355 BELT CHANGE-TO DROP ENGINE OR NOT------------ | FerrariChat

355 BELT CHANGE-TO DROP ENGINE OR NOT------------

Discussion in '348/355' started by tonyh, Mar 15, 2004.

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  1. tonyh

    tonyh F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 23, 2002
    14,372
    S W London
    Full Name:
    Tony H
    Does the engine need to taken out of a 355 in order that cam belts can be changed properly?
    To settle this debate once and for all ,i will be taking my car to Karl Verdi next week so he change the belts in situ.I will be taken the day off work and swapping my suit for a pair of overalls to bring you all step by step pictures of how he does it.....He will demonstrate that nothing is forced, buckled, broken or manhandled in carrying out this job.
    Stay Tuned !
    Tony
     
  2. Paul

    Paul Rookie

    Mar 12, 2004
    15
    Western suburbs
    Full Name:
    Paul
    Tony,

    I think there was a discussion on this a few weeks ago on the Ferrari Club of America site in the V8 technical forum. You might want to try an advanced search there to get your answer.

    Paul
     
  3. bkaird1

    bkaird1 Karting

    Nov 7, 2003
    138
    Atlanta, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Brad
    I think he's saying that there is a guy who says he can change the belt on a 355 w/o dropping the engine and he's going to document it and photograph it to show it's legit... am I right?

    Brad
     
  4. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    This degenerates into what youthink "properly" means. If you take the position that a major is supposed to put the engine "bay" as close as factory fresh as possible, then drop the engine. If you take the position that you are only in need of changing the belts and tensioners, then you can do the job with the engine in the car.

    Ask him how set checks (and resets) the cam timing (as needed) with the engine in the car?
    Ask him how he checks every little water hose for wear, tear, bloat and degredation?
     
  5. tonyh

    tonyh F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 23, 2002
    14,372
    S W London
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    Tony H
    Spot on.
     
  6. tonyh

    tonyh F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 23, 2002
    14,372
    S W London
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    Tony H
    I will be asking these questions,Mitch.
     
  7. jrs

    jrs Formula 3

    Jun 14, 2003
    1,672
    UK
    Full Name:
    James S
    Tony

    I had mone done at maranello's last week. Full engine out Job. Also had the cam covers re-sprayed looks magnificent now. Carl took out the cats for me on Sat and I am now extremely happy.

    regards
    james
     
  8. MarkCollins

    MarkCollins F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 2, 2002
    3,202
    South England
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    Mark Collins
  9. 360CS

    360CS F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,641
    Kent
    Full Name:
    Joe J
    Why take out the whole engine if the same job can be done without the hassle!!

    As long as a good inspection of other potential components is carefully carried out , hey good on yer !!

    Did,nt J.R. Hartley write a book on this...?? Cambelts by J.R. HARTLEY..!!

    Oh b@llox wheres the yellow pages???
     
  10. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    On my car, we found 8 little water hoses that were beyond their reasonable service life. These would not have been visible if the engine was left in the car. That is, even with a mechanics mirror, inspecting these hoses would not have found the pending trouble. And I would have been left stranded somewhere when I would be least happy to be left stranded.

    On my regular cars and trucks, when they get to 60K miles, I take them in, point at the engine bay and tell the service manager; "Change everything that is rubber in there". In 35 years of driving I have never been let down or stranded by coolant leaks.

    In an F355, there are so many little hoses and access is so problematic that dropping the engine seems reasonable--to me. In my major, I put in $1000 in rubber in the engine bay during the major. In addition, 3 of the 8 cam seals were at the end of their lives and beginning to leak. These require pulling the cams to switch. But then again, I go to the track 18 times a year, I drive the F355 there, drive the snot out of it on the track, and drive back. I really don't want a water hose problem at 5:00 PM after a long hot day with the sun setting.......
     
  11. Robertb

    Robertb Formula 3

    Nov 19, 2003
    1,331
    South Oxfordshire, U
    Full Name:
    Robert
    I'd be interested to know what the cost difference is.
     
  12. tonyh

    tonyh F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 23, 2002
    14,372
    S W London
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    Tony H

    Think of a number and divide by 3 !
     

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