348 Gearbox Problems

Time to drain it and look for metal. Now.

 

Stop stop stop driving ASAP. Mine turned itself into a food processor last fall. Not cheap... and I have an "in" with the parts.

 

How many Km's on the odometer? Out of curiosity. thanks

 

Par for the course. Mine was 46k when it blew.

 

Co-incidentally I have a very similar problem and just thinking out loud, assuming that I 'might' have a perfect F355 6 Speed Gear box in the garage, would it be a relatively straight forward transplant? Or would it also require major modifications being done elsewhere.

Thanks SV.

 

It can be done. It has been done. It's not as simple as some fchatters might have you believe. Contact Paul Hill (Hill Engineering) directly for the details. Some one-off brackets and such are needed. The coachwork, rod assembly, lever, etc are also a bit expensive. In the end however, it sure beats the crap-box that Ferrari tossed onto our 348's.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/member.php?u=101

 

It would take less effort to rebuild the old 348 gearbox, typically. The 355's 6 speed tranny will work in a 348, but the alternator may have to move to the other side of the engine, and you have to install rods and a different gearshift-box mechanism (348's are cable-shifted, 355's are rod shifted).

 

And this whole time I thought 355 rods were behind the wheel...

 

Hmm, thanks guys. I think I'll have a chat will Paul Hill before I start getting excited. I suppose anything is possible, although I don't really want to have to start getting custom bits made otherwise it just makes future repairs/maintenance a pain in the ass.

 

Over the last 18 years, my 348 box has blown up 2X. The second time we rebuilt the box using stronger 355 components in place of the weaker 348 ones. I don't suspect that there will be any further implosions!

 

I've always wanted a 348 but your experience with the gearbox and bent valves really puts me off. And... you strike me as the kind of person that did his homework before buying the car you did, someone that doesn't skip maintenance and doesn't abuse their car.

 

Here's an interesting thread where Reinerkaiser drove his 348 until he heard the gear whine...stopped almost immediately...and was able to repair the transmission problem for a few hundred Dollars (?) as the damage was not significant apart from replacing two bearings and properly torquing/pinging/loctiting two locknuts (which seem to be the self-same root cause of the 348 gear boxes that do blow up): http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=136859703#post136859703

 

I think you have rods confused with nuts. Plenty of those behind the wheel too.

 

Kevin, with the greatest of respect, I implore you to TOW the car, do not drive it. The extra $500 (or whatever) flatbed bill is nothing compared to the damage which could occur if things really go "bump". Moreover, if the box is already cooked, a few extra hundred dollars (or thousand ZAR in your case) is a drop in the bucket. Please, my friend, don't drive it.

 

+1 Don't drive it, get it towed.

 

After looking at photos from Daniel's train wreck, I would say "Excellent Advice" ,,, you really should tow it...

Mike in Kuwait

 

Add one more to the list.... Do not drive the car. Do the right thing and have it towed.

 

Ouch!! You guys pay top dollar for Ferraris also!!!

 

Did the replacement parts go up since Ferrari UK now has controll?

 

What does it cost to ship a 348 to South Africa? Mine is for sale tomorrow at $115,000... LOL

 

Same here! You'd think the 348 would sell for more in the USA - especially the Spider (considering the production numbers).