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major service question

Discussion in '348/355' started by boaties, Jul 18, 2013.

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  1. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #1 boaties, Jul 18, 2013
    Is there any way for me to tell if my car has had its mj service recently without dropping the engine? Since I bought it from an auction I got a new title with no previous owner info. I ran a diag on the car and it had cat error codes I reset them and they haven't come back on yet. The suspension error light is on and the oil pressure sending unit is bad ......what a list :) I am sorting the car out and I want to make sure I do everything right. I do have a small inspection camera I can use if there is something I can look for. I plan on doing a major this winter I just wanted to drive it a bit before I take her apart
     
  2. plugzit

    plugzit F1 Veteran
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    Bruce Bogart
    #2 plugzit, Jul 18, 2013
    Carbon may have info on the car, send him your sn. Carfax may have good clues as to where the car has been.
    No way to tell about the service. Lots of cars running out there needing service driven daily, but drive at your own risk....like ya stole it.
     
  3. 2NA

    2NA F1 World Champ
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    #3 2NA, Jul 18, 2013
    There's no conclusive way to prove when a service was performed, even if you take it apart.

    Documented recent service is a significant selling point. It's safe to assume that if any had been done you would know about it.

    The minor issues that you mention sound very much like a car that is due for service. Start fresh with a new major and you won't have to worry about it.
     
  4. Saint Bastage

    Saint Bastage F1 Rookie

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    #4 Saint Bastage, Jul 18, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2013
    Barring any seriously bad signs I'd probably finish out the season albeit gingerly. Look at it this way...If you had documentation that the last service was 3 years ago, would you drive it till winter? what if the service was 5 years ago? How about if it was 7 years ago? The point is there is no hard line that says 2 or 3 more months are going to make a difference. Its more important to listen for things that don't sound right like tennsioner bearings, belt lash, etc... For the record, I don't warrantee my opinion but its what I did with my car when I bought it knowing the service was 6 years old.
     
  5. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
    85
    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #5 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    Quick question, every now and then when I get the car over 2k I can hear a rattle and the first time I ran the car and hit 8k rpm I heard a metal on metal sound and my neighbor said he saw a few sparks come from around the drivers seat firewall area under the car. Since then I just have a loose rattle sound when it revs higher. Im wondering if that could be the tensioner bearings? It could be a alt bearing etc not sure just wanting any advice you have for me being new to Ferrari's. I guess the only way to know what is going on is to get it on a lift and run it to see if I can locate the source or pull the engine, its just a "major" job and I have never worked on a Ferrari motor befor. I dodnt know where all the seals go and the Torq settings for everything I remove and replace etc. I have seen the DIY thresds but none of them cover that typr of info, only removal and re-insatll (they are an excellent source of info though). Anyone had this issue before :)

    Also the car has 31K miles on it, it has Ferrari Headers on it. I hear alot of horror stories about valave guides but no way to tell if my car has had issues in the past. Given the 31K miles would my car have had header and valve issues before the 31K mark or do they make it taht long sometimes before they start showing signs. I know these are tough questions to answer because every car has its day and you cant predict when that day will come justy looking for the usual valve and exhaust failures.

    The exhaust doent tick or leak car seeems to run and idle perfect, the rattle happens every know and then and the squeal only happened once.

    P.S. Im a good sport and plan to own Ferrari's the rest of my life so I am in this game to learn and get my hands dirty, I won't give up on the car. The cool part is the car will be perfect when its done I just dont know when done will be :)

    Thanks Guys
     
  6. AceMaster

    AceMaster Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #6 AceMaster, Jul 20, 2013
    Is this a 348 or 355? The headers and valve guides are a common issue on the 355, not on a 348.
     
  7. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #7 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    1997 F355 6 speed
     
  8. Dave rocks

    Dave rocks F1 World Champ
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    #8 Dave rocks, Jul 20, 2013
    Rattles, metal on metal contact, sparks....,,,


    IMO, you need service now before more damage goes down.....
     
  9. Saint Bastage

    Saint Bastage F1 Rookie

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    #9 Saint Bastage, Jul 20, 2013
    Cambelts and tensioners are fully enclosed. Rattles and sparks from under the car behind the drivers sound very much like loose flashing getting caught up in your alternator. You got a floor jack and a creeper?
     
  10. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #10 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    Im going to pull the motor in the next few weeks and go through it, I was just wanting to know if anyone had any aears I should check first for the source of the rattle etc. I am going through every inch of the car to make it perfect. I guess if I miss this season, I will have an awesome one to look forward to next year :) Im not scared I know I can fix what ever is going on, it could actually be something very simple (heat shield or something rubbing a pullly at high rpm). I have had things on my tripple engine boat that I thought were major problems and turned out to be minor (you just have to man up and pull it apart to figure it out).
     
  11. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #11 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    I will get it on the lift this weekend and look for that. I know my motor sounds and the car runs perfect (I nned to upload a video) I agreee I think its more like that and they could have done that moving the car before I got it. They move them around on those lots with giant fork lifts, it would make sense. I will start there before I get tooo worked out. I really appreciate all the help and tips.
     
  12. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    #12 yelcab, Jul 20, 2013
    Good call.
    Good luck.
     
  13. WATSON

    WATSON Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #13 WATSON, Jul 20, 2013
    The suspension light will come on if you start the car more than three times (or turn the key on) without moving the wheels. The ECU thinks a sensor is dead.

    Start the car and drive it 15' and the light will go out.
     
  14. bobzdar

    bobzdar F1 Veteran

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    #14 bobzdar, Jul 20, 2013
    You can read the date codes off of the belts. I did that after I bought mine to verify that the service had been done and the date on the belts was within a year of the service date (late Dec. 2009 date code on the belts for Dec 2010 major). I was able to read the code on the belt with the undertray off from under the car.
     
  15. Dave rocks

    Dave rocks F1 World Champ
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    #15 Dave rocks, Jul 20, 2013
    Very interesting, great info
     
  16. 355dreamer

    355dreamer F1 World Champ
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    #16 355dreamer, Jul 20, 2013
    Good to know. Is this only for the 5.2 cars?

    Also, the OP's car was bought with front end damage from a salvage yard, so the problem might be an actual failure of the gear.
     
  17. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #17 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    This makes sense because it wasn't on the first few times I drove the car and it just recently came on (the car has been sitting in the shop every time I run it) I haven't moved it since then. I have been running the car to sort out the rattle and the (Now proven) faulty oil pressure sensor (replaced it and no problems). I will see if I can find the rattle and read the belts and go from there. I will keep you guys updated with pictures and info throughout the project. Once again I really appreciate all the help. I cant wait to get the car back on the road again.
     
  18. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #18 boaties, Jul 20, 2013
    Well the mystery is solved. The cam belts were from Ferrari not Dayco and they look older. The alt belt was frayed and slapping so it was probably causing the rattle hitting the heat shields. I have pictures I am going to post later. While the car is at my shop waiting on paint I am going to pull the motor and do a major on the car (I am actually pretty excited to do the work). I am going to go through everything while the motor is out and put it all back in perfect order. It does make me feel better that I found the problem and it wasn’t anything very serious. I will keep you guys posted as I go. Does Ferrari still make cam belts? I was just wondering how old these actually are, they didn’t look cracked they just looked worn like they had been on there for a while. My guess is that the car hasn’t had a major done in eight years or so.
     
  19. plugzit

    plugzit F1 Veteran
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    #19 plugzit, Jul 21, 2013
    Good finds! Hard to believe a PO hadn't addressed the flappy accessory belt, huh? I don't think timing belt failure itself is the big concern. My feeling is that belt failures the vast majority of the time are caused by tensioner bearing failure.
     
  20. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    #20 johnk..., Jul 21, 2013
    I have 2.7 car. First, i don't think the suspension has any relation to the engine ECU. However, If I start my car and let it sit, after a period of time the suspension light will come on. I just shut it off and restart and it goes off, as that is what the manual says to do. Never had it come on while driving.
     
  21. Dave rocks

    Dave rocks F1 World Champ
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    #21 Dave rocks, Jul 21, 2013
    I doubt if Ferrari ever made belts, more than likely, the belt supplier just private labeled for Ferrari.
     
  22. WATSON

    WATSON Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #22 WATSON, Jul 21, 2013
    The shocks have no correlation to the engine ECU.

    They do however have direct correlation to the Shock ECU located in the passenger footwell ;)
     
  23. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Shawn romberg
    #23 boaties, Jul 21, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  24. bobzdar

    bobzdar F1 Veteran

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    #24 bobzdar, Jul 21, 2013
    All of the belts have a date code on them, you can tell exactly how old they are from that (but they may have been installed 6 months to a year later).
     
  25. boaties

    boaties Karting

    Jun 21, 2013
    85
    Edmond oklahoma
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    Shawn romberg
    #25 boaties, Jul 21, 2013
    I will try and get the full number off them and post it so maybe you guys can give me a rough estimate. Not this coming weekend but the next I will pull the motor and post some pictures to see how long these belts made it
     
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