Cam-variator horror story, any input please!!!

Spend the $2500 and get it done. It's better than $25K later.

 

+1

 

I'm with Daniel and wouldn't wait until your next belt service. However, why not get a few more quotes from other reputable service facilities.

 

Rifledriver, in a previous post, said do it now. 25k might not cover the downside. FNA is covering a problem on an 8 year old car.

 

maybe this is obvious, but is the variator the same thing as the "tensioner"? i'll assume for now that it is. although this is a potentially VERY EXPENSIVE problem if the part fails, from what i gather there have been very few actual failures. very few. i am not an expert, but again from what i've picked up on this topic is that the original tensioner was a poor design and was also made of the crappiest pot metal on the planet. okay. so ferrari redesigns the tensioner, but again it is the second poorest design ever and it is still made fromt he sdame crappy pot metal. i spoke to an experienced ferrari mechanic about this because i'm getting close to doing a belt service on both of my stradales. he told me that he would inspect the tensioners for any signs of failure (specifically he'll look for and cracks). if he sees any cracking then he'll replace the tensioners. if they look "okay" then he'll leave them alone.

i wonder if you could ask ferrari to simply check to see if your tensioners are cracking? if they look okay then maybe it's reasonable to leave them alone? the modifed replacemernt tensioners are not much better than the original.

 

Rick,

I think I know who your "experienced Ferrari mechanic" is. I would go with anything he had to say as being 100% accurate.

 

E _ G _ _ _ O

 

Rob,
Sorry to hear about this. Until something breaks, I wouldn't quite call it a horror story. Have you tried to get FOW to explain why they want to charge you $2500.00 for this if they are removing the belts anyway? They seem to be pretty fair from what I have heard. Perhaps you should take to the service manager and see if he might be more reasonable. My $.02...

 

Robert - I would go back to Lake Forest and voice your issue with them. ANY authorized dealer would have known that the variator campaign WAS/IS a warranty item when the belt service is done. IF they had indeed done a belt service then they would have done the variator service at the same time. My dealer took care of the entire variator-related issue when I did the belt service five months ago. It was also a 1999 car with only 7800 miles. My mechanic showed me the variator that came out of the car and explained the weak point. It showed signs of stress cracks at the weak point so I would say that you could possibly be on borrowed time. However you get it done ... get it done. From what I've heard variator failure can be catastrophic.

 

here is what it looks like when it fails
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Variator or tensioner?

 

I seem to remember reading/seeing something from FNA that said the variators were to be done at belt service if required. That might be why they are asking to involve the belt service in your case.

I certainly wouldn't risk a failure in this area over $2500. When the valves contact the pistons, it is very nasty. Even if you rebuild the motor (which is a hassle), you will always worry whether the work was done right, etc.

Ray

 

Has any member of this message board experienced a variator failure ?

G

 

The fact that they told you that the variators didn't need to be changed when they were already in there makes me think that they should eat the time and do it for you. I would be extremely concerned if a supposed "professional" told you that they didn't need to be changed, and he is the same guy that's working on your car. However, either way it needs to be done and if you have to it's probably worth the $2,500.

 

Is it possible they had already been done ... could be the reason the lookup showed he didn't need the update ???

G

 

If the part were changed, LFSC would have listed it on the major/bill. If you don't have it, call them for a copy.

 

Robert,

Here is a PDF file that I created from the original Ferrari campaign information (I deleted the procedure details in order to get it to fit ferrarichat's attachment size limits).

Anyway, it may help you a little bit. It appears to detail that FNA will warranty 4.7 hours of labor done on a car that has already had the belts done perviously. Perhaps you can have your dealer pull up bulletin # 1232 for further information.

Ray
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I bought a 2002 360 in March which had 700 miles on it. The fluids had been done a little over 2 years ago, so I knew they were overdue (although I wasn't panicked because the current fluids had like 100 miles on them). Additionally, the car being "in service" now for 4.5 years, it was technically 1.5 years past the belt service. But, the belts had 700 miles on them. How bad could they be? I fretted about the whole thing for a while, but decided to cough up the $$ to do everything (belts, fluids, plugs, plus replacing a bearing that they found was seized) and then have full confidence the car was perfect.

It feels better this way.

 

Variator <> tensioner <> bearing.


A = variator.
B = tensioner bearing (rides on part C, tensioner)
C = tensioner.

3 ways to ruin your day:
---------------------------------------
1. #C develops a crack and the tension on the belt goes slack.
2. #B seizes and the belt slides itself into a smokey mess
3. #A fails and it's location at the end of the camshaft wreaks havoc similar to Iraq on a bad day.
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That is the tensioner

 

FNA's document above (see my previous post) does outline reusing the belt in some cases (for example, when they just change the tensioner). It's just a belt.. it's not the space shuttle.

Ray

 

I personally did not have the issue, but one of our clients experienced the worst nightmare of having the variators brake, for not complying with Recall 97. He was having his daily drive in his car until he he heard a very loud bang in the engine and everything went stiff and the car did not turn on again. When we removed the heads, we found out that most of the valves were bent and guides needed to be replaced, plus the working of the heads itself. So imagine how much $$ he had to spend to fix his baby.

Here are some pics, and sorry for the quality, but were taken by our tech in the shop.
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