328 Problem!

Your hood has good foam closure strips??

This is important and they tend to crumble over time.

 

No, you don't get it...it is their responsibility to make it right. They should send a truck over to pick your car up, service it and bring it back at THEIR expense. ANY good Ferrari dealership would do this. It's a Ferrari, not a Ford! and you are the Customer, not the mechanic! I'll tell you if you screw something up in fixing it then it WILL be your problem. I can't believe an owner wouldn't insist on having the dealership make good on something they sold you...come'on, it's a Ferrari!

 

I hear ya. I guess my thought was if it IS just the cap, which they overnighted to me, then its not a big deal. Trust me though, if its not just the cap, it will be sent straight back to Shelton.

 

I'd call Shelton. they are very nice at the service department and will tell you to probably check to see if you can bleed some air out of the system, or put a new radiator cap on. They did a 1500 mile service on my dad's 1986 TR back when it was new. We had it shipped up to North Carolina for the summer. The accessory belts got all chewed up from being too tight after about an hour of driving it. They flew a mechanic up to fix it the same day! I picked the mechanic up at the Asheville airport and had a fun drive back to the mountains (about 90 minutes). He crawled under the car and fixed it, then flew back to Fort Lauderdale the same day. They have GREAT service IMHO. I would do what Shelton service recommends. Or trade in that 328 for a 348!
BT

 

You need to do what you are most comfortable doing. And in the end trying to diagnose this problem has been a learning experience for more than just you so some good has come from it no doubt. I just hate to see folks taken, particularly on something that is so expensive. I have a number of F cars. I have to send them anywhere from 100-200 miles for dealership service (when they are in warranty). Over the years I have han few but some problems with the service. In one case it was seemingly a simple oil leak after fluid changes that probably could have been solved by putting a wrench to the problem. But I had the dealership come get the car, take it to their shop, fix it and return it all at their expense principally for two reasons: 1) I paid them to change the fluids correctly and 2) to let them know if my car wasn't taken care on to the best of their abilities it was coming right back to them.



I hate to see your first ownership experience turn out this way. They really are great, fun cars. They do require maintenance and sometimes people make mistakes and the maintenance isn't done correctly. The dealership can't get better and won't get better unless customers hold them accountable for their work.



Another reason in Texas to send a newly purchased car back to a dealer is to make sure one stays within the lemon laws - generally speaking if a dealer has not fixed the same problem within 3 tries of the first year of ownership the car can then be put back to them.



Best of luck. Hopefully your ownership experience gets better from here.

 

I agree. If you are going to a Ferrari Dealer, paying top $$$ then they need to help you out. the cooling system is something they should have checked, it takes 5 min the pressure check the cap, etc.... Ron Reineke lurkes on this board once and a while and he works at Shelton... on the Maserati side... call him to help you out... he'll do you right!!! or point you in the right direction.

Using tap water really does not hurt your car that much either... more water than antifreese in S. Fla is probabbly better any way.

 

I'm surprised that you had a puddle in the front. Typically , if it was burping it, would be toward the driver's side rear?

 

Water from the front is NORMAL, that is from the A/C condensor.

 

Oddly enough, the most effective way I've found to bleed a 328's cooling system doesn't seem like it should work --- but it does.

I use a hand pump to put a couple of PSI positive pressure on the top of the expansion tank at the cap opening, with the car cold and not running, then burp the air at the radiator and thermostat housing bleeder valves. That get's 'er done. Last time: one try, no repeats (with heater valves open).

The t-stat housing bleed apparently deals with the t-stat not being open. With the car not running, the air isn't circulating -- it just collects at the high points.

The tricky bit is getting a good pressure seal around a hose at the lower lip of the expansion tank cap opening ... below the overflow pipe connection.

A big rubber stopper from a science supply house (remember high school chem lab?) might do the trick, but I've been McGuyvering it up with paper towels, plastic bags, rubber bands, and tie-wraps. Not a great pressure seal, but enough to push the air out the bleeder valves.

One shop that tried bleeding it hot had trouble getting the radiator bleed valve to seal tight until the car cooled a bit. I haven't had any trouble with that same valve, bleeding it cold.

 

Now why would I do that when I have a 355... LOL!! Your 348 is a beaut though!

Thanks for the great replies everyone. I drove the car again last night, half an hour, lots of high rpm. Everything was fine, no overheating, no liquid on the garage floor afterwards. Seems as though it was just the cap. Will keep an eye on it though. Spoke with Bud again, and if there is even the slightest thing wrong, it will be shipped back to them to make it right. The Ferrari technicians at Shelton wanted me to check to see if it was just the cap first. Turns out (so far) they were right.

I'm just glad its running great again.

 

By the way, just in case you guys missed the pics of the car we are talking about, they are here:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159168

I can't thank you guys enough for helping me on this issue.
All the best,
Ryan