Timing belt goes poof

In black and white (with a bit of red, green and yellow).


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Similar discussions here:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/f-cars-with-cam-belts.545907/

Close call here:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/348-show-us-your-belts-and-bearings.523610/

 

I believe more and more you are right. As I have me other owners of older Ferrari’s I have noticed a trend that there is an awful lot of owners that don’t want to spend the money on the maintenance. Engine out services. Met a guy recently who owns s 348 and hast done a major in more than 10 years. I really would like to hear from real people here that have has this issue. There’s enough owners on here to get an idea despite previous history.

 

In terms of maintenance, I use to say that it goes only one of two ways:

1) Either you prioritize the car’s needs and you don’t cut corners, keeping it in tip top shape with all invoices, receipts and stamps and one day when you decide to sell, you’ll be able to have a differentiated car and ask for a premium.

2) You decide to save some money and keep the car to a bare minimum in order for it to run. You skip maintenance intervals, stretch components beyond their life expectancy, and attend to it when it makes sense to you in terms of time and money, not when you’re supposed to. One day, when you decide to sell, expect to be asked for a discount in roughly the same proportion of the money you “saved” by skipping maintenance. And pray to the Lord you didn’t break anything in the process.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

i just had this conversation with 2 of the biggest independent ferrari mechanics in the NY area. one has been working on ferraris for 25 years and the other for 15. the 25 year guy said the belts rarely snap and usually they just stretch with time. when a car needs a belt its likely it will be losing (pissing) alot of oil. The 15 year guy said he has never seen a belt go but has seen tensioner bearings fail which doesn't seize the motor and isnt a big deal. Both said using commons sense and inspecting the belts around fluid changes is a perfectly reasonable way to go.

nuno i agree with you but also believe there is a more practical middle ground if you apply some reason and common sense.

clearly from the responses in this thread, the catastrophic belt popping engine seizures are an exception and not the rule and certainly seem like some urban legend.

 

^
This!

 

575 Maranello - Driven less than 750 miles since last timing belt....5 years service for an oil change saw a picture of the timing belt almost tearing in half.

Friend of mine had a 550 (20,000 miles between service) and timing belt broke a week before he was scheduled for the service. Again the belt lasted 5 years. He has a very costly repair bill.

 

Funny you mention 575. Ferrari had an interval revision on (very) early 575's where the belt interval went from 3>5 years. Assembly number 43847 with part revision for belt it self (New PN)

 

finally!

 

The seller of my 550 included a belt service when I bought it in 2016. Later when I understood date codes on the belts, I realized that the belts had been in the car for 10+ years. Car had 19,000 miles on it.

 

What condition is was the belt in when u finally replaced it?

 

Can't say how much longer they would have lasted, they looked like they were in good condition. Also, the tensioner bearings were tight without any leakage.

 

I wonder if there was a bad batch of belts that make them a 4 letter word inducing the fear of god in ppl

 

Most owners who suffer a failure are not going to admit it. I have seen several cars with failed timing belts at a local independent Ferrari specialist over the years. He seemed to get at least two or three per year...I don't know the details of the failures, but the few times I inquired, he said they were long past the recommended three to five years.

 

That may be true in some instances. When I inquired about belt failure rates from my mechanic from customers of his who didn’t follow the 3-5 year major service told me the opposite. He gave me a long list of clients who haven’t done majors that frequently and haven’t ever had a problem. I believe him because I have spoken or met several of these individuals at Ferrari events. I am big on maintenance of all my vehicles and don’t mind spending money on them but i don’t believe in wasting money. My car is due for the major right now last done in 4/2015. When I bought the car my mechanic looked over the car and it’s servixe records and told me to wait till the 6-7 year mark then do the major. I had him so far do all fluids, new tires, repair squeaky brakes (easy fix). Then I did the ceramic coating and clear bra protection. I’ve probably spent in all about 8k on those items up till this point. I told him we can go ahead with the major now and he straight out told me it would be a waste. I’ll take his good judgement. If he’s wrong and something breaks you all will be the first to know as I won’t be embarrassed. I don’t work like that. I just will tell it like it is.

 

Which car?


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1992 Ferrari 512tr. Last major was done at a Ferrari dealership with new clutch about 2k miles ago but service date was 4/2015. At a total cost of about 25k.

 

I guess I understand why 512 TR’s at 3:55s will only be worth so much


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No don’t let that scare you at all. The mechanic who is very good by the way says he’ll do the major and would run no more than 10k. He’s an independent which saves you money. I’m good with that especially couple it with just doing once every 6 years let’s say. But every 3 years, no way that’s ridiculous. Many try to act as if these cars are so are fragile that you have to go over board with them. Well that’s what Ferrari says anyway. Let’s not forget Ferrari is out to make money. That’s their primary drive. If the belts were so fragile I would have already met many individuals with past huge repair bills. Hasn’t happened. They are just out enjoying their cars. As far as losing money because you didn’t follow the 3-5 rule. This car was never an investment if it’s value goes down further because of that it’s not a problem. I don’t believe It has to be done that frequently. If you like spending extra money on the car then it’s ok to do so Ferrari even says so. No thanks, I’ll take my so called chances. They are great cars period. I think before you buy a Ferrari your first goal better be finding a good mechanic, a trust worthy mechanic and an ethical mechanic. If you have that in your back corner you will have no worries. I just did a full brake job on this car rotors and all for what it cost to do a full brake service on a Toyota Tundra. Gives you a better perspective on what you can get. The dealer would have charged the moon. The best part is he always does a perfect job with no issues.

 

Oh i have no fear - i own both. But getting a 25k bill for a car thats worth 200k...tough to swallow.


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I’m super glad to hear. I thought you were implying you wouldn’t buy one now. I hear you about the 25k bill. The previous owner was crazy proactive about always taking the car to the dealer. I understand his reasoning but I personally don’t want to spend that kind of money every time it needs a major if I don’t have to. I would if necessary but rather not. Obviously there are other options out there to get the job done at a reasonable price. I mean if you barely drive the car anyway why would you really need to do the maintenance within that short of a time interval. I just don’t believe it.

 

Oh I agree you can get away with going much longer, the independent shop said they had customers that went way longer than recommended...the question is if you feel lucky enough to get away with it. I would guess that the majority due...but sucks when you are the one that doesn't.

 

Had a friend with a 355 he bought and was 7 years out on the timing belts (he had all the records)...he scheduled the service for a month from delivery, as that was the soonest he could get it in. Belt failed on one bank during the first couple weeks he had the car. As I recall the teeth sheared off the belt...it didn't actually break. End result was valves touching the piston tops and rebuild required from bent valve stems.

 

The other problem is we don’t know any detailed information just that it happened. Maybe the belts were exposed to oil just for argument sake or some other leak. That could be a problem. I can also argue about oil leaks and other problems that have occurred to people right after they did the major. Things can happen but what was the reason. How many miles were on the car since last major. Here’s the really good news for me. I never bought an extended warranty on any car and I have saved a bundle. Why because I self insure all my cars. If I’m wrong I’ll pay to have it repaired. But I’ll bet anyone here there won’t be a problem. Anyone wants to place the bet let me know. I’m not the least bit worried. I’ve seen too many of these cars for sale with long periods of time on them with no major. If this was such a high probability we would be seeing a lot of people having major problems. All I hear of is about the few who have had problems. No personal real life example though to report. This fear of how fragile these cars are is what kept me away from them for so long. They would be expensive and break down very easily. Quite the opposite is true. This just scares potential buyers of these fine cars away. I’m totally against that.