Hi Fellas, Been awhile since my last post.... work and more work.... After my wife and I had just finished a 250k run yesterday I put the 348 into the garage, popped the engine bonnet, got out and did my traditional walk-around. All looked, felt and smelt fine. Came back out 2 hours later to get potatoes from the cold room and walking by Tessi I find a 4'x4' section of the floor covered with coolant. The potatoes and supper never happened. I put the car on the hoist. When I examined the leak origin (dead center of front of the engine) I would have put down big money that my h20 pump had failed and the lump was going to have to be pulled. Lowered the car back down went inside and got depressed for a bit. Then went back out, got the high powered spot light and took a look from the top side of the engine. After a few mins of laying on the engine bay with a light I am just able to see that the top of the engine center (directly under the plenum) is covered with coolant. The question now was, "can a leaking water pump put coolant on the top of the engine?". Shortly after I win the big prize and am just able to spot a hose directly under the middle of the plenum that is completely severed! I was so bloody happy... It's the hose from the back side of the coolant reservoir - Pic#1 (not the overflow hose) I was able to cut about 1 inch off and still reattach but it was very difficult getting in there - all electrical connectors must come off and you must loosen and move the throttle cable pivot arm. You can do it without removing the plenum. The second pic shows how rotten this hose was. It was total failure. Where we had gone for a drive there was nothing - I feel very fortunate to have not been stranded. My car is a '91 with 36K. I wont go far out until all my hoses are checked. Keep your eyes on those gauges! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Temp/pressure probably went up when you parked it and shut it down (no more coolant circulation or air flow) and was the final straw for that hose. Checked? Hope you meant CHANGED. If you haven't changed them yourself in the last 7 years or so I would change them all. Put in silicone and new, quality S.S. clamps with a SMOOTH internal surface. Peace of mind and cheap insurance. I think you got lucky it failed after parking the car. I can see the "teeth" marks on the hose in the photo you posted. Not a kosher type of clamp that was used. Something like this is good stuff: http://www.bakerprecision.com/hoseclmp.htm
I hear you Jeff. This winter I am going to do them all plus the vac lines... I gotta ask you, how did you tighten the hose clamp? My flexi-cable ratchet barely made it in there...
IIRC, I tightened the clamp with a 1/4" (or 8mm?) socket on a 1/4" drive ratchet, little at a time. No extension. I have small, gnarly hands.
Troy, as mentioned, that hose needs to be replaced. Now for the fun stuff - if you didn't replace the threaded insert that goes between the hose and the metal coolant pipe on your last major, that should be replaced as well. It can be a bear to remove (I had to use a lot of heat to get mine out) and the intake plenum has to be removed to get that sucker out. I just replaced all my hoses a couple of weeks ago with Dave's SRI hoses when I had the motor out. These things are so well built they will probably outlast the car.
Damn... Why do I always feel like I'm the last one to the party! This hose issue apparently is not news... I hear you on Dave's products... They all sound like they are finely tuned and engineered by someone that actually knows from time and years how Ferrari parts need to be fabricated for our cars. I am doing the oil chain gear and all hoses this winter... Don't know if I'll have the cash for his connector solution... That fits into the "nice to have" category at the moment. I love these machines.
Here's a pic of the threaded insert; this was the condition it was in (pretty bad) and my hose was starting to bulge but not quite near bursting yet. Dave's stuff is top-notch. If you can swing it, it's a great time to do the connector kit while the engine is out for your other repairs. It can be done with the motor in; hopefully you have smaller hands than I do if you go that route! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hose issues are not news on any Ferrari or any water-cooled car since "way back when." Hoses deteriorate/weaken. Vibration, heat, oil, oil vapor, bad clamps, over-tightened clamps etc. all take their toll. Oddball cars like ours make it more difficult to get to some of the hoses, the likely higher prices for some hoses and typically greater number of hoses on these cars can lead to neglect or wishful thinking ("should be good for a few more years").
Same deal on the 308's and 328"s (and no doubt TR's etc. etc.). This nipple gets badly corroded and plugged-up. Sometimes completely. The combination of old anti-freeze (turns acidic), the proximity of dissimilar metals (brass temp. sensors screwed into aluminum) and the voltage going through the sensor(s) may all contribute to make this a location that is more susceptible to corrosion. Image Unavailable, Please Login
^ Erich - That nipple has also been address by Hill Engineering. They found (like most folks) the original Ferrari parts get hopelessly corroded. They offer one in 316 aluminum, which should last into the next millennium. We have them at Ricambi America: http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=190362 .
Good stuff Daniel! Mine was in pretty good shape-- probably because the coolant was changed regularly but I know some of them are on their last legs (if not past that...).
Yep, that's what replaced mine, and you are the guy I got it from! Now if we can just get Paul to machine a 15mm hex before the threads it would be a snap to R&R in the future without having to remove the intake plenum.
Every Ferrari I owned I ended up replacing all the coolant hoses on. Just the way it is if you want the car reliable. OEM hose quality on Ferrari is pretty bad. If you don't want to be replacing them every few years, get the silicone replacements from Ricambi America (what I have) or from Dave Helms. Both will last much longer. By comparison, it is well known that the hoses on a BMW will last to 150k miles no problem. BTW, you should use BMW coolant rather than the green stuff. It is much better on aluminum components. I hear Mercedes stuff is equally good too. I use the BMW stuff as I have a BMW and already have it on the shelf.
I've just been through this on the 355. I replaced every single coolant hose with silicone when I pulled the engine. Except of course the rad hoses. Both of which failed within 6 months of pulling the engine. Luckily, I still had plenty of hose left over, so both sides are done now. But you're really best replaceing the whole box and dice.
The 348 is old, the F355 is almost old. If you own either of these cars and are having a major done* than replace very piece of rubber in the engine bay for reliability. You should be replacing all rubber hoses every 7 years, 10 years if you like pushing you luck and don't mind being stranded on the side of the road.
Stupidity and forgetfulness. I meant to (had the hoses) but it simply slipped my mind. Doofus that I am.
Yeah I know it. I know that hoses have their lifespans but this one is so well hidden that I just thought I would post my little experience.
Dont'cha hate when you've got nobody else to blame? Kinda like when you run out of gas and nobody else has driven the car. Still tryin' to learn this California culture after 20+ years here. NEVER take responsibility for any screw-up if there's somebody else to blame!
