Hi guys, I bought my 328 last year, and my car's got a lot to work on! Do you have any recommendations on a book to refer to when I work on my car? I'm looking for something like a Haynes manual. Sorry if this topic has been discussed before.
The 328 workshop manual is available for download in various places online, as well as on a CD through eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/FERRARI-308-QUATTROVALVOLE-328-GTB-GTS-WORKSHOP-MANUAL-/322327042499?hash=item4b0c3059c3:g:lIMAAOSwMmBVhWVR http://www.ebay.com/itm/MANUALE-OFFICINA-FERRARI-308-QUATTROVALVOLE-328-GTS-GTB-WORKSHOP-MANUAL-CD-DVD-/162190407927?hash=item25c34d38f7:g:dosAAOSwi0RXyu6U
The document called workshop manual was not really what it is called. It was more of a specifications manual showing the differences between the 308 and the 328. The best manual available is the Mondial/Mondial QV manual but that really only covers drivetrain because everything else is different. There is no comprehensive single book nor is there really a combination of books from Ferrari to cover it well. We complained for a long time and all we got out of it was the one book, the workshop manual and it was produced in the USA because Ferrari in Italy really didn't care and about a year and a half after we had the cars we finally got the electrical manual too.
Third party manuals such as the Haynes or the fantastic Bentley manuals (for BMW) don't exist for the 3x8 Ferraris. The "Parts Catalog" is a great resource, but only contains exploded views of the systems constituting the cars; no troubleshooting help. All ya got is us for troubleshooting.
Basically correct. But the Mondial/Mondial QV and 308qv/328 books complement each other. The Mondial book has all chapters, but some only valid for the Mondial. The 308/328 book has all the chapters, where things are different, but lack all other chapters, which are identical on the Mondial. To make a long story short. They belong together and you need both. Best Regards Martin
Are you sure you need it ? I think there are already lot of topics open and experienced members ( not me ! ) that can help you here.
Yes Brian, but there is some owners/mechanics with expérience on this chat. No ? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif
I always read the owners manual first before I do a procedure. Sometimes there is a good bit of info. to be reminded of. Beyond that you have the amalgam of manuals for the various cars, but none are like a Haynes. But I check the relevant sections, some parts are better than others for details. Then I look at eg. the Ricambi parts site, and check the exploded diagrams, so you know what the overall layout of what you working on is all about (and you usually need to order some bits as well). And lastly, you search on this site. Somewhere buried in all these threads pretty much everything has been dealt with by someone. And when you are just confused anyway despite all this pre-work, when I post with an issue I am getting help often within minutes, and definitely overnight, including some generous F Car mechanics who appear to have seen it all. Not as simple as the Haynes manual, but owning a Ferrari does seem to bring out the resourcefulness of us all!
Far more bad than good. The manuals are a vastly better source. Put this way. I know a lot of people who know Ferrari's. I know no one who comes here for technical information.
That is no doubt true, but for those of us without factory training, this forum is one of our better resources. The techs on this forum are helpful to greater and lesser degrees. Some can provide extensive help; others can only tell us we are wrong without explanation.
Ha! There certainly is a "changing of the gaurd" going on. When I first started looking for authoritative help with the 308 I felt alarmed and discouraged. I feel more optimistic now because I see that a lot of knowlege is evergreen; smart people can figure stuff out on their own and help others. It is just harder to find in this open postmodern venue. Having said that, I sure wish you could finish your book on 328 repair. (To me the Bentley Publishers book "BMW 3 Series Service Manual 1984-1990" is the gold standard of service manuals.)
Thanks for the reply to all of you guys! I've collected most of the documents available on the internet and I appreciate all the great material shared in this forum and the private web sites, but I feel that I need a guide book to start with as I am not well experienced in mechanics... Seems like relying on other members is the solution to getting through. Though I really wonder why there isn't such a book in existence. Maybe not too many owners try to work on their Ferrari.
It's understandable and legitimate, that techs who are in the business are not very interested in spreading knowledge all over the interweb. I learned a lot here and gained a lot encouragement to tackle jobs I would have never dared to think about doing it myself in the very beginnings of my 308 ownership 20 years ago. So it's a great site here. O.k., I have a german equivalent of. M.Sc. in mechanical engineering and can somehow select, what may be nonsense and what's not. And I agree with Ferraridoc. The technical things and working on the car is half of the fun. But having the basic factory documents like WSM or parts books is mandatory. We have a saying here in Germany for It says 'first think, then work'. Of course the massive informations on the internet can also lead to the infamous 'advanced home mechanic syndrome'. Best Regards from Germany Martin
Maybe it was mentioned but I didn't see it - there is also the GT4 manual. I came here from the Alfa world so I am used to this lack of coherent documentation and even from a time before the internet. Nowadays you've got pretty much everything that has ever been printed, all the resources of the clubs plus the enormous amount of multimedia data that has been put on the internet. I agree with Rifeldriver that much of it may be wrong but it is all under peer review and if you follow the thread through it all gets washed out. My experience as a new 308 owner is that there is a long, long trail of guys who have already been down this path that I'm on and if you are mechanically adept you can find your way through. You can find the answer to pretty much anything but it still requires the effort to vet whatever it is that Google has provided you. Just be diligent, imagine trying to diagnose a problem with an Alfa Romeo Spica injection system in 1974 with no documentation and no internet. Somehow we did it with corded telephones and typewriters.
Pick the most correct answer. For working on my '81 NA GTSi, I use: a) The GT4 Workshop Manual, b) The Mondi 8/QV Workshop Manual, c) The '81 Parts Catalogue, d) PM questions to my fav Pro Gurus, e) All the above. I'll give you 5 guesses and the first 4 don't count.
Thank you all for more replies. I haven't collected much of GT4 related documents, so I'll look in to those too. I really like Martin's German saying "first think, then work". As I lack mechanical experience, I was a bit worried, that I may ruin my car or start asking dummy questions here without referring to a manual. I'm now a little bit relieved even without a manual as you all seem so much willing to help and knowing there's so much materials I can refer to. Thanks again to every one.
When I saw the title of the thread, "Looking for a good workshop manual," I immediately thought, "You and everyone else, pal." Like everyone else I have a binder of workshop manuals and parts diagrams for all of the various flavored 308/Mondial models and hunt for what I need.
