Scary moment starting my 348

This is hard to say, but I'll give it a guess. The possibilities: starter, ring gear, flywheel, transmission.

It seems like if it was the starter or the ring gear, it would do it every time, hot or cold, clutch pedal in or out.

If it was the transmission, it wouldn't make the noise if you had the clutch pedal pushed in while cranking, and it would continue to make the noise after the engine started.

The flywheel - hmmmmmm. It only made the noise while the engine was cranking over?? It's possible that the grease inside your flywheel is becoming diluted and the internal parts of the flywheel are banging around inside until the engine starts and the centrifugal force pushes them into position. It would be more noticeable when the engine is warm and the grease is thinner. Take a look under the back of the car and see if there is fluid leaking through the perforated panel on the bottom of the flywheel housing - that would be a good indication that the flywheel is leaking.

Others, what do you think?

 

I had a simular issue with my 348 mondial t that got worse over time. Starting cold no problem then when restarting it would click and then nothing but as the car sat it would start up with no issues. I also found that if you kept turning the key it would eventually start. The fix was to have the strater rebuilt at the recomendation of Automotive International and once it was completed the issue went away. Good luck

 

Was your car parked sideways on a significant incline when you heard the terrible starting noise?

 

Mmm...I'll take: Worn Motor Mount for $100, Alex.

 

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Yeah, Baby!

 

Just to humor me, did you check for fluid leaking from the underside of the flywheel housing?

Remember, if your flywheel is out of balance on hot starts, the engine will crank but won't want to fire.

Do you have the rattling noise when shutting off the engine? Again, this would be a flywheel symptom.

I'm personally not familiar with bad motor mounts causing a rattling/clunking as you describe, but hey, I'm open to the possibility.

 

I have personally never heard of flywheel grease drying out. I'm sure that the proper Kluber grease has a very long life span. If someone packed the flywheel with grease that isn't designed for the purpose, it might be possible, but I doubt it. To me, if the grease isn't leaking out through the clutch housing, it doesn't seem likely that the flywheel caused the noise, but it had to come from somewhere.

Does your clutch pedal operation feel OK? I wonder if maybe a finger broke off the pressure plate and banged around inside? We've seen reports of numerous broken pressure plates.

I can't really picture how parking on a slope would have any effect on the motor mounts.

Keep us posted on what you find.

 

Troy,
Got your email: sounds as if the Bendix drive on the starter nose has begun to pack it in. This drive is a one way clutch affair of springs and steel rods (pawls) that allow the starter motors torque to spin the ring gear .... when they wear, they slip when HOT - causing a rattle that will scare a newbie Ferrari owner .
You can safely drive on it for a while, but they never get better, and will eventially die. I replaced the C4S starter for exactly the same symptoms - so my hoist is at your disposal ...

The other rattle referred to at shutdown is more typical of cars with dual-mass flywheels. Perhaps the 348 is so equipped ???? , but this would be unlikely to cause a hot restart issue.

 

The 348 does have a Voith dual-mass flywheel, and an imbalance in the flywheel caused by diluted or lost Kluber grease WILL cause a hot start problem. We've seen it numerous times here, including on my own 348.

Starter Bendix problem? Could be, but I would associate a bendix problem with a "free wheeling" sound, not really the "clunking-rattling" sound as described.

How has the car been starting this week, Troy?

 

I would bet on the starter too. It could even be that the alternator is not charging the battery enough and that it's not turning the starter fast enough. An almost dead battery makes a funny starter sound.

 

If the second incident was on nearly level ground, then I'd look under your bumper to see if all of the bolts are tight that hold on the starter motor.

 

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Here are some pictures to give you an easy idea of what to check:

First, lift rear and look underneath at clutchpumpking area
Second, clutch pumpkin as seen from rear
Third, the 3 bolts that hold your starter motor
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