Mondial 8 backfires

Is it completely stock, or has most of the emission equipment been removed/disabled?

What version?

 

Rodney, did you have a documented PPI done? If you have no service records to base the mechanical condition off of, I highly recommend having it gone through before deciding on the full service. Backfiring may be a back pressure issue? You must be losing pressure somewhere.


Just had my 8 gone through, and this was what needs to be sorted this winter

"Work Performed - -Shifter seal leaks, -Engine wet (need to wash to find leaks), -Brake pads fine, -brake hoses dry, -air pump seal
leaking, -Accumulator may need replacing (hard starts), -Recommend replaciing cats with test pipes, -control arm bushings/shock
bushings dry rotted, -Axle boots dry rotted, -small seep from front crank seal, -engine lid shocks weak, -Intake boot to air box needs
replacing, -Rear upper cam seal not seated properly, -Coolant tank rusty inside, -Front hood shocks weak, -RECOMMEND a brake and
clutch fluid flush, -engine oil low, -Lower pulley seal leaks, -Water pump pulley missing a nut."


Just some food for thought basic maintenance wise. And my car had a $8K major in July 2010, it just never got driven since :/ they don't like to sit.

 

There are many independents that have good reputations. Check for one in your area and have them go over the car before you make any decisions....

 

Lots of things that could cause what you are noticing. On my 88, it was the ignition modules going bad. I dont think the 8 has that but you do have coils. You may want to verify which cylinder has spark or has a misfire and on which bank to help you narrow down your troubleshooting.

Birdmans explanation of backfire as follows:
When you shut the car off, the ignition stops but the engine continues to turn a revolution or two before it stops as well. Without the sparks plugs doing anything, one or two mixtures in the combustion chambers get pumped out into the hot exhaust manifold where it ignites. Because the backfire occurs so long after the car is shut down, there is no way that an additional spark is causing this, as has been suggested.

read more on this topic: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/technical-q-sponsored-algar-ferrari/58361-last-cause-308-backfiring.html

Best

 

if you don`t have any information when it was last done, change:

plugs
plug extenders
ignition wires


if that does not help, check:

distributor caps
distributor rotors
coil wires


report back

.

 

+1 -- CIS has some sins, but, on the plus side, it should start easily cold or warm (with no acc pedal intervention unless some very unusual circumstances) and run smoothly-sweetly with no rude noises ever. If someone tells you "they all do that" = wrong answer...

The reason that I asked about the emission equipment presence/absence is that a stock US version Mondial8 should probably be on fire if the CIS injection system has just been set overly-rich to make it run well. However, perhaps your cats (if physically still present) aren't doing much (or it isn't crazy rich), and "rough running" is maybe even a more serious need to investigate.

One thing you should do is read Section 3 on your exact year(s)-version-model Owner's Manual. It has some excellent figures and some decent text for seeing if all the emission equipment is present, or not -- and I'm not sensing a lot of confidence in your description of the emission equipment status (and the CIS-injected 1980-82 US version 2Vi are the most complicated stock emission-wise). Alternatively, if you can post a few close-ups of the engine bay, would be glad to check them over (and would actually enjoy seeing a truly still-complete example -- the vast majority aren't ).

 

Congrats on your Moni Rodney! They are fun Ferraris to drive! Why feel embarrased? You will have a lot of enjoyment in polishing it up and working on your engine

I guess I would start with what ME308 already mentioned, changing ignition wires, spark plugs, distributor rotors and perhaps extenders, distributor caps depending on their state.

I had some CIS issues, but it was most old rubber (vacum hoses, plenums etc.) and old injectors, which is a low cost change imo. Replacing these might already give improvement.

And Steve rock in CIS. He knows the system like all the fingers on his hand.

All the best
Tijn

 

In Europe the original color keeps the value higher, not sure how that is in the US, but I think more or less the same. Anyway you should do whatever you feel good with. If you like red better then who are we to say different