348 Gearbox Problems

BINGO! That's the cause of the pitting - the originally specified Agip oil simply isn't/wasn't up to the task. This is seen way too often and in this case, would have been in progress for quite a while. When you get it fixed, DON'T use the Agip

Also, the time the car sat has nothing to do with these current problems, nor does the pitting, although it would have eventually...

 

Sorry, Dave have to not agree on the Aqip, it was a question of time. I use ONLY Aqip but change it every year. no problems in all these years, and my T is older than his 348, I'm sure.
rik

 

Obviously it doesn't happen to every gearbox, but it has happened to way too many. In almost all cases, Agip was in use. Rarely is this damage seen in boxes that have run different oil for most of their lives. Even Ferrari don't recommend Agip anymore.

For my money, there is nothing better than Redline. There are probably many just as good though.

I also doubt that any of us would know if there was pitting unless we pulled the gearbox apart. It is usually asymptomatic until it's REALLY bad, but other things normally break beforehand

Anyway, the pitting in this, as in most cases, is an incidental finding.

 

a. We don't know he had Aqip, so that is a mystery

b. FERRARI DOES and continues to use Aqip: Just call the factory dealership, FofSF and see the answer you get: which is why I've been using it for years, they do my fluid changes

c. Correct, unless one makes the journey to tear apart a stale system, I'll bet you'll find any fluid in there will pit. IMO sort of akin to bad coolant.
regards rik

PS: Forgot to add: I am NOT endorsing Agip over better [redline] products etc. I'm just saying unless under race mode or something more stressful, that Agip is fine.
r

 

Mine bit the dust at about 62k miles.

 

Um, not really. It's free if you are willing to do the work yourself. Honestly it really isn't that hard to remove it. It can be removed in one Saturday.

I know your up in NorCal, so...................... pick a day that South West is have a $99 dollar special and fly me up. I'll come help you remove it for FREE.

 

Well you won't be able to check the ring nuts properly until you have the side covers of. You can check for pitting by removing the inspection plate on the bottom of the gear box. You MAY be able to test the main shaft for any play while the inspection plane is off, but I still think the removal of the side covers is the best option.

 

OUCH!!! Those teeth that are pitted are on the main shaft. NOT a cheap part, and you will have to replace the entire shaft because they are part of the shaft, not attached to it.

But you are in good hands with Daniel-san.

 

for helping I will include a dine on the town, and return ticket .....PS: have room to spare too for o'nighter

even some tools enought to do it: PROBLEM: GARAGE IS hostage to space and lifting.

 

Because is a piece of crap , every bit of it , there's no mystery , its junk , garbage, a terd (steaming) , whats this the millionth one that blew up ,it's inevitable , I spent $5 or 6k on parts & never bought a main or lay shaft , what a gem I tell ya , not to be critical .
A poor design ,ya think? The entire theory of the power transference is backwards . It rejects its own parts like a bad organ transplant. Gotta love it ,I wish this gear box on no one. Whatever leftover stuff Ferrari had laying around from days gone by went into the mighty 348box.
I'm surprised there's not a note in it that says "April Fools came early". An expensive joke for all .

 

I'm not familiar with how often pitting occurs in Ferrari gearboxes. OK - never even had one apart. But in this box, it looks more like gouging than pitting.... maybe from transmission pieces getting caught between the gears. I think pitting from corrosion or cavitation (if that's possible in a gearbox?) would look different than what we see in the pics. Just my thoughts.

FWIW - (Dino - Hope you don't mind) Ingenere's earlier post about his '89 348 box failing 2X didn't mention miles. But I'm sure both failures occurred well under 40k... he now has it advertised in cars.com at 38k miles. He tracked his car some, but I'll have to leave it to him to provide any other details.

 

I'll go out on a limb, the bearing goes bad on the end of the shaft causing shaft movement side to side, henceforth gear misalignment between the large ring gear(on
the differential) & the gear it mates to on the shaft , it winds up looking like that (see above photo), or ....... just stick with "Its crap " theory ". Either way you're a winner .The next contestant on the OVERPRICED EXPENSIVE REPAIR IS RIGHT ,behind curtain #1 maybe side bearings & an easy fix , behind curtain #2 ring & pinion 2-3K repair , behind curtain #3 complete destruction & denial that just you mailed your wallet for a few metal parts stuffed in a new case that is as bad as the one you removed. I'm thinkin if we put Ferrari logos on a Honda it would stall out . But it looks great !
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If you can get in and out of your car from both sides then there is no problem. The gear box can be removed with simple floor jacks.

 

Nope, 1994 348 GT Competizione, number 42 of 50 so almost the last off the line. I caught my gearbox problem early, and I had pitted bearings but that was it, but it still cost a bit to get it all rebuilt. The guys who did it reckoned the gearbox shims were out of whack ever since it left the factory...too much vino at lunchtime perhaps!
CG

 

Do we know if there were any gearbox design changes over the course of the 348 production run?

 

Out of curiosity, do the ring nuts seem to be the problem everytime a gearbox goes? And what would be the labor and parts cost of having someone replace them at every major service interval....at least a guestimation....

 

It would cost me the recambi or t-rutlands fee for ringnuts and 4 drops of locktite and a tube of hondabond and 1 gall of fluids, and maybe 2hrs because the GB has to be separated from the engine to get access to all the cover nuts. So my guess at shop labor assuming they know what to do would be maybe $1000??? But then if you got the GB out I'd be micing the synchros, checking pinion lash, torquing other ringnuts, triple seals, clutch inspection it SNOWBALLS!

 

I recently bought a 348, read through a lot of the forums, and quickly discovered I need to know *where* to get engine parts if something like my gearbox goes bad. Sorry for the slightly off-topic post, cut can any of you post links to good suppliers? Thx--Andy

 

Hi, you may remember me I was in this position 2 months ago........destroyed gearbox bearings died etc, Have emptied bank account and got a rebuilt GB with a warranty!. My gearbox let go at only 33000miles. I hope it dos'nt happen again.

 

Dont worry, I am sure FBB will supply a 'concrete' warranty with his gearbox rebuilds.

As soon as it leaves his concrete driveway.............you are on your own.

 

Right on Kev. Thanks for the update.

 

There is a 348 in at the NZ Ferrari service centre with this problem, the gearbox is out and i had a look inside. The owner has managed to source a replacement gearbox from somewhere over seas. Didn't sound like a plesent job.