30k major started!

Heya Pap - my aircon is just fine as well and I didn't want it touched. When I first contemplated leaving the compressor on the car my first thought was that the a/c tension adjustment bracket would have to come off to give the compressor tubes a pathway to rest against the firewall thus allowing the the engine to pass right by the still-connected compressor on removal. I didn't like this idea because of the extra time factor and I wanted to stay away from removing any nuts that affected gaskets (the tension adjustment bracket has 3 commonly shared nuts front crank cover that is obviously gasketed). So it looks impossible because the gap between the tip of tension adjustment bracket and the subframe is about 3/4" and the sleeved a/c tubes (very stiff compound) looked about 1-1/4". The answer was in sliding the insulation sleeves up as high as possible, putting a little grease on the exposed hoses and with a little pressure they will pop past the tension adjustment bracket and rest nicely against the firewall. While the car is being raised off the engine you can turn the compressor 90 degrees and the engine clears perfectly with no prying, banging or grinding. For some reason the hoses don't look like they will pass through this gap but they actually do quite easily.

 

Thanks FBB... I didn't really know what to expect getting into this. When I saw Weasels cart I thought it looked like it would give me maximum flexibility if I was to run into any unforeseen problems either during removal or installation. I am a weekend warrior and a fair bit away from a stooge! The only other thing I was thinking about is that I like the idea of rolling it over to the threshold of the opened garage door to do the actual service - I like a lot of bright natural light so I can see and internalize every little detail of my engine. If I am going to degree my cams as you recommend (versus cheat and simply line up the marks) I am going to need all the advantages I can. (I still might wimp out on this one actually). I appreciate the input.

 

Thanks Scott. I have been looking forward to mine for a long time now. I wasn't exaggerating on how fun it actually is. There's just something awesome about working on your own Ferrari. Lifts are cheap - mine is a 9'3" base plate model with a lifting capacity of 9000 lbs. Sweet 355 man!

 

lol - holes drilled in the jack bases going right into cart on all 4 posts.

 

Not sure about the 355 Johan. Someone out there must know.

 

The new belt and tensioners are on - I was at it for a good 10 hour stint but finally got it done. Belt was going on difficult until I realized that the dynamic tensioner had to be compressed ALL THE WAY and held with a large tie strap. I also came to realize (with the help of a friend) that the tensioner had to be inserted only after the rest of the belt was seated and held in place with the help of delicately placed soft tip clamps. Yes, I had to take it off after the first attempt.

The tensioner and idler bearings were bad - all kinds of play laterally. My engine is pretty dry with only the slightest of dry seapage around the front. I can't tell whether its from the cam seals or the rtv sealant. In any case I decided to leave it alone this time around. I know you all are probably thinking 'incomplete job' but I hand my hands pretty full for my first major. I have also come to realize that in order to really do the full meal deal (complete with detailing) you need a lot of time and you can't be rushed. I'm looking at the job Rick in doing and I feel like I am coming up short... The only other thing I am going to do is inspect the oil chain tensioner. Hopefully I will be okay with this scaled-down 30k.

Two questions and I hope they are not a really stupid ones:

1. After everything was back on I turned the crank 20-30 times to seat the belt and I noticed the belt alignment on all the cogs was different than that of my original belt. Is this okay?

2. Is the timing belt directional?

I will post pics tomorrow guys - I'm burnt.

 

Heya Pap - sorry, not the timing marks, those are spot on. I mean't the whole belt is centered in the middle of the cam gears whereas the leading edge of the old belt came out flush with the edge of all the cam gears.

 

cool - thanks.

 

Just started my baby up after my 30k - I am walking on air right now... I took about 6 attempts to re-introduce the fuel but she burst right to life. Everything sounds, feels and smells as it should. There are no oil, fuel or coolant leaks yet - I will go look again after it cools down. I let it run for 30 minutes. I had one hell of a time bleeding my clutch.

I have learned so bloody much from doing this service - I can't believe how much I know about the 348 now. Never would of happened if I didn't go through this.

Anyway, I sort of abandoned my thread awhile back because things were going slow and I hit a lot of stumbling blocks but I have kept a diary of my whole 30k experience and I will add it shortly.

This has been a huge accomplishment - alot of people around me said I was crazy for attemping an engine out service. I can't thank all you enough for doing some real heavy lifting for me.

Yeehhaaaaa!