lol...no..i DID pick it up. i just thought i'd produce the info here. the more i think about it, and i think a lot, the more i can't see a problem with it.
true...and valid point...but... yes there is...and it's how you change the belts, but you can't do timing checks...so you would think, again, that if it's right to start with, then changing belts won't stuff it up.
Didn't know that. One thing that has always annoyed me about Ferrari's is the the disregard they have to designing the cars to be service friendly. While some things are relatively easy to get at (say the clutch in a 355) an access panel for the front of the motor in the 355 seems to be a glaring omission. At least the access panel in the 360 is a great step forward in that direction, but then I've seen photo's of the new California's engine bay and wonder how you get at anything in there. Perhaps, don't you need an SD3 to properly service & diagonse these cars ? That means back to the dealer.
yes...the valve covers come off easily enough, but you can't put on timing wheels etc with the engine in. however, maybe if you trust the marks on the cars (and all three of mine are spot on), then you might be able to adjust? just a guess...no idea. but certainly taking cam covers off a 355 is easy....your mate had to do it to fix the oil leak he gave me. www.pless.com.au/mechanics.htm otoh...i'm not sure that with the cam covers off with the engine in the car that you can see the timing marks...no idea.
In the aviation world all job times are quoted for the "time on the job only" what this means is that it is an experienced mechanic/technician doing the job and he has all the correct tools at hand, it does not mean job prepartion going to the stores moving equipment etc, I of course do no know if this is the same in the automotive world but I strongly suspect it is.
In the 355's there is a cross member that gets in the way while changing the cam belts using the "fuel tank method", this is different to the 348 where this cross bar is not there. How do you get round the cross bar in our 355's?
How did they create the room for the belt? With the engine mounts in place there is not much room there. Did they disconnect the gearbox mounts and pivot the motor?
Check out the butchery in these photo's taken from a thread in the 348/355 section. Do you want someone taking to your car with a recipricator saw? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It is being assumed it was done to allow a cam belt replacement with out removing the engine, via the gas tank removal method. It is thought to have been cut so one can remove the harmonic balancer. Any more progress on finding that info regarding doing a belt service with the engine in place?
Have you found the documents to support your claim? I am not wrong, we covered this already. It IS a short cut.
Ohh, as you were then. I actually think the belts can be done via this method, and I dont think it necessary to cut the sub frame like in the photo's above but everything I have read, and it is only from reading that I have formed my opinion on the job (no practical experence at all) the motor will need to be put on an angle to allow enough room to remove the pulley on the crank. The fitting of the belt is not so much the issue as is getting all the other parts off so one can remove the old belts and fit the new ones. Still, this interests me, more from a knowledge point of view as opposed to wanting this process to be used on my own 355, so if you can find that article, I would really enjoy the read.
I'd be worried that "something" would be missed because of the limited room to look at things with the engine in verses being able to have a good look with the engine out. But that's just me.
ya see...here's the thing. we're talking about, usually, cars that do a couple or perhaps a few thousand km a year. the fact that any of us think that we NEED to look for things is a sad reflection on the quality of a Ferrari. The engine doesn't have to be taken out in a 308, 550 and 360, for example....so why, suddenly, would we NEED to with a 348/355? Who the hell pulls an engine out of a Porsche, BMW or Mercedes every couple of years just to "looks at things"? If the engines of all these other cars don't need to come out regularly, and if Ferrari show this method of changing belts as acceptable, then I certainly don't have a problem with it.
