1989 Mondial T Cabriolet Engine Rebuild Question / Direction

I'll admit right upfront that I'm new to the Ferrari world. Most of my experience is with BMWs, but that experience goes back many years and includes many full engine rebuilds.

Here are my suggestions:
- Don't go buying expensive parts without knowing what's wrong with your engine.
- Have the car towed on a flatbed to a qualified shop who can diagnose the issues and give you good info.
- The sounds you describe are not consistent with any typical issues for a rod. The common issues are that a rod is "thrown" (engine won't run or even turn over at that point) or bad con rod journal bearings (typcally a knock or rattle). There are other possibilities, but I doubt it's a rod issue.
- If the shop that you went to screwed up a timing belt installation, there are a whole bunch of issues it could be, and a good, experienced shop will know where to start looking.

I'd start by going to the "Northwest" forum here at F-chat and ask for recommendations for a local shop.

 

First, have a compression test performed. That will let you know if the valves are bent or if you have a "dead" hole or two and which ones they are.
That will determine your next move.
If it has "blown a rod", just put salvage engine in it and have a qualified tech with Ferrari knowledge do the job.
Having worked on Ferraris for many years, I have seen many situations that were the results of technicians that just didn't know what they were working on. I can only imagine the situation will worsen as the cars get older and the techs get younger.

Too bad you are too far away for me to help you get your car fixed. Good luck.

 

At this point, a good known used engine out of a 348 or Mondial T is your best bet. Sourcing it may take longer than installing it. Then, disassembling and selling the bad engine may recoup some of your money back.

 

When things go wrong, either your mechanic stands by his work, or you have to find another one that will dis-assemble the engine and provide you with an honest assessment of what went wrong (and to what extend the previous mechanic bears responsibility for this). From then on you can see what are your legal options (not giving you any advice on this) as well as possible way to fix the engine. From my own experience :

• Bent rod and bent valves are not horrendous (assuming no damage to the journals and no damage to the cylinder liners) => Fix it
  
• Damaged cylinder heads and/or bent crankshaft is another story => Time to consider an engine swap
  
• If the damage is "in between" (bent rod can cause premature wear of journals &/or heavy wear on the cylinder liners) => Depends on how comfortable your mechanic (and machinist) are with these damages.

If your engine still runs, despite the horrible noise, I would try to fix it.

• Fixing is not always cheap,
  
• takes more time than an engine swap,

but :

• the car keeps its matching numbers ,
  
• you know for sure the condition of the engine that you put back in.

 

I know of bad things from that shop.

 

Ferr Parts has an engine avail.

 

Take the car to the authorized Ferrari dealer and get a detailed estimate

 

You should report the shop to BBB

 

Get it diagnosed properly to start with. Take it to somebody that know what they are doing. compression test 1st then move onto checking timing / belts/pulleys, oil pump chain etc... If the engine was running then its not a blown rod!

 

So between the 40 and 900 mile marks, nine months later, there was no metal scraping sound? Did it run smoothly / normally through the RPM range during that interval? Apart from the metal scraping sound, how is it running at that point? I realize you wouldn't want to run it very long with that sound. If you have found a competent and honest independent shop (which can be its own challenge), you may not even have that bad of a problem. The first shop saying they think you blew a rod was extremely hackey. They probably know exactly what they screwed up and just don't want to deal with it.

 

Thanks for the update, and hopefully your new shop doesn't charge too much of a "Ferrari tax" on repairs. If there were bent valves I don't think they would have been quiet between 40 and 900 miles. They would have still caused a racket even at lower speeds regardless. It will be interesting to see what the diagnosis is.

I am in a similar situation regarding a lack of independent shops in my area (eastern PA). Technically, Algar in Bryn Mawr (near Philly) would be my go to shop. I'm not taking a '85 Mondial QV to a Ferrari dealer however. I have a few independent shops to check out. Haven't had any serious issues so far, and even the R12 AC still blows ice cold. The PO really took care of the car. Purchased from a FChat user.

 

Andrew, I have a bunch of 348 engine parts. Several blocks, crankshafts, pistons, rods, heads, etc. Send me a PM

 

Pocono Sportscar Llc. Trust me on that one.



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