I've personally only heard of two instances of a belt snapping, ironically both right after a major service
+1 again That belt should still have some numbers printed on it. These pics are from my old belt that had almost 10 years of operation on it. You will be able to tell the age of the belt by the numbers printed on it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If it's a problem with tensioners, water pump, or little flappy things, there will likely be no numbers on back of belt. Only the coroner's inquiry will determine the cause of failure.
6 pages of guessing and speculation. How's about we step back and wait until the engine is out and the covers off? So quick to judge. If indeed it was a mistake by the shop..so what? It's a friggin car and it will be fixed. If the shop is honest they will step up and repair it. Some of you are already expecting the shop to lie and try to wiggle out of it. I suppose that could be some people looking in the mirror.
I think this discussion has been very good and useful for Ralph as it has, at least, determined (with fair certainty) that something has rubbed hard against the back of the belt. Ralph also informed that there was a whining sound since the major meaning that the "something" was probably there from the start. These two appear to be fairly certain facts and not just speculation. It is better that Ralph, at least, has some idea of what happened than to have no idea.
we are trying, for free, to help the unlucky owner to learn something more about his car and be prepared when he finally will inspect the car with his mechanic. He asked us, and so we answered him: what could we do more? ciao
Nicely put. Lots of misinformation spread about on the interwebZ but for the most part this thread has been supportive, informative, and non-judgmental. As a semi-retired shop owner I'm both skeptical of other shops and defensive against the usual rush to tar and feather the tech, but AFAIC this has been an exemplary thread since it's avoided those usual failings. Sympathies to Ralph and best wishes for a painless fix. It's entirely possible that you'll wind up with a better engine than before since it's pretty much a given that you're going to wind up with a fresh valve job. I'm just sorry for whoever winds up out of pocket on the parts. Best of luck and let us know how it all shakes out.
There are people on this forum that know more about these cars than some Ferrari mechanics. Asking for input and ideas is a great learning process and one many of us employ as we maintain these cars...either DIY or at a shop. While I see what you are saying here, I think it is far better to have some input form a tight community on what happened and what might be inside once the mechanic opens it all up. Surely that is better than just shrugging your shoulders and giving the car back to the mechanic. ..and to ///Mike's point, it is the interwbz and it is up to the OP to determine who to listen to and who to ignore. It's pretty apparent on the 355 forum. 'tis just a car in the end. No one got hurt. Learn about what's in there & Fix it and move on.
With the incredible engineering expertise and capabilities out there I still find it amazing that there isn't a gear driven cam conversion out there or being designed for the 348, particularly when thinking about the massive consequences of that belt busting out and the cost of changing it every 3~5yrs. Imagine that, fix and forget. Stories like this one are starting to give me the jitters about even starting up my 348 (due a belt change now). 348Paul - Is this something you've looked into, maybe just too expensive for the likely number of takers?
There aren't so many, trust me... You don't need to change a belt every three years, nor 5:7-10 years is the correct period, unless you race the car or do a milllion miles each year... Trust me also for this ciao
