308 GT4 major service poll

15 kmiles or 5 years, that would work for me.

 

I thought the book called for belts in 50,000km or 37,000 miles, but to be conservative folks cut it down to 30,000 for the belt service. This turns into a while-you're-in-there situation usually coming just shy of (but not always) a full on rebuild. Also, there is much heated debate on belt intervals WRT time. 5 yrs, 8 yrs, 10, 15 ?? But 5,000 miles seems like you'd wear out the threads working on it.

 

Oh, that is very funny.

 

Ferrari says 3 years or 30K miles, whichever comes first, on the timing belts.

That may not involve a full major service, but there's a "while you're in there" factor considering the labor involved that may make it an opportune time to address any oil leaks, etc.

Opinions vary.**




** understatement here

 

Dayco (makes of belts) says 75k-100k miles on any other car except Ferrari for which they recommend 5 years or 50k miles. Ferrari is a bit paranoid recommending 3 years IMO. Dayco knows their belts.

 

Funny thing about it is that belts break, and valves collide, for many reasons other than the integrity of the belts themselves. In other words, if you think you're guaranteeing against a belt failure by using a frequent changing schedule, you're not, as that's only half the picture.

Belt failure more frequently happens because of a range of issues not related to the belts themselves, including oil contamination, ingress of foreign material in the belt housing, lack of oiling to cams, etc...and, of course, the obvious one: tensioner failure. New belts are going to prevent disaster in any of these situations (unfortunately).

Best to look at the big picture when deciding what belt schedule to use - there's no hard and fast answer.

 

and true, two of my belt tension mounting threads stripped out when I did my belts last year. The tensioner pullers are "only" held by three bolts into the aluminium - M8 I think too, ideal candidate for stripping in Alu. Good job I have a helicoil kit.

Lee

 

and that is why if you do the belts (and tensioners) at 5 years or 15K miles, you will at least look at the belts and inspect the related parts enough to catch problems before they fail.

 

Good grief, here we go again!

 

These belts aren't stressed all that much. They are each basically operating a 4 cylinder engine. The valve springs are not terribly stout making the belts pretty unstressed compared to the later Montezemolo cars. Think Porsche 944 where 45k/ 5 years is recommended.

 

Yo Michael - Did you find your white GT4 yet?

 

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Nope. If you're inspecting the belts and related parts only every five years then you won't catch problems before they start. In other words, changing the belts and inspecting every five years won't unearth oil contamination or a failing tensioner bearing in the meantime ie. before the five year mark.

Exam the environment of the belt at regular and frequent intervals - this is the starting point. Then set your calendar/OD for a regular belt change on an appropriate schedule.

 

So - Have a look at them every year or two but only change them every 5 years or 30K? 3 years or 30K seems soon. There are plenty of other cars that use timing belts and their intervals are much longer. I know, they are different cars but at the end of the day, isnt a belt a belt? Just curious. Then you have the argument of mileage versus years. Hardly any F-cars see 10K miles a year so that means you'll always hit that 3 year mark first. Do the belts really need to be changed that often?

 

This be true. A few years back I had my belts changed & bearings inspected & declared good. Two years & about 3K miles later the bearings were shot. Now I don't know how long they had been on there, but the point is things can & do change.

I'm not saying the Euro regime of belts every 2 years is necessary but I would be reluctant to leave it much more than 3 - but then we can get a simple belt change done here for about £350-400 (+ cost of bearings if you want them).

As a reference point, VW/Audi now mandates 4 years (or 60K) on all belts.

 

If you are driving a 30 year old Ferrari then Yes you should be inspecting the belts, as well as everything else every year.
Give the car a front to back inspecting hoses, brake lines, fuel filler hose and the like.
As far as cam belts, in most cases a tensioner bearing will generally start to fail first, which reacts with the belt which can harden on it's exterior over time due to heat, and then develop tiny hairline cracks which allow moisture to reach the internal cords.
You know the sound of your car running correctly, be alert to a different sound coming from your engine bay.

 

4 years and unless it is a daily driver I wouldn't worry about mileage as long as it gets driven reguarly

 

Haha...most of the 944 guys (myself included) follow the 3yr/30k mile interval for belts and bearings with a water pump every other time.

Allegedly, the Contitech belts sold today are an order of magnitude stronger and contamination / rot resistant than original belts from the 80s. Gates also sells Kevlar-infused belts but why take the chance? As some others have said, it's a great time to inspect other things and also to detail your motor.