Life on the Edge - 12 year old belts

With my Mondial, I've always been a bit conserative as far as taking it MAX RPM. My first Ferrari and all. I push my 348 a bit harder, but still don't approach 7500. Maybe 6500. Maybe I'll lean into it a bit more next time I drive it......

 

Flip side. Service costs saved 4 x $6k~$8k = $24k~$32k(US 355 service costs per Ferrari rec 3 year intervals).
I am far too conservative to take the risk myself but there is a considerable savings if you gamble and win!

 

"You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run....."

 

Considering the cost, headache, labor and heartbreak involved if I lose, this is not a "bet" I'm going to take.

I would be more confident, however, if Ferrari had placed a warranty on their belts - something like "Guaranteed not to break within three years. Recommended service interval five years." Something like that.

I also don't understand why Ferrari engines have such (evidently) weak belts and tensioner bearings. The recommended service interval is the shortest of any car in the world, and the cost of replacing the belts the most expensive.

Still, I'm not taking any risks!

 

"winner winner, chicken dinner!!!"

 

I thought all you 348/355 drivers had your hair on fire most of the time just to hear those beautiful noises, especially the 355. I have a bad habit of bouncing my 575M off the rev limiter occasionally. Car seems to love it and sure makes glorious noises.

575M drivers lucked out. We got factory recommended five year belt changes.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

lol

 

Terry , does that mean the 575M guys push it back to 7 years? As the 348/355 is a 3-year recommendation, most add 2 years and use the 5-year interval....just curious if some 575 owners also add 2 years.

 

550/575 is so much easier b/c the engine doesn't need to be removed. The parts aren't too bad, so I can't see any advantage to stretching the interval further than factory-recommended.

 

I also wonder if the longer factory recommendation on 550/575 is due to less heat in the engine bay when compared to the 348/355?


*^Thinking outloud^*

 

AAhhh...thanks for the clarification...

 

Mike- No, most of them thought it was three years and were changing the belts every three years. I have written about it several times and catch a few, but most still use three years. The 550 guys are more likely to stretch it out.

Remember, the V12 belt changes are not as big a deal as the V8s, like Daniel said. Can be done easily with no engine removal. Mine done in Spring 08 only cost $1200 from Bobileff. It was a lock and swap, which is fine for relatively new cars with no leaks.

James- A new belt design was introduced very early in 575M production. Before the belt change, the interval was three years. When they redesigned the belts, Ferrari knew the same engine would be used in the 612, and longer service intervals were desired.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Thanks Terry, that is interesting info.

 

There is no problem with weak Ferrari belts and tensioners. It is the nature of the beast that comes into play. That isn't to say that Ferrari parts are top of the line, but any engine that makes 100+ horsepower per liter is going to have reliability issues. Not to mention making peak power at 8000+ rpm. People need to realize that a Ferrari is a race car for the street. No race engine has a guarantee not to break clause. If people want to see some maintenance costs add up, go buy a real race car. In a perfect world nothing breaks, but in reality, parts fail and engines break. Look at aviation, with all the annual inspections required and extensive upkeep and so on...parts still fail and planes crash. When someone makes an unbreakable part for an engine, I'll be the first in line to buy...

 

IMO has nothing to do with the power level or being a Ferrari. I've seen premature / low mileage timing belt failures on almost every make / model car that could have the issue. Most recently a late model Audi with smashed valves. This happened within a year of the timing belt being replaced......at the dealer. They didn't feel it was necessary to replace all of the rollers & tensioner since they were still "working fine" as it said on the repair order. Guess what failed?

We should be thankful Ferrari designed this motor to keep the water pump off the timing belt. That's a can of worms a lot of other car enthusiasts deal with, which can lead to block damage from the pump along with smashed valves.

Being a mid-engine car does pose an additional threat to the belt from additional heat a front engine car would not experience. The bearings / tensioners are assembled with a small squirt of grease that is to last the life of the part. Add in the hot working environment, you cannot expect these parts to last forever.

Take my fathers 97 - when I pulled off the tensioners last winter, they were stamped 1996. The repair order from the previous major service (at a dealership) did not show any record of changing them. I compared the amount of "spring action" to new ones, not even close to the same. IMO they were on the verge of total failure. The rollers that were changed did not spin smoothly and the backside was covered in grease that bled out of the seal.

 

12 yr old belts.................sir, you are my hero!

 

Thank you Pap, but there's a fine line between hero and goat. Let's see if if holds together until NJB gets it on their truck tomorrow for it's ride to the Ferrari Hospital.

Geno