Don't mean to stir up the issue, but FWIW.... Just changed the belts and bearings on the 328. Last change was October of 03' and about 5k miles have passed since then. The old belts & bearings looked great. No cracks on the inside or outside. All the teeth are intact and it appears not too much play has occured torsionally over time. I haven't dissassembled the old bearings yet, but am curious as to how they look. I ran them by a few mechanic friends who agreed they were still in good shape. However, an ounce of prevention....
I just had my 'belts' done on my 328 5 years & 7,239 miles.... The belts were good but one bearing was sloppy...(best I can describe one side of the bearing fell apart/missing when I got the parts back...yes I ask for them back)... I plan on posting photos, but I have been busy w/work..oh yea I also had the front spoiler refreshed & have been working on that!... I will post photos in a day or 2
Valves were good...and just a slight adjustment on the timing. The bearings were in good shape, but the front bank bearing feels a little "thicker" than the rear bank. An interesting note...one of the new bearings, SKF, had not been fully pressed from the factory and had to take it to a machine shop and get it seated correctly.
Lack of mileage and age of belts can be a concern. A car with only 200 miles in 5 years the belts probably haven't moved much and they may become hard and deformed from non-usage. Personally, I'd put on new belts, but at the very least you should have a tech examine the belts very closely before driving the car. Best regards, Dino
Pliable things do take a "set" when they've haven't been moved in a while...this is assuming the engine hasn't been started allowed to idle on a frequent schedule. My vehicle is either driven or run (during inclement weather) weekly. I'll post the pics this evening....
as promised I will try to post my photos Photo # 1 tensioner bearings..bad one on the left Photo #2 belts..some glazing on the outside of them, but both had 'wear areas'- (the factrory script was worn) photo# 3 close up of belts to show glazing photo #4 inside of belts (not really worn) photo # 5 close up of 'bad' bearing photo #6 close up of inside of belt photo #7 Mic on inside of belt to show depth (FWIW) Also valves were adjusted in '03 (7239 miles ago) and from previous threads this seems to be more of a mileage & use issue as opposed to yrs.. so I opted not to have them 'adjusted' Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I would be worried about the gaskets,never getting oil up in the heads to keep things from drying out,these cars are meant to drive,in the long run someone is going to put more money or replace things because its going to have oil leaks,buts thats my two cents,sorry
Car is started and run to warm just about every month. Only a few miles put on each time. I don't think the belts are getting any set to them.
Hi Glassman, I've heard its not really a good idea to just start the car and run it for very short periods or letting it warm up in the garage. The engine won't get hot enough to burn off moisture in the engine and exhaust, etc. But talk to your tech about this. Best regards, Dino
So would it be better to just let the car sit for five years? I don't think so. If the car is warmed up to operating temperature, and driven a bit I have to think its a better option than just letting it sit. I have a friend that just sold a 1964 330GT with 3100 miles on it. Started and let run four times a year since new. Driven only about 70 miles a year. The car is perfect and has no leaks on all original seals.
Hi Glassman, Both the dealer and the techs that have worked on my 328 said do not start the car and let it run in the during the winter if you are not actually going to drive it, stating the engine does not get hot enough from idling to burn off the moisture. Maybe the seals in your car are perfect, maybe not. But its possible that the moisture not being burnt off may be causing other damage to your engine and/or the exhaust system. You may want to do a search on this topic as it has been covered before. But its your car, so do whatever seems to work best for you. Best regards, Dino
and dont forget .....stay out of the sun....sleep exactly 8 hours a night....no processed food....only a glass of wine otherwise no other alcohol....limit your calorie intake....exercise....and you will live forever. Do you guys really think you can win these timing belt arguments? If you drive the car .....they can fail. If you let it sit....no failure. The truth and happiness is somewhere in between. My favorite post ever is the guy that finally had a timing belt failure. Changed everything..and they failed after 150 miles. The result was a random coin that got kicked in there.
Awfully snarky, aren't we? There is no argument...it's what matters to each owner that allows them to drive their cars w/o worry. Parts cost what....$250?? That's a small price to pay for piece of mind. Any yes, anything can happen...but how would you feel if you decided to put off the belt change for just a bit longer, and volia an interference engine realizes it's worst nightmare. I'd be sick to my stomach....it's not worth the small expense. Mike, My old parts looked very similar to yours...I left my camera at work, but will get the pics posted next week.
I find it interesting that yet again the focus is on the belt. Look at the tensioner bearing that is throwing its grease out....when that grease is gone, its seriously at risk of failure. Guess what happens when that bearing fails? So goes the motor. I'm putting my car back together from a belt job/valve adjustment and my front tensioner was throwing out its grease as well. One side of the bearing had very little lubrication on it. $150 in parts is a small price to pay for some assurance periodically... JIM
Hi guys: I though I'd drop-in from the F355 forum. God, I really miss my 308s and 328 sometimes! With my F355 cam timing belt changes require an engine out service and many other things require at least an SD2. $$$$!!! I used to perform most of my own work on my 308's and 328 (belt changes, value adjustment, etc.). I tended to be a bit of an "anal retentive" when it came to maintenance and I would change all my belts, belt tensioner bearing (using Hill Engineering parts), the springs inside the bearing mounts which supply the actual tension to the bearings, and check my value clearance every two (2) years. Yeah, I know it was probably over-kill but I gave me a chance to check eveything out and, I have to admit, it gave me a real sense of satisfaction knowing that everything was O.K. and done right! I was so anal I used to coat the tensioner springs with Redline Assembly Lube prior to installation to make sure there wouldn't be any binding of the spring on the inside the bearing mounts. As far as starting during storage, when I lived in the Northeast and had to store my Ferrari(s) during the winter months, I would change my engine/transaxle oil and brake fluid before I put them away. I would start the cars at least once a week and let them get up to operating temperature. Of course, I kept "smart" charger on the batteries. Once the winter was over, I would change ALL the fluids and have at it! I know, again, it was probably over-kill, but the thought of spending $15-20K on an engine rebuild did not set well with me. As was stated in earlier posts - IT'S CHEAP INSURANCE!! Just my opinion and I am certainly NOT an expert!!! Enjoy your cars and be thankful that you can do so much maintenance work on them yourselves!
I have to wonder about the argument regarding letting the engine idle occasionally rather than driving it to remove moisture. If you cannot drive it and enjoy it, I vote for letting it idle as opposed to just letting it sit. One of the primary products of combustion is water vapor. It will remain in your exhaust and crankcase whether you drive the car or let it sit with the engine running. When you shut the engine off, the exhaust gases stop flowing and what exhaust is in the pipes and headers contains water vapor no matter how hot the engine got; and there it sits, cooling, and condensing. As for the water in your oil from blow by, the vapor will condense to liquid. As water is more dense than water and the two do not mix, the condensed water vapor will sit in small droplets in the bottom of your sump, below the oil pump pickup. When the engine is restarted and run with oil temperature getting above the boiling point of water (probably less because there is a slight vacuum in crankcase), the water vaporizes, gets separated, is drawn into the combustion chamber, and discharged through the exhaust thus removing it from the crankcase. Starting it and letting it sit there idling will raise the water content in the oil sump unless the oil gets sufficiently hot, but I suspect it is better than not running the engine at all. There is always some water in your crankcase. Regarding how much water in the bottom of your sump it would take to get sucked up by the pump cannot be answered without CFD. However, I suspect it would have to be significant, more than what would accumulate starting the car once a week over a winter. If you get really worried about this, drain off a few quarts of oil from the bottom of the pan (drain plug). Any water would be drawn out because it is in the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, then carefully pour it out to see what is left in the bottom of the container. I never have found any droplets.
Good observation.....after looking again, my front bank bearing had thrown quite a bit of grease out and appears as if there was more friction between the outer race and the belt. It also feels like it has more resistance than the rear bank bearing.
Intersting post. I also wonder why no one seems concerned about cars sitting at a dealers showroom for long periods of time. It doesn't seem like anybody is worried about belts getting a "set" to them there, or moisture getting into the oil etc. I remember many years ago a significant Ferrari sitting in the same spot at Fantacy Junction for what seemed like two years. It didn't appear to ever be moved until one day it was gone. I had an old Jaguar sit for 8 years without being started. I gave the old battery some juice and fired it up. I have been using it as a daily driver for the last month. I probably better change the oil one of these day's.
