I'm sure he would have another good point - what can that fancy Snap-On torque wrench do over this one? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=807 I mean, what's a couple of foot pounds gonna hurt?
I simply had my 20 year old Utica Tools torque wrench calibrated...it was spot on, no adjustment needed. I was actually a bit surprised. My buddy submitted two rather new Craftsman torque wrenches at the same time, and they were way off. What you bought is nice, but you will need to have it checked every year or two from here on out...it is the only way to be certain.
Yes, I spent around 4 hours disconnecting the electrical, hoses, exhaust and dropping the fluids and around 3 hours to unbolt and drop the engine/trans/susp assembly. I took my sweet time and could have shaved a couple of hours off this time if I was in a hurry. It all depends on your equipment (hoist), tools and of course your skill level.
lol - they were bloody expensive but I figured that they will be an investment. Where I live in Canada is very far away from any f-service so I really had to take matters into my own hands buy the things that would give me the best odds of pulling off good work. The $$$ it cost me to do my first major was just as much as I would have paid from an experienced and reputable shop - I bought a lift, an engine dolly custom made and a bunch of quality tools. I won't see any savings til next service but I am okay with this...
If I had taken my car to the local ferrari dealer the service would have easily topped 10g. The engine out service I am currently doing will save me at least 7g so the hoist is not only paid for in 1 service but I have the hoist to boot.
Hey Troy, I did purchase the hoist specifically for the 355 when I purchased the car 4 years ago. I have owned 9 sports cars though, the prior one being a NSX, and can't believe I waited so long to get a home hoist. Crawling under a low slung car is no fun.....not to mention the usual assortment of minor injuries one gets from working in cramped or awkward conditions. Its the ultimate tool for a car guy.
You guys are great, nice to hear all the opinions from all the different perspectives and situations. So far as I take it, 1 day to remove engine, 1 day to install engine. Then 1 day in a perfect world to complete the work on the engine, not coming across any unknowns. So in a perfect situation I would be looking at somewhere in the 30 hour mark. However, the perfect world scenario isnt likely and this is where I would be looking to spend extra time in testing and potentially waiting for parts? I guess the 2 days to re and re the engine stays true. Just the time to work on the engine is where the discrepancy comes into play? I have learned a lot so far, appreciate it: -I will need to add time to test the alternator, waterpump, and headers. -Possibly coat the cam seals with permatex grey and re-use the seals. -I should use the silicone hoses -Make sure use Hill Engineering bearings -Maybe send out injectors for cleaning, possibly get kingsborne plug wires -Factor in time for F-chat advice (great advice) (Troy_wood, I have also spent many hours digging here) -Get a good torque wrench What other tools or specialty tools should I have handy before taking this project on? I would like to gain as much knowledge as possible and locate any tools I will need before hand to minimize surprises. Also I want to track lead time on potential parts I may have to order. So far everytime I ordered from our local F-dealership I have had to wait approx 15 working days for parts, no fun, also very expensive. I don't have room for a lift at the moment, so i am going to have to hold off on that. Although I would love to have it, maybe next year.
So right and how things have changed compared to only 3-4 years ago around here. I remember when only a handful of guys on fchat attempted to remove and service there 355 engines them self, people like RF who left because of the BS that was thrown at him. They lead the way in home servicing of the 355s, and anyone who is now removing there engines would have referred to the said pioneers by using the search box. But there was a few nasty Fchat Ferrari specialists that made the usual comments then (including a particularly nasty Canadian tec), like "You buy a Ferrari and you cant afford to run it" bla, bla, bla. In fact i have only read that crappy line again on a thread on this section only this week strange because it always comes from a Ferrari tec.. It was never about that. It was about learning and enjoying working on your own car, and talking to like minded people. And what the hell is wrong with saving your self thousands of $$$ & £££s? And getting the job done thoroughly with your own personal love and care I have very rarely seen any fchat consultants give much away on the 355 section, and yes why should they? Its there livleyhood. So tell me again why your Fchat tecs/consultants?? Though i will say that there are a few tecs these days who will help on here, Ernie springs to mind and i think Ferrarifixer?? If i am not mistaken are good guys as well as a few others. But most of all the information that people need on the 348/355 section has in the whole come from the home DIYer Yep things and the mood as well as wealth of knowledge has certainly changed around here, and thats a good thing. Power to the people And do you really think i give a toss to anyone who is about to flame me (it will be a tec i bet) your mistaken
This really has become a "Them" and "Us" and yet we all share the same passion..... You are spot on, there is no reason that an industry pro should be a consultant, it was a flawed idea from the start. """Power to the people"""??? Oh hell, I dont understand any of this anymore. You were right...it was a 'tec' that responded but you were wrong with how
One biggy that we all missed - checking valve lash. You must check your valve clearances and this should not be side stepped. Where you are not replacing the cam seals you will need the following tools if you are out on lash (a few pics my GF took of my 30k). I had 2 exhaust valves out of spec and had to order 2 shims from Ricambi (1.5 week delivery). Let me know if you need to borrow these valve adjustment tools and I will send them to you: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
^ And I'll say with shims, be prepared for some possible disappointment. We carry some, but not all possible sizes. To make matters worse, Ferrari shims sometimes (often!) don't actually mic at the value stamped on them. If you order 3.25 it might actually mic at 3.34, 3.20, or who-knows-what. Sadly, we sometimes need to order them multiple times from Ferrari to get what we actually expected. In other words, if you need shims... mic yours first (ignore whatever is stamped on them, in my personal opinion), then call us with the size you need. Maybe others can chime in too, but this has been our unhappy experience in shim-land.
I forgot to mention that. The ones you sent me Daniel were bang-on. Just one example of the small and potentially dangerous items that DIY'ers (like myself) can miss if you don't know any better. I mean, if the shim thickness is stamped right on it then it must be the actual thickness right?... Tight exhaust valves create expensive problems!
IMO i dont see it that way at all. But if that is so then it may have been started by the pros that sign up to be forum tecs, and then give sihty attitudes towards a guy who wants to do the job him self. Like you i beleve that whole conception was wrong to begin with. I understand its a tec guys living, so dont sign up as a fchat expert. I remember certain tecs giving a round of f**ks to some guys who asked simple "how to" questions a few years back, some even pack together. There questions on the whole was answered by other self DIYers in the end. Dam it still happens now at times, there are some tecs that jump on self servicers if they ask a question. Some respond with sarcasm and whit saying that its usualy the profesional tecs that have to clean up the mess when it goes wrong bla bla bla. Well there are many stories that can be said of profesionals messing it up and there work has to be corrected. Swings both ways i find. Please bear in mind that i did say that there are "some" tecs who have no problem with helping and answering questions to the best of there ability. I have list of helpful tecs, also of ones that you just know are going to be sarcastic when you see they have responded to a thread. Oh and the "Power to the people" thing was said light hearted Dont read into it looking for something because its not there. I was joking with that comment But the rest is just how i feel.
Its important to point out that the 355s have hydraulic tappets and dont use "shims". Thats a 348 thing I beleve Action Jackson has a F355, and thats what he is servicing. Great advice for the 348 guys though Troy_wood Them two tools look so good i would be tempted to hang them in my engine bay
Re read your post..... its OK as no one can be faulted for having an opinion. """Oh and the "Power to the people" thing was said light hearted Dont read into it looking for something because its not there. I was joking with that comment But the rest is just how i feel""" Again, its OK, not trying to read anything into anything just responding to written words and trying to defuse another frenzy where there is no need for one. I vote Decaf for all !!!! To the OP, I would set aside 50-55 hrs for your first in an unfamilure enviroment and finish the topside work at home where a hoist is not needed.
Thanks a bunch for offering the use of your tools, you guys really keep topping yourselves to try and help, awesome. Just to clarify though, this is something I DO NOT need to worry about since it is a F355?
I have to comment on some of your observations. There are a very few professional Ferrari mechanics here, I know most of them personally and a couple by reputation but almost all are well known to me. Of those I have never witnessed what you describe except in a few cases that involved an individual who gave us directly or people of our profession in general a hard time. Thats a growing list more than one of us is keeping track of. I spend a good bit of time here handing out free advice but I admit I withold quite a bit, we all do. There is a very good reason for it. Probably the second biggest problem here is so many here encourage others to rip their car to pieces who obviously to me have no business doing it due to their lack of experience. Most of the professionals won't play that game. Much, probably most of the advice and information I give out is offline to individuals who obviously can benefit from it. I have been very sharply criticised by a few people here because I won't teach someone with no knowledge, experience or skills to be a mechanic. Sorry, wrong guy, wrong forum, wrong lifetime. I will help someone who already is one and there are many here who are by avocation. I have also been very sharply criticised for giving someone enough information that they can arrive at an answer, rather that just supplying the answer. I do that daily to the mechanics under my employ. People learn that way. I have no desire to give someone the benefit of my experience so they can forget it a few minutes later. If someone really does not like being taught something as opposed to being given something, again they are asking the wrong guy. That is a lesson I learned from the masters I apprenticed under and I find it an outstanding philosophy. I think based only on observation I am not the only professional here practicing this way. I believe many of your observations are just your misunderstanding of the situation.
yeah, sooooo.... how do I do a major again? Just kidding, I feel you man, I have no business turning a wrench on a Ferrari, and have no problem with a pro saying "You don't know what the hell you're doing, take it to a shop." That's basically what I say when a complete novice asks me about my profession. Keep on rockin' in the free world.
You do know that many will now be monitoring any posts you may post in the future. When you may ask "how to" Those words may come back to haunt you At least Rifledriver has put his point across and i respect that
