Source for 355 Valve Guides and other gaskets, nuts, etc?

Looks like I am going to have my heads rebuilt while the engine is out for major service. Ferrari guides alone are $1500+. Are there any other good options? Machine shop is saying they can get or have guides, but I suspect they will be bronze? They act like it's no big deal and nothing to worry about, but I want to make sure it is done right and will last.

What should I get and where should I get them, or should I just turn the heads loose and let them do their thing? I was told they have done many Ferrari heads before.

Also, are there any aftermarket options for head gaskets or other top end gaskets?

Do the head nuts and or bolts need to be replaced or can I reuse? I have always replaced them, but this is a bit different from Honda's and Chevys. I have read on here and half the opinions are from people that don't really know. From my picking and choosing on the reading it seems that the bolts are fine and possibly even the nuts, but the nuts need to be checked or replaced?

Basically I am just checking with you guys before I waste a bunch of money buying Ferrari parts. If there is better stuff aftermarket, I would like to know.

The numbers that are promting me to do this at 34k miles even though the car felt and sounded fine to me are:

1 - 200psi - 4%
2 - 195psi - 9%
3 - 200psi - 3%
4 - 170psi - 20%
5 - 190psi - 7%
6 - 195psi - 6%
7 - 185psi - 13%
8 - 195 psi - 4%

Readings on cold engine with throttle open and using low pressure. Not crazy bad, but not good enough. I will also be checking with Dave Helms and using his plate to pressure test the block while it is down. I am not just going to slap heads on and go, I want to ensure the liners, rings, pistons etc. are all up to par.

 

So far I am leaning towards Manganese Bronze guides over the Ferrari sintered steel ones. I have made many calls and done a lot of research today. Most people seem to think they are better overall.

I am leaning towards these guys so far based on a couple recommendations including Lesco and Bradan.

http://www.cheprecision.com/html/guides.html

Here is the catalog with good info:
http://cheprecision.com/CHE_Catalog.pdf

I am still looking for more input though. I have talked to several machine shops etc. and so far the majority say they would go with Manganese Bronze over the sintered steel regardless of price. I was also told if not for being a Ferrari part, the Manganese bronze is generally more expensive than the sintered steel. I also heard from one machine shop that they are doing a lot of head work due to sintered steel guides (Chevy Cobalt was mentioned I believe).

Anyway, this is what I have found out so far. Still welcoming any input.

 

From my phone calls yesterday, I was told some have been using these for 5 years and have not had any complaints. One shop said they had done about 15-17 sets of heads I believe. These are shops that seem to have good reputations, even on these forums. They also walked me through their process on the heads and it sounds like they are very thorough and meticulous. I have kind of looked around at what is available for other high RPM motors and it seems like the aftermarket world is mostly doing the Manganese Bronze. Of course my research is only one day in at this point, so I do not claim to be an expert and I am not claiming they are better than the pressed powder guides Ferrari is using. It just seems wierd that the Manganese Bronze guides are working in 10K RPM race motors without problems, but won't work in a 355? Also it seams like the aftermarked companies making heads are using the Manganese Bronze as well. If a major part of your business is manufacturing heads from scratch for high performance motors (and probobly making more than Ferrari uses), it seems that you might know something about it.

I have no faith in anything Ferrari for the most part. It seems like there has to be something better in the race world than what they are using stock. I do believe they will use whatever lines their pockets best and gets stuff through warranty periods. It is hard to trust them when they would probobly claim there is no valve guide problem to begin with even though they changed them.

We also have no idea as you have stated what they are really putting in these guides. You can basically powder up whatever you want and smash it together from what I have been reading to make all sorts of "formulas". This allows you to smash something together that would not otherwise bond with each other. It also makes it pourous so it will hold oil to make up for it's lack of natural "slickness". It also means it will be more brittle and not tranfer heat as well. Basically there are trade offs anyway you go. I am just trying to figure out which guides are the best balance overall. I also have no problems saying that I am tired of getting ripped off on Ferrari's prices. If they weren't gouging us so bad on a problem they created, it would be different. If it was something I broke due to abuse or accident or lack of care, then that would be different also.

Anyway, I am not saying one is better than the other. I am just trying to find out what will be best and not just put blind faith in Ferrari, which created this terd to begin with. Of course I knew about these problems before I bought the car and knew there would always be a chance I would be redoing the heads at some point, but it still does not make the sting any less.

It will be nice if some people will respond that actually kept their car for a long time after doing both kinds of guides. The problem is I think most people get scared of the cars after spending all the money to make them right and then they sell them off and move on to something else.

So far I have not heard of either type of guides failing from anyone, so at this point it is all just talk and no unison on what is best. Hopefully more will be learned as this goes.....

 

Anyone know the cheapest source for the Ferrari guides? I looked around a little bit and it seems Eurospares has the best price.

Converted to dollars from pounds:
Intake 176437 $21.54
Exhaust 176438 $36.97

Of course you would have to ship from Europe, but that is way cheaper than the $45-50 each I am seeing in the US and they would fit in a small package.

I am trying to get some idea of cost comparison between the Manganese Bronze and Ferrari's parts as part of this exercise.

Ferrari also sells oversized ones, is it common to need those?

 

Yeah, I found those and put them in my watch list already. Still higher than eurospares by a good amount when you multiply it out for all of them.....


Dave, what kind of guides were used in the repeat offenders? Were these good Manganese Bronze guides, something else, or old Ferrari guides before switching to scintered steel? Were there any wierd circumstances related to those (like people driving on leaky headers etc). We need to know what was used that failed again. It won't be good info unless it is nailed down to what exactly it was in there that failed.

I know your making a point that something failed and it was not the scintered steel which does say something, but what was it and how many repeat offenders? Was it one or two and could that have just been luck of the draw or improperly done work etc., or another inferior guide used, or early in the phase of finding bad guides before many had scintered steel?

 

Wow. You sure get chastised here for trying to gather facts to make an educated decision on a pretty big repair......Sorry I asked on here at this point. Also, I apologize for not just jumping in and spending $1500+ on guides based on one conversation when every other conversation has said something different. I guess doing a little research before wasting thousands upon thousands on a major repair is silly.

The funny thing is that many reputable and meticulous shops rebuilding 355 heads are not using the sintered guides. They are using the Manganese Bronze. I guess I should just discount that without real proof they are having an issue? These are shops that have been praised here. The Ferrari guides may be the best and I may use them, but I don’t do anything on blind faith. If I did that in my professional life, I would have a real problem.

I did call Dave and ask his opinion in this matter based on a recommendation from another person I asked. His opinion was and is still taken seriously and even though I am now getting slammed for no real reason, I will still use his opinion to make my ultimate decision. I am not sure where the animosity is coming from….. I never said anything to deserve it.

The bottom line is I want my car to be the best it can be in terms of reliability. Obviously if it takes spending $1000 more for the Ferrari guides on this level of tear down, that is what I will do. However, it seems very ignorant to me not to ask around and do a little digging and see what other shops are doing before blindly making a decision. I also have to make sure the shop that does my heads actually does the work correctly. I won’t just go to the shop that the first guy I ask recommends.

Most of this thread is useless info now. It is really annoying when people kill my threads with useless banter. Future people will have to dig though that crap and waste their time when they are researching the same issue. I don’t have time to waste digging through that junk and neither do future readers of this thread. I come here for good information and that’s it. I am not on here to waste what little free time I have. I have a million other things I would rather be doing. Watching Sponge Bob with my kids is better time spent to me.

I even get slammed as if I am unworthy of owning a Ferrari or something. Ridiculous. And then the fact that I mention one shop tells me they are seeing issues with sintered steel guides in a production car and I am treated as if I am retarded or something. I was just stating a fact that I was told and not offering an opinion or relating it to the design of a Ferrari head. The fact is if Chevy made this motor, we would not be in this mess. They can’t make motors that all fail at 30k or less miles and get away with it. I was simply relaying a fact and thats it. I couldn't care less about a Chevy cobalt. Maybe they pressed the powder together wrong on those and it was a fluke, who knows....

I like to deal in facts. Opinions mean something to me, but not much. Fact overides opinion and it takes a lot of weeding on the net to get down to the facts.

I have built several motors myself with my own two hands. I have been building custom cars for over 22 years. I am not mystified by the magic of a badge on a Ferrari. It’s just another car with it’s own quirks. I research everything I work on before I do it and this is no different. I never spare quality for price either and this will be no different. However I do not waste money for no reason. I am not just a guy that wears a suit to work and drops his Ferrari off at the dealer and writes checks without question. If I was, I would have bought the car I really want which is way more money. I know how to work on cars. In this case, I am having someone do the work for me at my direction because I simply do not have the time right now. They are waiting for me to tell them what to do and where to have the heads done. I need to get the parts. The only thing holding me up is which guides to use.

The funny thing is how I am treated here when I have not even said anything about not using the sintered guides from Ferrari. I may very well use those guides, I just want to make sure it is the right decision for the right reasons and not just BS and blind faith in Ferrari. I have a hard time putting blind faith in the very same people that did this to begin with. They may have it right though, how will I know without doing the research?

The life of Lemmings must be so much easier…. but costly in the long run.