355 Valve Guides...Another Perspective or BS? | FerrariChat
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355 Valve Guides...Another Perspective or BS?

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Owens84QV, Aug 10, 2005.

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  1. Owens84QV

    Owens84QV F1 Rookie

    Oct 2, 2001
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    Greg
    #1 Owens84QV, Aug 10, 2005
    A few days ago, I downloaded the F355 Buyers Guide from Amazon that was written by William Taylor / Andrew Naber. There was one particular paragraph that focused on the valve guide issue that troubled me.

    "One myth on the F355 is that the valve guides are a major problem and must be replaced. In reality, the problem occurred in 20% of the 1995 models and a small number of 97's and 98's. If a particular car did have a valve guide problem, as indicated by excessive oil consumption, it would be apparent almost immediately and at a maximum with the first 2 years of ownership. As a result, the problem would have had to have been fixed long ago. It is highly unlikely that you would find a F355 today with valve guide problems. A simple leakdown test will confirm this."

    I find this statement very troubling. This would lead a prospective 355 buyer to believe that any valve guide issues would be resolved no later than 1997 for a 1995 car and by 2001 for a 1999 car. This statement seems to be 180-degrees contradictory to all of the factual valve guide discussions we've had over the past 3 years.

    My intention isn't to stir the pot again, but it seems these kinds of inaccurate statements in buyers guides / publications would lead a buyer to ignore a potentially huge financial issue.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. traimpz348

    traimpz348 Formula 3

    Apr 13, 2004
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    #2 traimpz348, Aug 10, 2005
    Buy a 348 - save $20k and never find out if the 355 has valve guide problems.

    However - I do love the 355.
     
  3. Owens84QV

    Owens84QV F1 Rookie

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    #3 Owens84QV, Aug 11, 2005
    Wow...I would have thought this would have lit the board up...
     
  4. ILuv4Res

    ILuv4Res F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 8, 2002
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    #4 ILuv4Res, Aug 11, 2005
    Discussed too many times before!!! Everyone is now on to the 360 and 430 issues..........
     
  5. tuttebenne

    tuttebenne F1 Rookie

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    #5 tuttebenne, Aug 11, 2005
    I have a problem with two things they say:

    - if the car is sitting in a garage for the last five or six years and has 10k on it, how did the valves get fixed?

    - traditionally, when a valve guide goes it shows its wear when the valve is open - not closed. So how does a leak down test show this? Maybe the 355 guides fail in some way that's different from traditional failures ??
     
  6. Jerrari

    Jerrari F1 Veteran

    Jul 24, 2001
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    #6 Jerrari, Aug 11, 2005
    As remote as it is that you would find one today w/ the v.g. issue, just protect yourself and get a leak down test. Potential problem solved.
     
  7. ham308

    ham308 Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
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    #7 ham308, Aug 11, 2005
    the answer to the second question is that if the valves flop around a lot then they no longer seat properly, hence the leak. I agree with you though, by the time you get to this stage they must be well and truly shot.
     
  8. Markie1949

    Markie1949 Karting

    Apr 4, 2005
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    Utah
    #8 Markie1949, Aug 11, 2005
    I totally agree with you, a leakdown test will only show the condition of the valves and valve seats. If the guides were so bad as to have damaged the seating, performance would have been vastly compromised and it would be pumping so much oil that IMHO I believe you would be driving a mosquito control vehicle [smoke!!!] I'm of course not saying a leakdown isn't wise, just not for valve guide issues.
     
  9. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
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    #9 Schatten, Aug 11, 2005
  10. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #10 f355spider, Aug 11, 2005
    When I was looking for a 355 late last summer, I visited a number of FNA dealerships and one independant. I ran across 3 1995 355's, and one 1996 getting a top end rebuild do to valve guide problems. Apparently these owners missed this article that says this is no longer a problem... ;)
     
  11. Sean F.

    Sean F. F1 Rookie

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    #11 Sean F., Aug 11, 2005
    A lot of people get them fixed "just in case". In fact I'd wager 90% of them would have been fine w/o the guide fix, but have the money laying around to do so they do.
     
  12. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #12 f355spider, Aug 11, 2005
    None of these were being done as a preventive or cautionary measure, they had "dead holes" with very low compression.

    So you are (in this particular case) wrong. I don't understand why people like to make such assumptions without the facts in hand. I have NEVER heard of anyone having top end repairs on a 355 just because they had a lot of dough burning a hole in their wallet. I do know a few people (personally)that had to have the repairs done because their cars actually needed it.
     
  13. tuttebenne

    tuttebenne F1 Rookie

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    #13 tuttebenne, Aug 12, 2005
    If that logic held true, cars that hadn't gotten their minor or major services wouldn't be so prevalent They are. And my guess would be 0.5% of Ferrari owners get work done just because they have the money laying around.
     
  14. notoboy

    notoboy F1 Rookie

    Jul 8, 2003
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    #14 notoboy, Aug 12, 2005
    The 355 valve guide wear problem is still an unresolved issue with 355s and many owners will attest to the fact that they've had the valve guides done more than once on their cars. I had my valve guides done last year at 22k miles and the shop replaced them with specially-made, hardened valve guides, but they told me that the problem is a recurring problem on 355s and if I kept the car, the problem may resurface.

    I'm told that this does not seem to be as much of a problem in Europe, because the wear is due to gasoline refinement issues (I'm told, but cannot attest to this cause).
     

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