Advice regarding time belt change, 348

I think that the 348 is every 3 years ,this is because the belt runs both cams and is under more stress than the two belt set up of the 308 and 355 and 360 system .Look around at old posts on this subject I know that it has been talked about
DAVID

 

OK the deal with the belts is, usage. The reason they give dates is, if the car isn't driven much the rubber can get hard and brittle. Kind of like tires on a RV that just sits for a long time. They get hard and crack. Anyway with the belts if that happens, they are more prone to breaking. If the belt busts while the engine is running, then the pistons and valves will hit, resulting in the engine having to be rebuilt. But the bigger problem is the bearings. That is what you should be more concerned with. If the bearings go bad they will freeze and then burn up the cam belt, causing it to break, and you know the rest. If you have the paper work on the last time the belt was changed check to see if they replaced the bearings. If you wanna check the condition of the cam belt that is easy. There are two cam belt cover caps on either side of the engine. They are over the top of the intake and exhaust cam pullies. On each cover there are four allen screws that hold them on to the cam cover. Remove the screws and then take the covers off. You will be able to see the top of the cam belt. As for checking the condition of the bearing, well unfortunately, the only way to do that is to have the engine out of the car. It is really up to you if you wanna push the issue. The belts these days can go over 60,000 miles. My work car is a Acura and the belt has 60,000 miles on it right now. I talked to the guy that works on it for me and he said that the belt still has another 30,000 miles before it needs to be changed. However that car gets driven about 1,500 miles a month. Okay to finish up this novel, LOL. If you drive the car alot, and the bearings were changed along with the belt, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. If you rarely drive the car, I would change the belt and check the condition of the bearings. Hope that helped.

 

The Ferrari 348 manual recommends changing the timing belt every 3 years? Maybe it does, but I find that one hard to believe. Many, many early 348's are still running fine on the original belt. Granted, 13-14 years might be a bit aggressive, but every 3 years? You've got to be kidding.

 

If you ask Ferrari they will tell you to replace the belts every three years! I also believe that they will last longer than that. But it is certain that the risk of destroying your engine is increased by time and usage.

Ton

 

I've owned 3 Ferrari's.
I change them every 5 years regardless.

My second Ferrari broke the belt
while I had the car for sale.
I ''assumed'' based on old vague records that it had been done but it had not.
Cost me $$$$$$$$$$ big time.

 

Regarding the bearings: I cannot find any information about these in the book, so are they really replaced in a "normal" cam belt service?
Peter[/QUOTE]

They should be. Bearings parts Items #149791 & #149807 around 600$ both.
If can not drive your car, just let the engine run twenty minutes every week and your belt will be fine.

BTW, Ferrari Spain recommend four years for 348 belt service.

Soon

 

While I agree with you that lack of usage can make the belts get brittle faster than they would with regular usage, I don't know that I would recommend starting the car each week in the winter and letting it idle in the garage. I think that would do more harm than good, as a car doesn't warm up properly with idleing for 10-20 mintues for one, and for the other the car's internals wouldn't fully warm up and you might produce moisture from condensation in the oil, which would never burn off week after week of starting and then turning off. Just my $.02.

My car (while a 911 not a ferrari) sits for a few months in the winter and I rarely start it at all in that time- I just fill up the tank with gas, put some extra PSI in each tire to avoid flat spots (remember to re-adjust in the spring!), change the oil and put the battery maintainer on the car. Maybe I'll start it up once in the winter, but really that probably doesn't do much in and of itself. The best thing for a car is to be driven regularly, but as we all know that's not possible or desirable when there's road salt on the road. I did finally get the car out this weekend though It's been a long long winter this year....

Good luck gredinger- it's sounds like you'll be OK as long as those bearings are good- I never heard about those 348 bearings before this. It's for information like this that I read this board, so I know what to expect and look for if/when I get a ferrari some day. Great info on this board!

Andrew

 

I know many that change the belt evry three years or five years but must at 30,000 miles. Mine is due in May 2004 which will be three years, but only covered 10,000 miles. I will change in the winter of 2004. This feels right for me...