Ferrari F355 Plug Fouling and smoke.... Help??

I tried to do that too. A bunch of knowallogists said I was full of it and 355's don't have engine problems.

 

I believe you, but that's still painfully funny (emphasis on pain). I'd love to have access to the parts sales databases for a day to run stats on which cars cost how much in parts alone for each car per year on average.

That 550 article by Sheehan should open some eyes.


...but we know it won't be all eyes opened, even if a few do.

 

I think some of you are to quick to call BS on this young man. Maybe, but I think it would be prudent for the time being to give it more time.

At the very least some of the symptoms he claims sound almost textbook from all I have read on the 355 the last 10 years. Blown header causing valve trouble resulting in oil consumption.

I dont know as I would ever want to own a 355 simply because the expense of keeping one running seems very expensive. But high performance is certainly never cheap.

Even if this turns out to be a joke, its a good discussion on cold lonely winter nights.

 

Sadly, he's nailed the pattern failure of an inner cylinder spot on......he can park it, wax it up and start saving for an engine....

When I was that age I had the energy to haunt the scrap yards, and the motto was:

"if you can't crank it, yank it!"

Ahhhh, the enthusiasm of youth!

Good Luck my young friend....you should find Rifledriver and start out sweeping his shop, sleeping nights on the floor (Tony Kanaan).....you'll go far!

 

Can we have an engine number or VIN that is not from the 50's?

Anyway, I am tempted to call BS on this whole thing. Who in their right mind truly thinks that revving the crap out of an engine that is blowing smoke, fouling a plug, and who knows what else, with no belt service history is a good idea, let alone that it might fix something??? Sorry to be so cynical.... In the meantime, that 45K 355 is more like a 75K 355, and that's only to fix the engine! Stop now - I'll give you 20K for it.

Johnny, if you are not Darth, and DO have a 355, then I am sorry for having a go at you, but this is going to be very very expensive. You are making it more so every time you start the car. Contact Brian Crall (Rifledriver) and have the car flat bedded to him. Based on what your current mechanic has done so far, he has no idea what he is doing, and will continue to make things worse. I'd get a lawyer and sue the guy......

 

Done all the time. These cars don't break don't you know. Just a little Italian tune up will fix everything. Quite a common belief especially among those that either think these cars are so well engineered that they don't break or wear out or those that cannot afford them. I see it from owners of 308's right up to Enzo's.

 

I can't quite tell your level of sarcasm, but I'm under the impression that people who drive high revving engines around town at low RPMs a lot, especially carb cars, can do some good by revving it out assuming there's nothing wrong with tha car to begin with. As you well know, this particular 355 is NOT one of these cases.

Ken

 

Ken, I am sure this is the case with carb'ed cars. My 308 always benefited from this, once warmed up of course. I am sure that all it really did was clean gunk off the plugs, but it was also fun

In Australia I had a Kawasaki ZZR1100 (ZX11 here in the USA) and was once "forced" to use leaded gas. That tankful plus the next 2-3 required regular wind ups to clear the plugs from, presumably, lead fouling. It would get so bad in just a few miles that the engine would not idle. Wind it out through first and second, and it was good for another few miles. It was amazing how great the impact of that fuel was. But to wind it out to fix a mechanical problem.... now that just defies all logic and sense.

Brian - do people REALLY do that in Enzo's? How can people so stupid afford such luxuries? I assume that these are the same people that believe that modern engines with modern oils warm up in about 30 seconds and are good to redline once out of the driveway.....

 

Out of curiosity...I would love to see an american hotrod shop "fix" one of these motors...just to see it it would work. Perhaps johnnie from the corner shop could redo the valves...and make it work...

Risky? Sure. But I am sure that someone, somewhere, who got in over their head has done it...just curious what the outcome was...

Brian...How many cars have you seen hobbled together by backyard mechanics ? I would love to hear some stories...

 

When I got my first 308 apart, I found it had 9.7 Borgos, same as the LM cars. I tried in vain to find one or three somewhere, no luck. But in searching around I found several salvage guys who would sell a used piston or rod, saying they sold many that way. But none seemed to know anything about the wieght codes on the rods or pistons. I dont know how many a lot is, but it would go to show that there are probably more than a few 308's running around cobbled together with mismatched parts. Probably those 12K mile beauties with split open seat bolsters and meticulous service records.

 

A failed upbringing combined with inheritance, see it all the time.

 

Hi Johnny,

I too have a 95 355 and went thru the same problem. White smoke during acceleration, fouled plugs, rough running..

We did leak down and compression tests. Actually had them done by two different shops. The leakdown tests pinpointed a problem on the crankcase side of the engine. Based on this result it was determined that the rings in # 2 could be the problem.

We pulled the engine, removed the heads to check for leaking oil from the valve guides. Nothing conclusive, the top end looked OK. We also pulled the exhaut headers and noticed that #2 exhaust port was black from buring oil.

Next to block. With the heads of and the pistons cycled, we could see that the sleave from #2 was worn. We pulled the bottom out and took out the piston. Rings were bad as expected from the symptoms above. In addition the sleave needed to be replaced.

The problem was never finally given a root cause. The fouling plug is said to allow unburned gas to wash down the cylinder walls which removes the lubrication from the cylinder walls and wear happens.

The question is what caused the plug to foul? I don't think I got a definitive answer but there was mention of the injectors going bad and putting too much fuel into this cylinder.

I would stongly suggest that you not run the car. Get the leak down and compression tests done. I would expect you to have the same problem as I did as the symptoms are identicle. I had a few more miles than you but it's like dejavu all over again...

I did a more exptensive rebuild as I felt the work was easier done while it was litterally all apart. I did the top end, valves, guides, seals, headers. I have put around 1000 miles on the car since the work was done and it seems to run better that ever. While I was not happy about having to do the repairs, I am happy about the way it turned out.

Best of luck ,


Charles

 

Thanks again everyone, for all your help. I haven't posted here in a while...

My 355 is being taken apart. there was a pretty big hole in the header pipe on cylinder #2 maybe this can be fixed, or does anyone know where i can get after market headers or a non factory defective used one?

I'll post some pictures of the heads, header etc, when I can if its of any interest to see the damage... Also I am looking for some parts if anyone has used ones or know where i can get them... my list:

All used:

Drivers seat tan.
Passenger exterior door handle.
Passenger radiator fan.
Passenger header.
Rear rims or place that reconditions them.
Tubi exhaust system.

 

With all due respect, don't even bother with finding seats and door handles, and stuff until you determine that extent of financial pain you're about to endure because of the cracked manifold. It sounds like the hole has been there for quite some time, and I can only imagine what the mechanic (Ferrari experienced, right?) will find when he/she really gets this thing pulled apart.

 

The punctured manifold causes problems in the affected cylinder, usually requiring valves/rings/etc. Replacing the manifold alone solves nothing. You are still facing a $15,000 bill... I am rooting for you, as I would love to see this fixed for substantially less...

 

I think it can be done cheaper, we will see... I'll tell everyone what happens

 

Here are some pics of the damage, cylinder lining etc need to be replaced too....

 

Anything can always be done cheaper.

 

never mind,this site isn't letting me at the moment, i'll try later

 

Shouldn't that be "for less initial cost" time may mean its not cheaper

 

That Sheehan article is crap. Half the costs mentioned in his article are pride of ownership stuff. Repainting wheels (twice!!), tubi exhaust, new leather on the steering wheel. Half of the remaining items sound like a mechanics "while were in there" laundry list.

Hey, we all know these cars are not cheap and major repairs are expensive. But lets keep it in perspective.

 

Hi there,

I have the same model year F355GTB that I purchased used with 19k miles on the odometer. Currently the car has 28K miles. I have had similar problems: the exhaust leak due to cracks in the exhaust manifolds were diagnosed by a local dealer in 2001 and replaced free of charge under Federal emissions warranty which covers cars for I believe 7 years or 70K miles(depends on your state), whichever comes first. Also the valve guides on 1995 through 1997 F355's are known to have tendency to wear out prematurely! The valve guides on my engine were replaced, all 40 of them per each engine, at a great cost due to labor and the huge number of guides! At least the valves had not been damaged/burnt because the dealer did a leak down test in time to prevent further damage!

I had another problem soon after the heads were done. The camshaft sensor went bad and one bank stopped firing. I immediately had the car towed back to the dealer for diagnoses as they suggested!

I also had the problem of fouled plugs on one bank of the engine. This was due to a torn/frayed spark plug wire that must have been shorting out one of the two coil packs! This time the car was taken to an independent shop, a very knowledgeable mechanic. This saved a lot of money I am sure.

I recommend all that has been said before and hope you will enjoy this beautiful if sometimes capricious beast!

-Arman-