3 year cam belt service - such a waste

Another cambelt thread where nobody listens and nobody convinces anybody else. We actually should not care how someone else maintains their cars. Just make sure we do not buy one from some owners.

 

Stupidity spreads like a virus. Tired of showing Ferrari owners the door because they read threads like this and believe some of the garbage. I won't sign on to maintain a car at that level.

Here is an F40 fuel bladder from a car whose owner didn't replace them as called for. You should see what the deteriorated foam did to the fuel system.

Going to be expensive.
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Birdseed on the walkway. I told my wife to hang the feeder over the grass.

The goats love her for it.



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Please do

 

More reality to add to my fellow mod's comment. Rifledriver doesn't have to come here. He doesn't always contribute and he usually doesn't sugarcoat things. That can come across as objectionable to relatively recent users that are not used to being taken lightly after they scored a life goal of owning a Ferrari and who are probably Type-A personalities. However, when he does contribute, he knows what he's talking about, and when he calls ********, it's usually because someone is more concerned about their ego than actually listening to him. There's no reason why he should have to waste time convincing someone they're wrong when it's about their ego and not about what's actually correct. There are a dozen or more experienced Ferrari techs that used to post here many years ago. They stopped posting because of the exact same behavior of low-experience Ferrari owners DIY-ing a few times and thinking they knew all the answers. Everyone likes to think they're an expert, but most aren't. Why would a Ferrari tech bother to fight and argue with that day after day? Most won't bother and they've moved on (to a private forum here). Rifledriver is one of the few that haven't, but after 15 years of know-it-alls, it's no wonder he has no patience for them. If you don't like his manner, put him on ignore. But if you actually listen to him, he might save you some money.

 

I have a customer with an 2001 360..belts are original..coming up to 19 years..he is holding out for 20..multiple ferrari owner, daily is a Rolls Ghost..money is no object. He is "conducting and experiment" his words..not mine.

Does his fluid changes etc..yes its leaking oil from the valve covers and it drips coolant from the water pump when cold..he doesn't care. To him, it's a throw away car. Although, with 50kms on it, he seems to enjoy driving it..yes he also drives it in the winter when the roads are clear..

 

Let me know when his engine grenades...might be looking for a few parts...

 

I recently had Brian do a belt service and a few other items on my car. I could have done the job myself. However, I chose to go with Brian due to his level of knowledge of Enzo-era Ferraris. More than anything, I wanted his eyes on the car. Not so much for the belt service, but to ID things that I would have missed myself by not having his decades of experience working on these cars. He did indeed ID a few items that needed to be addressed (nothing major fortunately) that I would have missed and helped to prioritize those projects. So, it was money well spent in my mind.

As for shop labor rates, I guess it comes down to what you're actually getting. I work in IT services and typical rates for the work that we do is $250 plus an hour. The rates occasionally drop into the $200 range but can also be as high as $600 per hour depending on the project. We charge those rates due to our level of knowledge and the expertise that we bring. Our customers use us for projects that they're not able to competently do themselves or if they don't have the bandwidth to handle them. We're not usually engaged for commoditized tasks and projects.

I view shop rates for individuals such as Brian the same way. Experienced techs can justify the additional cost for those tasks that can't be commoditized due to their level of knowledge. An ASE-certified mechanic can probably provide most of your service needs at rates that are less than $100 an hour. However, would you trust the same person to know enough about the ins-and-outs of specialized systems and major components on specialized cars such as these to do ALL the work on your car? I guess that's up to each individual owner to decide.

2cam

 

Here are pics of a car i just purchased. While the car was in for the PPI i decided to buy it. The car is local to me and the shop is only a mile from my office. I wanted all fluids/oils changed. For a few dollars more, might as well get the belts done (cam and accessory) . Whether needed or not, It gives me a maintenance baseline. I was told belts are only 3-3.5 years old and less than 1000 miles. Kinda looks true (to the eye at least).
Most high performance cars have a more rigid and frequent maintenance schedule. Is Ferrari's over kill? maybe, maybe not. I do know enough people have bought into it, so values can be affected. I'll probably do all fluids myself going forward. and belts every 3-5 years is not going to kill me.

 

thats why all you 360 owners need to upgrade to the vastly superior F136 engine in the 430
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F136_engine

 

I honestly don't think he will lose the engine. I have at our request pulled the belt covers to have a look at the bearings and belt tension. All seems good (as far as the eye and a few tension checks can tell). I have repeatedly told him to change the belts while we were in there..and a fat no was the answer.

He has promised he will change the belts they day the car turns 20. I think it will survive. But then again, I have been wrong before. All we can do is wait.

 

I tried, however I didn’t LOVE the Scud as much as the Stradale.

 

I do mine every 4 years regardless....I'll stick with Brian and his suggestions...

 

I agree. The Scuderia is a great car but the Stradale is special.

 

Replace the left bank tensioner.

 

A result of ethanol or just age?

 

Age.

 

Not really the same cost unless I decide to skip the belt change for 20 years. Rebuild is min £10k, belt change is £1.5k every 3 years...and math.

 

Skipping that the post you quoted isn’t related to the comment... The “about the same cost” quoted a post saying it costs about $2000 for belt service in the UK. That is a about the same as here.
I think you are confused or one martini too far


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Ahha, yes that makes sense now! Apologies.

 

wow just found this old thread!
360 Belts lasting 18yrs and 20yrs OMG!!!!

I see North America recommend 5yrs, yet UK is still 3yrs.
Amazing stuff!!

What do people do these days?

 

Recommendation from Ferrari is 3 years for everybody. Obviously not universally followed here.

 

Opposite - the less you drive it the more often you should replace them. They don't wear out, they go brittle through lack of use. The tensioners are equally important and will suffer from lack of use.

 

5-7 year is fine..I haven't seen a belt failure on a 360 in years..