Question About 30k Service on 328 | FerrariChat
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Question About 30k Service on 328

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by furmano, Jun 3, 2006.

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  1. furmano

    furmano Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jul 22, 2004
    32,215
    Colorado
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    Furman
    #1 furmano, Jun 3, 2006
    First off, let it be known, I have done a search on timing belt service intervals and have spent over three hours learning a lot about service intervals.

    Second, I have no intention of starting a "when to change the belts" pissing contest and I take no responsibility if this thread turns into that.

    Lastly, please do not read anything into this question. I have no agenda in asking it other than simply trying to understand more details about service intervals

    So with those disclaimers made, here is my question:

    The 328 manual states that under the 30k service the cam belts are labeled as "I*" which means they should be inspected and replaced if the car is frequently driven in traffic. Many items under the 30k service are labeled "I*" or simply "I". However, when people refer to a 30k service that generally means replacing the belts and also tensioners, gaskets, seals, spark plug wires (spark plugs are labeled as "R"- replace), and even more, including hoses and wires, etc.

    Can this be classified as going above and beyond what Ferrari recommends or is there some documentation somewhere that expands on what the 328 manual states? I have a .pdf of the 328 workshop manual but it doesn't have a service interval section like the section "N" in the 348 service manual.

    Thanks,

    -F
     
  2. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

    Dec 8, 2004
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    Jimmie
    #2 greyboxer, Jun 3, 2006
    Is ths answer perhaps :

    The manual has the service interval as anticipated in 1985

    The three hours of background reading has the service intervals based on experience
     
  3. Bullfighter

    Bullfighter Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 26, 2005
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    Jon
    #3 Bullfighter, Jun 3, 2006
    If you want the latest official word from Ferrari, there was a technical service bulletin stating that all of the V8s with a timining belt need to have it changed every 3 years. (I forget the mileage figure, but it may have been 30,00 miles.)

    That supercedes the manual. Make of it what you will.
     
  4. andrewg

    andrewg F1 Rookie
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    Sep 10, 2002
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    AndrewG
    #4 andrewg, Jun 3, 2006
    Rather than thinking of it as a 30k service think of it as a Major service instead, the factory recomendations are for a car thats being serviced on a mileage basis (there are also time recomendations, but thats not what you asked about) while most of these cars need to be serviced on a time basis.
     
  5. DGS

    DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    May 27, 2003
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    DGS
    #5 DGS, Jun 3, 2006
    In the Owner's Warranty and Service Book, under the section entitled "This Warranty Does Not Cover", there is a notation marked "Normal Vehicle Use":
    If you're doing a 30K service on a 20 year old car, you have a car that has not been running several miles every day.

    My 328 takes about 10-12 miles to warm up properly. At 10-12 miles daily (even excluding weekends and holidays), that would add up to 20K miles a year.

    Insurance companies figure "normal use" as 12K miles per year. My last insurance company designated anything under 7K miles a year is figured as a "low mileage vehicle", and anything under 4K miles a year as a "recreational use only" vehicle.

    So if you were doing a 30K service in, say, 1990, you'd inspect the belts.

    But belts, like tires, are composite materials. They age out as well as wear out. Only a fool or a button sorter would drive on 20 year old tires, simply because they didn't (used to) have a "replace by" date on the side.

    The physical wear on the belts, aside from age, comes from the number of flex cycles -- once around in two revolutions, so the wear rating should be based on number of engine revolutions rather than on the number of miles to pass under the wheels. But to convert revs to miles, you have to make some assumptions about "normal use".

    Service intervals are estimates based on "normal use".

    But while Fiat engineers may have computed "normal use" on the 328 based on the range of Fiat manufactured production cars, I'd guess that darned few Ferraris have ever had anything like "normal use".

    "Normal use" doesn't include track days, "just seeing how fast it'll go" at 0-dark:30 on the expressway, or sitting out salt-covered roads in winter.

    The advice on owner's lists like Fchat is based on much better data than was available to Fiat before the car ever hit the showrooms, 20 years ago.

    And while we have the calculator out, doing the belts during a major service would add maybe $1000 to $1500 to the cost of the service (or less). If a belt fails in use, you're looking at a $15000 to $20000 top end rebuild.

    That means that you'd have to save at least 15 service charges to add up to the cost of it going wrong once.

    Do you "double down" on 18 in Vegas? ;)
     

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