Ferrari 488 GTB Engine Overhaul: Coolant in the Oil, Put Right

The car came to us because it kept overheating, and the coolant level kept dropping. It had been topped up more than once, but the coolant just kept disappearing with no obvious puddle on the ground.

That combination, heat plus vanishing coolant with no external leak, is a warning sign on any engine and a serious one on a Ferrari. Coolant that is not leaking onto the floor is usually going somewhere it should not, and on a high-performance V8 the cost of finding out late is very high.

We began by dismantling the engine to see what was actually happening inside, rather than guessing from outside. The moment the oil came out, the diagnosis was clear. It was the colour of milk tea, a creamy light brown. That colour means only one thing: coolant has mixed into the engine oil.

So the coolant was not leaking onto the road. It was leaking inside the engine, into the oil. We filmed the milky oil and sent it to the owner so he could see it for himself. From there we opened the engine further and inspected the parts the contaminated oil had been running through.

We carried out a full engine overhaul.

• Stripped the engine completely so every affected part could be inspected.
• Replaced the damaged cylinder head and camshaft parts.
• Sourced high quality Ferrari parts for the rebuild. They arrived about two and a half weeks after the owner gave the go-ahead.
• Rebuilt and refitted the engine. The car was ready for pickup nine days after the parts arrived.
• Fitted a new oil filter and 8.5 litres of Mobil 1.

We kept the owner updated with photos at each stage, from the dismantled engine to the new parts arriving to the rebuilt engine going back in. The engine overhaul was quoted at about $26,000, and it carries our 3 year or 60,000km warranty. The cylinder head and camshaft damage meant more parts on top of that quote, and the coolant parts outside the engine were quoted separately, so the owner could see exactly what each part of the job covered.

A Ferrari 488 engine overhaul is a major job, and the figure follows the internal damage found. On this car the engine overhaul was quoted at about $26,000, with a 3 year or 60,000km warranty. That quote covers items such as the pistons, rings, bearings, timing chain, head gasket and valves. The cylinder head and camshaft damage found once the engine was open meant more parts on top, and the coolant parts outside the engine were quoted separately.

What moves the price on an engine like this is how far the damage has spread and which parts are needed. Caught at the first sign of overheating, the bill can be much smaller. Left to run with coolant in the oil, the damage spreads to parts like the head and camshaft, and the bill grows. The single biggest cost saver is acting early, before the internals are affected.

This Ferrari 488 GTB (Engine overhaul) was handled at 1 Car Service, an independent workshop in Sin Ming AutoCity, Singapore. The work is backed by our 3-year, 60,000km warranty. We hold a 4.9★ rating from 1,836+ Google reviews.