Getting PPI-What should I ABSOLUTELY make sure gets checked???

clutch
brakes
compression
paint
tires

 

This must have been covered so many many times including in particular in the 'buying a 360' sticky - it might be worth actually reading that - a copy of the SD2/3 printout may reveal electronic nasties

 

Tom

2004 stick with 14K miles should have a lot of issues related to the earlier years sorted out already.

You might want to PM 360trev (see post #2) for his ideas since he has a lot of good suggestion on this topic: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=297231

Also attached is a list from another Fchat member that you might be able to use (replace the VIN and paint color with yours)
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The 360 your referring to belonged to a fellow F-Chatter ( porsche racer aka Arthur ) he recently sold his 360 to CNC motors, maybe you can PM him about the car, he had it listed for sale here on FerrariaAds.com for sometime. Car had Novitec wheels that he is now selling. Hope he can be of help.

 

precat condition.
LH tensioner update.

 

Smoke-test the headers

 

Yes -- before the catalytic converters. The metal pipes connect to HyperFlow cats are the exhaust manifolds (or headers, as some people call them). Inside those, is another small catalytic converter. They have a bad habit of breaking free from their fixing welds and either getting pushed downstream and gunking up the works. Or, much worse (and not uncommon) is for bits of them to suck backwards into the engine itself and wreak havoc on pistons.

The early 360's (1999) didn't have that 'pre-cat'. Some owners of later cars have opted to remove the manifold and bang out the catalyst. Others chose to install aftermarket 360 headers -- of which there are many great choices, offered by sponsors on the board who certainly would appreciate the business and can better explain the value proposition of their products. (Fabspeed, Vivid, Tubi, etc.)

LH tensioner is the left-side (drivers side) hydraulic tensioner for the LH timing belt. There was an update on them which included a new bracket. Just check receipts from the prior major service and see if part number 202784 (the new style arm) or 202786 (the new style mounting bracket) is listed. If either of those two are on a receipt for the car, then it has been updated. Those two pieces, if you need them replaced during a major service are about $1k. Not a whole lot of money considering the value of the engine... but not chump change either.

 

Only if you got the submarine option on the car

 

How common is it for the engine to suck stuff from the pre-cats in and sustain damage? Are there many documented cases or just a few that has gotten a lot of attention? I know it gets mentioned frequently on here - just trying to assess whether it is something I want to consider in the future on my 2002 360.

Also, are the headers on the challenge stradale the same as the modena/spider? Also has pre-cats?

Thanks,
Jes

 

No, this is a test when the engine is running and smoke fed to the intake. The reason for the test is to see if the exhaust is leaking. The headers are shrouded in insulation making it nearly impossible to see if they are leaking with simple visual inspection (w/o smoke).

As for whether headers will pass smog inspection seems to be up to a bit of debate. The pre-cats only affect cold-start emissions. The idea behind them is that being located so much closer to the headers, they will light off faster and better control emissions when the car is first started from cold. But smog tests are conducted on (very) warmed engines, so they shouldn't matter.

Two issues remain, however. One is whether there is sensor on the pre-cats so that removing them leave you with a check engine light (CEL). I looked on the diagram on the Ricambi site and didn't see any. It looks like there are lamba (O2) sensors before and after the main cats, but I didn't see any at the pre-cat. Then again, the diagram is a somewhat "generic" one for all models, here and overseas. Issue Two is whether anyone knows or can tell on visual inpection, as they are under the insulation. But most aftermarket headers are not wrapped like OEM headers are. I also wonder what the lack of insulation does overall. Seems you'd get higher engine compartment temps, which could cause failure of other things.

 

removing the pre cat will cause the check engine light to come on.for some reason Ferrari measures the cat efficiency of the pre cat but not the main cat.the o2 sensors are located in the header before pre cat and in the front of the main cat on all 360s except 99 which has no pre cat.my previous car had them removed, the slow down light and check engine light was always on.the codes were for cat temp below min threashold and cat efficiency.once i replaced the headers there were no more issues.

 

Did you replace the headers with stock headers? Anyway, I saw another thread that covered cat O2 sensors and it turns out the "pre-cat" may really be the "main" cat, because, as you point out, there are O2 sensors before and after the "pre-cat." The aft cat is there evidently just to clean up residual NOx. There is a work-around for the CEL, too, which is to add an extender to the downstream O2 sensor. This supposedly gives a differential reading between upstream and downstream O2 sensors enough to make computer think all is well.

 

please check the roll over valves (4 of them) for the fuel tanks. Many of these valves crack right where the hose is attached. several 360's have burned down because these lines cracked. easy way to check is get a smoke machine. on the driver side engine compartment, there is a carbon canister that you can take one line off and put the smoke in. if you see smoke come out near the fire wall you have a leak.

Its hard to see but check that the transmission mount isn't cracked because that will lead to engine mounts prematurely failing and also the engine/trans will move considerably when shifting.

check suspension to see if the car had been in any accident.

Also although they may not let you, taking the MAF sensors off the intake will allow you to see the trumpets in the manifold. Look for any oil that might have pooled up in the intake. Some owners have done their own oil changes and fill the sump too much causing oil to be drawn into the manifold. Too much oil will damage MAF sensors plus cause the engine to run poorly.

 

That was a $1,000,000,000.00 option on the 1999 car, not commonly spec'd.