I'm a bit over the old factory system, its not stable, and to be expected with the ageing electronics, old injector technology and so forth, not to mention those MAF's, narrow-band o2 sensors etc etc... We are lucky in NZ to be able to do this to our cars without any issues with emissions and the likes, I have no secondary air, took it off when I did the belt change, the MAF's will go in the trash, I'll add wideband o2 sensors and so forth... I think the car has potential to run so much better. After all the time I spent balancing, adjusting and sorting out the hot idle, cold start and so forth, its back to where it was, hunting when at temp, the fans come on and it stops hunting, if I unplug the MAF's it idles perfectly!! But anyway, I am starting this process by actually buying the ECU and associated bits I need, and I may, if I have the time, pull the engine and do the belt change early just to wire the ECU, it will be so much easier with the engine out of the car...
What an incredible fluke glad you didn't blow the engine. I'll never forget about 20 years ago a guy on F chat was driving a 328 in New Hampshire I believe amd a old toll token (remember those) flipped up and worked its way into the belt area, embedded itself into the cam belt and caused the belt to slip but not break and blew his engine completely. Every time I drive I think about this
Yep here it is. Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my SM-G990U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
No no that was from the failure years back that was the toll token and belt, not my car no. That's the damage from the actual incident, I think it was in Australia. Sent from my SM-G990U using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I wonder how it got in there? Maybe one of the covers was missing, but then again, how on earth did that wheel weight completely impale itself in my tyre..... Luck or lack of it is probably the key factor... In my case, it could have been worse for sure.
Oh I see, was a 308, I can understand how it got where it did, they aren't exactly fully enclosed those belts....
Right, Kevin. It wasn't until the QVs came along that rear belt covers were installed by the Factory: Good News For 308 Owners
FerrariChat member Gleggy helped make them available to 308 owners thirteen years ago. There are analogous Challenge covers available to F355 owners: Missing cam belt cover?
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Along with a bottom cover... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Don't know how, but something got into the cam drive and caused one belt to ride up on the fence of the drive pulley and it cut all the teeth off about the first 1/4 width of the belt before it popped. All I know is that I was driving over a section of road that was being prepared to be repaved and was all loose stone (about a 100 yard long section). I was driving slowly but I think a stone kicked up and got in. 2 exhaust and 2 intake valves slightly bent. QVs have such low compression there was barely any piston contact. I was a couple of miles from home. Thought I lost ignition on one side. It kept running and I dove it home. You wouldn't know they were bent if you didn't put them in a drill and spin them. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I took it out for a blast today, weather was crisp and sunny, the perfect winter's day.... I am still waiting for a time suitable to take it in to the body shop to get the small dent repaired, but in the meantime it will be getting driven, this is for sure!! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Also just wanted to add, the original radiator is a two row, which is all good, except that a two row with the particular spacing of the OEM rad is now no longer available, so the radiator builder suggested a 3 row with wider spacing (of the cooling tubes that is). This makes it 5mm thicker than the OEM. What I noticed on my drive is the operating temp is far more consistent than before. It sits just above 70˚C say about 80-85˚C and doesn't creep up as much in traffic. It used to get up to just below 90˚C in the heavy traffic. Also the oil temp is lower which is good too. I'd recommend ditching the OEM plastic tank rads and going to an aftermarket option, your engine will thank you, not to mention those plastic tanks do not last forever and the seals will fail at some point. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It is a custom built radiator from a local place here in Auckland New Zealand, they have been around forever, I remember when I was a mechanic in the 80's we used to send our work there when it was something unusual. They were recommended to me by the ex Auckland Ferrari service manager. He used to send all his work there. They have build rads for many Ferrari's including a F40. All copper/brass. I will get them to build me the other Radiator as well, I'll do that after summer so I can enjoy the car for a while.... https://autoradiators.co.nz/
Dropped into the body shop to check on progress, they have a little more finishing work to do on the paint, then the pin stripe, nice to see the panel looking mint again. I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon, looking forward to it... Image Unavailable, Please Login
And finally it was ready, I am very pleased with the job these guys did, now I can enjoy the car for a while until we pull the engine next year!! First a few pictures of the damage, then the finished product. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
