3 Year or 5 Year Rule on a Major

Mine had a major right before I bought it, but I plan to do it again at the 5 year mark.

I met a guy who has a 1997 F355 Spider, who has never done an engine out. He was driving the car that day.

 

A previous owner had one done and I had one done 2 yrs ago. I have a 96.
For whatever that is worth!

 

You forgot the option....

"OWNER - I do my majors every 10 years".

 

How long have you owned it, and when do you plan your next major? What year did the previous owner do his major?

 

So true. The requirement to post Vin numbers would give the poll some useful data

 

I voted every 5 years.

 

I'm on the 5-yr plan or whenever I can fit it in thereabouts. Hey, am I due this year or what?

 

I always use the search function on fchat to find the definitive answer as to when to do belts and what to do while I'm in there. Until I get that answer, I'm not going to do them because I don't want to be wrong. I love belt threads. Not since last week has there been a new one. Between belt threads, there's nothing to do but discuss whether a 355 is better than a 348, or what type carbon fiber overlay will look the best, or how much somebody's red-and-tan car is worth. I'm bored with sticky parts, though. I think we're due for another "why isn't anybody buying my pristine car" thread soon. Sometimes I just drive around looking for somebody's stolen car. Sometimes I sleep in front of the computer. What oil do you use? Okay, I'm done now. No, I didn't have an argument with my wife last night. That screaming was her trying to get an answer as to whether a certain belt mad her a$$ look fat. I told her she didn't need a belt to make her a$$ look fat. Termite walks into a bar, says "Is the bartender here?"

 

Where is the tab to vote for "Non-owner, every 6 months" ?

Hey, we gotta eat too ya know.

 

Or "have you seen this 300-mile Nero 348 go for $100,000" threads

LOL!! The answer I give is "No that dress doesn't make you look fat, your fat makes you look fat"

 

I've done my major when I bought the car, about 7 mos ago. I plan on doing the next one in year four. Maybe four years is the right number and should be on the poll.

 

I like the 4 year plan for the major..that is what I am planning to do on my 1997 355 Berlinetta.

Thanks,

Tim

 

Me too - so can't vote in the poll!

 

Will be starting major in a few days. Doing it myself. It has been 2 1/2 years since last done. Reasons why I am doing it so early?

Late last fall heard a very faint noise from the front of the engine, sounds like it could be the water pump or possibly one of the other bearings, not really sure. I have not driven the car since I heard it.

I have been reading all about cam timing. I think that degreeing (sp?) the cams is critical. I know that during the last service the cam timing was not done.

Bought Dave Helms Gold Connector kit!

Just bought the Fabspeed headers from Jeremy!

For me, the ownership experience is not only driving it, I enjoy working on it, and I want it to run the way it is designed to run.

So am I on a 3 or a 5 year interval? I guess if I put on relatively few miles I can't see much trouble in waiting for 5 years. If I put on lots of miles I will service it at 3 years. If there is indication to do it sooner, I will.

Cheers!

 

Fortunately those that have posted here already know very well to do their majors somerwhere between 3 to 5 years. I think 5 years is good enough. Now there are many and by many I mean a majority who wont tell you when they do their majors. The reason being that they drive the car and go well past the 5 years and then sell. The next guy buys it and drives it even with all those yellow and oranage lights on his dash going on and off everytime he drives. Then one day something lets go and the car runs like a biatch or just wont run at all. This is when he takes it to Joe blow that fixes his chevy and buy cutting a wire, bypassing this and pulling a bulb or two gets the car going. This owner now has an F-car that runs and thats all he is concerned with.
Then he sells it because he is fed up with the little things that keep popping up like a $150 oil change every 2 years and tires that just go bald because he cant even spell alignment let alone know to do one,,,and camber well that may as well be a german guitar. We all see the car on Fleabay go for under 40gs and someone starts a thread on here saying "the 355s are dropping like a rock"......."Oh golly gee I can buy one for the price of a horse and a bale of hay". A few months later a newby is on here asking all sorts of questions about this POS 355 he bought and what are the yellow lights lighting up his dash, what does slow down mean and my car is running with only 1 bank of cylinders. Later on he brings it in and a leak down is done and voila, he is spending upwards of 30gs just to get it back to respectable.

This is the story we see all too often....the abused 355 that never saw the general practitioner and ended up in the emergency ward. This is the main reason that the 355 gets a bad rap over and over and over. Those of us that do the major wether it be 3 or 5 years and all the other incidentals like change the oil regularly, enjoy these cars for many many years of trouble free driving and man it feels great. Nothin out there runs like a well trained and fed horse like the 355!

 

I am almost at 4 1/2 years and getting ready for my first one next April 11

 

I do not own a 355 yet but when I do, I will drive it on a wkly basis and most likely venture for the 5 yr mark. My car will be driven and maintained regularly. Money permitting, Id hope to break records for a high mileage 355.

 

Delivered my car today for the engine out and it is a 2.5 hour drive to the Ferrari mechanic that will do the work and yes, it rained the entire way. It's been over 7 years and a little more than 20K miles on the existing belt service. When purchased, it had the engine out service from the dealership the car was delivered to as new. The car has been tracked just once under my ownership and on many spirited drives with the other F-car owners in my area. Do I take it to the limit on routine, no, but, do I have fun with the car, you bet. Each year, it gets the appropriate fluid/filter changes and every 2 years all fluids/filters are changed out. Car is stored in a heated shop and upon driving; the car is always at operational temperature prior to any highway speeds. In fact, prior to moving the car, my limit is to have the engine temperature to greater than 120 degrees prior to engaging the transmission. If the car sits for any longer than a week, I always prime the oil system prior to start. So why am I having the service done now? At some point, my luck will run out and I'd rather not worry any longer about what may happen to the engine if I continue to push the limits for this service. Point I'm making is; If the car is cared for, is not driven like it has been stolen, I believe the 3 year rule is over-kill. The 5 year rule may be the best average for the stated driving routines, but more important, the service interval should be decided by the owner/driver because only that person knows how the car has been cared for and the way the car has been driven. Drive the car aggressively all the time - get the service completed sooner. Also, a big factor is the environment in which the car is operated in. If you have lots of dust in your area, then a more frequent service schedule should be considered.

 

Where on earth did you get this? The "majority" here? There 70,000 members on this site, why are we not seeing THOUSANDS of threads of "I bought a lemon 355" or "I got ripped off buying a 355" or "the previous owner snookered me by...."

The only threads I see about people having issues with their new 355 is due to the shop they took it to when they first bought it, not because of the individual they bought it from.

And how many posts do you see where people ask if they should be a PPI, compression, and/or leakdown, and everyone recommends this?

Gerry, come on dude, this is way over the top.

 

after 3 years, if I touch the car in any significant way, then the major is done. Otherwise, it is up to 5 years then the major is done. The 355 just got one at 3.5 years. The 348 is getting one, and the 328 is due next year at 4 years.

 

how do you prime the oil system?

 

I was wondering about that as well. My car has been in the garage since October, has not been started. I am about to start the major and after the service it would be a good idea to prime the oil system.