Why not rebuild the 328 fuel system?

I am doing some work on the 328 fuel system which actually started a few years ago when I noticed a fuel smell close to the right side fuel tank. The return hose was dried out completely ... so I replaced it very quickly.

Now I am on the task to check the entire system for issues and will replace things as I go.

First observations:

1. Cold engine and just running the fuel pump (and WUR heater) shows 1.6 bar to start with. Shut off the fuel pump raise the pressure to 3.0 bar. I guess the accumulator is doing some work here.
   
2. When closing the control pressure line and running the fuel pump raise the pressure to 5.2 bar.
3. The residual pressure is dropping to 4.2 bar quite quickly after shut off the fuel pump and opening the control pressure line.
4. In 10 minutes, the pressure drops to 3.0 bar.
5. After an additional 10 minutes, I have 2.8 bar.
6. About 20 minutes later, I have 2.7 bar.

Now running the engine (another day) ...

1. Cold engine control pressure starting at 3.0 bar.
2. In about 5 minutes or so, I have 3.8 bar, and not changing much after that.
3. Shutting off the engine shows a similar residual pressure behavior as with the cold engine.

I do not know if this is normal or if there are issues with some parts?

 

If your control pressure is going up inexplicably, check the input to the warm up regulator. There is a filter screen that gets clogged with debris. Even after you clean it out, it may get clogged again in a few minutes if there is debris in the fuel system. The entire system must be perfectly clean. Debris usually consists of old fuel which has turned to varnish then dried out into little flakes.

 

Which variant of the engine, and therefore the K-Jet do you have? The swiss/sweden model (VIN in ZFFCA20S...) in its later cars is the only one fitted with the KE-3 jet...
Rgds

 

It looks like a K jet system. I do not see the electronic pressure actuator that should be there in a KE jet system.

Another observation when I pulled the engine lid was the order of cylinders seen from the FD.

FD port sequence begin at fuel inlet anti-clockwise F2 F1 F3 F4 R4 R3 R2 R1. The F is front bank and R for rear bank.
Is there any meaning in this particular sequence?

 

Nope.

 

Ok, thanks. I did not think it should matter, but you never know all details. Anyway, I plan to assemble the fuel lines in the same order as now.

Another question on the intake manifold ... the pins M8 in the heads do not have a torque spec. Any suggestions on this? I plan to use 20Nm since re-torque is in the order of 15Nm with the old compressed gasket. Other similar pins in the head have about 25Nm spec, so I guess it should be about right to use 20. And torque down in a spiral pattern.

 

I removed the air injection hoses, electro valve and cut-off valve yesterday.

The electro valve was leaking, but it was easy to open up and clean from deposits. 30 years is a long time ... The coil was ok and the valve is now sealing perfectly.

The cut-off valve was possible to open as well. Carefully pry off each tiny tab around the cover with your fingers only. Cracking the cover would make the valve unusable. I guess the oil inside should be there? Anyway it is looking good now and sealing ok!

I forgot to take pictures of the disassembled parts ... but it was nothing surprising or fragile except the cut-off valve cover.

 

Hi - just figured out how to add images ... so here is one of the air injection cut-off valve. The valve is holding vacuum very well after cleaning and adding some new syntetic oil. The light brown plastic is still elastic but feels like it will crack any day.

 

Removed the manifold today with no issues. The nuts below the plenum had to be loose to allow the intake removal.
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Next up is to remove the injectors. There is a problem with one injector fuel line that has corroded. Any ideas on max rated temp for the injector? I guess at least 85 deg C, but I think it might not be enough to losen the nut.
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But more than enough to ignite the remaining fuel.. ;-)

 

Yes, better be careful. It is very easy to ignite fuel with a spark.

 

The rusty nut finally came off tonight. Using WD40 on the threads and let gravity help out was successful. Better grip using ring wrenches helped as well.
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Just removed the injector bushings. They look pretty good to me. The o-rings are also looking good and elastic but I will change them since they are deformed.

Is there any known failures of the bushings? I mean in what way they usually break?

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The injector/bushing puller has been discussed many times. Here is another simple method. Using a clamp, a 27mm socket and some pieces of plastic and soft felt material, the task was easy to complete.

The plastic/felt material is creating an equal force on the bushing to not damage it.

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The clamp looks unaligned but this is just phone camera distortion.

 

Checking the fuel level sender while waiting for some parts.

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The gasket and sender looks ok. Also the float thing is ok.

 

Yesterday I emptied the fuel tanks to start disassembly of the fuel pump and associated pipes and parts. The fuel lines came in the mail a few weeks ago. I did some research on the fuel vent lines and found a Cohline hose (2240) that should work. Maybe it is overkill, not really original, but looks ok to me. The aluminum tube is 15.5mm and hose is about 14.5. The return line from the FD is 8.0mm and the hose 7.3mm. Hose from fuel tank to pump is unbranded but with Ferrari pn on it. It has an FPM inner tube and three layers of reinforcement to make it ridgid. It looks great. From accu to filter is a polyamide tube PA12 HIPHL-23-50, from SF. The Cohline is from Car builder solutions in the UK. I have to think about the cross-over hoses but I guess I will use original Ferrari.
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Conan,

You are doing some 'Good Stuff' there.

1) Using TWO wrenches to get the fuel lines off the injectors is a MUST as using only one can twist a metal fuel line pronto!

2) The bushings just age and crack over time. An FChatter (Google: Ferrari400) in Holland makes new ones out of better modern materials than OEM. Consider replacing them all. (No Affiliatation with Geert Jan on this project).

3) There are several shops who can Re-Zinc plate your metal fuel lines. There is a RIGHT Way and many WRONG Ways to do it. Just make sure they take the 'Embrittlement' issue during replating into account.

4) If money is not too big a concern, you might consider Scuderia Rampante Innovations for hoses. They are arguably the best available anywhere for the crap called 'gasoline/petrol today. I understand a couple of well-known Indi shops in the US use them unless otherwise specified by the customer.

5) While you're there, consider rebuilding your Fuel Distributor. The gunk and 'varnish' you may find in there could be pretty amazing bordering on epic. They are easy to do, but extreme care MUST be taken while doing so.

Well, I can't wait to see what's next.

Good Luck !!!

 

Thanks, mwr4440. I will take a look at the links and hints. Today, the fuel pump and filter came out. The hose is dried out and it looks like the pump and accu are at end of life. I will replace them and save the old parts.
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Careful on the fuel filter.

DO NOT throw away the coupler on the bottom of the fuel filter. Easy to do as it is not thst noticeable.

Obviously, you'll need to remove it and reuse it on the new one.

 

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Today I cleaned the baseplate, clamps and bolts for the pump. It seems like the plate is handpainted, maybe it was like this from factory?
There is no base paint so I guess I need to fix that by repainting the parts.
Also, the fitting below the filter had a badly crushed washer since it was too big to fit the recess in the filter inlet. Shortcut by a former mechanic maybe.
The clamps are corroded so I need to paint them as well. Original is yellow plating (if it makes sense).

 

My plate was thick black enamel. It had started to peal so I stripped it and repainted it a semi-gloss black.

The 'Yellow' plating is 'Zinc' and actually looks like a 'Peacock' when new. It is the different colors of the rainbow depending on how the light strikes it.

Same for the fuel filter(s) bracket(s) holding it/them to the firewall and the metal fuel pipes attached to the FD and to each injector.

Guys, Comments?


You can get new correct mounting brackets from our regular suppliers.


Depending on the width of your wallet, one can really 'dive-into' these cars.

 

You can have the zinc parts re-plated. Or buy new ones that are already plated - or get them plated.

(don't paint them gold. It looks poor and wears off in unpleasant ways)

 

What mine turned out like when I rebuilt the qv.
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One of those- while your in there jobs
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Where did you have that plating done?

shhh... no one say anything about the rose gold beats headphones. ;-)