Timing Belt service/Rip off

Out of interest, how many hours do they normally book to do these belts

 

I would take your car to a trusted source before you procede much further.

GL.

 

Depends on what you mean on inspected. To simply verify the date code I'd do it for $100 and a case of white claw Haha. I haven't heard too many stories about belts breaking, but I wouldn't recommend going 20 years. I would imagine that an engine such as this one puts a lot of stress on the timing belts with how high it revs and how many valves it has so changing them is still a good idea. Tensioner failures should be a higher concern.

 

your first post said "Ferrari Dealer". Now you say you went somewhere else. So this was done at some independent used car seller/repair shop, and not a "Ferrari Dealer"?

And now you say the lacking power and sound was there before they did any work and you say didn't change thereafter?

I'm done with this thread (I knew better coming in, but was bored this morning). I guess I'll add "good luck" with your car.

 

I disagree. I trust almost no one. Even the most smiley, reassuring folks have ripped me off. I learn quick.

 

I don't get why half of you are so skeptical about the OP being skeptical. Lots of people who don't know cars really well get taken advantage of by shops. It happens all the time. The exotic world is no different. Ferrari parts are expensive and I think we all know that belts don't snap as soon as they turn 3 years old. Do you all really think that with that in mind and with how many shady people are in the car world that nobody ever gets screwed over on service? I guarantee it happens way more than you think and since many Ferrari owners don't know how cars work, these shady practices don't get caught.

 

Yes the OP is not going to get any love here. It is pretty impossible without great effort to open the back panel pull covers show you the belts and tensioners. He would not know what he was looking at anyway. If a mechanic has to prove that work has been done, He does not want you as a client. You are too much effort. Legal threats and claims of misdeed just do not sound justified. It's an old used car. Stuff breaks and stuff is failing. Changing the belts don't change anything else about the car except the belts. Car repair isn't magic and car mechanics are not magicians. Mechanics are also not mind readers. If you specifically tell the mechanic you car does not feel right because XYZ, he can research your claim to see if there are grounds for your impressions. Changing a belt perfectly does not fix a bad injector or a bad spark plug.

That said you could solve your misgivings about how the car runs just by doing a smog check at any smog place in California. The tail pipe emissions readings tell you how your motor is running. It is all about combustion. If you got weird timing you see it at the tailpipe. If you got 1 cylinder not working you see it at the tailpipe. It costs you $50 bucks to find this out. If you don't want to do this now, you will when your smog comes due at registration.

 

Fraud is illegal. Incompetence is not. There are many ways to do a legally consumer acceptable job and ride the line to enhance the bottom line. It is also too easy to do a decent job at a fair price for years on end and be rewarded with easy repeat customers. I know a mechanic with customers who leave a stack of 100's in the glove box. He tells the mechanic to take what he needs. Trust is a two-way street.

 

I agree entirely, however the sort of thing the OP is describing isn't exactly unheard of. While a lock and swap wouldn't solve the issue of the car running a little off time, degreeing the cams would, assuming that is the problem. Some places will include that in the major (which is such a vague term). If a cylinder isn't firing I would assume that there would be a CEL as well. I believe the OPs suspicions are not unwarranted.

 

The post was nothing more than stating anything more than some inconsistencies in the whole saga.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Fair enough.
So here’s the thing. A poor running car with old belts will still be a poor running car with new belts. You can’t tell by driving it if the belts are bad or brand new. You likely needed new belts etc due to age, but that apparently wasn’t the source of your performance issues, which may be Plugs, coils, fuel pumps/injectors, battery, sensors and any number of other things.
The only time belts will be a performance problem is, if they have been done incorrectly.
At this time, I would assume the bests have been done, but that you have some other mechanical issue, and begin barking down up that tree.
Do you have any check engine lights on?

 

My 2 suggestions for you are :
1) find somebody that knows that can open the 360 firewall to check the condition and built date of the belts to determine if the replace of the belts was done
2) go to the dealership that has the SD2 Leonardo Ferrari computer that can hook it up and see the timing of the variators. At least this will prove if your exhaust camshafts are properly timed 657 / 657 (right / left bank)
For the intake it is more complicated, but you get an idea
Both of my suggestions are relatively simple and cheap and should not require more than 2 hours to check

 

Yes, the belt job is done through the back interior panel. Slightly more work with a convertible.
Aldous is great at showing what’s involved even if you don’t do it yourself.

https://aldousvoice.com/2016/04/24/ferrari-360-engine-timing/

https://aldousvoice.com/technical-articles/

It’s interesting that you said it doesn’t sound the same. Maybe your muffler or cats/precast are kaput. Although it’s still likely that a bad running engine may sound bad as well, as a result and not a symptom on its own.

 

Also I'd suggest that the OP check the coil packs. They may be failing. My car was running fine but at idle I detected a bit of a miss-- sometimes, not allways. Upon visual inspection there were some cracks evident. I replaced all 8 coils and the problem was gone.

There was never a CEL related to the intermittent coil failures.
The coils don't usually just drop dead. They can fire, but get weak and misfire = crappy power and performance.

 

+1
Also, if as you claim you have proof that the inside access cover or the bottom tray were not removed then how come the car is driving 'un-ferrari like".
So you're also claiming that not only was no work was done but they also messed with the car?

Sorry for the suspicious response but after having 2 grown kids try to con me as teenagers I grew a thicker skin to complaints.

 

... could the muffler packing be coming apart and causing back pressure ... leading to poor performance?

 

Josh be patient you will figure it out.

Pardon some of the response here..ittakes
Thick skin sometimes.

 

Then maybe you're running on 1 bank only.