Sometimes ya just gotta make a value judgement. Who ya fixin' it for? For your personal Sunday driving pleasure at 45mph or for a client who demands perfection to the last horsepower? Are you resale oriented needing perfect figures on a dial or are you going to keep it forever and continue to put 2500mi per year on it? Sometimes when I see a drop of oil under my car I think "Oil is cheap!" But then again, that one's a keeper. I've run compression and leakage tests on a lot of cars. Never my own. Sometimes I think people are just looking for a reason to be dissatisfied with what they've got. They keep going to the doctor running tests til they sind something wrong. I think back to Nicholson shouting "You can't handle the truth!" Sometimes the truth is in just driving it like ya stole it with no worries. Kinda like my wife.....it ain't perfect, but man, I like it anyway, and I can't fix her anyway. My 2c.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have no desire to make more work for myself by creating it from thin air.
Replaced #3 and #7 on my 355, sound like a common problem on 355s Brian? Looked at the old liner. Appears to have the Mahle logo. #066? below logo I think.
Ha! So true. I licked my girl about 4 years ago and my tongue is still frozen solid to her oh nevermind. Nothing like your first!! (Not that I'd know... I do want to add a 430 or 458 in the future but worried it might not be anywhere near as cool as my cherry-popper F355)
Which is related to cat failure which is related running rich which is related to the leg bone connected to the ankle bone, so on so on so on. Could make a song out of these cars so we remember to keep them running correctly Any song writers out younder?
I love the 458 just can't see myself happy with one. No user serviceable stuff to play with, thats most of the fun for me. One of my friends has one and I think he's bored with it already. I let him drive my 348 Challenge yesterday and he did not want to give the car up. Maybe I can work out a trade
I know I'd keep the 348C, no way I'd make that trade Gobble, did you ever verify your valve guide material or just going by the assembly No.?
How did you verify? Camera through the ports? You may have an issue with just the one valve, it would be interesting to see if it's a guide issue or some other assembly issue, especially in light of the fact that a lot of cars are running around with steel guides thinking it's fixed for good (like me!).
Magnet through the ports. It doesn't want to stick to the valve or the block but goes straight for the little bit of valve guide sticking out. I talked to Brian yesterday and forgot to ask if there's been cases of steel valve guides going bad. I think he or someone else said that none of the valve guides in these cars are meant to be permanent. I still can't get my head around rebuilding an engine after 20,000 street miles. Until a couple years ago mine was a cruiser car with HRE wheels and a booming stereo which I equate to being easy on the mechanicals, not some track car that's been put under stress.
Hmmm - I feel like the patient who is the example patient on rounds at the hospital. The 2 senior physicians with the interns gathered around. At least there is no communal poking and prodding! In case this seems like I am hi-jacking this thread, guess who's engine is getting the new sleeve, piston, rings and valve job? At least I get to see all the work being done with explanations of how and why!
If this is indeed the root cause of many of the other more well known issues, would ensuring/monitoring proper fuel trims on a regular basis go a long way in reducing and/or avoiding the major issues?
That is the specialness that is the 355. I have received serious pounding from several 355'ers as a hater because I have reported such claims that you are now living. Helms theory was always mixture control at the root not miles or model year. He has working solutions that address causes not symptoms. There are those who have replaced more than 1 set of headers or a 2nd set of guides or multiple cats , or fried the steel guides as you have done. Helms was driven off Fchat by many naysayers. He is quietly maintaining some of the best 355's in the country and is so busy and successful that he has expanded his shop facility that will also include a "den" for us unsavory storytellers to hang out. There is no greater vindication of one's ideas than a successful growing business. You and Eric355 have done a priceless service to owners on the entire FOB issue. You deserve to get to someone who can solve your problems. It is not unreasonable to ship a car to Helms.
Fuel trim MUST be proper at all time. Any average variation indicates and issue LTFT should stay as close to "0" zero as possible. If you have a +4 LTFT on the left engine bank then yes you have a problem on this side that is calling the computer for 4% more fuel to that side. You need to find out why and correct it. Some folks say sure it runs great but its's like blood pressure. It sneaks up and does damage.
Without doubt the #1 reason the 355 has got the bad rap it has. Fuel management Nice with an OBD2 car you can easily monitor this, too bad the 95 355 was OBD1 without easy monitoring. By the time the ECU and management caught up to each other the problems occurred. I have verified all the hard work DH has done with countermeasures and it is dead on the money. Yes we have all the proven corrections needed but folks keep trying to dismiss there is any problem, "Ferrari know what they are doing"
So what is one of biggest things affecting proper fuel trim in a 355? Answer = maintaining proper coolant temperature. How do you do that? Answer = making sure your thermostat is functioning properly - maintaining operating temp consistently above 176°F.
Yes, forgot that I forgot the actual setting in the ECU but it is around that number. If it falls below that it goes to a pre defined "safe fuel map" which is safe means wont destroy stuff immediately.
Also the ecu must be able to "see" the proper operating temp. Meaning the coolant temp sensors must be in good working order. There must also be good contact on the connectors. But the biggest factor I have seen is a poorly/properly functioning thermostat. You can have temp sensors that are performing perfectly, and even connectors that grip the pins like a vice, but if that t-stat isn't doing its job keeping the temp where it needs to be = piss poor fuel mapping.
This is a great thread. I am sorry your car is having these issues Mark, but with the advice of the pro's it will be sorted out.
All the fuel mixture comments are spot on. If there is anything I have learned in the past 8 years about the F355 is that the fuel mixture is the biggest cause of problems. It starts there and it is all interconnected. All of it. Fix the cause, not the symptom. I have done the SRI gold kit, changed both coolant temperature sensors and the thermostat. I believe I received a faulty thermostat, just as the one I took out was. I don't recall who informed me but the current (for awhile now) supplier of "OEM" thermostats supply crap thermostats. They are junk out of the box. Why does my temperature run 20 degrees too low cruising on the freeway? Because the thermostat is open when is shouldn't be. It drives me nuts and is the only thing that I still find unacceptable about my F355. I'm still trying to fix it.
