Does it get any worse? Broken Propshaft Update (Spoiler Alert, Yes, it does)

No doubt, some have noticed that I had not updated my F355 primitive condition major service thread... well there are a few reasons for that!

1. I had to wait on the propshaft from England.
2. I then had two unplanned surgeries (rather emergent and fairly serious)
3. Typhoon season

So, here it is June and I have the propshaft, the "bad" cam angle sensor has been replaced, and I figure that other than buying a new battery as a precaution knowing the environment (the Ferrari/Guam still managed to eat the battery despite the efforts to disconnect the battery through the master switch).

So I replaced the propshaft (for those of you who don't know, there is an alternative to the way overpriced F355 propshaft that breaks in exactly the same manner as others. I was able to save $2300-2800 by using a 348 driveshaft (fits perfectly).

I went to start it up, no codes except P1448. Didn't think much about it, but did remember a nasty sound when the car went down which I attributed to the broken propshaft, the clutch, and the starter running out of balance or engaged inappropriately in the case of the starter. The motor turned over, sputtered occasionally, but would not idle or really run.

Naturally I started trouble shooting looking at all the sensors first and as I was looking at the crank angle sensor I noticed something amiss. What could it be?

My worst nightmare... The timing belt on Bank1 (although otherwise is decent shape) somehow became shredded. I am in the middle of moving from Guam to California. The military will only relocate vehicles that run. You might note that my car does not really meet the definition of running, thus the military will not ship it for me. Now who here would be brave enough to think that a shop on this island is capable of doing the necessary work to get the car running again (without spending more than I paid for the car)!

So I am stuck.... I have had a few ideas (e.g. pulling the spark plugs, disconnecting the injectors on bank 1, moving the cams to a position with the valves all closed, and attempting to run the car on 4 cylinders). I realize that at a minimum bank1 probably has a rather large number of bent or otherwise compromised valves.

In short, it's been a very bad day... I am guessing the repair bill to be about 1/2 of what I paid for the vehicle if someone else does the work, and at a minimum of $10-12k if I did all the work myself. On the upside, you can use a 348 propshaft in a F355 in a pinch. It's nice to have a stopgap measure that will get you back on the road.

 

I believe it's viable, but I am still going to be a little butt hurt that I would have to pay to ship it back. I mean seriously, the only difference between it running and not running with regard to shipping it back is mostly academic. I would even be willing to through a few bucks in to cover the inconvenience, but I think they are intent on making me pay in many ways.

I will ship it back, the question is whether it will be "running" or not,

 

It's not broken because I replaced it!

 

Yes, I had to fix that first, and then I found the additional carnage. Here are my personal propshafts. I might add, it broke in the same spot as everyone else sees. You cannot see that it is broken in the picture, but yes, it is quite broken.
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I am very excited about that!!! Having fellow enthusiasts around will be awesome. I will be in Dana Point and working at Camp Pendleton.

There is hope that I can get it shipped. The government won't ship it as part of my military move but for $3000 or so, I can at least get it shipped and with some luck get part of it covered by the military. I will have to check and see what can be done.

 

Active Duty Navy... Contract states car must be running, I will ship it privately if needed, although an annoying extra 3k expense I did not need.

 

Well, long story short, I got stuck with the bill to ship it... $7,000 of highway robbery and not much choice about it.

I will see what I can do about making a claim anyway, but for now, it's cash down a hole. I pulled the entire motor/subframe in Guam, replaced the timing belt that broke, fired it up, and it's only running on 4 cylinders on the second bank (5-8). Not sure why, but I suspect a wiring issue but ran out of time to deal with it there. It was a truly trying experience where I worked 6-8 hours a day to get everything sorted for about 5 days.

So now it's in a container and hopefully headed this way. I am now living in San Clemente, hopefully I can get some stooge help when it arrives. I suspect the heads are toast, but they need to have the valve guides replaced anyway. I hope the cylinders are ok, but I suspect a fried piston or two as well. This is going to be costly in the short run, but rewarding in the long run.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I have been with limited internet, no tools, and limited time. Once I get settled into my new place (Friday) things will be better.

 

Not sure what my budget for parts/machining will look like yet, I have some money for the project, but I know that this is going to run me a small fortune and I want to make sure that I don't have to halt the project because it's underfunded.

At a minimum, first I need to get the motor out and the heads off to fully understand the damage. I used a bore scope to get an initial feel for it, but I suspect that none of the valves on the right hand side are sealing at this point.

The machine work will be extensive just to get the heads right.

 

Already purchased the head tool. I knew I was going to need it. I have a lift, a two car garage, and a lack of fear at this point.

 

LMAO... I wish I thought of that!