Bradan 575 service project

Why are Ferrari tensioners such rubbish please?

I used to race an Alfa Sud engine and that engine had over 100,000 miles on it and I never replaced the tensioner bearings EVER and we ended up with an engine producing 200hp out of a 1.6 ltr 2 valve engine (very highly modified with not many Alfa parts left, but the tensioners were the original) that would rev to 8500 all race day long. We used to tension the timing belts to has tight as we could, and we had 12.5mm lift cams and with 3 times less cylinders surely the belts and tensioners would be higher loaded (?).

I've also never heard of the Alfa v6 engine having tensioner problems, or the FIAT 124 engine or ANY other engine ... just Ferrari engines.

The belts and the tensioner bearings do pretty much the same thing on all engines ... why can't Ferrari get it right? Surely they could use a bearing that is 3 times more expensive and thus much better?
Pete

 

Pete,

I couldnt agree with you more! I find it very disappointing that an almost $300,000 exotic car has such simple flaws. Maybe this a case of functional obsolescence, where as in the flaws of the belts, materials, etc..or poor design make in constantly necessary for costly repairs, that FERRARI is well aware of, as to keep the customers coming in for expensive maintanance/repairs????

Leo

 

Very impressive. Leo is going to have a 575M with nothing lacking. Great photos and this should be duplicated in the 575 forum.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Some are, most are not. The factory supplied 308 and 348 tensioners are junk. All the others are pretty good parts. Also in my early days in this business we could count on the owner bringing in his car to find out what the strange sound is. Now we cannot count on it being brought in until the car stops. To be honest most tensioners are replaced because if one in five hundred failed it would be held against us, we would have to pay for the motor repair and we would be publicly crucified. There is no longer such a thing as bad luck. People want someone to blame for everything and the last guy that touched it gets to be the fall guy. It is called survival in the modern business world.

It is really easy to convince people to replace parts most of the time and a big reason is this place. People come here and get scared by all the stories they read, never mind what the reality is or the whole story. That combined with the fact that if I make a judgement call and reuse a part, it is on me. If I replace it and it fails I can blame Ferrari. With the realities of modern business it becomes a no brainer and is why costs of everything keep spiraling up.

 

what do u guys charge for a front bumper respray... ?

 

from what i have read, the under hood area is a result of a chemical reaction between the components of the hood. aluminum bonded to something.... and not previous paintwork.

almost every 575 i have seen has it in some form.