All fuel rails on all 355 will be changed for free by Ferrari.

1st Ive ever heard of it? These cars are many many years out of warranty. Why would they replace the fuel hose/rails now? I know fuel hose perishes and can split causing fires. But what about the rails?? Can you be a little more specific mate? Do you know anymore about this, than what you have already posted?

 

here's a list of all UK 355 recalls . Fuel lines shd've been done years ago

http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/recalls/recalls.jsp?modelID=B2&modelName=355&makeName=Ferrari&makeId=B2

 

Fchatter "Bertocchi" may have something to add about this. He has a very interesting take on the 355 fuel rails and their contribution to the header issues.

Birdman

 

Yes, more info!!

 

Here is one of the recall notices:
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Is this recall good in the USA?

 

Yes but it is ten or so years old. A phone call to the local dealer will tell you if any recalls are outstanding. Its done every time a car goes to the dealer. I do it for every new client.


It's really old news.

 

How can I tell if mine have been changed? I don't see it listed on any of my service reciepts. Do you recall what the concern was?

 

So it seems the late '98's and '99's were fitted with steel nuts that won't crack? If so, another reason I'm glad I went with a '99!

 

Maybe for some.....good news nevertheless!

 

I once did a long disortation on this subject but can not find the thread.

Basically Ferrari had a good system with the 348 fuel rails. I can only imagine in an effort to cut costs they changed the fuel rails so that the feed and return are both on the same end. They also did away with a fairly good fuel pressure regulator and used a cheapy ten cent regulator.
The new design is such that it starves certain cylinders and high rpms. When these cylinders go lean they get very hot. A cylinder at stoke runs about 1250 degrees F. When they go lean they surpass the critical point for the header material and melt. Replacing the headers is not the cure.
I have been trying to convince people of this for ten years. The bore centers for a 328, 348, 355, and 360 are the same. Therefore headers from all the cars are interchangable and made by the same company. Why don't the others have the same problem?
I think I convinced Birdman? He can supply you with all the pieces needed to rectify this problem.
355 owners unite! This is also an EPA issue. Lean burn produces other unwanted gases that are regulated by the EPA. US law requies a ten year one hundred thousand mile warranty on all emmision related devices. You guys with 95 & 96 cars may be out of luck unless you call the fuse box man soon!!! 97 and newer have ligitamit(?) claims for updated systems.
I do wonder how updated these pieces really are? Could be another jerk job!

David, aka "Bertocchi"

 

So the fix is......?

1. more volumous fuel rails?
2. better/single fuel pressure regulator?
3. adjustable fuel pressure regulator?


where can birdman be found?

 

David, you are setting me up for failure here!!!

Let me tell you guys something about Bertocci. We are very lucky to have him around our neck of the woods. David has been a Ferrari tech for a LONG time and has restored and rebuilt more classic Ferraris than anyone I know of. We were sitting watching Ferrari Victory by Design the other day, and David knew most of the cars in the show personally--he worked on most of them. He is currently restoring a rare 212 that is worth over a million dollars. Man, does this guy have some fascinating stories about working on old and famous Ferraris.

Over lunch a few weeks back, he explained the issue with the 355 headers. He is fairly certain that the middle cylinders in each bank are starved for fuel at high RPM due to a poor fuel rail design. So at high RPM, those cylinders run lean, get very hot, and melt the headers. Take note of WHICH headers melt. (The middle ones, i.e. typically #2, #3, #6, #7).

Why do you not see this at the tailpipe? The O2 sensors for each bank measure the mixture after all the cylinders are gathered together. The ECU keeps the total mixture averaged among all 4 cylinders right. So if 2 and 3 are running lean, 1 and 4 get overcompensated so the whole shebang ends up "right" at the sensor.

Anyway, he has a design for a better fuel rail that would not be very expensive to produce and sell. He feels it will completely cure the 355 header problem. I have not seen the design, nor do I know SQUAT about it, unfortunately.

I encouraged David to pursue the design, sell it, make some money, and be a hero to the 355 community. He is too busy, and afraid about liability, not to mention needs a 355 to prototype it. He suggested I work on the product. (See above hints!) But I have no qualifications! I know NOTHING about fuel rails, and I have no 355! So it won't be me developing it! I'll stick to fuseblocks for lowly 308s. Electrons I understand.

But I really think he is onto something. You guys should talk to him more about this.

Best,
Birdman

 

Liability?? If it works, what is the problem? There are lots of custom rail makers out there. Most are generally aluminum extrusions capped on the ends with the injector spacing, to & fro lines machined in. For the most part it is a pretty inocuous design. But that does not answer the problem or fix that you guys are pondering...... More info please

 

Very interesting info...all makes sense to me. Now to prove that this really is the problem, could we just measure wall temps on the headers for each cylinder? I would think if there was a significant difference in temp we'd be able to measure it like this without drilling holes in the headers for EGT's. Just need a setup to measure and record 4 (one side) simultaneously.

It still seems like this is stuff (like the valve guides, wearing tensioners, etc.) that Ferrari would've found during engine development.

 

Well here is an easy way to check the alledged center cylinder temps. The stock headers already have a fitting to access the exhaust tubes independantly. So now one can machine a fitting to plug in one outer and one inner cylinder. Put the car on a dyno and put temp probes on the cylinders in question.

Here is an inexpensive dual temp probe reader that can be used:

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+115+301211&D=301211

So what do you guys think??

 

Birdman is very humble but has a personality more suited for a salesman than I.
What I would like to do is put a 355 on a rolling road dyno with O2 sensors in each manifold outlet. The factory built headers already have bungs welded into each cylinder outler. Good O2 sensors are about $200 each = $1600 + dyno time.
Switch fuel rails and run it again. I suspect you will see better air/fuel ratios that are more evenly distributed. My friend at Metalcraft Industries builds these for me. We have used them on race cars with great success. I built a 355 that destroys 360s and F40s on the track!
Everything is made from Stainless Steel and welded to Military spec. If only we could get Birdman to be our marketing director?

David

 

The stock exhaust manifolds have CO test ports for each individual cylinder. It would be possible to put the car on a rolling dyno, and test this hypothesis.

 

Temp probes would be easier and cheaper..... Just to get the theory on track.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+115+301211&D=301211

 

Or we could put the car on the dyno, preferably one that has aftermarket exhaust so that the headers are exposed and use a laser temp reader. Read each cylinder at different rpms and see if a pattern appears as it approaches redline. I'm betting that we would see a pattern even before redline. As a side note if the fuel rail is an issue could'nt we just put in an aftermarket fuel pump to boost the psi to satisfy any starvation issues?