348 vs. 355 for the DIY'er

If budget, ease of repair and dependability are considerations, the 348 is your car. Buy it, join the Brotherhood, and drive it like ya stole it.

 

I have owned both for extended periods of time and have done my maintainance myself fluid changes to belt changes etc. I haven't found one worse than the other. Actually getting the 348 to shift smoothly is more difficult than the 355 other than that they have been equal in time spent. Regards, Vern

 

If you get a 348 the Brotherhood is here for you. But even if you get a 355, the 348 Brotherhood is still here for you. You can work on either car.

If I was to get a 355 it would ONLY be a '95. They have the 2.7 Motronic and make a little more power than the 5.2 ecu cars. The valve guide issue should have been taken car of by now on most, if not all, of the '95. Just make sure you have the documentation proving it.

Get what you like.

 

When I was looking I found very few cars that had valve guides done, and that's one thing that pushed me towards a '99. My first thought was the same though, preferred the '95 with the 2.7 IF I could find one with guides verified to be done.

 

Well then if not, I would take that into consideration and have them knock down the price accordingly.

 

Between the ecus, yes there is REALLY a difference.

The 2.7 uses two ecu's, one for each bank, and is OBD1, meaning that, you can pull the engine codes without the need for a fancy schamcy SD2 reader. Plus you only have one O2 sensor to fool with on each side.

The 5.2 uses one ecu to control both banks of the engine, is OBD2. You have two O2 sensors, one before the cat and one after, on each bank.

Mechanically the 355 and 348 have ALOT of similarities. They aren't exactly alike but close enough. The subframes come out the same, the gear box pretty much bolts up the same. The instrument pods are the same but just with different gages. The doors and body are the same. The bumpers mount almost exactly the same. ALL the windows are the same. I can go on, and on, and on, but you get the point.

Like I said get what you like. You will be able to work on either, it's just that the 2.7's don't need all the fancy electronic gizzmos to be able work on them. That was the whole purpose of the On Board Diagnostics being implemented by the government.

 

+1

 

Honestly, you can work on both 348's and 355's. The 355 was the first of the robot welds; the 348 was the last of the hand welds.

Everything on the 348 bolts/screws and unbolts/unscrews...the vast majority of the 355 is the same.

The 355 has simpler seat belts than all but the 1989 (and Euro) 348's.

The 348 has simpler shocks, seats, convertible top, and steering because none of that is powered on the 348...but all of that is powered on the 355.

The 355 has airbags.

They both have the *same* ABS system, and nearly identical A/C systems. Same headlights but dissimilar fog lights and entirely different tail lights (e.g. center 3rd brake light is rivited on most/all 355's but merely bolted on 348's for easier maintenance). Strikingly similar front hood bonnets. Similar "sticky console" issues on both models.

You're going to be unbolting the 355's OEM exhaust headers at some point...probably never be the case with a 348.

348 valve guides are fine; 355's need to be verified as sintered steel (varies from car to car on almost all year models).

The 355 F1 system is becoming less intimidating as we learn more about it.

Easier to change 348 spark plugs than 355's. Easy to change 348 gear oil (don't even have to jack up the car) and engine oil.

355's can have alarm issues and F1 display issues that don't exist on 348's.

Easier to change out the 348's steering wheel and easier to add a steering wheel spacer to the 348.

355's have an exhaust cutout valve that gives problems that 348's will never see.

You'd have to ask a 355 owner, but I'm under the impression that 355's have a smog pump (I don't know for certain)...I can tell you that 348's do not have such a pump (simply use $7 one-way valves to draw in outside air by using exhaust vaccuum).

Of course, you're going faster (typically) in more comfort (e.g. power steering) in the 355 versus the 348. You may even like the looks of one over the other.