Newbie Here

Welcome!

 

Welcome, there are several professionals here and many more very experienced members of the community. They seem to be a very sharing and patient lot. You've come to the right place.

 

Welcome to F-Chat!!

But I'm curious - what year is your 348? How did it come to pass that you bought it new,
but then only drove it less than 100 miles per year? Curious also about the service you've
done on it - since it's been sitting so much, how did you approach it to this point?

Must be an AWESOME car - like new in many ways. But not 'like new' in others if it
hasn't been driven more than 100 miles a year... you must have some serious 'self
restraint' to have her in the garage and not take her out every weekend!

Again, welcome aboard!!

Jedi

 

Welcome Ron. You landed on the right forum. In fact, the first person that responded and posted right underneath your posting is one of the best experts we have on this forum. He will be one of the guys you want to direct your questions to.

 

Welcome to Fchat Ron.

Looking to seeing pics of your car mate!!

Also curious as to why you never drive the car!!

 

I too am a little curious, I have owned my car for only 2 months and put 1000 miles on it already.. how can you stand not driving your car?

Or is it a typo?

 

something foul smelleth in this place.....

hmmmm....

Mike in Kuwait

 

If you fill out your profile it will give us a better idea as to whom we are talking with.

PS......welcome aboard!!

 

Well, presumably all the mechanical components should be OK, but you have a 16 year old rubber timing belt, I think you'd want to change that asap. If that goes during one of your drives, it will be a disaster.

do you have pics? I'd love to see what a basically brand new 348 looks like. Add it to the registry, link below:

 

Just wanted to say welcome... You'll find an answer to just about any question you may have. The peolpe here are great!!!!...

 

Welcome-------I don't think Mike's statement was snide at all-----I thought the same thing at first----You have had this car for
16 years and you are asking very basic service questions---Just a little odd, I guess...Not a typical question we usually get here from a long time owner is all...

 

i wouldnt even drive it to the SHOP with a 16 year old belt.. get it towed there. seriously, you are REALLy flirting with disaster!

 

He suspects you are a used car salesperson typing a setup for a sales pitch. No worries. You will definitely want to do the big engine out service before putting any real driving on the car. The original timing belts are over 15 years old, and the factory recommends changing them every three years. Many people here go as long as 5 years, but I don't know anyone that would recommend running the car on belts over ten years old. If you have original tires I would also get those changed out, as the rubber is only good for about 7 years.
FYI, To post pictures they should be resized to 640x480 or so (using Magic Image Resizer or similar) and then use "Manage attachments" then browse for the pictures, then hit "upload pictures" after you have selected them. As an unsubscribed user you will have a limited amount of pictures you can upload.

Welcome!
BT

 

285 is right... it seems that the original owner of a 1992 car (same model as mine) would have already known about some of these basic service issues, and the 16 year old timing belt is a MAJOR issue... it would be great to see some photos...

I apologize if my remark was out of line, but in the relatively short time I've been on this site (which I joined the day after I bought my car), I have seen any number of posers and kids who start off on the wrong foot... Photos of your car would be a great way to temper some of the concerns and doubt that people might normally have given the limited information that was available to us...

Again, I'm sorry if I sounded rude...welcome to the site, to a fellow brother... you'll find the people here helpful, knowledgable, and sometimes a pain in the ass...but still brothers.

Mike in Kuwait

 

1800 mile 348tb? AND a 92??

One question...Is it for sale

Sounds like my kind of car!!!

Welcome to the most informative Ferrari community in cyberspace!

 

It is the exception that someone with a long history of owning a 348 would not have run into various issues with the car over the years, and also because other people often make initial posts that are harmless only to turn into a sales pitch for their car later on. No problem though.
A typical engine out service for a 348 will generally run anywhere from $4-6k plus costs for extra servies (water pump, clutch, etc...). you could probably see a total bill at an independant mechanic run from $4-9k, and a dealer might be $6-12k as a guess. The parts to do the main service are about $1500 available at various places including www.ricambiamerica.com .
But back to your first post, this is the place to ask any questions. Here in the South Florida area Drew Stoddard just got a 348 and had a few issues this week, and has already fixed them. He was quoted $7k by a mechanic and did the repairs himself for probably $30 in materials. Lots of info here, enjoy it!

BT

 

That's pretty remarkable. But, I bought a '74 246 GTS Dino with 11,000 miles, which is about 300 miles a year, verified by previous owners, both prestigious doctors, so it does happen.

Based on my experience, REPLACE THE TIRES AND BELT! Pay the money, do the service, do it right. The tires could kill you, the belt the engine. I wrote an article about some of this in Departures magazine (posted in the 246 forum).

Start driving that thing, would you?

PS: Some of the skepticism may have come from the use of the word "illicit" rather than the correct "elicit" in your first post. The former means illegitimate or unseemly, the latter means to provoke or cause a reaction or response. Sorry, but I'm a writer and was once an editor!!

 

Welcome to the forum! If it were me, I would not replace the belt without also replacing the tensioner bearings, and perhaps even thinking carefully about also overhauling the water pump. After 16 years, I don't think it's worth taking a chance that the grease in the bearings is still good on the tensioners, or that the innards of the water pump are still Ok. Just my opinions.... good luck with the car!