Simple solution to that one Bo - Drive it more. Seriously, I hear you on the time aspect of it. I told myself I would do my majors. But the two I have had done were by professionals. Maybe when I retire? But probably not...
service took 1 year? normaly I would say 2 complete weekends when you have all the parts. so 4 days so why hundreds of hours and only 10 hours driving? this has to be opposite: 100 hours driving and 10 hours work
Takes a lot of time to do it the first time. With kids and a business I might get 4 hours a weekend. Plus a steep learning curve. Plus ordering parts... plus shims... plus reading hundreds of threads to prevent a water pump bearing leak... plus trying to get that right seal after mailing multiple back... plus making tools to adjust valves... plus figuring out how to do timing the Ferrari way... plus having to find fuel lines that fit... plus cleaning and rebuilding distributors... plus testing fuel injector...plus refinishing the cam covers... plus waiting for tires that fit to be available....plus... plus... plus... A pro mechanic supposedly takes 40 hour. A mere mortal, 10 times that... Knowing what I know now, I would just change the belts and bearings and call it a day...
for what you need a special tool for valve adjustment? meassure, cams out , replace those shims where the play is not correct and cams in again. only for this max.1 hour. because when you can meassure the valve clearance it not much work to take the cams and replace the shims. sure, when you don`t have a shim set then you may need longer. but I think it also makes fun to do this work by yourself? and your family could help cleaning all the stuff - this takes always a long time. also then your family sees how much work it is all. when I do such a job I always ask my customers to help. because with this cleaning by themselve they save a lot of money. once when I did a major job on a 308 4V ( the car has not been moved more than 10 years ) the owner ( 57 years ), and his 2 sons ( 21 and 24 ) helped cleaning all the stuff and they enjoyed this very much and have been happy when all was finished and looks nice
I had two that were barely out of spec after 6000 miles... Anyone who can do a testarossa major in two weekends their first time had my major respect...
My mechanic said 5-7 years for timing belt service. He's an old guy working independently now, but has worked in several Ferrari shops in his 40-year service history. When he was doing the engine out service on my TR, I was giving him a little jazz about the "frequent" 3-5 year belt changes being a bit of a scam, I've seen cars with the same belts that haven't broken for 20 years, etc. He then told me because Ferrari owners generally have their cars checked out much more often than your average Chevy or Honda owner, broken belts are pretty rare. What does occur is that the belts stretch a bit, and when the right sequence of driving events happen, you're getting the belt out of sync and soon blowing up your engine.
it would be the second time then. for first time doing this you are right and I think not possible in 2 weekends vincenzo: I´m also old from body (over 63 ) but young in mind ( 20 ) and also not the fastest anymore this is unusual this I also think and have written already in post 21 ( but have extented the time to 10 years, when there is no oil and no coolant on the belts )
Just finished my first annual all fluid replacement service and installed new tires. The last major was done in 2014, so I started to tell my Ferrari mechanic that I guess I'll be doing the major next year. He said, "waste of money to do it that frequent." He then said, make sure and exercise the motor regularly so the belts don't get contorted. The next biggest thing is to make sure there has been no fluid leaks onto the belts . If any leaks develop then the motor will have to come out immediately. He said if all of those things are ok then replace the belts every 6-7 years. I will have him do the annual fluid change every year and look for leaks. If everything is clear I will wait 6-7 years for the major. He said all of his clients do this and there has never been a problem.
He is correct. I have gone 8-9 myself. The leaking is the main issue to go in early. And I agree with the regular exercise. The winter months of storage is what’s important. Don’t let it sit for 3 months a time.
What should those of us with snow on the ground do during these winter months? Unfortunately 3months is pretty reasonable for a car to sit I’m the Northeast US
We have longer winter where I am. I typically pick a nice day when it’s not in the minus and fire them up. I let them run for about 30 minutes in the driveway. Pump the brakes, turn on the heat, go up and down the driveway twice to use the clutch and pop up the lights, blow the horn. My garage is heated, so I even use the power windows. Jsut enough that the car gets hot and oil and rad get up to temp. I always fill up my gas tanks and try and burn that gas half way before the spring season. Has worked for me the last 19ys. Also pump the tire pressure an extra 10 psi and when spring comes bring it back down. Helps with them not getting flat spots. Also check to make sure any unwanted renters show up in any compartment my cars have been away since last week as we got snow here now. I’m hoping for Xmas or New Years the weather will have a decent day where I can fire them up.
I used to do that too... now question the logic of firing up a cold car with 20/50 oil in cold temps.... best to not start in the winter I think...
I mentioned my garage is heated. Its a decent temperature. Sitting for 4 months before ignition has other issues like sticky brakes , windows, etc ... pick your poison This has worked for me 19yrs later - to each their own. Just giving my experience, it’s not gospel. I just perfer every 6 -8 max and have had good results.
Yes and thanks for your input as that's all I was looking for. How others have dealt with maintaining there cars over the years. Also, in particular how everyone was approaching the major service. Thanks Again!
Speaking of major services, A 1993 512tr newly listed on the DuPont registry at 159k. The ad reads bought 12 years ago from San Francisco Ferrari dealership with major service completed at that time with 27k miles. It's been 12 years with 35k miles since the last major service. The seller says it's priced accordingly because of this. I guess the age old saying, you take care of it and it will take care of you doesn't apply here. I hope they at least did the annual services but I wouldn't bet my life on it.
Believe it or not , as long as they changed the oil every second year and did a rad / brake flush inbetween this isn’t too bad at all. It’s only done 700 miles a year...... what worries you about this ?
I really look at how a seller has cared for their vehicle during there ownership. It really just sends a message that I am cheap and don't want to spend any money on my vehicle to maintain it. I would pass on this vehicle because of what it possibly says about the owner. Of course I would have to look deeper to see if the other services you mentioned were performed. On an expensive vehicle like this, I would want everything in order as there are other examples out there that are complete on the service side. I recently got burned on a car where the seller did what this seller appears to be doing. I bought a car which lacked proper service and sure enough as soon as I bought the car I had to start spending a bunch of money on the car. It was really irritating because the guy literally lived in 10 million dollar home but wouldn't put a dime in the maintenance of his car collection. I won't make a mistake like that again. Now, if you get a really good deal on this car then that's ok. But otherwise I wouldn't mess with it. I do see what your saying about the low mileage use. However, I just think about it from the perspective of how I approach maintenance. Hopefully that makes sense to you.
The car I just bought was just the opposite of this. The seller had every record of maintenance from day one on the car. He went above and beyond on the scheduled maintenance. Meaning he repaired things which were really minor just because he wanted everything perfect. He did all the scheduled maintenance. When I saw the records I didn't even do a PPI. When my mechanic did the first service on the car said this is one of the nicest 512tr he has ever seen. Thats the kind of seller I like to buy from now. I also will be heavy on the maintenance on my new car. I'll stretch the major like we talked about but nothing else. I'll do the annual fluid changes etc. I want to know my car is in tip top shape and will last a long time.
