Bought my second 308. Can I work on it myself?

Except for the AC which requires some special equipment, you are all set to tackle the rest. Read up on this site and you are good.

 

Hi GeoMetry.

I'm not a DIY good mechanic so I can't give to you any advice. But I can help with the service manual. In this link you will find the Service Manual. It's a 7 Mb PDF file http://ferrari.jenkins.org/books/308QV_328_workshop.pdf

Enjoy

 

Hmmm . .. if you hate suspension work I interpret that is you might get frustrated doing "certain" tasks . . . you don't want to be doing cam belts and getting frustrated .. . especially if there's a voice in the back of your head that's saying "this sucks . . .now I've got to fix that . .. I could of just taken the easy way and had the dealer do it" . . . if you hear this voice and can afford it take it to the dealer.

 

Most of the stuff you mentioned is a PITA but doable. As far as timing belts are concerned. I would do them [with lots of homework] but read this first

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194092

And if I were doing the belts with so many unknowns I would pull the motor, do all the gaskets and seals, fuel and vac hoses, coolant flush and new hoses, breather hoses and last but not least a valve adjustment. Mine is not in need for a valve adjustment this season but next season I may just pull the motor, do the heads [I have sodium valves] with new SS exhaust valves and all of the above.

 

I just did the belts, I don't recommend pulling the motor unless you plan on doing more, really not that big of deal, just take your time !! Take off the hood, inter wheel wells and there's plenty of room!

 

I agree

 

hello,
i rebuilt the motor on my beloved Gina about four years ago.
i must be the thickest, most stupidest knob head on here !
if i can, anyone can ... believe me !
cheers, d

 

Just dumb luck, LOL

 

It's easier than you think. Download the manuals, read this board, pay attention to details and you should have no problems. It's a 30 year old car and it's less complex in most cases than a modern car.

Hal

 

It is "easy" but then again he took her to the dealership for a broken spring.

 

Im gonna be brutally honest...so dont get offended...but this is what i would do if i was you.

You mention that you dont have 10k for the car to fix it(at a dealer).....dont risk doing this job yourself....keep the car in the garage (dry)for a year or 18 months and leave it alone. When you get enough money to fix it, get it done correclty for the 10K. From then forward if you are a handy man, then by all means do your own service. I would not risk making a finacial mistake by trying to save a few bucks now and risk popping the engine or finding out something worse latter on. You have the car now...congrats...its not going anywhere.....just deal with it when you can later.

You have never done this work before (on a ferrari), you dont have the money and your still gonna spend 50% of that 10K on parts anyhow...sounds like to me, your timing is off abit....dont rush it, take your time. Also, you dont know what your getting into since this really isnt your car, you have no idea what is what when you take it apart and putting back is even correct, let a experienced person do this correctly, or pay someone to do it with you when you can afford too.

my 2 cents....i know you probably wont listen, but i tried to help

 

Congrats on the new car. You most certainly can do it yourself. I did an engine pull on my '78 308 last year, belt change, and a whole lot more. And I'm not a professional mechanic. Far from it. Take your time, ask lots of questions, search the threads here, and you'll be able to do things you want to do. Take one thing at a time, take some pictures, read the manuals, check the blown-up pictures in the parts manual. Use your logic -- it all comes apart and goes back together logically.

So, have a good time with the new car, and enjoy it, both driving it and working on it.

 

Congrats on the '85 308. I have a black '85 GTS myself that I purchased last summer... wish I could say mine is totally rust free. It is all original and in great shape except for a few minor rust spots on the lower drivers side door panel.

I have done a lot of the general maintenance myself. I have a lift in my garage which makes it much easier. I would be willing to do everything you mentioned except for the timing belts.... that I would leave to the professionals.

 

hey geometry, i noticed you're in VA..me too. there's no need to go to the dealer. head over to competizione and sports cars in gaithersburg, md. competizionecars.com. chances are they can take $3K off of the dealer quote. they do excellent work. serviced both my TR and 308 there. check them out in the mid-atlantic section.

 

Richard,

Congrats on the new car, they are quite wonderful. If you get around to it please enter as much as you know about 57345 onto my website www.308qvregister.com I do not have any info on your car at all. Good to see one come out of the shadows.

Pics please

Wade

 

I dont always agree with Big red but I have to say that this is the approach I took...sort of.

When I bought my car (87' 328 GTS) I had all of the service records documented but it was due for a major, since this was my first Ferrari I decided to go to a trusted source (not the dealer by the way) and sunk $10k into it immediately. We ran into a lot of things that I wasnt expecting but after reading here and doing some research I should have expected them. I would be willing to bet that your cars valves need to be shimmed, Ferda spent almost 14 hours getting mine right and I stood there with him through most of it. There is definately a science and an art to these cars. I know that this is a tough bite to swallow and yes it IS a lot of money but for me it was well worth it. I can now get into my 328 and I have NO PROBLEMS or worries if I want to take her to 7,000 RPM. I know that it is right and it is the way Enzo designed it to be. This was only my personal prefference and I didnt know the car as well as I do now, if/when I buy my next Ferrari I will most likely do the same thing...just piece of mind for me.

 

I was not ferrari savy at all when I bought my 308 GTB it had issues like sitting for the last 7 years.

as soon as I got the car into the garage and looked it over, took a ton of pictures and started removing parts, I decided I wanted to pull the motor out for cleaning and I needed to get the fuel tanks out.

While it was out I completed the major on it and cleaned the fuel system out fixed what needed it and replaced all the fuel hoses.

I droped the motor back in and it was pretty simple for me, But I have all the tools to do it.

But you are not required to pull the motor I did it for housekeeping purposes and it took me longer to get the manifolds off than to remove clean and install the motor back in the car hahaha


anyway if you the ability to work on a chevy you can work on this car all you need is the manuals.

And like you said the internet is a big help I learned more from these guys about this stuff than the book ever told me.

changing the belts was pretty easy!


later and have fun with the car dont waste 10K on mainteance you can do yourself.