Cambelt article by Michael Sheehan

Here is that cambelt article by Michael Sheehan, it is 4-pages but still a quick read. Some may have already read or heard about this. Just a disclaimer by myself - I do not support no refute any of his opinions, I just simply posted it here for an alternative perspective and for your reading enjoyment

It is in a Microsoft Word file.
View attachment Serpentine Issue, Straight Answer.doc

 

Thanks for posting. I had heard of this article but never seen it. Good of you to take the time to make it available.

 

Very interesting, I had my first 30k service in January 2008 and my F355 Spider is a 1997. The cam belt looked perfect to me. The only thing that was wornout was the white color writing of the Ferrari part # everything else on the belt looked perfect.

My question is: how many here on Fchat or anywhere else with an F355 or 348 had their car ever broken a cam belt?

 

Interesting article. I think every 5 years is plenty, if you drive the car without running at the rev limit all the time I would think 7 years might be reasonable.
Thanks for posting this up!

BT

 

+1

I'd like to see Dave Helms or Rifledrivers perspective of the article.

 

Mike is an idiot.

Always has been

 

My pleasure guys!! anything for my Ferrari brothers....

 

Thanks Rifledriver....since I am a new owner, I do not know too much about him, I was given this article by a dealer when I was searching for my first Ferrari purchase. I wanted to reiterate that I do not support his claim to wait 7 years (or whatever he was trying to get across in this article).

 

My experience is by no means scientific but...

I bought a 1982 308 in approx. 2002, and the cam belt was 21 years old. I changed it.

I bought a 1990 348 TS in approx. 2004, and the cam belt was at least 14 years old. I changed it.

I bought a 1990 348 TS in 2006, and the cam belt was at least 17 years old. I changed it.


I think the recommendations by Ferrari are overkill to the max, but I could be wrong. I have no dog in the hunt any more because I'm not a Ferrari owner.

 

why do you feel this way about him?

 

Someone should contact the belt maker and ask them how long should a belt last? No one should know better than them.

I have seen many different time length but rarely mileage that goes with the time. Mileage should be as important

 

Article said Gates was interviewed and they said 9 years. But I went to high school with Gates and he's an idiot too.

 

I don't think there is a specific time on how long it will last - I think it depends on how the car is driven, high RPM revs etc...it is an inexaxt science, hence the "safe" 3-year belt service....

 

LOL!!

 

Yes, Gates says the belt will last 9 years. It seems that more often than the belt failing, it is a tensioner or a piece of the plastic cam belt cover breaking causing the failure.
But what do I know? Most people say I am an idiot...

BT

 

He makes good points (not the first time I have seen his opinion on the cam belt issue. A recent Prancing Horse had some similar comments). I think most people will agree that the cam belts on a regularly driven car changed at 5 years are going to look good, and a failure is more likely to come from tensioners than the belt itself.

It's always a gamble isn't it? So let's say you do yours every three years in a 355. At 5k per, that is 15k in 9 years. If you go the same nine years and they break, what's that going to cost? 15k? 20k? Not really that big a difference in price. And if they don't fail, you save a good $10,000.

It's a bit like buying an extended warranty. You pay up-front to avoid the risk of having to pay bigger down the road. And you hear all these stories about how great the warranty is and how much money it saved someone. But in the end, more money goes to the warranty company than goes to the service folks. It's nothing more than insurance.

Now if you buy a car from someone who has deferred the maintenance, that is a completely different story. They enjoyed the reduced maintenance costs, and you get left holding the bag.

 

It is actually $15,000 (or whatever the cost is per year) in six years because you are paying for the service ahead of the 3-years. For example, if I do mine today and then in 3-year intervals:

2009 - $5,000.00
2012 - $5,000.00
2015 - $5,000.00

But I do understand what you are saying

 

Article can also be found here.

http://ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=SCM_200702_SS

Just fyi, as some have stated before I also have no dog in this fight.

 

Owners have to judge their own level of risk. The risk is not just about the belt(s), though. For 348s, changing the cam belt also is an opportunity to check/replace belt and chain tensioners, check water pump and alternator condition, adjust valves, etc, etc. I plan to stick with the 4 to 5yr. plan on major services on my 348. YMMV.

 

NICE! 9 years, sign me up! Kidding of course...the devil is in the details. Is that 9 years a 50% failure rate? a 10% failure rate? a 1 per thousand failure rate? Makes a big difference, and the life comes down drastically if you want to keep the failure rate low assuming a normal distribution of failures.

I'm sticking with 5

 

+1

... and if you are buying a 10+ year old Ferrari you should be prepared to drop the lump every few years. People keep talking about just the timing belts - I always thought it was just hype, but there's so much more to be concerned about than just the t-belt on a Ferrari. I will stick to 3 years but only because I want to check on these other items. Belt change is just because you are already in there...

 

+1 !!!!!
A major includes ALOT more than just belt replacement.

Would it make anyone feel better if their belt was starting the fray and shred when it was replaced?

How many people go to the dentist for regular cleaning and check ups? Why not just wait until your teeth are rotten then get dentures?
1st year:check up and cleaning $150.00
2nd year:check up and cleaning $150.00
3rd year:check up and cleaning $150.00
etc.....

Hell, by the time your teeth fall out, you could've saved enough for 2 pairs of dentures!

 

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Not a fan of Sheehan generally, however, I still agree on his conclusion in this article as I did when I first read it. 5-9 years (I prefer the 5, use 9 if you're a gambler ) depending on storage, maintenance and use of the car. Less if you are trying to sell the car. Buyers want not to think about the belts and sellers shouldn't have to worry about price adjustments due to this deficiency.

 

Well said.