First some pics, because I know you're going to ask for them... Then, the car needed a major and some other minor things that I knew of when I bought it. Since then some other little minors have shown up and I figured I would pose them to the forum to see if there was an easy fix before paying my mechanic to work on it. 1) LH headlight won't go up. I checked the fuses and I even tried to hand crank it using the little spinny top thing located within the back of the light housing. Is that the right place? ....no luck 2) BOTH windows worked and now don't. Checked fuses and relays... One is up, one is down. Very annoying. I think it must be electrical since they both stopped at the same time. 3) Power mirrors don't work either... 4) This is the scary one, there is a rattle, high pitched and fast, that comes on intermittently from what seems like the catalytic converter on the right side. I have no idea on this one. Is there a chance something got in there? or is this a symptom of an issue deeper inside that is coming out through the exhaust. 5) This is the more scary one, it grinds going into first if I'm down shifting and the car is moving. No problems in any other gears. 6) Also, how can I replace the lower skirt on the car? Its cracked in the front end and looks a little nasty. Besides that, I love the thing!!! Its noticeably quicker than the 328 and I feel it looks a lot meaner (could be the black vs white issue). p.s. I know the wheels are on backwards Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congrats and welcome to the Brotherhood Drew. Looking forward to seeing more pics mate. Also of your white 328. That looks great also. There are a few issues you have there. I would be most concerned with the grinding into 1st gear. Drain that gearbox oil when you can and inspect the plug for any debris.
Much of the electrical problems with the 348 come from the wiring connector at the door hinge area. You can pull back the rubber boot to expose the twist off connection. I had a mechanic replace the pin / twist connection with wiring that goes through the door and body with heat shrink connections both inside the door and inside the wheel fender area. I have been 3 years with no problems since then. I can recommend some good local mechanics if you want. Nice looking car BTW!!! BT
Looks good! Don't downshift IN to a gear when your RPMs have fallen below 4000 (bump the throttle if need be). For that matter, shifting up into 2nd gear when cold works considerably better if your RPMs are at or above 4000.
Yeah bumping the throttle works. Also, don't jam it, but kind of push it in with increasing pressure. It tends to then "fall" into place. Hard to explain but you'll see what I mean. Also change the gearbox oil to that superlightwight shockproof stuff that is in the technical FAQ. What is the year/VIN number? I can add it to the registry for you
First of all, welcome to the Brotherhood. Now. Look and see if the lifting arm is connected to the side of the headlight housing. It could be that the arm is not hooked up. Now if it is hooked up then check the spot welds on the back of the housing. I had a problem with one of my headlights not popping up, and it was blowing fuses. Turned out that the spot welds broke and the housing was getting hung up on the lip that runs across the front of the bumper. That maybe be why you couldn't crank it up by hand? This is the thread you'll need to tackle that problem. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46232 I would have a look at the connections on back of the controller on the inside door panel. You could have a cat that has gone bad and what you MAY be hearing is the deteriorated ceramic monolith rattling around inside the cat. The way to know for sure is to remove the cat and have a look inside. Don't even replace them. They are made of nothing more than fiberglass. You can take it to any shop that works with fiberglass and have it fixed. Here is a thread with some pics. http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138683 Lastly. The search button will help you find loads of stuff. Just about everything you can think of has been discussed about our 348's at one time or another.
Honestly, It takes all of the fear out of getting one of these cars for me. I know if I have a problem, I can post it and will hear from you all instantly. Thank you guys for the responses. Especially the detailed one you gave Ernie. I'll look into the connector issue a little deeper.
Congrats Drew!! PS - after you have swapped your wheels so they are on the correct sides, make sure that your tires are also going the correct direction. If the tires were installed with the wheels on wrong, the tires may not be going the correct way when the wheels are changed around. The tires are directional, and this could be a safety or wet weather problem. Good luck getting your gremlins fixed!
Didn't your driving instructor tell you ... 1st gear is your "pulling away" gear. Shouldn't really have any need to select it whilst still moving. (except for hammering round steep Alpine hairpins that is )
no not yet. I was able to lift it using the hand crank last night. Im tackling that once I get the door back on.
