348 belt change engine "in" at 12,700 miles

If anyone is interested, I changed the cam seals, O rings, timing belt and acc. belts this spring with my engine in the car. It's really not that difficult, but there are some tips that can save you a lot of pain and of course mucho money!

 

let's hear the steps you took. have photos?

 

How did you remove the crank pulley bolt? How did you obtain the clearance to remove the belt covers? Post pictures if you have them..

 

sorry no photos, but i can probably explain the not so obvious stuff that is required. This is a 2 person job!
1. you remove the gas tank to get the clearance required, but don't have the car on a drive on lift, the tank is so wide that it won't clear the ramps.

2. i made a wrench for the crank nut pulley by turning down a cheap socket and welded it to a round piece of steel @ 24 ins. long. i think the socket is 36 mm but i used a 1 1/2 in. close enough.

3. i removed the shift cables from the bottom of the shifter and tied them out of the way to get the tank out.

4. there are two brass plugs in the bottom of the fuel pumps for draining the gas.

5. taking the covers off the front of the engine is self explanitory, but here's the most important part. mark each cam and it's pulley showing which hole the timing pin goes in, i did it with a punch, after the fact. the Manual i had made pretty lite of the the procedure to re-time the cams, but it's a *****, so just mark them first and save yourself a lot of grief

6 i "cocked" the timing belt tensioner with a couple of tie wraps put together, and then when everything was back in place, just cut them free.

You are going to need a dial gage and a degree wheel, Harbor freight Chinese cheap is good enough.

7. while you are at Harbor, buy 4 of their plastic spring clamps with the soft jaws. When your helper rotates the cams to their marks, use the clamps to hold the belt to the pulley so it won't jump a cog because the belt hasn't been tensioned yet.

8. i had a plastic degree wheel that i cut a 2 in. hole in the middle, duct taped it to the crank pulley, bent and sharpened a piece of coat hanger and put it under a convienent nut for my pointer. the wrench i made then fit thru the hole so i could rotate the engine and easily find TDC after finding it first with the dial gage.

9. every thing else is covered in the manual, BTW you are also going to need a decent air driven impact wrench to get the cam pulley bolts out.

that's the basics, I'll try and answer any questions, but I'm out driving it now that the snow is gone, so i won't be living on the computer!!

 

how did you inspect the fuel pipes for hairline cracks if you are going to do a job do it right take the engine out
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sounds like a mickey major markie

 

My advice to you mate is this, do not engage in this thread any longer. You will get cut down and b*stardised by the nasty F.Chat monsters ( who are getting there ammo and well rehurst scripts ready). If you have and can do it great but keep it close to ya chest. You will see on this site that if its not writen in the holy ferrari scriptures, it cant be done. You have been warned dude, they are waiting......

 

chaa, thanks for the warning, buit i don't care about a bunch of people that don't have the ability to think outside the "box". if they even own the car, they probably don't know the difference between a standard and a phillips , let alone get their hands dirty. BTW, even Ferrari says you can do it this way, but if you prefer, support your local Ferrari shop and spend $ 7000 instead of $500. as for checking the fuel lines for hairline cracks, i think this person needs to be checked for cracks.

 

Yea i know what you are saying dude. if you have read any of my posts you will know that you and i sing from the same sheet. I know that belts can be done in situ. And i do know that even dealers sometimes do it, and i have proof and this fact. Trouble is you cant realy name names becourse its there own busness. or eg my car was done last month by Verdi ferrari with out hacking or hammering and the job was done very pro, i checked the work very carefully. But Verdi stand up and admit that they do this and get aload of stick from the usual arses. I was at a main dealer in the UK and i will not say who, but i have told some f.chat friends via PM. Any way i know some of the guys there (and remember it is a main ferrari dealer), as well as wanting my belts done, i also had a fuel tank leak. they said that they will have a look and change the belts when the tank was removed. i then asked them if changing the belts in situ was an option and instead of a straight forward "yes" or "no". The tec smerked and said well lets say it can be done!! That my friends is no Sh*t, a main dealer. trouble is that the main dealers will charge full whack, were as specialists like verdi will adjust the price to match.
After reading this responce there will be thouse who say that its not true, but you know even if i was to video and record sound of the conversation. They will still say its not true. But i know of three specialists and two main dealers who do this now.
I look forward to reading the attackers responces to you. Take care dude.

 

chaa, you are right on. I would like to point out to those who can't read or comprehend that I started this thread stating "if you are interested". If you are not, may i suggest that you go play with yourself elsewhere. As an interesting aside, I bought this car at a 7k discount knowing it had a substantial leak from the cam O rings, a leak that had been supposedly fixed @ 1000 miles before during an engine out service at a previous shop. I'm quite sure there are more than a few professional Ferrari mechanics out there that would prefer i didn't rain on their source of income. BTW, how's the wx in old Blighty.

 

This comming from a guy who uses double sided carpet tape to install speakers in his Ferrari. Hummm..yep..he is definatly one for "quality work"

Nuff said...

 

Sounds interesting. Way beyond my skill level. I think it is okay if you can find a better way to skin the cat. Hope you enjoy many miles of fun driving! Mechanical ingenuity can spur some lopsided comments. If I thought I could do the job myself in an innovative way I definitely would.
BT

 

You know you realy are a wanker, and i would love very much to tell you to your face. Where is this carpet tape comming from you dickhead, they were a pair of tweeters that were attached via the method that was provided with the speeker, like many many other owners do.
but like i said, its a dam shame you are in the states and not in the UK becopurse i would truly love to meet up with you dick head.
And yes mods you can ban away, thats how i feal about that ****.
I was warning the guy about gits like you, you are only P*ssed of becourse you know you are one on the F.chat monsters that attack posters. Even some ferrari specialists who i know here in the UK think you are a self opionated tosser.
And you can respond to my responce all you like but i will not post on this thread after this sentence, becourse YOU anoy me so F**In much and i cant put into words any better about how i feal about you. Wanker.

 

I'm an independant and applaud you for your success. I love it that you are out driving the car instead of under it fixing stuff. That's the way it should be.

But, I have assessed the options and have decided that the customer gets a better job by taking the engine out.

You say your way is a two man job. I know you don't pay labour, but shops do... so can I ask how many REAL hours it took you and your helper... And I mean from stopping the engine before the job, to finishing the road test and having all things ready to return to the "customer" after the job. And did you also do a service to the car, or simply a oil seal/belt change

Fact is, I KNOW I can do an engine out service job WITH LESS LABOUR and BETTER than I can do it in situ... and I mean service.... which includes changing belts and tensioner, and all the fluids, checks and adjustments, cleaning and inspections, clutch and brake fluids, fuel filters, oil filters/air filters etc etc.

There are also inherent risks from only spannering the pulley, removing fuel tanks, maybe NOT checking subframe related safety components etc etc.

I really don't mind you doing it this way, but to make infomed judgement on what is better LONG TERM and with regard to RESALE, you should gather lots of info.

Luckily for you, a prior bad job was done and you got a good deal for you... but that is just a shame for the previous owner/ bad shop.

 

LOL....Name once when I attacked a poster personaly. I have disagreed many times with things of a technical nature..but did not once resort to calling a person any names. You on the other hand have been hauled over the carpet more times then I can count, as a result of your cheap-o ways you service your car.

You are the typical basment millionaire whom I toss out of my shop on a regular basis because I refuse to put my name on anything that it is done incorrectly. This could be why I have a very loyal clinentel. My client list is not large..mostly due to me throwing people out of my shop because of their cheap-o ways. You would be the first one out on the street, chasing after your parts as I toss them out the door.

I pitty you because you want to live a life style that you really cannot afford. You have bought a car that is a beautiful machine. You have completly destoyed the interior with your stereo install..If you really could afford the car, you would have paid a professional to install it for you. Then You would have a really kick ass install. But no..you could not afford too..so you mickey moused it together. Now you have a car that looks like crap..as MANY others on this board have have stated..so obviously I'm not the only one who thinks your a cheap-o.

Now, I'm not against finding other ways to do things. Quite the opposite. If there is an easy way to do somthing on a car..heck I will try anything. But when it comes to a major service on a Ferrari.. this is no place to cut corners. People who have the money to fix the car correctly WANT IT DONE RIGHT!!!. People who don't..will try to cut corners..such as yourself.

As for me being lucky for living here..ha..you would be laughed back to the aiport if you ever pulled a picture out out show your car. It is you my friend who is lucky to live over there. Oh..please do not shoot your mouth off to people you do not know..you may find yourself in situations that are not pleasing..even "overthere". Oh ya..how are your teeth? Seen a dentist lately?

 

You make a lot of assumptions in your argument. While I don't think Chaa should have cared enough to take it personally, I can see why he would. Give it a rest. I have news for you - There are people who like to do things themselves. It doesn't have to be a money issue. I will agree with you on one point. I can see why your client list is not large.

One more thing.... these are just cars....and as such, an owner can do as he pleases. That should not offend you.

 

lmao

yeah i remember that stereo install

gave me nightmares quite honestly

still does !

 

I really don't take much personaly..And I did not take this personaly..I just figured I had to defend the personal attacks against me..and quite frankly others on this board. We have been down this road before, and he has been hauled over the carpet for it, many times. When personal attacks are made by a person who likes to take the cheap way out, towards those whom do the best they can, then those attacks are unfounded and in turn gives the entire automotive repair industry a bad name. It is those people who are the first to complan that "so and so" did a lousy job, even though they were the ones who wanted to take the cheap way out.

I have no issue with Chaa..as I don't know him. But his insistant bickering about the cost and the procedure required to do things correctly is really tireing and completly uncalled for. His attackes in the posts before I even chimed in, where directed at me, Rifledriver, Ferrarfixer, and others. This is why I felt the need to step in and put things in perspective as to whom we are dealing with.

 

Folks

I will probably regret this post but I have to say I am amazed by what I have read on this thread. A guy posts saying he can change the cambelts in situ and rather than have a discussion about how he did it and the pros and cons from an engineering point of view (which I hoped to read when I looked at the thread), it degenerates, thanks to a genuinely nasty comment about speakers and carpet tape, into a slagging match with threats about visits to dentists. Why can't you people show a little human decency and maturity to one another???

Quentin

 

the simple fact is all that was changed was the timing belt

NO resealing
NO gaskets
NO w.p.
heck, I don't even think the tensioners were changed (very important)

and everyone wants to pat him on the back ?

sorry, some realists who have been down this road before will not

"the job was done easy because only the easy part was done"

he'll be taking the gas tank out again next year to change the w.p.,
then, he'll take the gas tank out again to change the cam seals,
then, he'll take the gas tank out again to add new tensioners,

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! And, I've gotta say I have a great respect for any owner who loves his car enough to maintain and repair it himself-taking personal responsibility for the good and bad.

 

Hey Markie

I think that's awsome that you shared how you did it. I wondered how they got the crank pully off and you kindly answered that. I saw that you did change the cam seals and o-rings, but how about access to the water pump, and did you have any problems when you did the valve adjustments? Do you have plenty of room from inside the area were the gas tank sits to move around? I know that when I did my major it was with the engine out. It really makes this SO much easier. I had all the room I needed to move around. I felt clostrophobic when the engine went back in, because I was used to all the room that I needed. Non the less I think that rocks that you did it with the engine.

 

The man is a prophet.

Not only that, his teeth are perfect, as are his son's.

He has several homes, several "exotic" cars, several "exotic" motorcycles. They're his. They are not cheap.

His employer does, as well, but that's a whole 'nother story. Those are not to be confused with chaa's own aforementioned property.

He followed manufacturer instructions to install tweeters. Would you prefer he drilled? Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

He also described how an official Ferrari service tech alluded to doing things not much different than the original poster. chaa did not request the work to be done this way, the tech simply admitted such was done - not by the book.

He told the truth, and so did chaa. Then again, that's the kind of guy chaa is - a straight shooter.

You owe him an apology. In fact, several apologies.

 

well said chaa is a cool dude

 

I don't know anyone on this thread personally, but what I can do is to add another Ferrari main dealer to this list of those that remove the fuel tank to replace the belts on 348s and 355s but still charge the punter the full engine out rate. I know that 'cos I had my head in space where the tank had been and spoke to the tech doing the job.

Edited for bad spelling