it Melted!

WTF?
Came home from Danville d'elegance and parking the car in the garage I could smell burned plastic. Opened the engine compartment and my left bank air hose from the airbox had disappeared and the small regulator melted!
In addition, oil was dropping from the passenger side cylinder bank onto the exhaust manifold creating little smoke clouds and a puddle under the car. There was no indication that anything was wrong; no weird sounds, temp for oil and water ok and I only drove 60 miles.

Arrgghh! I just had the 30k service on my '92 348 done! What gives?
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wow, sorry to hear.
That sucks..

 

One or both of your 1-way check valves has failed on that side. Those two keep hot exhaust gasses from going from the exhaust back up into the air filter (melting the plastic extra air valve in the process)...or at least, that's what they do when they are working.

 

Addressed here:

http://74.86.28.138/~ferrari/forum/showthread.php?t=142985&highlight=147390

 

aha, that explains it.
However, they were all replaced at the major 350 miles ago... They shouldn't really fail that quickly.

Now I just have to trace back the oil leak.

Thanks for the info.

Kai

 

You can get a leak if your engine oil is overfilled, FYI. So first check to see if your air filter is covered in oil. Could be an easy explanation and fix for your leak if it is just from an overfill.

 

The parts that are melted on your car are the cut-off valves - THOSE may have been replaced recently, but the non-return valves (screwed onto the top of the injection pipes) do not appear to be new. If the non-return valves are defective, the exhaust will blow past them, up into the rubber hose, and damage the cut-off valves, just like your pictures are showing.

The non-return valves (148494) are metal, the cut-off valves (147390) are plastic.

 

Where do you guys get all this info from?????

Did you take your cars apart piece by piece or what????

Just fantastic and mostly astonishing.

Thank God you are there for us!!!!!!!!!

//B//

 

No kidding! The amount of available info here is pretty amazing.
BT

 

So, Ferraris will melt...

Sorry to hear about this. I hope you get her back on the road soon.

 

NoDoubt is secretively a 348 Transformer!!!

 

you are right, I checked. the metal valves were not replaced. Thanks so much for all the info.

I must say, the amount of stuff that has "just failed" is considerable. This is not the first 15 year old car I have owned but it does make me wonder. Here is my "latest" list of items not working:

- Passenger door lock not working
- Passenger window switch only works down, not up
- Passenger cylinder bank dropping oil on the exhaust manifold
- Coolant coming out of the overflow when driving even though brand new reservoir cap
- instrument panel lights not working
- slow down lights not working (I guess the bulbs are missing, b/c not lighting up when ignition on)
- Driver side front brake fluid on garage floor (just noticed it)
- Driver side exhaust valve melting stuff.

And all this is after I have already dumped a decent amount into the car with 30k service, tires, pads, shift boot, water pump, x-ost, hyperflows, 25mm spacers, emergency break, etc, etc.

I know people said it would be expensive but I can't drive 500 miles without something going kaputt.

If this doesn't improve I will dump this car and get a 2002 Maserati coupe.

 

The usual culprit will be broken wires in the circular black plastic Amp twist-off connector between the inside of the door and front fender.

Taken together, I'd suspect head gasket failure (but could be something simple instead). Check for oil on top of your coolant or milky white oil in your oil fill reservoir first.

Insure that your coolant system has been bled with the heater on high and that the coolant reservoir isn't filled over the halfway ledge (visible on the outside). Check your oil level with your engine hot (after cooling fans have kicked on) to insure that you aren't overfilled (also check that your air filter isn't covered in oil).

Overfilled coolant and oil would be much more prefered explanations for your leaks than head gasket failure.

Rotate your dimmer bar on your Tachometer. Check your instrument panel fuses.

Definitely get that issue sorted. Overheated cats can burn down your car (speaking of which, a cheap automatic engine bay fire extinguisher is always a good idea). Verify that your exhaust ecus are plugged in and that you have working SLOW DOWN bulbs behind your dash.

Have the brake lines professionally inspected.

Trivial. The exhaust check valve is generic. You can buy it NAPA for $7. It just screws on/off.

Well, yeah! Ferraris are like race cars. After each race you'll have some maintenance. Definitely not a "Honda-esque" drive carefree-never-think-about-it paradigm.

 

yeah, I guess not.

Actually, going through your list I feel better now. Analyzed your way, it's more or less "trivial".

Btw, no oil in coolant reservoir and oil level fine. BUT I haven't even turned the heater on since I got the car back from the 30k service.

Kai

 

? That's the dimmer? Doh, I did not know that. Went through the manual but couldn't find a reference. I always wondered what the purpose of that button was on the tach.
Thanks!!

Kai

 

Ha! LOL!

See, trivial!

 

i know the feeling m8, i had enough of repairing and replacing parts every couple of hundred miles, so i went to the dark side and traded the 355 in for a porsche cayenne, been driving it for the last 6 months and not spent a penny on maintenance, it is sad that i had to let my dream car go but i just got so annoyed at the fragility of the car and the amount of money thrown at it that something had to be done, hope you have better luck than i did.............

 

Take a breath Kai, it's no big deal. We're here for you (the Brotherhood). Remember that one of the reasons you opted for a 348 is that it is the last Ferrari that you can truly work on yourself. The knowledge base here is huge. You will get through whatever breaks and feel all the better for having done it yourself. Every time this happens to me, I get a bit depressed too, but then I find some help or advice, fix the issue and am ready to roll. Plus the more of the mystery of the car is revealed, so the next problem is not so bad cuz I know I'll get through it eventually.

If you go back to a Maser, well, you might as well sell your soul to the devil. Oh wait, you would have already done that.

 

To be quite honest, I would do what you are thinking if I had that many problems with A car, regardless of the make.


In case I missed it, who did the major?

 

According to the Maintenance and Lubrication Chart in the Owners Handbook, there is no scheduled replacement for this part (the non-return valve). It says "Air Injection System: Valves, lines, and connections" have an INSPECTION due at 52,500 miles. So what are you supposed to do? I suppose if you pull the rubber hose off the top of the valve, start the engine, and see if you can feel exhaust pulses coming up past the valve, then you know you should replace it. Or, you could replace them as preventive maintenance. Or, you could wait until the hose melts. Or, you could pull the non-return valve off the engine and cap the threads (Warning: Ferrari Chat does not endorse removal of pollution control equipment). It's something to consider.

 

The major was performed by Silicon Valley Auto Group in Los Gatos, CA. $19k

 

That stinks. Nothing about a 30K service should cost even half that price.

 

Wow, the $13K I paid for the major service on my 355 last year doesn't seem so bad now... No wait, on second thought, $13K is still pretty bad! I'm sure it could have been a lot less if I had properly done my homework when deciding where to take her.

 

Damn, you people have more money than....I aint sayin. But $19K and the brakes leak? Bring the car back man.

Many of the problems car "owners" have are many times related to the owners lack of mechanical knowledge. Many are afraid to do anything, because our retarded education system came up with the word "aptitude" and if ya aint got it, your supposedly F'ed. But I didnt use that word, I said "knowledge". People would argue, but I would consider there is nothing that difficult about servicing a 348. Okay, motor out. Nothing a 15 year old yanking motors out of Hondas shouldnt be able to tackle. Degreeing cams? get the right tools and read, its NOT rocket science. Actually its all common sense.

The only times I have generally seen air valves catch fire and burn off hoses is when the air pump, or air supply has been cut off. A 30K mile service is an extensive amount of work. And if a guy isnt totally concientious, things can get put back together incorrectly. Brakes are nothing to chance. A leak should be inspected ASAP. My God, if I ever in my wildest dreams charged someone $19K for a 30K service, I sure as hell hope they call me back if there is a problem. They give it a valve job or a transmission overhaul while they had it???

 

Let's be fair here, he didn't say the SERVICE was 19K, he said the BILL was 19K. And I believe he mentioned new tires, new brakes, exhaust, spacers, etc. How much of that was on the same bill? What else?

As far as leaking brake fluid, isn't it possible that they just compressed the caliper pistons when installing the new pads, and let the fluid tank overflow instead of sucking out the excess fluid? Sloppy work, maybe. But not the same as sending out the car with a leak.

We don't know all the facts here, guys.