When did they change from bronze to steel valve guides on a 355?

Does anyone know what VIN that associates with?

Thanks-
Andrew

 

Your engine number is stamped to the right of the oil filter. Engine 48000 is the last of the old ones; 48001 is the first of the new ones.

(If my sheets are correct)

 

How common a problem is this??? Do many have actual problems??

 

Check out some of these past threads:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100548&highlight=355+valve
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70264&highlight=355+valve
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53009&highlight=355+valve
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38548&highlight=355+valve

 

Some with the bronze guides never show issues (my '98 355 with bronze guides has 28,000 miles and so far so good). It's like russian roulette. The issue may manifest itself while you own the car or not. I know you just bought your 355 and are probably wondering how lucky you will be. I would not lose sleep over it, at least I haven't.

 

I spoke with a mechanic at a Ferrari dealer who said he replaced the valve guides on a '99 model. This blew me away, I thought this was not an issue with ALL 1999 models. This whole issue is mind boggling!

 

Thank you for this information. I've heard so many things...while I know your sheets may not be perfect, but at least this information is coming from someone who has over 4,000 posts and great ferrari knowledge

-Andrew

 

That one would be too early to have the sintered steel guides...as others have mentioned, it is a crap shoot. I bought a 1997 355 spider with 27k miles and terrific compression/leakdown numbers...car has 42k miles and still runs great, with a recent minor service. But who is to say if I may eventually have a problem? Some cars have valve guide problems before 20k miles...and some may be misdiagnosed, as build up on the intake valves is a common problem on 355's and leads to low compression numbers. Running some Top Cleaner through the intake system will often clean that out, and bring the numbers back up.

I will mention that from talking to several mechanics before my purchase, it was noted that the 1995 and 1996 model years seem to have more problems than the later years...not sure why, maybe simply because they are older and have more miles? Bottom line, even the occaisional 98 or 99 that has the sintered valves can have a problem, though rare.

 

Ballpark, what does this cost to fix? I'm looking at a car that needs valves done and I'm trying to decide what that should do to value.

 

I was told by my local Ferrari dealer's maintenance manager (because I'm looking for a 355) to look for vin/serial #112525 or later. Supposedly many of the problems were fixed at that point.

Anyone know where I can find a nice, 6 speed, white spider after that number?

Thanks,

M.D. Moore

P.S. I think the 355 is the last really good looking Ferrari convertible.

 

Look, u should not be afraid of cars before that production number. 1st, many many cars do not and will not display problems related to the soft valve guides. It all depends on a number of factors, most particularly how the car was driven (not warming it up, red lininig it and no synthetic oil = bad). 2nd, many cars have already had that work done to the heads - steel replacing the bronze. The other notable issue is the exhaust headers which crack. This is a one time replacement and many cars again either have not had this problem or have had it repaired.

My take is that I prefer a car with the guides done. I will replace the headers anyway with performance ones, but if it has already been done, great.

It's up to u, but there are many nice cars out there model year 1995, 96 and 97.

Oh, and NICK, the cost can be huge; budget about $12-$15K and if it comies in less, buy some headers!

 

I don't know the exact correlation between VIN and engine number, but my sheets all reference Engine Number as the cutoff between old and new valve part numbers.
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I think from a dealer yes. From a good ind. about 1/2 that. Trust me, I know.

 

This is what I meant - a one time fix, not merely replacing the flawed part. Personally, I would go aftermarket in search of better flow/performance.

I will have to check on that because my best quote was $12K. I really don't want just anyone pulling the heads, disassembling them and then replacing the guides - although a mechanic will sent this out to the machine shop, I guess. That would be good news, however, and it ur are correct, relieves some of the worry about it. I should say that while I do not have a 355 (yet), I am shopping for one and am doing all the research I can on the 1995's.

 

Original poster:

You should match information about the car you are looking at to the reference numbers mentioned here in this thread, but from the knowledge I have gathered about this I can say that January 1998 production sounds too early.

They definitely switched over to the improved valve guides during the 1998 model production -- they did not begin with the improved guides at the beginning of the 1998 model year.

You may want to refer to information contained in the post below and to the information contained in the thread in which it was posted.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=134539482&postcount=20