Timing belt acticle

Frank...not the "dino" thing again!

 

Dave, I believe that although Ferrari designed it, Fiat manufactured the 308GT4 ? While the heads are stamped Dino, the block is stamped Fiat. At least that's what I have read.

 

proctor and gamble was able to double profits at its shampoo division by adding one word to its recommended use instructions on each bottle of shampoo - lather, rinse, "repeat". i am always wary of changed recommendations without data backup. in a medical journal, a change in a procedure is always backed up by the results of a statistical study showing that a new drug/procedure has this or that quantifiable effect. If Ferrari recommends that belts need to be changed more frequently than when they designed the car, show me the results so I can see for myself. I need to see something like, "we sold 12,000 355's and of those that have not changed their belts for 5 years, 2000 have had belt failure, but of those that changed every 3 years, that rate dropped significantly down to 5, therefore we are issuing this bulletin".

Show me the data and i'll be the first to schedule a major.

FWIW, i'm just an dummy, but if FNA has trouble getting parts for the TR's that it built during production, how would the additional inventory load of nearly twice as many majors needing to be performed in a given year be accomplished? Seems like a decision made in the finance office and not the engineering department.

 

Speedy308:
That bearing was not out of the Chrysler with 115K on the belt (this was the second belt, the original belt was changed after it had a 100K miles on it). Believe it or not, the the Chrysler bearing was not replaced until the 2nd belt change at 215K!! A belt failure is not a catastophic event on this car.
Mark

 

Johnbob - At the far back of your yellow owner's manual, you will likely find the following section that says change the belts every two years.

This particular example is pulled from the 1990 owner's manual of a US spec car. If yours is different, please let us know the details as another point of reference.

Rgds,
Vince
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I looked through both of the manuals, the owners manual and the service book. Neither had any reference to time regarding the cam belts. In fact, the ony required maintenance is at 2,000 miles to inspect/adjust and to replace at 52,500 miles.
I have a service manual and will check there when I have a moment.

 

I haven't seen anything in this thread which would indicate if 328s have the newer, rounded-tooth belt.

Is the 328 system nearly the same, or significantly improved over the 308 2-valve cars?

Thanks,