Anybody change the belt via gas tank removal. Thoughts?
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/348-355-belt-change-possible-by-removing-gas-tank.383220/#post-141752600 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/engine-in-cam-belt-change-355.358996/#post-141271746 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/a-fcar-mechanic-told-me-how-to-change-a-t-belt-without-droping-engine.115729/#post-135972239 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/engine-out-why.380720/
I would absolutely hate working there. Dropping engine is easy enough and its pleasure to work and do quality job Image Unavailable, Please Login
Lots of bad opinion here regarding engine in service. I am currently doing a major on my Mondial T (and changing all that you would want to change) engine in without issues.. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/mondial-t-engine-in-major.591022/ I think both ways are fine and will depend on your facilities.
There have been multiple threads and discussions on engine out vs engine in belt service. There are pluses and minuses both ways. My personal 355 Berlinetta just got its engine out this week and it's back in. I am waiting for a couple of small parts before I can fire up the engine. It does not have any deferred maintenance so there was not a lot while-in-there to do. Just engine out, belts swapped, cam timing, no valve adjustment, gaskets changed, filter changed, and back in the car. The 348 is slightly different in that it needs valves adjusted. If there are more than a couple of valves, it may be easier to remove the cam shafts and change the shims out that way. Its water pump is used as an idle bearing for the single timing belt so its important to service that preemptively. To get maximum power of the engine, you want the camshafts to be timed perfectly and that requires degreeing the cams to 1 degree of specs. All those things are much easier with the engine out of the car than with it in the car. The 12 inch space you get by removing the gas tank is not a lot of space to work in. I understand the argument of not wanting to remove the engine without a lift, but many here have done just that with just jack stands. I come from Porsche 911 world and Porsche owners prefer to remove the engine without a lift. Your car and your choice to make. It's all good
Having done 308 "engine-in" belt services myself, in my opinion engine-out is preferable from a QC point of view. You can't compare quality when half the service is being done in the dark or blind by feeling around instead of right in front of you on a bench in the light. And for the OCD crowd, there are therapeutic aspects of being able to clean your engine and engine bay properly when it's out.
As 2 newbies we took the engine out in 6 hours with mini lift. Kind a lot of work but basic very easy ! Just be very careful for the balance of the 348 on these mini lifts !!! Alway's use extra support on the back end. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dude That home welded frame with 4 bottle jacks.... epic... overkill ...makes the factory look shameful
I would be worried that would cause a new problem once the engine came out and the weight was off the back end of the car.
Not sure. The normal (engine fitted) centre of gravity is very close to the rear jacking points on the car. I was thinking that the water bottles would be sufficient to stop tipping, but impossible to tip the car the other way even with the engine out.
Correct I also tied a 20 liter water tank to the front wheel. Because the car is so far backward ( on the mini lift) it is literally balancing on the rear points. You can tip it over with one hand easily ! As i found out. With the engine out it is solid as a rock. No problem.
I ran into the opposite problem I 355, while trying to get one of the radiators. I liftef the back of the car off the lift an incursiones or two and had to pull it back down, nearly gave me a heart attack. I would not put any weight in the front at all
The strut towers stay with the car. So i suppose I should count 8 more as you have to undo the 4 nuts on the top of each strut tower. sjd
