is this bad for the clutch???

My 308 tends to idel at about 2500rpms until she is warm and driven for awhile. The clutch cable was lubticated, made no difference.
At stoplights, I can ease up on the clutch a bit, with the brake on, which brings the rpms down. Is this bad?

 

yes, very bad.

 

i'm a little fuzzy on this whole "good/bad" thing, egon.

maybe the dude likes to replace clutches?

doody.

 

Doody,

Whatever you do, don't cross the beams!

-Egon



My car idles higher when warm and because of that, often backfires when I shut it off. Someone on FChat (I forget who now!) gave me the tip to slow the engine just a bit with the clutch right when I shut it off, to drop the RPMs so it doesn't backfire. VERY handy in parking lots so people don't start diving under their cars thinking there is a shooting going on! I'll probably take some life off of the clutch in the long run, so I try to do it carefully dropping the RPMs just as I shut down the engine. Works like a charm. (I also don't bother doing it at home...just at the gas station and places where I don't want people to laugh at my Ferrari backfiring!) I would NOT sit at a light using the clutch to drop the RPMs on your idling engine. That will wear out your clutch fast! Believe me, a clutch can get very expensive in a 308 when the flywheel needs to be replaced too! Just let it idle faster until it warms up...that's what the idle cam is designed to do. Either that, or get rid of the cold idle assembly (the purpose of which is only emissions-related).

Birdman

 

Spike, yes - that will wear out the clutch. In essence, you're creating friction/resistance that slows the engine, but it's at the expense of the clutch......

 

Doody,

Whatever you do, don't cross the beams!

-Egon


What's up with that?

NHRA?

 

Echo the comments on clutch and flywheel. Parts expensive labor expensive unless you do it yourself.

Fast idle device is located between the carb banks. Turn the screws enough so the cam won't activate on the throttle stops.

 

spike308 -- Do you mean it runs poorly at 2500 RPM when cold, or at 2500 RPM for a much longer time than seems really necessary after cold start-up? And when warm does it idle well at ~1000 RPM? On a K-Jet 308 you could always check/disable the auxillary air valve as an experiment (but I still don't understand your real "problem" so give more on that).

PS Did you misspeak in your original post? -- Was it the throttle cable that got lubricated as a first attempted fix?

 

No, not any worse than slipping the sh..t out of your clutch to keep your car from sliding back on a very steep hill.....OUCH

 

You've probably already done this, but remove your driver's side floor mat & see if the idle drops to normal.

If it does you've just discovered the 308's built-in cruise control!!!

 

Yes, the mat can cause this, and yes, works great as a cruise control! But this is not the issue.

91tr- No, it does not "run poorly" when cold, it just starts from cold (and it is getting cold here in Chicago!) around 1500, then over the next 5-10 minutes revs up to the 2500 area, and will stay there when completely warm, until I have driven it for awhile. When beginning the drive, shifting without touching the gas will return the rpms to the 2500 rpm range. After hitting the highway and much higher rpms, she eventually calms down, and won't do it again until started from cold.

the whole lube issue... she was at LFSC for an electrical problem, and they noted the higher idel rpms too, and thought it would help.

thanks for the helpful thoughts.... for the sarcastic among you... not all of us are mechanics. Sorry.

 

where is the auxillary air valve ? and i aso believed that a popping on shutoff was a from a rich condition. unburnt feul.

 

Rivee,
Doody quoted a line from Ghostbusters and I just quoted the next line. I was expecting some other geek like myself to quote the following line.

Birdman

 

Hi Ken,
As for my mixture and the backfiring issue, I thought it was running rich that did that?

Anyway, I took it to the local Ferrari shop and they adjusted the carbs. They said that a lot of the carb 308s do this if they idle high, even if the mixture is right. I had them adjust the carbs and lower the idle, but it seems to have gone back to where it started. The thing just likes to idle at about 1500 RPM for some reason. I think I'll do the obvious thing and check the throttle cable now...I had never thought of that. (Duh).

Birdman

 

That doesn't sound right. If you can locate the auxillary air valve (and it's got rubber input/output lines) you can try "pinching" either line closed when you're in the "warm and 2500 RPM idle" condition -- if the idle drops, you've found the problem (and if not? -- well at least it's a "free" test )

 

Spike

Do NOT use the clutch to load up the engine. This will wear out the clutch in a very short order.

 

91tr -

for the mechanically retarded among us...
is the auxillary air valve you speak of part of the exhaust, the fuel injection, the emissions system?
I've been looking through the manuel (which may be a big help), sounds like part of the emissions system, I could be wrong.

thanks!

 

spike -- It's part of the fuel injection/air intake system. If you go to the SPCs at FerrariUK you can find the attached illustration. The aux air valve is item #30. For the test you would block/pinch either line #35 or #36 (i.e., when warm, the aux air valve should be closed). Do a search on "Bosch K-Jetronic" at the old site to get more information.

 

91tr -
the ferrari-UK site (a dealer site)? or via the owners site?
thanks!!

 

Via the "spare parts" link at the F Owner's site (which takes you to the "hidden" FerrariUK site -- where the SPC illustrations open in "IsoView").