Protecting 308 Cam Belts from road debris | FerrariChat
Buy

Protecting 308 Cam Belts from road debris

Discussion in '308/328' started by 44iou, Sep 27, 2009.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. 44iou

    44iou Rookie

    May 17, 2004
    12
    Billington, Clitheroe, Lancashire UK
    Full Name:
    Len Watson
    #1 44iou, Sep 27, 2009
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2009
    In the last 3 months I have had two cam belt failures on my 308GTB road/race car owing to debris thrown up from race tracks. The first caused the front bank timing to shift by 3 teeth which only required new valves as they were only slightly bent and the pistons just touched leaving a tiny mark. The rear belt shredded at about 7000rpm and has resulted in an engine rebuild to check con rods and big ends as well as replace the pistons, valves, guides etc. As a retired person I cannot afford this to happen again. Does anyone have any solution to the problem of stopping road debris entering the engine compartment but will still allow the free flow of air for cooling? I understand that sticky tyres add to the problem but racing without them is not really an option.
     
  2. BAturb

    BAturb Formula Junior

    Nov 14, 2007
    550
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Allan
    #2 BAturb, Sep 27, 2009
    same thing happened last week to a fellow driver, best bet is to make a set of fine mesh gaurds and bolt them to the cam belt covers using the existing bolt holes in said covers, fine mesh will allow air to circulate while keeping debris out
     
  3. ace_pilot

    ace_pilot Formula Junior

    Sep 6, 2007
    921
    Long Island, NY
    Full Name:
    George
    #3 ace_pilot, Sep 27, 2009
    Why do belts need to "breath"? Most modern day cars have their timing belts completely covered. I believe Verell makes covers for the belts.

    Ace
     
  4. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Feb 24, 2006
    15,811
    Cerritos, CA.
    Full Name:
    Mike
    #4 miketuason, Sep 27, 2009
    Maybe you can adopt the QV style which has the back plate that covers the belts that is attached to the Tbelt housing.
     
  5. kerrari

    kerrari Two Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 22, 2004
    24,033
    Coolum Beach AUSTRALIA
    Full Name:
    Karen H.
    #5 kerrari, Sep 27, 2009
    Mate, I'm gutted to hear this - I was hoping the news was going to be not-so-bad... Maybe someone over in the 'racing' section might have a solution? I'm sure a few folk are shivering as they read this.
     
  6. ME308

    ME308 Formula 3

    Nov 5, 2003
    1,550
    Munich, Germany
    Full Name:
    Michael
    #6 ME308, Sep 28, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    took the pragmatical approach

    when fabricating a cover for my stebro exhaust, I simply took the left overs of a 4-square feet mesh tin plate for protecting the engine from any debris entering from the ground

    might not look too beautiful but at least serves the purpose...
    especially since I´m driving more than 3000 miles a year, partly through the alps, sometimes over rough country roads, partly even gravel

    no problems so far with neither debris nor heat, nor air flow...
    .
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     

Share This Page