Closing in on a 348.... Need some advice

Hi there, I'm Tony a new 348 Spider owner as of last Friday so the sound of the exhaust is something I can strongly relate to. From everything I hear you never get used to it. Every time I get in her and fire her up, it's like the very first experience. YOU MUST GET A 348!!!

On to the issues you are talking about. The seat belts are a normal thing with them as best as I know. Usually when the get stuck, you can guide them the rest of the way. Mine do this a little but found out that if I pull the belt out away from my chest, it's just enough to make the belt go the distance. I guess that's the beer belly or something!

Sticky parts are a very easy and rather in expensive thing to take care of as are the kick plates that are scuffed. There's a guy on here I've seen a lot about that does all the 348/355's (stickynomore.com ...or something like that). The other guys here will know who I'm talking about and he very well may respond.

As for the M5 or whatever I'm clueless. And the doors, you should be able to open incredibly easy by putting your fingers underneath the upper vent and pull without much of a fuss.

Sounds like some cosmetic issues here and there, but nothing too significant. I was blessed to find the one I did and believe me, I looked around and made no hasty decisions. Don't be committed to the one. Weigh out all your options and find "THE ONE". You'll know it, believe me!

Moreover the one thing you need to be damn sure of, is it's service history. You can make a huge mistake choosing the wrong car for what seems to be the right money. You could end up overpaying for the wrong one to get it close to the one that's already perfect with a history to go with it. NEVER EVER TAKE A DEALER'S WORD...that it's well serviced and just because they tell you the 30K mile major has been completed, means nothing. It's just as important (maybe more so) the date of it's last major. Many argue the intervals but from many experts I hear you can take one up too 7yrs. but absolutely no more than that. Rule of thumb is every 5yrs. This service alone is $7-12K depending on the needs. FYI, spend the money and have a PPI done ($200-400) get the compression check and all. Review the records and don't be afraid to ask anything. Most the guys and gals here are incredibly helpful and friendly. You'd be surprised, someone on here may know the car you are looking at.

I wish you the absolute best in finding the right one and don't be afraid to drive the right one home. I did! 1000+MILES!

 

I have a 348 Spider and some of the things that you describe are normal. The windows are slow, many times slow at best is what is used to describe them don't worry about that, it usually is a ground and most Ferrari's have slow windows, least this vintage.

The E5 is a HVAC system code that is shown on the clock display of the HVAC system. If you see the flashing clock or flashing 0000 you don't have the E5

The sills sound like they were covered in a clear material like dealers use when the carpet is cleaned or a car is delivered. This is not normal, the sills should have no covering as far as I know, some add this to keep the scuffs down as the sill is wide.

The seat belts are trouble, use the factory fixed points remove the fuse from behind the seats where the motors are located and unhook the belt from the traveling point, no tools needed.

Have fun with the car and the forum, almost anything you need to know about the 348 is on this board!

 

Door sills can b replaced with carbon fiber . Disconnect the seatbelts.

Slow Windows r normal and the will never blow very cold at best enough not to sweat to badly.

All normal issues with 348

 

I have had my 348 for close to a year.
Good luck on your purchae. the 348 Spider is a great driving experinece and I will be happy to help as I have been alot of research and have pretty much brought my car back to pristine condition. I an aswer to your questions.
1. You can take the door solls off and have them redon or buy a realy nice set of CF sills that looks great. This is no big deal.
2. The interior molding comes off with 2 screws but you need to remove the seats to get easy access. This could also be the problem with your mouse not working as the molding could be in the way. Try adjusting or removing and retry the mice, it may work fine with just an adjustment. New mice for left and right side can run about 1500 to 2500.
3.Door latch is real easy take off door panels and you can unscrew and remove. They are metal and I had mine powder coated in black, Looks great will last a long long time $25.00 fix
4.Check alignment of door and latch, lube hinges and pull up and push out, should be pretty easy
5.Check your ground connections and front passenger footrest has fuse and relay panel. Pull all out and check for corrossion, spray with Stabilant 22 and re-insert.
Dave Helms makes a great upgrade for all engine connectors out of gold. They carry a much better current and will probably fix some issues like rough idle and other things
6. See response at item 2
7. ES error is an AC issue --get this checked out
I am a pretty anal guy who has to have everything working perfect or it just bothers me to no end.
Get a PPI and any service history. The theory goes if car has these issues wht else has been missed or neglected. These cars can run up a nice sized bill in no time. What you think may be a bargin can be a nightmare. I looked at 7 cars before I found the right one for me. Low milage does mean you get a trouble free car. sometimes a car with more mileage is better risk then one with low mileage. These cars need to be driven.
Run the VIn here and also on google to see what shows.
Good luck
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That handle comes off with one screw, very easy. Send them to Robbie (sticky no more) and you will be set. On the leather you will have a hard time finding the proper hide color if you recover. I recommend that you call out a leather repair specialist like ColorGLO and have them repair the scuffs and dye to the proper shade, you will never be able to see the repair.

On the sills you can go CF but if you want to keep the factory ones, you can send out to a powder coater to redo the sills.

 

Robbie (285ferrari) at stickynomore.com does an excellent job of refinishing the sticky interior parts. There are also a bunch of people who have done this themselves (including me). In most cases this is not incredibly difficult, but Robbie has an array of strippers (the chemical kind ) and the best paint "formula" that matches the OEM finish perfectly.

Good luck with your purchase! 348s are awesome cars!

 

The door handles are metal and can be easily powder coated, cheap and looks great !
Sickynomore does an excellent job on the sticky mess and he even repaints the markers back as per the originals-you can't go wrong
Try a company called Fiberenew. they have franchises all over- specialize in Corp jets and limo's pretty much all leather products. Not to expensice either

 

The sills pull off pretty easy, just be careful prying up so you don't bend the sill in case you want to reuse them. Also pull up on the rubber door jam liner as the sill it tucked under with 3 screws holding it down--Good luck

 

The 3 screws for the edge under the rubber trim and plain old double sided tape.
Use a flat plastic piece of trim remover just go slow, remove the 3 screws first of course.
It pretty easy.

 

I just bought one a couple of months ago, and I agree with the others on the forum that the service history and maintenance on the engine/drivetrain is the most important feature of purchasing one of these. They are crazy stupid when it comes to maintenance as compared to say, my Corvette, which only needs an oil change now and then. The timing belt service, along with valve adjustment and a few other upgrades if they haven't been done (cam cover drilling, jack shaft chain bearings) need to be done. Granted, my car just rolled over 30K this weekend and I need to do all the stuff I just mentioned. I probably won't fool with it until winter though, as I intend to do it myself. If the car hasn't had a service in say 10 years or more it needs to have it done immediatly before it is driven anymore, because if the belt breaks it will bend most if not all of the valves.

As for the sils, they can be easily removed by removing the 3 (really small) screws underneath the rubber door trim and carefully "pealing" them upward breaking the double sided tape bond. I just sanded mine, shot some gloss black and about 3 coats of clear on them, however the clear is easy to scratch with your shoes, so powder coat is a good option. I really like the CF sils, but I have other stuff to spend money on right now. I would CF the whole interior too, it really looks nice. As for the sticky stuff, I have found that rubbing alcohol works well to remove the gummy stuff, you can just re-paint black and you are good to go. I hear the sticky no more company is really great too, I just did mine myself.

My auto door things don't work either, and if they did I imagine I would unhook them. Like captglen I want everything to work and work right on my stuff, however, I can pass on the auto seat belt thing.

My windows are slow too, but they eventually get there. When I bought the car the driver door switch didn't work, I just removed it and cleaned it with contact cleaner, works fine now.

All that diatribe being said, most of the cosmetic stuff you can fix yourself for little expense, concentration on the major mechanical stuff is the most important purchasing aspect of your vehicle.

Happy Hunting!

 

Here is an old post from Husker, not sure how to hyper link. If you search for cam seal drainback modification you will find it. It is a Ferrari recommendation. The bearing is the cover bearing, the cams are driven by an alternate shaft (jackshaft) not actually by the crankshaft. Apparently some of the bearings had problems, so it is good to at least have them checked out, if not replaced by upgraded ones, I think there is a Ferrari service bulliten on that issue too.

Read Huskers service below and if you get all that done you will be in good shape.

Dave

Well, the much bally-whoed 30K service on my car is in the books. Total bill for this was $6128.00

First some background: I bought this 1990 TS in May. It had never had the 30K service done, so for those of you out there wondering how long a 348 can go between the 30K services, this one was 16 years and counting.

Here are the parts that were replaced when the engine was out:

1 RHS VC Gasket
1 LHS VC Gasket
2 end plate gaskets
2 misc. gaskets
1 oil seal
4 misc seals (part 149917)
4 cam O rings (117125)
1 Timing belt
2 Tensioner bearings
8 spark plugs
1 air filter
2 fuel filters
1 oil filter
1 alternator belt
1 AC belt
4 cam O rings (114808)
1 hose (140625)
1 bearing
2 tensioners
1 gasket (150077
1 sealing ring
2 gallons prestone
1 radiator cap
2.5 lbs freon
misc. hardware, stainless clamps
14 quarts mobil one
5 Fiat-10 aeroquip hoses
1 Brake fluid
4.5 Redline MT-90
1 battery
1 oil pressure sender
1 window switch
1 oil pump update kit
Containing pads for timing belt to reduce belt vibrations
Motor cover insulation
1 oil pressure switch


Labor included the following:

- Replace spark plugs
- Replace T-belt, tensioner bearings
- Replace cam seals and O rings
- replace valve cover gaskets
- Replace dit. seals and gaskets
- Replace dist. cap gaskets
- Repalce air filter
- Replace fuel fliters
- Adjust valves
- Remove cams, check bearings, reinstall
- Torque cam journals
- Check head torque
- Set timing
- Bleed brake lines
- Do cam seal drain back modification
- Change oil and filters
- Change transaxle fluid
- Replace coolant
- Replace A/C o rings, evacuate
- Inspect all lines
- Clean and detail engine compartment
- Check for leaks
- inspect CV boots
- Inspect fuse panel
- Replace water pump
- Inspect all seals
- Inspect main timing gear assembly
- Inspect ign. wires/cap/rotors
- Inspect all bulbs, ligths, electrical motors
- Inspect clutch play, flush and bleed
- Inspect brake pads, rotors
- Inspect all suspension, bushings, balljoints, tie rod ends, etc.
- Install oil pump kit

- Engine timing system modification: 1) modification to engine block, cover and bearing on the cover, which will now use ball bearing part # 144713 in palce of the current roller bearing. 2) Chain tightening pads (updated).
3) Addition of containing pads for timing chain to reduce chain vibrations.


that's it. Did I miss anything?

 

Wow, really nice job ! I don't think you missed anything, I am sure that after 16 years all the things done where really needed. I am going to do the major on my 348 this autumn but 4 years ago, when the last one was done, the Ferrari dealer that did it, was really complete, so I hope I don't find more things to do than the required.

 

Tom, not sure what your looking to spend but mine is available and is listed in Ferrari ads.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=4468

Give me a call if you have any interest and we can talk. Mine is not a fixer upper just get in it and go.

 

As for item 2, good luck finding the upgraded cam chain tensioner pad (part # 147338). It is in the land of "unobtanium". Yes, you will see it listed on Ferrari parts sites but nobody actually has one. Sad state of affairs.