328: Clattering engine sound:

Could be a spark knock that developed due to the lower octane. It could have taken some time to develope depending on how often you drive your car. Usually a spark knock will be most noticable upon acceleration.

 

Has it gotten colder where you are? The accessory belts develop this strange click-click-click when they get cold, it goes away as the car heats up.

Also, on other cars I've heard similar sounds if the valves were out of adjustment. No clue if that applies to the 3.2 though....

 

Make sure it isn't a tensioner bearing. I had one make a similiar noise and it was only 1 year and 1/2 old. Good thing I caught it when I did.

 

I had a similar problem, which was the accesory belt. Does yours go away when the car is warm? If so, it sounds like the same thing. The belt apparently had some sort of nylon reinforcement that over time hardens. When the belt is cold it makes that clicking sound. As the belt warms up, the nylon softens and the noise goes away.

Alberto

 

Probably not the gas. It doesn't have enough compression to require premium and it would normally ping under load at low to mid RPM's, not idle. You are using oil that is too thick, but that shouldn't be the cause either. Belt clatter is common as mentioned above, but typically goes away when the car is warmed up. I would get a qualified mechanic with a stethoscope to check it out. Could be any number of things some of which could be serious if not fixed quickly. You can get the tach rebuilt for much less than replacement. Tachs with the 3.2 motors are prone to go bad.

Dave

 

Get an automotive stethoscope at your local auto parts store. Should be around $10. This will help isolate exactly where the sound is coming from.

Lower octane gas shouldn't make a difference at idle. You would hear it most on acceleration.

Does it go away if you push in the clutch and put the car into gear? If so, that would eliminate something in the transmission and transfer gears.

Check the water pump, tensioner bearings, lower cam drive bearings, etc. to see if you can narrow it down. I also remember a thread a short time back about some type of emissions valve clicking.

I had a similar sound in my 328 shortly after I got it. I narrowed it down to the water pump. The prior owner suggested checking the belts before digging too far into it. A quick spray with belt dressing made the sound go away, so I retentioned it and the sound hasn't come back.

 

Could be a cam drive bearing. Jack the car up, take the right rear wheel off and start her up. A mechanic's stethoscope would be very useful. Mine sounded like a coffee grinder and I could see the gear rotating out of round....very easy to identify I hope it's something else. But it would be best to rule this potential problem out, as it could be catastrophic.

 

A valve tap would be most noticeable in the conditions that you describe.

Once again the stethescope is your friend.

 

You may want to check the waterpump shaft for play in the bearing. I just experienced the same thing. I removed my drive belts and found the output bearing on the waterpump was wobbling and the belt tension was masking the sound. I did not have any fluid loss nor any drivability issues. Remove your drive belts to eliminate any accessories from causing the noises.

 

Have you noticed any change in oil pressure? Specifically, throughout the warm up cycle, has the pressure dropped or changed in any way? That sound might be a rod bearing. A worn rod bearing will definitely sound like a diesel - will be faint at first and then increase in volume over time. And, generally, the sound will be louder when the car has warmed up and the viscosity of the oil has gone down accordingly. Hope it's not a rod bearing...

 

Late 328's specify 10-40 even though there were no changes in the motors. I believe it was probably due to the fact that oils were getting better making 50 weights suitable only for race use. Mobil 0-40 has the best vicosity vs temp ratings I know of at both ends of the scale and flows better which helps cool bearings, etc better than slower moving 50 weight. Saves a little power also.

Dave

 

my mondial 8 "clatters" if you will at idle also, however i tracked it down to the transfer gears from the clutch to the trans. when i depress the clutch the noise goes away. it's not real noticable to start with but i can hear it and it bugs me. some i've talked to say it's normal. i don't know, when it's time to re-place the clutch i'll dig into it and see whats going on. but for now it's not getting louder nor does it effect the performance.

anyone else know if it's a real problem?

 

My guess would be bearing noise...

 

exactly what was wrong on my mondial........

 

I hope it's not the cam drive bearings because on the 308 anyway, normally it's an engine out job, (probably complete with "oh, while it's out we may as well...").

There are a number of threads about doing these bearings, also about doing them in situ which doesn't always work (see Verell's and Jwise posts), but if it does it certainly saves $'s.

hope its not these, but good luck anyway ..
Richard

 

A day soaked with Kroil will loosen anything.

Ken

 

Gatorrari,

I have done the cam drive replacement twice with the engine in, if I am not mistaken the 328 uses sealed bearings nearer to the pouitside of the cover so they could be removed with a race type bearing puller. A bad bearing there would loossen the belt some as the shaft will move off center. Who is your mechanic and has he had experience replacing these bearings. Its not that trickey as I did it but not withouth the experience of people on this board.

Rob

here is a diagram of the early 308 which is slightly different but will give you an idea where they are and what they do, they are the bearing right behind the two bottom pullies. Actually this may be a latter engine designas on mine there is a seal on the outside of that bearing and it is lubricated from the inside with engine oil.
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You can replace the cam drive bearings with the engine in the car if you can double nut several of the 8mm studs that hold the crankcase to the front cover. You also have to double nut one or two of the oil pump pickup up 6mm studs. If you can get the studs out so you can slide the front cover off, you can do it in the car, if not engine has to come out and then it is a piece of cake.

 

Always remember....it's a $35K car with about $10K of immediate liability exposure!

 

Sorry to hear that. Here is a post that will give you all the information you could ever want (and some you won't) on replacing the cam drive bearings.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28437

If the outter bearings aren't in too bad shape, I would consider replacing just them like ferrarifixer suggests.

Does your mechanic have a ring nut socket? Behind the balancer are two ring nuts holding the lower cam drive pulleys on. I think the socket is about $75 from Baum tools, but some have made their own by grinding down a standard socket to fit the grooves.

http://tools.baumtools.com/index.jsp?menu=ferr