Hey all, Looks like a great site! I've recently acquired a 308 GT4 after a few years off from Ferrari ownership. Anyhow, this car being new to me, I'm going to have a few questions so please bear with me... First one.. I've noticed that neither of my door locks seem to operate when the key is used and this of course is a problem if I want to leave the car somewhere (well, anywhere really). I am guessing that since this problem is present on both doors that this must be a weak point on these cars? Anyone have any insight on (a.) door panel removal and (b.) lock repair? Secondly... I want to change the oil in my car, I have a case of Agip SINT 2000 and a UFI filter. I've heard that you need to check the oil level right after the engine is turned off when its warm, and not to let all the oil drain down before pulling the stick. Now this is the first car I've heard of like this. Usually you want to check the oil with the engine cold, before the first start of the day. So why does Ferrari specify this procedure for oil level check? Also, how many quarts does the sump hold? I thought I was told 10, but want to confirm that. Lastly, I assume you need to "prime" the engine after the oil change before starting it? Is it ok to just pull the coil wires and crank it for 20-30 secs? Or is the priming not necessary because of the timing belts (I know chain engines need the tensioner primed after an oil change). The only other car I ever owned with a "unique" procedure for checking the oil was a 6.9 liter Mercedes-Benz which had a dry sump oil system and that had to be checked with the engine at hot idle. Ok, last one (for now, I promise)... My car starts and runs well although it does tend to slightly misfire on "mildly hard" acceleration. The first thing I was going to do was to change the plugs (I have new NGK BP7ES plugs---are these ok?), and drive the car again to see if it clears up. My car was a garage queen (of course) and has had maybe 2,000 miles put on it in the last 9 years. If any of you are near the Cincinnati area and know some Ferraris around here, it is a white/burgundy '75 GT4. 38K miles, always serviced by Bill Victor and John Carefoot, also some work done at Quality Automotive. Very very nice, well maintained car and I really want to squeeze some miles in before I have to relegate her back to the garage for winter. Thanks to all for any help you may be able to provide. Sorry for the long winded post! Cheers! Aaron
Hi Aaron, Welcome to the board and congrats on a cool car! I do not have a GT4 so I can't comment on the door locks, but I have a GTB with the same engine. The oil is about 9 quarts if memory serves, but this will be in your owners manual. If you don't have an owners manual you can download one for free at the Ferrari owner's site. (www.owners.ferrari.com). You will have to start an account with them to get a password. It's free but takes a couple days. It's a VERY helpful site and one you should definitely explore. Next, I would suggest that you search the archives of this board because you would be surprised how much has been covered here in the past. A new question is rare. Doing a search on "oil change 308" will probably produce several hours of good threads to read. You are correct that you check the oil warm. I have never heard of priming the system after an oil change, but I'm sure it can't hurt. Most people find that BP7ES plugs are too cold for normal driving a prefer the BP6ES or BP5ES. These are hotter plugs and they will not foul as easily. I'm running BP6ES in my 308 right now, though I used BP5ES for 2 years. Check your gap and be sure it's right. The points ignition doesn't make a lot of voltage and it's sensitive to having the right gap. (Again, this is in the owner's manual. From memory it's 0.024" but don't quote me.) You mentioned that your car was a garage queen. PLEASE check and replace your fuel lines. These are the most common cause of engine fires in these cars. They get old and cracked. If they are the original cloth-covered kind, they are probably totally cracked on the inside and look fine on the outside. They are a leak and a fire waiting to happen. Don't neglect the large fuel filler hose either. Birdman
The key on the driver's side outside lock on my 75 GT4 doesn't cause enough movement to lock the door from the outside. The pass side is fine, and both doors lock OK from the inner lock plunger. I'm going to tear into the door one of these days to examine; I'm assuming something is misaligned or worn and that the turning of the key is not giving enough travel to pull the lock plunger all the way down. The outer handle, at least, is from the X1/9, so parts may be plentiful from Fiat sources. The rest of the mechanism I don't know yet. Andrew Watry
No advice on the locks but it sounds like you are on the right track. I don't even know if the locks work on my car. It's a '79 308 GTS and I always drive it with the top off so have never locked the doors. The oil must be checked when warm due to the fact that the oil filter is mounted upside down and drains back into the sump when sitting. As long as you check it within a few minutes after shutting down you are fine. The filter does have a check valve that prevents all the oil from immediately draining out. The capacity is roughly 9 quarts. Put in 8, start it, then shut down and top it off. I've never "primed" it after changing the oil but it doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'm pretty sure I have the BP5ES in my car. I'll double check it for you.
My GT4's owner's manual says a related reason to check the oil right after shutdown is to get the level before the oil in the cooler drains back down. Andrew Watry
The X1/9 door lock assembly is, indeed, the same as the one on a GT4. I bought one last year on eBay for $10 and completely disassembled it to figure out how it works so I can fix my GT4 door locks. I haven't gotten to it yet, but if I remember correctly, there was a tang on the cylinder housing that engages/disengages the lock mechanism. On my car this tang had worn down and was not making sufficient contact. IIRC the tang was made out of pot metal and could not be reformed by welding. If you can wait a month or so I will be working on it and will post pictures and a procedure.
I pulled one of my plugs to check for you and it is indeed the BP5ES. It has been in there for about 5k miles and it looks like the "normal" picture you see on those spark plug diagnostic charts. See if you can take the 7's back and swap them for some 5's. If you can't, go ahead and put the 7's in and check them after 3k miles. If they are black, get some 5's. The misfire could also be the points staring to go bad. The points on my car failed and I was able to put in the Crane Cams XR3000 Fireball ignition, new Crane PS60 coils and new Magnacor spark plug wires all for under $500. It was going to cost me at least $250 just to replace the points. (and this is doing the work myself)
Thanks guys for the information. As we speak, I am preparing to change the oil in the car. As for the door locks, I'm going to have a gander at my GT4 shop manual and see if there's anything in there about the locks. So far, the manual is a rough translation from Italian to English and some parts are not clear at all. Ok, off to the garage for some tinkering! Cheers, Aaron
Well I completed the oil and filter change. It took 8 litres of SINT 2000 10W-40. When I drained the oil I had the car slightly lifted at the rear so I'm sure there was a little oil left in the sump which explains why it took 8 instead of 9 litres like the consensus here says. Anyhow, all went smoothly, new UFI filter in place and no leaks. I did do some cross-referencing and found two German equivalents, Mann and Mahle (OE for Mercedes, BMW, etc....so good quality). The Mann part number is W940/1 and the Mahle part number is OC67. I can get the Mann locally for about $12 versus $40 for the UFI, which has to come from Italian Car Parts in Oregon. So on my test drive I racked up a speeding ticket from a friendly local yokal. He got me for 45 in a 25 and I'm SURE that the car ahead of me was doing 45 as well but I might as well get used to "sports car profiling". Oh, and the greatest thing about my little visit with Montgomery police was that when I looked at my ticket after I got home, the cop put down "FORD MUSTANG" as the type of vehicle I was in!! Hehe! I guess maybe it was better that he didn't know it was a Ferrari Before cop #1 left me, another cruiser pulled up and the guy gets out and walks over and starts chatting with me about the car. He asks if this is a 6 cylinder Dino and I proceed to inform him that this is the later car with the V8 engine. He's into sports cars and was really cool. His comment was "I guess this thing has some get up and go eh?" and as I motion back toward officer #1 now sitting in his car, happy he nailed another "Mustang" I said "Yeah, and I'll make you a deal. Get me out of this ticket and you can drive it whenever you want." He responded with a laugh and did hand me his business card, so maybe a phone call is in fact in order........ Finally, onto one other question.... When I put the left blinker on, it will not blink with the brakes applied, but with the brakes off it blinks quickly but neither the front nor rear bulbs are burnt out. Right blinker works fine. Any ideas? New flasher relay in order? Thanks again guys! Cheers, Aaron
Dear all, the drivers side door locking mechanism on my 308 GT4 seems worn or out of adjustment. Turning the key in the door allows me to lock the door, but not unlock the door. I can get it to work - sort of by loosening the door card, i.e. reducing friction on the linkage. This makes me think some part of the linkage between the key barrel and inside plunger is worn, or out of adjustment. Keen to know if anyone has had a similar experience and possibly a suggestion on repair. Thanks!
Remove for panel disconnect the rod to the lock mechanism ,lubricate all moving parts and try the lock. This will show if the mechanism has full movement. Attach the rod and try again. If it doesn’t work when attached bend the rod slightly to gain full motion of the mechanism.
In the door latch mechanism, there is a bell crank which pivots in a plastic casing. With age and use, the casing cracks resulting in lost movement. That's the most likely cause, particularly as you can lock but not unlock. Locking / unlocking should have a nice, over-centre positive action to it - if not, you've surely got some lost movement. Here's a poor quality photo of the bell-crank and plastic sleeve in question. Normally the plastic sleeve is white. I remade mine out of a solid piece of delrin. It just requires one well drilled hole for the crank and some shaping with a file / dremel to get it to fit. Image Unavailable, Please Login It's also possible that the mechanism on the back of the key barrel has some wear but that has less impact on the operation. Yes, make sure it's all nicely lubricated too. You shouldn't need to bend anything. With the door card removed, you should be able to operate the key and see where the lost movement is. You should also be able to operate the bell crank directly.
