Justification for Belt services...

I have always considered buying a strong used motor I can get a good price on and NOT doing the belt service for a LONG time. Just to see what happens. Of course, ALL other maintenance will be meticulously done (including tuneups).

If I put off the service for 6 years plus the "two I have left" on my current service I will have saved about $9k on the service bills which is less than what this motor/install will cost.

So, the motor blows up, I put the fresh motor in and sell the other one. If I include the money I would get for selling what is left of the old motor, that would all be profit and I probably end up ahead by $2k.

Would be interesting insurance/story.....

Considering, of course, that I would own this car for that long. And based on my previous ownership duration of past cars (even when they were great cars), I would give myself a year or two with this one.... ;-)

 

How much does it cost to have a cam belt change/service done in the US?

Over here in the UK it's:

348 Cam Belt Change/Service (engine out) = £968.00 ($1,888.16)

348 Cam Belt (engine out) + 6,000 Mile Srv =£1250.00 ($2,438.18)

 

If it were that cheap, guys would be doing them every year..... Ha!!

About $5-6k give or take in the US...

 

On average around AU$4-5K cam belt/engine out here in Australia. That is around US$3-4K.

 

!!!!!!!!

How come it's so much more expensive over there?

Costs of parts should be similar.

But that's only Monopoly play money you guys use over there!!!

 

America gets 'cheap' Ferraris, but get reamed over service costs ect........
Australia gets 'expensive' Ferraris, yet still have to pay a premium for service costs ect... Not as crazy as the US though.
England...........Ferraris are not as cheap as US Ferraris, but are still cheaper then Ferraris here in Australia and you guys seem to have the cheapest service costs IMO.

 

Its a sure bet that some are going to look at this and still find some way to convince themselves it wont happen. And its equally as sure a bet that some shops around the country will continue to recommend service intervals far in excess of others. As long as people continue to push the edges of the maintenence envelope, there will continue to be cars that recieve this level of damage. Some more, some less. Undoubtedly this is rather extreme engine damage, but it is by no means rare.

There are several facts that can be concluded.

Its a fact that timing belts strip off teeth at some point in thier life.

It is a fact that belts tensioners fail at some point in thier life.

It is a fact that we can in no way determine through any type of known observation or testing, the continued life expectancy of a timing belt. It is now known that the belts get softer and more pliable as they age, just the opposite of what a rational person would conclude through reason.

It is a fact that at the point of failure, valves will be bent at the very least, on cars with high performance engines.

It is a fact that damage to this extent, and even more, is highly possible during belt failure.

Whatever this cars history, the fact remains that blowing a belt can just about take the whole car out with it. This should be a big heads up for many people who are sitting on the fence.

 

My local Ferrari dealer quoted £1,400 for a cam belt change last year.

 

belt changes will the be the post for the Never-ending-story.

several things to remember: who did the job. I did a 'qualified Ferrari' mechanical work on my Mondial-T [348], for a 'bargain'...ya' right. saved 1,600 on a $7,500 normal job from Ferrari dealership [SF Ferrari]. THAT was a mistake. He did the right bank just a litttllle bit wrong, and it wouldn't/couldn't pass smog two months later. Didn't want to go back to him, because I didn't have a warm-fuzzy feeling when I picked it up anyway. So, went to SF-F. Guess what, do the job again. Ok, they did it right. found numerous mistakes, and $8,500 later I WAS greatly pleased!!! worked real well, and power like I never experienced before.
Artvonne: Feel you got it right in many respects. NOT worth the hassle of going out and wondering if you can trust your car. NOT worth it. Do the job right, with a comp. mechanic. I am lucky in that I have a factory owned dealership in my backyard [actually, it's Ferrari's ONLY owned factory dealership .. not even one in Italy unless you count the factory].

Now that I have a 456 GT, I have made sure, that things are done right. That is, why hassle over a couple $k....it's the deal with Ferrari... I AGREE, that someone shoudl be 'shot' who decided to make a full engine dismount necessary for a belt change. Almost as bad as some of those who needed engine outs for plug changes [was that Cadillac who did that one years ago?].
And who ever has belt changes for low amount like Aus/GB well, you are very lucky. No where in the Bay Area have I found someone I would/could trust for a qualified change under $7k....and if I did...not sure I would sleep better.

Recommend one goes with the predicted belt changes from the factory. Would really like the factory to make better belts, bearings, but this is the best we have at the moment[?] IMHO

 

Wow! Getting pretty emotional. The only problem is we don't know when the last service was done or how comprehensive it was. And judging from all of those broken valves, I suspect there is more to the story. Tmobileguy lost a belt and only bent his valves with minor damage to his pistons. So what does it take to break so many valves in one head?

I just have a problem with alarmists. They're the ones that specify the 3 year/30,000 mile service interval and then post pictures of destroyed engines as proof of what happens if you don't follow their advice. I hope Artvonne doesn't become one of those.

I think the only true statement anyone can make is if you do the belt service every 3 years/30,000 miles, you PROBABLY won't lose a belt. If you go 5 years/50,000 miles, you MAY lose a belt. And if you try to go 10 years/ 100,000 miles, you PROBABLY will lose a belt. It's your choice! No guarantees!

Hopefully, the message that should be loud and clear to anyone thinking of buying a Ferrari is "parts and maintenance are not cheap". So if you can afford the car but can't afford to repair it, then you are looking at the wrong car. And good luck to you if you are looking at purchasing a car as an investment, I can think of better investments.

 

And I don't believe even the most conservative among us has ever said anything that is inconsistant with that statement.

 

My 308 went 21 years on the original. My first 348 went 14 years original. My 2nd 348 went 16 years on the original. By your calculations, I was REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY LUCKY, huh?

Ferrari was so worried about you breaking a belt in 1990 that they FORGOT TO MENTION YEARS, JUST MILES (52.5K).

 

But then somebody ends up posting something like this.

To me, this is as misleading as saying you never have to service the belt.

 

No, not lucky. You just know the risk, and if you did lose a belt I bet you wouldn't cry about it.

 

Im in Canada and I did my belts last August. Total around $9K canadian $8K US. My mechanic is a long time factory trained and is now on his own. When he pulled my engine he replace every seal that leaked even a drop. He stripped my valve covers and repainted them with the original factory paint. The engine looks and runs great. The belts still looked good but one of the tensioner bearings was squeaking. Both were being replaced anyway. The car had gone about 4 years since the last belt service. I will probably go 5 years this time but if I was living near the ocean I would keep a close eye on the belts being replaced as the salt in the air combined with the constant high heat seems to eat rubber a lot faster than those living inland with a cooler climate.

 

You kidding? I'd cry like a baby. BTW, it wasn't me that ran the belts so long - I was the lucky buyer of each and promptly had them done.

 

LOL! Yeah, so would I, but I would still fix it. I bought it to drive, not just to look at. Even though it's great to look at also.

 

Maybe this will help put a 'period' on the thread.

My belt was in perfect condition -- no wear, whatsoever @ 25K+ miles and 3 years. But a 'major' service is a MAJOR service where a Ferrari professional checks a whole bunch of things beside the damn belt.

My car was running fine, but look what we found.... two valve stem seals that were shattered into more pieces than Brittney Spears' reputation. I'll spend my ounces of prevention today, instead of pounds of cure tomorrow.
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I'll add to that by saying "Not all 30K services are created equal." I feel sorry for the constant stream of new buyers that give a premium for a car because the seller claimed "we just did the 30K service", when in truth, some clown slipped a new belt on it and called it "done."

 

+1 to above

That is why I picked mine a fine example but without major done....so I can make sure it's done right.

 

Now that my friend, is absolutely a great point! The burden is on the buyer to assess the quality and depth of the '30K service'.

 

I have always advocated that but the market goes the other way.

Most buyers just want a turn key car and not be bothered with such things.

Then there are the sellers that that want to have a $3K major done and add $7k or $8k to the price.

PT Barnum was right.

 

... so true !!
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But I still think every 5 years is stupid.

 

A sucker is born every minute
DM