F430 Header Failure (it CAN happen to you!)

The headers have failed on my 2006 F430 Spider. This happened moments after leaving a meet-n-greet where Anzir and I discussed F430 header failures. My car had the MK1s replaced in June 2008, likely with MK1s, not sure when the MK2s were released but the technical service bulletin 1661 was released in June 2008, so likely on its second set of MK1s, and in need of its third set of headers!

Header Failure?:
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The F430 headers are known to fail and there is a service bulletin 1661 from Ferrari documenting the issue. This is believed to be due to strain in the exhaust system and has been covered here on FChat quite extensively. They fail by cracking internally and/or externally. The symptoms include white powder (external failure of heat shield letting the white insulation out) or ticking sound from exhaust pulses leaking straight to the engine area. Also reports of a fuel smell at cold start due to gas escaping before the pre-cat. The exhaust headers (manifolds) in the F430 are fairly unique because they turn UP instead of DOWN. And as they turn up they have a pre-cat just a few inches from the exhaust valve on the upward slope. This means any objects that are a result of the failure (like weld pieces) will get trapped between the pre-cat and the exhaust valve, and gravity will pull them toward the exhaust valve. Then during exhaust gas reversion gasses from the exhaust are sucked into the combustion chamber, possible taking any foreign objects with them. If this happens you will have a much louder audible Clunking sound, like a small hammer hitting the block. If you get this; shut down and have it towed to dealer. Do not drive it. If you just get the ticking sound you can possibly still drive it, but should schedule a dealer service visit for a smoke test of the headers.

Symptom:
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I was driving and after a hard load (100% throttle) from 20mph to 100mph I started hearing a ticking sound that varied with engine rpm, loud enough to be obvious in the cabin with the top down and excessive wind noise. The next morning, engine cold, when I went to investigate the noise it was not there. During a short drive the sound reappeared and then changed significantly after another hard pull from 0-40mph at 100% load. It sounded like a small hammer on the block, I suspected a foreign object in the engine or piston to valve contact. The hammering sound was from the rear driver cylinders. I shut the car down within seconds or 10-20 revolutions. This all happened in a few miles of driving. No white powder was seen in the engine area.

The clunking sound was coming from the driver side so I removed plugs 5 and 6. There was a visible foreign object in cyl 6, stuck to the top of the head, not sitting on the piston crown.

I blew out Cyl 5 and 6 using two methods.

1. Compressed air. Seemed mildly effective. Inserted 5mm hose into plug hole, blew with 50-70psi.
2. Unplugging Fuel Injectors 5 and 6 and starting car with plugs removed letting the extreme compression evacuate the cyl through the plug-hole and valve exits. This seemed much more effective. Ran for 5 seconds at low rpm.

I was not able to observe any foreign objects leaving the cyl, but in both processes above it would have been difficult to see something leaving at those pressures and speeds.

If my hypothesis is correct I suspect there is loose manifold debris trapped between the exhaust manifold pre-cat and the exhaust valves. This matter could have been pulled into the cylinder during my high load step off during exhaust gas reversion. If this is correct there will be loose material in the headers if they are removed. I have asked the dealer to collect any foreign objects found for inspection so i can determine the metallurgy of the objects.

Next Issue: The repair
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I sent the car to Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale (7/27/12). They have been a pleasure to deal with and very helpful. They came back with a repair estimate of $19K, citing many other issues they think need to be addressed other than the headers. Including AC Compressor, Tires, and Clutch, i.e. the clutch was worn 46-75%. The Clutch is strong; never replace them before they slip IMO. They claim the wear is between 46 and 75% worn;
A. Their accuracy +/- 25%
B. Worst case they want me to replace a clutch with 25% of the friction material still intact.
C. Best case they want me to replace a clutch with 53% material intact. Thats less than half worn.
I have read that the flywheel will need to be resurfaced in most cases, and thus I will run the clutch until it slips under full load.

Funny how a warranty replacement of the headers somehow reaches $19K in a hurry. This does not include pulling the engine apart or any of that nonsense.

Next they would not replace the header under warranty because they claim my F430 is a grey market car even though they have been servicing it since 2007, and they show it serviced in NH at 93 miles in their system and in car fax in Jan 2006. The car has been in FL since 7/2006. I am not holding this against Ferrari Ft Lauderdale, its the ferrari system telling them the car is grey; grey = "The repair area is different than the sale area". Interesting that in 2006 the USD was weak against the EU and thus grey market imports from Europe were not financially beneficial, unlike back when the 308s were in Vogue.

***I would still use Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale for service and they have treated me quite well. Their flat bed service is "in house" and very inexpensive and professional.

I contacted the dealer I purchased it from; Ferrari of Palm Beach, and conferenced the service Mgr and my salesman. They assure me its not a grey market car and it has lived its life in the USA, for which I agree all facts point to, besides the ferrari service computer system. They said "no problem" just send the car here and we will both warranty the headers and contact Ferrari to try and fix the glitch in reporting grey market. The car will be shipped to them this Thursday (8/2/2012).

New Issue:
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The MK2 headers are on back order with no ETA. Lets just assume we are talking about a 4-8 week delay to get the MK2s. Lets also assume my plan was to get the MK2s replaced under warranty, then remove them immediately and replace them with stronger, aftermarket headers from Fabspeed ($3500) or Capristo ($5900), then sell the MK2 headers as "new" on ebay for $1-2K [note: outside the USA these headers are NOT covered under warranty, thus there is likely a demand] . I was going to do this to offset the cost of the aftermarket headers, and because after a long period, replacing headers can be tricky, and if they have just replaced them it will likely be easier (small thing). *I will be installing the Capristo exhaust brackets ($550) either way.

So I have a few options:
1. Have the car shipped back to me on Thursday. Replacing the MKx failed headers with aftermarket headers, and just forgoing the resale of the MK2s.
2. Just be patient and leave the car at F Palm Beach until the MK2s are available

So what about the foreign objects in the Cyl?
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The Piston is quite strong. The valves are very strong when closed, which they always are at TDC (Top Dead Center) where the contact would have been made. The object(s) were "hammered" for a very short duration with no torque on the cylinder wall, thus likely no scratching or marring. So as long as I make sure I remove all foreign objects from every Cyl before driving the vehicle I am satisfied there will be no damage. I will be inspecting each Cyl with a new 5mm borescope camera after the headers are replaced to verify the integrity of the components. I will also do a compression and leak-down on every Cyl. The combustion chamber is extremely strong and the least fragile area of a motor.

What should you do?
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1. Buy and install the Capristo exhaust brackets ($550), they could very well prevent even the MK1s from failing by relieving the strain in the exhaust system.
2. Listen to your car and know its sounds. If you think your header is failing get it replaced with an MK2 or aftermarket header. If you drive it too long after failure you could have engine damage. All of my issues happened in just a few miles, from first ticking sound to weld getting sucked into Cyl.
3. Preemptively install an aftermarket header without the pre-cat and made from better materials, design and workmanship.

Header Dictionary:
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>MK1: Weak, have or will fail on most 430s that are driven (some are not). When they fail, the welds come apart and lose weld material gets sucked into combustion chamber, causing damage, sometimes $50K worth [see ChampIII]. This header has an emission based pre-cat reducing horsepower and sound.
>MK2: Same as MK1 when they fail, but stronger and much less likely to fail. This header also has an emission based pre-cat reducing horsepower and sound.
>Fabspeed/Capristo: 15 pounds lighter, very strong, better material, no pre-cats so louder and more horsepower and torque. If they fail it will not cause debris to get sucked in motor because without the pre-catalytic converter the debris will be blown down the exhaust and get trapped in the main Catalytic converters. The Capristo includes a heat blanket for the price, thus making it not apples-apples comparison. Both units seem very well built.

Images:
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The first two images are after plug removal. The last image is after I inserted an 8mm magnet into the plug hole to try and retrieve foreign metallic objects. The magnetic extension dislodged the foreign object, but did NOT retrieve it. This is either due to bad luck or the fact it is a non magnetic object. I own two color video borescopes (aka snake cameras), neither of which will fit through the 9mm plug hole. I have ordered a 5mm unit for final inspections.

 

I sit corrected.

Please let me know via this thread and/or PM when you get your headers from Ferrari so I will know they are shipping.

 

Interesting information and thanks, but this is my Ferrari and I will be keeping it. Money is worthless to me, the car however has found a place in my family.

 

Year is listed, milage omission my bad.

2006 F430 Spider RS/Cuoio 16K miles and pulls like crazy... ...chicks that is.

So 16K miles and getting its THIRD set of quality Ferrari headers. From "actual" Ferrari exhaust system sales brochure "If you need headers real bad, Ferrari makes real bad headers.". But seriously there are so many header failures they cant keep the replacements in stock. I sure hope its true that abstinence makes the heart grow fonder!

 

Yes I remember you, nice to meet you; your 360 sounded great! It was a few minutes after leaving this very meeting at Matts Casbah, just climbing the Melbourne causeway that the header(s) failed. Anzir was there as well in the Rosso Corsa 430 Spider. Maybe I will throw a Hefferveisen Header Changing Party