360 F1 jumps to Neutral when shifting

[moballa]

Hello all - I'm new to this forum and hope someone here has experienced the same issue I am having with my clutch on my ’99 360 F1 with 8,000km.

Basically the problem is that when I go to shift up or down, the F1 gearbox jumps me to "N" unexpectedly. I can then "usually" hit the up shift paddle and it will select an appropriate gear for the speed I am going and keep me going a bit until I try to shift again when it jumps me back to "N". Sometimes I just can't select a gear at all causing me to take emergency precautions as I dive off to the side of the road before I lose momentum.

It seems to happen only after I have been driving for a while - usually when it is hot out and I'm stuck in traffic. I suspect it is heat related.

I brought the car to my local Ferrari service center where they flushed the transmission and F1 hydraulics, opened the clutch assembly, and basically told me everything looks fine, they didn't know what could have caused it, and they have never heard of the issue before.

A few outings later, it happened again...this time on a bridge where I couldn’t move and held up traffic. Oh, the joy of owning a Ferrari when people are streaming by honking, laughing, and being given the finger salute.

Anyway, after letting the car cool down for about 45 minutes, I am able to engage first gear again and away it goes with no problems and no hesitation through the gearbox.

Any ideas what could be causing this problem?

Thanks for any help!
Marco

[Neonzapper]

The clutch and brake fluid go hand in hand. The clutch bleed fitting may have been tightened too much, then cracked. Take the bottom pan off, and see if there is a leak.

[ferraricyprus]

Originally Posted by Neonzapper

The clutch and brake fluid go hand in hand. The clutch bleed fitting may have been tightened too much, then cracked. Take the bottom pan off, and see if there is a leak.

He has an F1. They use seperate fluid to the brake circuit. This car is showing all the signs of a worn out clutch, although similar results can come from a sticking clutch cylinder. A trip to a dealer or specialist and hook-up to an SD2 will verify this.

[Neonzapper]

Originally Posted by ferraricyprus

He has an F1. They use seperate fluid to the brake circuit. This car is showing all the signs of a worn out clutch, although similar results can come from a sticking clutch cylinder. A trip to a dealer or specialist and hook-up to an SD2 will verify this.

Yep, I should have spent more time reading (instead of scanning) his post. I'm leaning toward your first assessment that it's a worn out clutch.