Hello, I have had my F1 360 for about 18 months so fairy new owner. I've had to do some minor work - replacing the immobilizer after it failed and I couldn't get it started. Did some other random things like tension straps on the top. The car has been a blast to drive - I've done a little over 6,000 miles and it now has a little over 38,000. Well, yesterday I was driving and it started a knock, revs went way down, and i had to tow it. Shop ran a compression test and below is what they saw: Bank 1: 8 - 100 7 - 0 6 - 110 5 - 200 Bank 2: 1 - 175 2 - 175 3 - 165 4 - 175 Obviously some major issues. They are stating a full rebuild will probably be in the neighborhood of $20,000 labor only. Before I go forward with this I thought I'd reach out to the experts who have dealt with these cars for years and years. What do you suggest? would you move forward? would you go a different route? if there is a different route, what would that look like? I would really prefer to not spend $20k ++ 6,000 miles into ownership, but looking for all advice. I appreciate it!
I'm not an expert with years of 360 experience, but my plan for this situation is an engine pulled from a wrecked one.
Another option is to buy another engine. While costly, it will likely be a lot less costly than $20k in labor only. The rest is going to cost a lot. I've seen new crate engines go for $35k on BAT. They come up now and then. Buying an engine from a breaker would probably be in the $20k range installed. You can slowly fix your old engine or just turn it into garage art. Curious... what headers did you have?
+1 for a used engine. While it sucks ass and they are expensive, they thankfully aren't as bad as alot of exotics. Sent from my toilet using FerrariChat.com mobile app
First be interesting to know what happened ..that can change the mind of rebuilding or buying Timing belt break vs oil starvation ? Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk
I doubt it was a variator, that would be more than a knock and the engine most likely would not run or start again. I'd be interested to know the year of the car, but almost every time I hear of a 360 engine with no compression, it's due to the precats disintegrating, and the fact that it seems to be limited to only one bank, I would be putting my money on that. I would hope the shop would have scoped the cylinders prior to doing the compression test... As far as motors, used would definitely be cheaper in this scenario, but make sure it has been thoroughly tested and I would make getting aftermarket headers a priority.
Thank you everyone for the start. It is a 2004 F1 360. 38,000ish miles. I will ask them to check the cylinders like you said.
Variators could be a problem for early (99/00 maybe 2001) cars. A 2004 model.....variators ...I don't think so. Since the problem is located on one bank....or a tensioner failed and the belt skipped one or more teeth and two or more valves are bent or debris from precat have been sucked up by the engine.
I wouldn’t buy a new or used engine right away. I’d find out what happened. From the compression test it’s only one side of the motor that has a problem. Put a camera into those cylinders thru the plug holes and see it anything is obvious. You may just need the one head redone. It’s worth a look first. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
A local 360 owner used a local mechanic to do his belt service. A month later, the belt skipped a few teeth and caused the valves to hit the pistons. Nearly two years later and $20k invested and the car still isn't ready. If it was me, I'd buy another engine, have it installed, and then figure out what went wrong with the engine. If it's a simple fix (it won't be), fix it and put it on BAT. If not, make it into garage art. It's not only a matter of money, it's a matter of time. Any deep engine work is going to take months or even years to finish.
It is odd that bank 2 are similar, yet bank 1 has zero and about 100, yet you have 200 on no 5 which is well above bank 2 average, will be interesting to se what you find
I’m somewhat familiar with how quickly valves and pistons are moving in a running engine. Would only one or two cylinders be affected if the pistons hit the valves? Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Wait, your 360 has precats?? Mine does not. It has downstream cats. The f430s typically had precats, correct?
Take it apart. Seems silly to either rebuild or replace the engine if it has 2 bent exhaust valves or if precat debris prevented one cylinder from sealing.
The first thing would be to diagnose the engine and see what needs to be done (as Rifledriver says, but first even without taking it apart). What is the leak down test result? What does it look inside combustion chamber when scoped? (I posted a pointer to articulated scope to do that a while ago). Is it a head problem or piston/sleeve problem? Those are reliable engines, so likely pre-cats sucking or overheating/low oil/bad maintenance etc. Maybe it's a precat sucked and a valve damaged, so all it needs is a head work on one side. Or maybe some major internal damage and the engine is not even rebuildable using existing block. First things first I would say.
