How many 355s on here have had valve jobs?

I am interested to know how many current or ex 355 owners on THIS forum have had valve jobs on there 355s. Either done by them selfs or documented in there paper work.There are alot of 355 owners on here so this may give a good idea as to the %. It will give us some idea as to how much of a problem this is...or not.
Please dont vote if you have only heard about a valve job that your mates, mates uncle once had Just the facts about your OWN car. Ferrari Tecs should also vote, but please keep it real dudes and dont exagerate becourse you may dis-like the model
I will start the ball rolling by saying that my 1995 46K mile spider never has had its valves done.

MB: And yes i know that there may be discusion about manifolds, but this poll is all about the valve jobs dudes
Also i have been informed that a poll of this type has been done before, but i cant recall one in resent times. And that may be very well, but this poll is a CURRENT view of the picture.

 

just for your info , chaz.

http://www.thebestemployee.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38548&highlight=valve+guide+poll

 

my 98 F1 355 is used everyday, now on 59,250 miles and never had any problem, just regular servicing.

 

Thanks for that Tony. Its a two year old poll so now its time for a current one.

 

with due respect Chaa , its not only the valve guides issue that worries
would be 355 buyers.

cheers.

 

But its the question i am asking on THIS poll. If anyone wants to do another poll about other problems they can. But no matter what question one puts on a poll some one always uses the "due respect" line. The reason i am doing this is to show that the valve guide problem may not be as bad as people make out.
And i would say one of the questions of 355 buyers is can i afford to have one. Apart from that its what they hear about valves and manifolds. These are the top questions.

 

What happens to the valves?

 

It will interesting to see how this latest poll compares to the earlier one.

 

some early 355s had bronze valve guides which didn't seat well causing premature engine wear . Ferrari replaced the bronze with sintered steel guides later on in model's life- 1998

 

"Starting from assembly #27689 all 355 Engines are equipped from the factory with new Valve guides, which are manufactured with Sintered Steel instead of Bronze.
New updated part numbers are:
Intake Guide #176437
Exhaust Guide #176438
Note: will need new style Guide Installer.
The assembly number is located in the engine compartment/Plate and I have seen some very early 98's with lower numbers.
"

 

I don't think we'll ever know the exact story on valve guide failures, driving habits could have an effect as well, perhaps on the 5 valve heads if you baby the car carbon will build up on the valves casing them not to seat properly then this causes the valve to over heat and rapidly wear the guides, babying the car could also cause plug fouling and carbon build up as well.

BTW this poll should have shown the contributors user name to keep things accurate for actual 355 owners posting

 

I think the virtues of the 355 far out weigh the issues.

 

My 95 F355 Berlinetta had them done around 8,500 miles. I have had other issues taken care of, more neglect from the previous owner and an overzealous stereo intaller tham mechanical issues. I know the cats will go and hyperflow will replace them, if the headers go, then I will have Tubi headers to match my Tubi exhaust. The car is the most fun car I have driven and is very tight. I have around 11,000 miles on my car.

 

Late '97 355 spider. Valve guides went pretty spectacularly. New guides, 1 cylinder liner, set piston rings etc etc huge bill

 

Problems with valves seem to occur more often to USA-engines. :-(
I know a bunch of 355 cars here in germany and around, but never heard about valve issues at all (but all kind of other pain. ).
I only read about it on FChat which is North Amerika dominated.
Perhaps the EU-cars were fitted with steel guides from the beginning?
Bueller?

cinque

 

Hey Chaa, the Results will be Skewed. Why, because the "SAME" 355 may have Multiple Yes or No Votes. Unless everyone Posts the VIN, it can't be Accurate or even Close.A No Vote from me @ 20K+ Miles (Fingers Crossed)

 

Hey Jason,is your Production Number (not VIN) Higher than # 27689 ?
You may have the Steel Guides from the Factory.

 

I bought my car in Germany, it is a late 98 and it has the steel guides so I am not to worried. What are the main problem you see on German cars? Any chance it is related with high speed driving an autobahn?

 

Bingo! High speed kills the ceramic cats. Your late 1998 should already got the steel cats.
And it's not a good idea to run at high speed without giving the manifolds some time to cool down after. They can melt way too early.
So these are our most expansive issues, I guess.
Other issues like stone chips are very common here. Not only on our 355s.

good luck with yours!

cinque