a PPI should also present you with additional information such as the brakes, tires, exhaust system, etc... basically it gives you an overview of your car and perhaps areas the might or do need attention... and thus requiring $$$ to sort out. Cheers, Sam
Hi Sam, Correct, I did not arrange my own PPI. However I did demand that the vehicle be supplied with a road worthy certificate, even though it was registered. They did supply this however upon collection of the vehicle, the horn was not working, hence the vehicle was not technically roadworthy. The mechanic next door to the dealer did the roadworthy and when we approached him about the horn, his response was "it was working 3 days ago". I'm certainly smart enough to realise that there may be something suspect with this mechanic however will put this new radiator cap on when it arrives and see what we have from there. Thanks Roger
I never heard of a radiator cap changing an overheating problem. Your gauges are telling you that you're running hot and you're getting overflow. You have a thermostat problem. If you're losing coolant, maybe it's head gasket. Do you billow white smoke? Do you find discolored, foamy oil? A bad head gasket will also result in a vacuum leak. Does your car run rough?
Search YouTube for videos on checking for head gasket leaks. That should be your first step. If that's the problem then it will be a costly repair and you won't waste time looking at other possibilities. If the problem is a plugged up radiator then a bottle of flush will not clean it, you'll have to take it out and take it to a radiator shop. Like I said if it was my car I would investigate the worse case scenario first.
I third Jim's advice. If you blow the engine you'll end up with a major potential dilemma - scrap the car or make a long term investment in a very costly rebuild. Tread carefully with this problem, no one wants your first Ferrari experience to be a bad one.
While a compression test will tell you quickly if you have a head gasket problem, check the other simple things as well, such as the thermostat, cooling fans and making sure that the cooling system is filled and bled of air pockets properly. Aside from the fact that you can face a large repair bill if you allow the car to overheat, the cooling system on a 400i is not really any different than the cooling system on any other car. Also, and this is very important, make sure that the unpressurized coolant cap is fitted to the radiator fill neck and the pressurized cap is on the expansion tank. It is a common mistake to reverse the fitting of those two caps. Lastly, the expansion tank should be empty when the car is cool, otherwise it may overflow when the engine is at operating temperature.
Good day Roger, If it were me and I had the potential of being able to return the the car, I would promptly do a PPI ... in the current case a "post purchase inspection" to ensure I understand what I have purchased. If something sinister does present, then you would be able to get out of the car (i.e. return the car) with minimal cost. Otherwise the repair costs can be quite nasty. If the PPI does present well, then you can be comforted that all is fine and then you can look deeper into the overheating issue... which as some suggested is not a good thing. If you seriously overheat the car you can warp the cylinder heads, etc and then you are looking at big $$$ to repair. Further if this should happen and you go back to the dealer, they could say "oh you overheated the car and you damaged it"... and so it will be very, very difficult or impossible for you to return the car. I am not trying to scare you, but to provide insight that the repair costs can be very expensive. Cheers, Sam
bonjour voici un bon sujet pour voir un problèmes de surchauffe Remove bypass thermostat - Suppression thermostat by-pass amicalement christopher
Yes, very common because many (nearly all) "normal" cars that I have seen have the pressurized cap on the radiator and an non-pressurized cap on the overflow tank and so it would be very easy to follow that practice on the 400i. I don't know how or why the 400i system is different but the expansion tank starts out empty and is under pressure whereas the overflow tank on a "normal" car is not pressurized and is designed to have a certain amount of coolant in it even when cold. As for contributing to overheating, I think that having the pressurized cap allows fluid to flow into the tank when hot but the fluid may not flow back into the radiator when the car is shut down. What happens then is that the expansion tank gradually fills with coolant over time and then starts puking it out (technical term) once it is full and the result is that the radiator ends up low on coolant and thus overheats. At least this is what I experienced very early on in my 400i ownership and I never had to refill the radiator after I installed the caps correctly. Can any of the technical gurus on this site confirm this?
Tomorrow I am simply going to arrange with the dealer to have the vehicle towed back there and that they resolve the problem, otherwise I'll simply ask for a refund. Luckily, within 24 hours I made them aware that the car had a problem so there is no getting out of this for them. Thank you to everyone for all of your tips and advice etc. This site truly is amazing. If I do not end up with this vehicle, I will certainly be purchasing another Ferrari in the coming months. I'm just disappointed as I really like the 400i as it suits my needs perfectly. Fingers crossed that they repair it and ill have it back in my stable in a few weeks... Will post again when I have the result from the dealer. Regards Roger
