Well thats not it next guess lol

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MAAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!

Sorry to hear mate!!

But, its all good. I am sure she will be back on the road before you know it and she will be running better than ever!

 

Wow, I too was really hoping it was just a valve problem. Roberto, believe me, you have a lot of people feeling and pulling for you. You're probably right about something getting into the plug hole when you were re-torquing them. I hope it's a relatively quick and not too expensive fix. You might as well have the whole engine gone through since you have to break her apart. Best of luck.

 

Sorry to hear this Berto.

 

Sorry to hear Roberto. But she will be better then ever when your done. If there's anything I can do for you out west here let me know.

Cheers

 

You are correct my friend, you're always so optimistic your glass is always half full

Thank you

Thanks mate I do appreciate it

 

I don't see how anything could have dropped into the spark plug hole when you checked and tightened your plugs before the trip. The plug wire boot makes a very tight seal against the cam cover, which should keep even tiny debris out of the hole. The #1 spark plug as you pictured it still had the little screw-on cap on it, and didn't appear to have dropped the center electrode. Have you looked at the end of the spark plug wire to see if any plastic pieces may have broken off?

If there was a spark plug cap in the hole when you pulled the plug out (doesn't seem very likely) then it could have dropped inside and got hammered between the piston and the head and caused the mayhem. Might even account for the shiny spot you saw on the crown of the piston if it's still embedded in there.

 

ok, this may sound stupid considering I dont know alot about the valvetrain on a 348 motor... I would pull the valve cover and take a look before I pulled the motor cradle out. A broken valve spring or collapsed lifter/tappet can cause the same problem, and wouldn't require such a huge amount of labor or time to fix!

 

+1...The visual results you mentioned suggest the piston is intack (No obvious hole). Knowing your compression was "0", doesn't that strongly suggest a valve issue?

 

It certainly wouldn't hurt to remove the cam cover for an inspection of the valve train before pulling the engine. But, a broken valve spring or a collapsed lifter should cause a very noticeable noise, and would it account for the oil consumption? I don't think it would account for the zero compression reading, either, unless possibly both the inner and outer valve spring was broken and the valve was stuck open.

You could conceivably replace valve springs and lifters without even removing the head from the engine, but you would have to have compression in order to do it, and you would have to remove the cams, which would mean a new timing belt, which would mean removing the engine.....

 

For the record, a valve spring and/or lifter could be replaced without removing the head or the cam... OR the motor!
If you turn the motor over to put that piston at TDC, pull the valve up and use a compression tester to hold air pressure in the cylinder, which would hold the valves up... you can then replace the springs.
If the lifter is bad, you'd have to remove the valve spring and drop the valve down to get the rocker arm out and then reinstall the valve spring using the above method.

I have used this method on a Porsche 944 motor, a few Honda motors, and a Toyota 22R.
Its total "back-yard" auto mechanics, but it works!

Considering the lack of an obvious noise in this case, you're probably right Jeff.

 

Rocker arm? 348 engine?

 

Actually, it could be as simple as a bent push rod!

 

Did the compression test reported also lower than normal on another cylinder ? Perhaps it is a good idea to take the engine down anyway ...

 

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut... You guys know exactly what I meant. I just really need to go back to lurking!

 

Jeez Steve...so sensitive. While an engine removal might be required after all, yanking a cam cover for a look see is my next move also.

 

No worries Steve. Lurking is no fun! Here's the set up FYI.
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Mark...Love your paperwieghts and clip board. Not sure I would have used grannys afgan as an underlay.

 

That is what I am thinking also but the scope didn't look good, I still have my fingers crossed.

Steve never.... your input is always appreciated here

Compression on the corresponding cylinder was 150psi, 30psi lower than the average of 180psi

Thanks for the pics, what is that custom body panel holder you have there? looks comfortable .

 

Thanks for the pics, what is that custom body panel holder you have there? looks comfortable .[/QUOTE]

It's Ferrari special tool AV 0348 and it cost's way too much.

 

Do you guys drink beer while working on your Fcar ?

 

Not always, sometimes we drink wine when we're celebrating Roberto replied to your PM. Hang in there brother this does not have to be too painful assuming the cylinder liner, piston and rings are intact. Hmmm might be an excuse to drag my ass and some tools up to Saskatchewan for an engine out vacation. I highly recommend the leak down test though. Fact of the matter is that engine will have to come out and cylinder head will have to come off. Just checked airfare and $565 round trip is not to bad. Last time I was in Canada we were doing some fishing in Ontario circa 1989. My guess is a broken valve spring/s causing it to tap the piston and bending the valve.
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Bloody alcho's!!

 

Ahhhh....just joking.
We just love to have fun here in the 348/355 section!

 

LMAO!!

 

No, no, no Pap. They aren't alcoholics, they're drunks. Alcoholics go to meetings.