Time for Engine Out (F355) in primitive conditions (Guam)

I really wanted to wait until I returned to civilization to tear the F355 down, but a broken propeller shaft means that the car is down hard until I find a replacement (or have one built out of unobtanium). So I guess if I am going to go that far, I might as well pull the motor too.

Stand by for documentation of the adventure... I will post photos of the interesting lessons and any of the crazy creative stuff I do along the way. I'm not planning on selling my F355 anytime soon, so if some of my creative engineer offends you, you don't have to worry about be pawning it off on someone else.

I am always open to hints and suggestions. I've got a lot of work ahead! I might add, I don't have a lift... Just floor jacks... It's gonna be a good time.

 

Thanks, I really appreciate the link... It's better to have a source to get one than to not have a source at all, especially if this can be avoided in the future.

Seriously, what could these driveshafts be made of to cost 2600 Euros?

I priced Maraging Steel the other day (300 series) and a 24" long shaft 1.125 (which should be more than enough was under $200.00. Now I know machine time isn't cheap, but this isn't exactly the most complex component in the world, it's actually a relatively trivial part to make for a machinist from all outward appearances (a couple of clearance cuts, a bearing surface, a worm gear for the speed-o, and the cuts for the triple seals).

Still no room to complain, I picked the F355 knowing that it could be an expensive mistress. Time to pay the piper unless I can build a better mouse trap (working on that one).

Mark

 

You are funny... no, it wasn't my driving that caused the shaft to fail, since I have never driven the car abusively, what I suspect happened was related to losing the cam sensor and the out of balance condition that ensued. The shaft broke while the cars was on jack stands, hardly conditions conducive to abusive driving (it wasn't even in gear).

So, there you have it, perhaps the previous owners abused her but it wasn't under my watch (unless you consider driving it daily abuse).

Mark

 

Well the transmission is out, and the prop shaft did not spew debris every but broke rather cleanly without drama like the pictures above. I may have gotten lucky on replacing the driveshaft, time will tell on that, but my fingers are crossed as I would much prefer a triple digit solution to a four digit solution.

Lots of other work to do while I wait on the drive shaft gods to answer my prayers.

 

They will be entertaining, from the home made 4x4 wooden beam lift using scaffold jacks (you don't want to know what they would charge to ship a two post lift to Guam) to all the other tomfoolery to remove the offending parts. I will take some pictures soon.

Good news is that that transmission looks perfect internally... thankfully, there are some bright spots in this story.

M