355 unwilling to rev out | FerrariChat

355 unwilling to rev out

Discussion in '348/355' started by MarkCollins, Oct 15, 2009.

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

  1. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins
    My '97 355 F1 does not seem keen to use the full rev range, pushing past £7k it feels strangled as if somethings holding it back, it will get there but slowly. It's been like this since I bought it in May, since when I've done around 5k miles

    It's recently had a 6k service with new filter's, plugs etc and had the belts done in April, it seemed to have slightly better throttle response and slightly better performance after the 6k service but still this unwillingness to rev out


    Where would you start looking? injectors, cam timing, catalysts?

    Many thanks for any pointers
     
  2. mad dog

    mad dog Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2006
    875
    suffolk uk
    Full Name:
    andrew
    When i bought mine i had several ecu problems. first one was cutting out 1 bank all over. i bought another second hand and that had a 7k rev limit on it. dont know why, seller couldn't help, sent it away to be remapped, came back the same. sounds like your problem.
    i tried a friends which worked but had intermittent slow down lights come on, eventually bought another unit that worked perfectly.

    i believe them to be a little delicate with an ability to show all sorts of problems!
     
  3. cinquevalvole

    cinquevalvole Formula 3

    Feb 6, 2004
    1,161
    Germany, Bayern
    Mark, make sure to run on metal cat inserts in he big shells.
    Also I've seen melted metal cats in the Y clogging the way on one side.
    I know the factory omitted these little converters since 1998/1999.

    Another car had bad performance on the dyno because the mechanic didn't see one cam out of adjustment while doing the engine out service.
    She lost 30 hp because of this mistake. Proper adjustment in another shop fixed the issue later.

    Injectors: Dirty fuel can foul some of these.
    Some companys offer to clean them by ultrasonic bath.

    Other known part for responsible for kind of weakness over time: air mass unit.
    In your 5.2. it's just one, so you're lucky. ;)
    Although some people say you can clean it using carburator cleaner spray, other mechanics say these parts are to replace from time to time.
    You can recover them only for a short period of time.
    (lambda sensors, we know, need to be replaced at 80.000 km)

    First I would read out the motronic to see all components & sensors o.k.

    cheers,

    cinque
     
  4. Jelly Spanners

    Jelly Spanners Karting

    Jul 19, 2009
    77
    South West UK
    Full Name:
    Jeremy
    Hi Mark, I would check the operation of your exhaust bypass valve, it could be its not opening fully under full throttle conditions and restricting the exhaust flow.
     
  5. cactussed

    cactussed Formula Junior

    Mar 12, 2008
    290
    Hi Mark

    Definitely sounds like a flow restriction. I had a simialr issue on one of my old cars, but that was an intake restriction rather than exhaust.

    I think first up, I'd wire open the bypass valve and see if it will rev out then. It'll probably throw up a warning light as the Cat ECU's won't get hot enough but it should allow you to see if that is the flow restriction.

    Next up, I'd pull all the intake plumbing apart and make sure there's no blockage.

    Failing that, I'm unsure...

    Drew
     
  6. ghardt

    ghardt Formula 3

    Apr 18, 2004
    1,260
    Texas
    Full Name:
    Jerry
    On your older car, what kind of intake restriction did you find?
     
  7. saw1998

    saw1998 F1 Veteran

    Jun 8, 2008
    8,237
    San Antonio, Texas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    +1 on the injector testing/cleaning.

    However, DO NOT used carburetor cleaner on the MAF. CCR sells a special cleaner for MAFs. Carefully remove it from the air intake hoses and use the entire can - spraying from both front and back (you're primarily cleaning the small hot film sensor in the middle of the intake). Let it AIR dry and then reinstall. While you're at it, get some CCR electronic cleaner and clean the MAF and idle regulator electrical connections. Hell, clean all the electrical connections you can get to, including the ECU connections.

    You might also want to try using your battery disconnect. Shut the battery off for 5-10 min and then turn it back on. Start the car with ALL electrical items off and let it idle for about 15 min. The ECU will re-learn its parameters. This is really better for idling issues, but in the cases it certainly can't hurt anything.
     
  8. Jelly Spanners

    Jelly Spanners Karting

    Jul 19, 2009
    77
    South West UK
    Full Name:
    Jeremy
    I regulary disconect the battery on my car and have read on this forum there is no need to let the car idle for 15 minutes, I drive mine for 15 minutes not exeeding 40 MPH and this appears to work ok on mine.

    I personally dont like my car idleing for that lenght of time because of tempatures building up etc.

    This also is a cure for cat temp re-learn too and puts the slow down light out too.
     
  9. cactussed

    cactussed Formula Junior

    Mar 12, 2008
    290
    It was an old MR2 turbo. They use a variable intake system with dual runners and butterfly valves. Did some upgrades but forgot to connect the intake trigger to the new ECU, so it was running on half the normal intakes.

    Took me a while to figure out why the intake temps were rising but the car wouldn't rev at all!
     
  10. saw1998

    saw1998 F1 Veteran

    Jun 8, 2008
    8,237
    San Antonio, Texas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    Interesting, both the OM and WSM specify to let the car idle with all electrical equipment off. I don't see how the ECU could re-learn its parameters under the constantly changing conditions of actually driving the car. But, I am certainly NO expert.
     
  11. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins
    Bypass valve is definitely opening properly as i have it on a switch and can test it. I did pull the intake apart at the Weekend and it all looks OK, I cleaned the MAF with carb cleaner, reading above that might not have been the best :( bit it still runs the same, ie it will get to the red line but it take s a good while to do the last 1500 rpm.

    It recently had an ECU relearn but I'll do another this Week then if it's no better I'll get the Injectors cleaned/ checked

    Can you check the cam timing with it all in situ?
     
  12. saw1998

    saw1998 F1 Veteran

    Jun 8, 2008
    8,237
    San Antonio, Texas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    Short answer - No. But, I supposed you could pull the valve covers and somehow wedge yourself up between the gas tank and engine to see how the factory marks align, but there is NO way to do it properly with a degree wheel.
     
  13. Lagerlout

    Lagerlout Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2006
    468
    West Sussex, UK
    Full Name:
    Mr. LL
    Sounds like coil packs to me.
     
  14. saw1998

    saw1998 F1 Veteran

    Jun 8, 2008
    8,237
    San Antonio, Texas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    Neil:

    You're a genius! I didn't even think of those, but I have heard of them going in other cars and causing the same symptoms. Great call.
     
  15. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins

    Interesting, not heard of this before, they're reasonably priced so a quick swap would be possible, I'll add it to the list, thanks :)
     
  16. EVILZ33

    EVILZ33 Formula Junior

    Feb 2, 2007
    258
    chicago
    sounds like and injector/fuel problem. but could posssibly be a 02 sensor or some other sensor putting it in limp mode.
     
  17. Lagerlout

    Lagerlout Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2006
    468
    West Sussex, UK
    Full Name:
    Mr. LL
    #17 Lagerlout, Oct 24, 2009
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2009
    Worst thing to do is substitute parts without knowing what the fault is, you could replace a lot of items and still not find the cause or worst case even introduce a new fault, new components can sometimes be faulty too! Someone posted above, but first step is to get the car hooked up to a SDx/OBD2 code reader machine and read the codes. When you have onboard diagnostics it's best to use it. If no faults are reported that's when it gets a bit harder and reverts to good old mechanical/electrical know-how.

    If you don't want to go to a dealer, you can buy one yourself and do it that way. I got an OB2 reader a while ago but haven't got round to hooking it up properly simply because there is no OBD connector on our UK 355's. All it needs is a simple mod/harness making up but haven't had the time and no fault on my 355, just curiosity!

    Do a search, there are some recommendations on here for DIY OBD readers.
     
  18. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins
    Hi Neil

    it was serviced by QV about 6 Weeks ago, all faults were cleared, it also had new O2 sensors in April. The only relevant fault was Right side knock sensor, I'd put this down to the fact that the idle air valve kept falling out of the inlet! (since repaired)

    Of course it could all be in my mind!

    I'm not unhappy about replacing a few parts along the way, I'm considering David Helms' connector kit as most of the waterproof covers have failed
     
  19. Jelly Spanners

    Jelly Spanners Karting

    Jul 19, 2009
    77
    South West UK
    Full Name:
    Jeremy
    Mark, The knock sensor controlls the timing and if this has an intermttant fault you may not be getting full advance, What fuel are you using, the same thing will happen if your getting detionation (pinking), the knock sensor will retard the timing to prevent damage.

    I use Shell V power or BP in my 355, I have heard Tesco's 99 octane is ok but Im not a lover of supermarket fuels...
     
  20. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
    Full Name:
    Mark Collins
    Hi Jeremy, always Super U/L, preferably Vpower, when the idle valve came out I would get pinking but the codes have been reset and it still feels the same
     
  21. saw1998

    saw1998 F1 Veteran

    Jun 8, 2008
    8,237
    San Antonio, Texas
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #21 saw1998, Oct 25, 2009
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2009
    That fact right there could very well be your problem! Buying Dave's kit will be a very, very wise purchase. IMHO, this kit is going to become SOP on all Ferraris of this generation in the near future. It's absolutely amazing the difference this kit can make. I have almost completed installing mine and there is an amazing, real, and tangible difference in the way the car runs, idles, accelerates, etc..and it most certainly is not psychosomatic. I can't stress highly enough the difference this kit can make in the way your car runs. Dave is truly an amazing and talented engineer.
     

Share This Page