CAM BELT CHANGE

Ferrari says 3 years but if you go every 5 no one will give you ****.

 

there is a lot of options on this, Ferrari guidelines will have you replacing no matter what every 2-3 years,

i will say this if you replace the belts with Gates belts and Hill engineering tensioners and as long as you do not have oil leaks that can get on the belts and make sure you tension the belts after around 1k 1500 miles you will increase intervals,

but like it has been said so many times before me, "replace them now and go as far as you B@!!s think it is time to do again"
if you are doing your Maintenance not only will save money you will be able to gauge when it should be done.

remember no one and i mean one can for see a belt or tensioner failure baring no leaks overtighten or noises.

good luck

 

Don’t forget the two tensioner bearing as well. The Hill Engineering tensioner bearing is a good choice.

 

Spend the extra money and get the Hill bearings. It doesn't matter whether the belt or the bearing fails, the result is the same.

 

The 308 WSM states the following in regards to the timing belts:

– Every 15-20K km’s (~12.5K mi.) check visually for wearing condition
– At 40K km’s (~25K mi.) check carefully the belts then replace them in case of lack of efficiency
– At 60K km’s (~38K mi.) replace the belts

 

I do my belts every 10 years and sleep like a baby.

 

Tyrell's workshop just had a video about this and he raised an interesting point why Ferrari said "years" and not mileage like most cars.

He said that because the flywheel is light the car drops off the revs more quickly than most twin cams, and this puts extra stress on the belts and the belt tension is higher.

He said it, not me so don't shoot me. But I think he may have a point.

IMO, the rule of thumb is 4 years. I just like the peace of mind. Aside from peace of mind there is no real right or wrong answer. I don't know how many 308 have dropped an old belt but I'm guessing its really small. And given the price of the car its not that much money over 4 years.

But I never have much luck...

 

Are you suggesting re-tensioning the belts after 1K miles? This is said to be a big no, no from everything I have known!!!.
As for intervals I go 7 years............but once went 14 out of ignorance.

 

You should not "re-tension" the belts! If you set the tensioners the way it states in the WSM, nothing needs done until the next belt change.

 

yes that’s what I always do the first 1k or on new belts,

I know a lot of people say that you are going to screw things up but in reality the holes in the timing covers are there for a reason belts wear and loosen, when you do the belts the tensioner springs are to be cleaned and regressed so all you need to do is get the engine on TDC loosen the nut and then re-torque it, to me and I know I will get a lot of backlash not doing this is more riskier a belt that is not in good tension will most definitely break, all modern Ferrari’s, Lamborghini and others use chain driven timing chains with a hydraulic tension to provide proper tension at all times, our belt system the tensioner is locked after you set it, if they did not want retention why would it have a spring and access hole so you don’t have to take the whole thing apart to readjust it, but I know there is going to be a lot of hate over this but that’s my way and I will always do it this way

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Ok

 

Wait till Rifledriver gets ahold of this thread!!!!!

 

The belts will last many years. The bearings are the part that can cause a problem, and they can last a long time, or not so much. The Hill bearings are simply normal bearings made with a high level of quality control that used to be the norm, but is no longer. So worth it given how bearing failure, more than belt failure, is high on the list of what then causes a belt failure.

When one changes a belt, you also can easily check the condition of the accessory belts and their related idler bearings, and any weep from the water pump. Those are things that cause more frequent problems than the timing belts per se. So I would say change every four years, as those other items may well need attentions at that interval anyways. But if you left it longer, as long as oil hasn't been leaking on the belts, it is not that they self destruct. As some note, 10 years or more has been done regarding timing belts. It is really more about regular inspections, and dealing with the smaller stuff as you go.

By the way, you do not re-tension timings belts after installing. But you are supposed to retension the accessory belts after a thousand miles. The alternator belt in particular is set at a pretty high tension, and loosens up after initial install.

 

The spring in the tensioner is there to set the intial tension correctly. The workshop manuals I believe are explicit not to retension a belt after properly installed, and not to reuse a used belt even if low mileage since it was changed.

 

Everything you need to know about cam belts is in the WSM! When to change and how tension!
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They will be merciless..

I am in for a Belt Serice now and they were last installed (I think) by John Vallandingham.
I'll confirm the date codes after they are done, I am leaving them alone.

That said, there are "Clamp the cams and go" belt changes, and there "degree Wheel, and degree the cams to within a half a degree" and that 's pretty hard when the chisel marks on the cams are about 3 degrees wide (against the crank rotation)!!

It's also a good time to evaluate the valve shim stacks for wear and tolerance, and that takes someone with a box of shims, and even willing to do them all.

My shop basically refused to service and rejet my carbs, without fresh belts and tensoner bearings!
They said to remove an OEM head that old might take three weeks of hard labor, you do the math!

 

Recall also our belt covers are open in the back and lack cut outs to R&R the water pump.

Later QVs are different with Rear covers on the belts making them difficult to Inspect.
Our Manuals basically said "Inspect at ever oil change (6,000 Miles) and CHANGE them at like 52,000 miles or something crazy like that.

But our NON CAT engione complartments were a cooler running place also.
IMO the Tech Bulletin is for CAT equipped cars and alkso to avoid the potential and very expensive cost of a more complete failure.


Eveb one dropped valve is an expensive affair these days,

 

I wonder if anyone participating in this thread has ever just turned the engine once and then just tightened the tensioner. Screw trying to find the tightest bearing pressure on the belt!!!! But if the translation from Italian to English is in fact correct............it would be pretty hard to screw up the tensioning.

 

He also refused to recommend an interval himself for fear of legal reprisal from customers, but insinuated that modern belt technology allowed 308s today to well-exceed Ferrari's in-period recommendation for belt changes.
Interestingly, the 'Owner's Warranty and Service Book' for my US '83 QV uses miles, not years, in listing the scheduled maintenance intervals for timing belts and other systems and operations. This is the recommendation for timing belts:
– Inspect every 15k miles* The footnote for the asterisk reads: "Not required (but recommended if the car is used in severe conditions)
– Replace at 52,500 miles

Using the footnotes for such services as fluid changes where both a time and mileage interval are given - for example oil changes to be performed at 7,500 miles or 2x per year - one can infer that Ferrari used what seems like a fantastical 15,000 miles per year for average mileage, which would put timing belt replacement at 3 1/2 years.
Seems unbelievable - even those figures in Km would seem high - but miles is referenced so many times in the maintenance schedule book that it seems just as unlikely to be a mistake.
Aside from Gates themselves recommending replacement of their belts every six years - irrespective of mileage - I guess it does all boil down to individual preference and comfort level at the end of the day.
- Dave

 

ok

 

Compare to post #19. Particularly parts c and d. This is from SB-10-9, 9/26/1984. There is no mention of retensioning the belts in the WSM or this service bulletin.

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Anyway, it's all a bunch of gobbledygook. I have the original tensioner bearings from my car. They were changed after 25 years. They still run perfectly smooth. I just did my last belt change last summer. Those belts and bearings were 14 years old. I replaced the bearing with Hills. Frankly, I was unimpressed with the Hills. It's unlikely that the car will have another belt service under my ownership as in 14 years I'll be 92. So, next guy's problem.