My 348 stopped running on the highway

John,dont wanna start an argument here,but why would you still check the alternator belt 1st. No alternator belt would not make the enigne turn over quicker like it is doing at the moment. And if it seized the alternator bearings and spat the belt while on the highway,the car would still run,with the check engine/battery light on,till the car used up all the battery juice,then it would come to a stop. Its time to give up hope thinking that its a cheap alternator fix brother,cause it wont be.

 

Sorry to hear about this. It sounds like a really tough situation and decision.

 

Before you get too excited,maybe wait till you get the phone call and the quote to fix the engine and then go from there. Maybe it would be worth while to buy the other engine. Depends on your finances of course? Even if you tow the car home and keep it off the road for 6months or a year till you get the money together to fix it? Its your call man,but what would you do if you sell it?? Would you buy another one another day?

 

You aren't going to get top Dollar selling a Ferrari with a blown engine (sorry, not trying to salt wounds).

Pulling the engine, and I'd never done it before on *any* car, took me a little less than 8 hours using Ernie's two-jack (and a dolly) method. That's not the tough part (just a bit intimidating, well, to me anyway).

Once the engine is out, changing the timing belt (and tensioners) isn't really a big deal (or wouldn't be if you didn't have to do anything else).

But, the valve damage is a bear. You've got 32 valve stem seals, 32 valve guides, 32 valves, a couple of head gaskets, a bunch of cam seals, gaskets, and the list goes on.

And that's all that I had to do (no piston damage...top end only). If you've got piston and/or cylinder wall damage, then the rebuild becomes a full bottom up affair (especially if you've damaged/cracked/dinged the crankshaft).

Well, I spent more than $3,500 just on seals, gaskets, valve-guides, tensioners, water-pump, hoses, etc...and there is *no way* around replacing the seals and gaskets. I could have saved a little money by not buying a metal cam belt cover (5 pieces), but that's what caused my problem in the first place.

So if you have piston, crank, and/or cylinder damage, you're going to be in for several thousand Dollars more than my $3,500 above (just in parts, not fluids). Even doing the full rebuild yourself, you'd wind up spending more on parts to save your blown engine than what you'll spend on a running 348 engine minus what you'll get for selling your blown motor.

And racers *need* your blown motor. For a guy who is already planning on putting in Koenig pistons, porting the intake and exhaust, running racing cams, etc...it's far cheaper to start with a blown motor than on a running one (because it's the same parts/labor cost to bump up a blown or running motor).

If you can't sell it whole, then you can part out the engine, especially if your crank, 4 cams, and a few pistons aren't damaged.

I'd guess that you could get $250 each overnight in a quick sale of your 4 cams on eBay (more if you are willing to wait). A quick sale of your 5 cam belt cover pieces will easily fetch another $400. Your crank/chain/mech oil pump, if undamaged, should go for $1,200 or more. Your throttle bodies for another $200 each.

And each of your undamaged pistons should bring in $500 or more ($1,000 each is their used retail price). So if you've got 2 good pistons, plus the above, there's your $4,000 back from your blown motor...and that still leaves the block, cam covers, and another 6 pistons (among other components) left to sell.

Racers live for this sort of thing. $250 for a 348 cam that they can grind for a horsepower experiment?! That's dirt cheap to them and leaves them with their stock cams when they go to re-sell their own 348 race car.

So $4,000 for your blown motor is pretty conservative. You *will* get that much for it if you part it out.

And you already know what a fully running, 30k'd 348 engine will cost you: $7,500.

Toss in a little shipping, do your own engine swap, sell the block, and you're going to escape this whole event for $3,500 or less (who knows, the empty block might bring in $1,000 if you are willing to wait long enough for the right buyer).

 

In case the news is as bad as you think .... I vote on taking it home and waiting until you have the cash to deal with the repairs. I have sold a couple of things in the past that I really regret. Just my 2 cents.

 

I agree.

take her home first.

then decide.

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Same here. Take it home.

 

Didn't mean to rub salt in but I thought the US$7500 engine from plugzit ain't too bad provided he still has it & is really rebuilt (It's been there for ages!) & of course you have a spare to sell for a few thousands more to off-set. Michael @ www.ferrariservice.ws always have some cars to part.

It'll take a lot of effort & time to sell a blown engine car & buyers will really knock it down so bad. Let's wait for the report on the damage & assess it. I would just bring it home & sit on it for months & even years to get it back running while you build up reserve. Meanwhile, on a lighter side you can start planning on a lot of nice upgrades for it. Quite a few specialists in US does this so there is really light @ the tunnel.

 

Sorry to read about this !
Before making any decision take her home and look what really happend and what exactly is damaged. If you have the time and possibility to pull the engine yourself then you can decide to swap or to repair the engine.

Good luck & regards, Georg

 

If you sell the car, I think $35k would be a real steal. If you can do the engine swap for $3500 and add about $3000 for labor for a mechanic, someone would be in your 348 for a total of $41500. That is really cheap for a 348 with a (like new) rebuilt motor. If you would be willing to sell the car for $35k would you also buy it with the rebuilt motor for $38500. that is your cost if you do the work yourself. Sounds like you are just depressed with the situation (as I would be also) and are just thinking of giving up. Never give up. You will feel a real sense of accomplishment if you do the engine swap. and accomplishments are what we all strive for in our lives.
Keep the car and rebuild it.
BT

 

Guess my point here was at least look at the damn thing before selling it. If I sold my every time I was told on here it was something big I would have sold it about 5 years ago right after Fchat started.

I would at least take the time to get it diagnosed and figure out what is really wrong with it. As I still don't see any hard proof that it is the t-belt beyond "the starter spins the engine fast" which is all just relative information. Tmobile take your time and do it right...call up a mechanic and have them check it out, then make a decision on what to do. I personally don't think its worth selling the car and agree with No Doubt that you could replace the engine easily with a running one, and part the old one out and come out in decent shape.

Basically I liken it to the medical field...just because you have a headache doesn't mean you whip out the drill and start going to town on your skull at your house. You at least want to ask a doctor whats up...unless you are a doctor.

 

Would it be inappropriately vulture-like to offer up my black/tan '95 Esprit S4s (up to date servicing, new-style wheels, limited slip, updated cam pulleys, interior getting refreshed right now) in trade?

Seriously, good luck. I know I'd be gutted. I think everyone's advice is sound. Don't rush to a decision.

 

I remember having that feeling when I blew a valve on an Audi S4 on a drive to Northern California. I feel your pain and wish you the best through this ordeal.

That starter spinning fast/lack of compression tends to be a telltale sign of things, but I hope the best for you...

 

Get the car back home, and figure things out. In the car business we are always trying to steal cars with bad motors, or ones that do not run. You are 10 times better off getting her running then trying to sell her if you still want to.

 

id say take it home . open up an ebay account, and part every damn part and nut and bolt off of it. you will probably have enough to buy a 355 ! think about it . off the top of my head i can think of the sought after parts adding up to 30k minimum .

 

Well, what did you do?
Evacuate the immediate pain or put up with a nonrunner?

 

Yeah, inquiring minds want to know ... I am also interested in it if you decide to sell it.

 

Good luck. It seems to me most folks who will want to buy your car with a blown motor will offer way less than 35,000$, though you never know. VERY few folks work on their own ferrari's. Most folks will do the math differently. Car is 50k$ in nice shape. Minus 25,000$ for dealer to fix motor, plus any hassles and unknowns...equals 20,000$ offer for car...or less.

Go ahead, fix it yourself...

 

good post , this.
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I was thinking along the same lines that the car with a blown motor is worth about 20K - 25K on the open market

 

I can verify that tmobile guy is overwhelmed with what has happened. The update is that I have arranged for him to borrow a trailer today and go down to pick-up his car from Shelton. When he gets it back in town, Greg (Owens308QV) and I will get it up and take a look at it. The brotherhood will find out what is going on and get it going!!!

 

Right on Bro !

 

Nice. Glad to see he's in good hands. There WILL be a happy ending to all of this eventually.

 

If it's the motor, he can count himself lucky to have a used engine available for such a good price!!! In the end, I bet the cost be will be almost like getting a major done. Just a little more hassle. I'd be in shock too!!!!! After the dust settles on this one, I don't think he'll come out too bad at all.

keep us posted!