F40 Cam-belt Service...

Well that's what I do, despite light mileage, and have been told to do so by Bob Houghton in the UK. Whether it is overkill or not, I'm not qualified to answer.

 

Realistically, no, it is not needed. A cam belt, from any car, is fit for purpose for atleast 3 times the stated point of change (speaking of time rather than miles). However it is like anything, you have your safe working load, and you have your load where something will work, not the same things.

Not worth the risk.

 

Andy falbo did a lot of development testing with the F40. For any ferrari he touches he goes by the book because you can never be too safe when it comes to something like these cars. You have spent all that money on a piece of art. Only you can decide whether every 3 years is for you or not.

 

mutliple shops have told me theyve almost never seen a belt that NEEDED to be changed. one guy actually had a client with a 512TR who went 13 yrs and 27,000 miles with the original belt. when he did replace it it looked fine.

 

I've heard the same; many techs, many shops, many different cars... Recommended belt intervals are overkill. However, it has been ingrained into nearly all Ferrari fans that these frequent services are basically a life-or-death scenario.

That being said, I've never spoke with anyone specifically about the F40's cam belts. I think if it were my car, erring on the side of caution would be wise for a couple of reasons. The risk of failure, no matter how small is simply not worth it when compared to the overall value of the vehicle. While speaking of value brings me to my second point, being that consistent service history seems very important to value. When it comes time to sell, is there such a thing as over-serviced in the eyes of potential buyers?

 

About 10 years ago I was involved with cars a lot more than I am today, but I remember picking up a 10 year old untouched testarossa with 500 miles on the clock and the client wanted to sell it so asked for it to be cleaned and checked over and we had the belt checked before starting and it looked ok but it was changed once it left us all cleaned up.
Before work here I spent some time in car sales and remember a ford escort mk5 1.8 turbo diesel ( which are/were notorious for snapping timing belts), anyway a car taken in part ex with 23000 miles on clock 2 and a half years old, on it's 2nd engine and 3rd timing belt first belt snapped at 4000 miles, fixed by ford as expected but 4500 miles later same again, so ford fit a new engine. The customer list faith in the car in the end when the belt snapped for the third time at 21000 miles. Fixed by ford again but he wanted a new car before warranty expired. Recommendations for this engine was 60000 miles or 4 years and later reduced to 40000 miles or 3 years. But thus car never reached a fraction of either time or miles. But like I said these engines are/where notorious for snapping timing belts.
I know this is totally different to a Ferrari engine but thought I would share this info. I personally have belts changed on cars as soon as I get them if they are anywhere near the recommendations, then atleast I know that I have done all I can to prevent the expense of a rebuild.

 

I know this is crazy, but I recently looked at an F-40 (not to purchase) with 33,000 miles and the cam belt service was 10 years old. I asked him when his belts were last changed and he said "I bought the car 20 years ago, had the first belt service done at 10 years and getting ready to do the next service". Not the way I would do it or recommend, but some people are a bit different with this issue.

 

I'm generally a 5 - 7 year guy when it comes to cars like Boxers where you have to remove the engine to do the belts. Assume 1,000 miles per year.

I had my belts done on my F40 just after I purchased it. There were 10 years old. On the F40 I'm probably a 3 - 5 year guy as you can get to the belts through the interior.

I'm interested to hear other opinions on F40 belts as well.

 

It seems there are two issues - replacement schedule for owners, and keeping scheduled maintenance records for (mostly) resale purposes .

In the first instance it is a matter of risk vs cost for the owner which is obviously owner specific.

In the second case - as long as the car is well maintained and the belt hasn't actually failed it should not matter to a potential purchaser as a new belt installed immediately prior to purchase makes previous belt change intervals immaterial

And I hope to need to make this specific decision some time in the future!!!

 

Joe,

my mechanic believes there are a couple of reasons for the recommendations.

#1 Belts if unused (not driven) seek to retain their shape and can become more breakable if not used. So, if you went into a parts department and found an original belt that had not been installed but was 10 years old, in its original packaging, you would not want to use it.

#2 Liability to protect FNA. If cars are kept in garages and never driven, #1 above takes place and therefore FNA wanted to add a layer of protection due to the collector profile of the USA buyer.

Joe, I'll call you this week to chat, I received your emails.

 

these two points are correct. #1 not only will they take a "set" but depending on how the car is stored can affect the condition of the belt (i.e. making the belt dry and brittle.) and #2 FNA has no idea how the client will treat the car, does he track it, just go out to dinner with from time to time, drive very hard, store in poor conditions or any other variable that make affect the condition of the belts.

challenge cars that are run hard for a season I suggest changing the belts at the end of each season.

I would never go beyond 5 years for a twin belt system and never go beyond 3 years for a single belt system(348) as the 348 has a huge belt that also drives the water pump.

Regards, Jim

 

its not only the belts you have to worry about. just as important is the tensioners. if a tensioner seizes up then there will be slack in the belt causing the timing to be off. plus when doing the belts its a good time to check over everything to catch any problem that might arise down the road.

 

It's an F40 for crying out loud, not a 308/328. Keep her perfect

 

F40 asside, its is always best to err on the side of caution. And the factory recommended intervals are always guides for average wear. I feel I drive my cars harder than the average driver, hence my maintenance is commensurate with use.
Wouldnt the valves crash into the cylinders if the belt were to break?

 

Don't dis the 308/328!

 

What's cheaper? A belt service or an engine?

We removed a set of belts from a clients F40 and they "looked" fine. 3 years old. The tensioners....shot. Rubber transfer from the back side of the belts. Rubber powder residue all over the front cover. We caught this one at the right time. We were not contracted to do a belt service, but we check anyway. Provided photo's to the client to explain what we found.

Rubber has a shelf life, especially reduced if the vehicle sits for long periods.

We stick to the three-year rule to protect the engine.

 

Were tensioners done three years ago, as well?

Not everybody includes them automatically w/belts, though probably ought to?

 

yes they were.