[Tomasini]

Dear all,

I test-drove yesterday a manual '05 that I am considering buying and I would like to sample the Gallardo brains on here to get their input. I posted about my impressions of the car in my introduction thread.
I hope it is ok to start a new thread here to attract the attention of Gallardo owners who may only visit this section of the forum.

Thanks for your attention and for your help.

 

[Tomaso]

As far as the shifting issue it could be something outside the transmission. It could be the shifting cables or other parts.

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Getting a PPI is a must by someone who knows your car.

 

[Tomasini]

Thanks.
I am still unsure if there is an actual issue with the transmission, as it worked perfectly when double-declutching, which obviously should put the least strain on syncro rings. What is the replacement interval for transmission oil?

I am having a PPI done at the local Lambo dealer next week, including a compression test. I hope the engine and clutch clear out as I really feel like buying this car. FWIW I drove an '04 E-Gear many years ago which was a HUGE let down as the lag in the gearchange was insufferable as it dictated how I could drive the car, ruining any chance to bond with the car's dynamics and this '05 manual has been a revelation in comparison. It felt like a whole different car, and a very enjoyable one at that.

 

[Tomaso]

Thanks.
I am still unsure if there is an actual issue with the transmission, as it worked perfectly when double-declutching, which obviously should put the least strain on syncro rings. What is the replacement interval for transmission oil?

I am having a PPI done at the local Lambo dealer next week, including a compression test. I hope the engine and clutch clear out as I really feel like buying this car. FWIW I drove an '04 E-Gear many years ago which was a HUGE let down as the lag in the gearchange was insufferable as it dictated how I could drive the car, ruining any chance to bond with the car's dynamics and this '05 manual has been a revelation in comparison. It felt like a whole different car, and a very enjoyable one at that.

The gated manual does change the whole experience. Add rear wheel drive and it becomes a whole different car.

 

[jchrisf]

Regarding egear, most people do not get it. Yes, a gated shifter and clutch pedal provide more control and connection, but shifting at full throttle, high rpm in sport mode with egear is certainly dramatic, in line with the unique character of Lamborghini, and much faster than anyone with a gated manual. I did not warm up to it until about 1000 miles into ownership.

 

[Tomasini]

I suppose that e-gear was upgraded along the way, and I am sure it is better on later cars, but it would have to be insanely good to ever win me over a manual transmission, which for me is one of the key ingredients which makes driving a "sports car" enjoyable. Well, perhaps I am already an old idiot stuck on his own benign certainties!

Anyway, after much searching the web I found by chance a 3 year old picture of the car, taken at a local track, where it was covered with dubious stickers and fitted with a huge rear wing. This might explain why the rotors were already cooked after only 25k miles and why the transmission did not feel as smooth as I thought it should. Perhaps I am being overcautious and the car just needs some basic fettling as it felt pretty solid otherwise but since the seller did not seem to be super transparent, said the car had never been tracked and was not super helpful when I mentioned having the car PPI'd, I decided to walk away. The hunt goes on.

 

[jchrisf]

I myself was recently looking into the conversion from egear to manual. If I had major problems with an egear and the repair was similar in cost to a conversion, I would consider it. The gated manual is a simpler system and would reduce maintenance costs. For me, I did not want to spend an extra $20-40k for a manual. I am a driver, not a collector. I am now seeing gated F430s going for nearly twice the F1 version in some cases. The people running up the price of manuals do not even drive manuals. They just want bragging rights.

The egear is not supposed to be smooth, although you can make it smooth by lifting when you shift. The idea is to run up towards redline and shift at full throttle. You get a hard kick and that is part of the spirit of the car. Soft shifting is for Buicks. My other car is a PDK Boxster. It is definitely quicker on track, but on the street, it will slow the shifting down for comfort. PDK is new school and egear is old school. I get the impression that egear really is an auto clutch manual, and PDK is a performance automatic, so the two paddle shift cars have very different characters.

 

[Aurum]

The exhaust pressure sensor code (1311) may be related to the misfire pipes. They're about a 12 or so inch smaller diameter pipe that comes off the cat and feeds into a sensor between the two cats. Typically, the pipes over time become clogged and need to be cleared out. It could also be the pressure sensor itself. The pipes are a couple hundred bucks and the sensor is a 1k+ part if I remember correctly. Neither effect the performance of the car, but will throw a code.

I have an 05 manual and there is no shudder/slipping? in releasing the clutch at all. It is fluid all the way through. Did you try starting the car in a higher gear and see if its worse?

 

[Tomasini]

Thanks for the interest and the replies.

Well, as for the e-gear vs manual debate, I suppose there is soft shifting and soft shifting. For me it's all about being able to perform a perfect double-declutch, as it allows enjoying the engine sound while slowing down along with putting the least strain on synchro rings. It was the first time I drove a car with the classic Italian grill and I have found double-declutching very straigthforward and enjoyable. And by double-declutching I do not mean just blipping the throttle whilst downchanging from one gear to another, but actually revving the engine exactly while the trans is in neutral, which can sometimes involve 2 blips on the throttle, the first one when putting the trans in neutral and the second one whilst the trans is in neutral, the first blip allowing to minimise the gap in engine speed and/or the need to blip the throttle "hard" the second time. I suppose the oldest folks will remember this was often needed on older cars with particulary slow manual transmissions, and also on trucks. In fact this was needed on the car I drove and I did it pretty much naturally, but even if I could work my way easily around the slight and unexpected reluctance of the transmission I can't help thinking this was not normal on such a modern car.

Good info on the pressure sensor, thanks. I worked my way to it whilst browsing the parts diagrams. If anything this error code confirms my impression that the OEM cats should be deleted asap on pre LP cars. I did not try to start the car in a higher gear yet I did stall the engine whilst trying to move off a red light, as I was really babying the clutch in the knowledge it was a known weak point on these cars. Perhaps this means there is still some reasonably good life in it after all?

In any case I haven't stopped thinking about this car, it is in a spec that really suits me and they are as rare as hen's teeth in my neck of the woods. Perhaps I am overly concerned about that 3 year old picture showing the car in an unflattering position, as the feeling I got behind the wheel was pretty good. Shouldn't this prevail over many other considerations?

 

[Aurum]

Its really not the cats thats the problem if its a clogged misfire tube. They're separate things. Even if you replace the cat you still need to have the misfire tube coming off the cat to go to the sensor....or you just live with the error code.

If the clutch has been replaced with the newer spec material it will last a very long time. You dont need to baby it. Drive it like it was meant to be driven. If its slipping you have a problem.

 

[Tomasini]

According to the service records, the clutch was replaced at ~8700 miles in late 2011. What was the current clutch revision back then?

 

[Aurum]

What was the current clutch revision back then?

Best thing to do would be to call the shop that did the work. They may be able to give you some helpful info on the car and what was put in.

Theres lots of past posts here about clutch work. It seems that 99% of pre-lp cars have had their clutches changed at this point. General consensus is if the clutch has been replaced with the newer spec material its a non issue. Before I bought my car I called and asked the shop that did mine about the clutch that they put in. When I asked the shop owner what does he think the life is like on the new clutch his response was, "Im not sure, I've never seen one come back"

 

[Tomasini]

Good info, thanks. The shop that replaced the clutch back then went out of business several years ago, but from what I have read on here it seems the latest clutch revision (F) was already current back in 2011.

Anyway, I was able to talk with the shop which did the last inspection exactly a year ago. They said it was a very clean car with zero issues, brought to them by a conscientious owner who had asked them to address a few cosmetic details. I suppose such a shop will always protect the interest of their customers in one way or another, but that's a shop with a good reputation and the shop owner seemed honest and straight, FWIW.

In any case the machinist/friend whom I usually entrust for major machining work on my engines pointed me to a super pointy friend of him with several Gallardo engine rebuilds under his belt, and the seller agreed to bring the car to him for a full PPI. This will include a compression test and checking cylinder bores with an endoscope, a must for pre LP cars still running on their original cats. Let's see what comes out of this.