What do you think RE: Drive Pulley Bearing Replacement

Hi Mark - There are 2 bearings - one in the chain or front cover (not sure of correct terminology), and another on the back side of the drive in the crankcase. If you're replacing one, I'd replace both. The one in the cover is a sealed bearing, and you shouldn't have any play in it, in my opinion. The other one is an open bearing apparently splash lubricated. I don't recall when I replaced mine, but I wouldn't expect any really noticeable play there either. Which bearing do you mean?

 

Hi Mark,

I dont have any play whatsoever in my drive pulley - I think Rick has your answer mate. The plus side is that you can now check out your oil pump gear behind the front cover. Good thing you are catching all this... Let us know if you need anything - my engine is sitting in my garage and I can check anything for you if you need.

 

By the way guys, its not just the drive pulley fences we need to keep an eye on - check out this post from another f-site:

Has anyone experienced this before? About 1500 miles ago, I had the belt service performed on my 1991 348. The mechanic had noticed that the belt had a crack in it while performing an inspection and recommended changing it to prevent a future catastrophe. On Sunday, I returned home from the lake (about 300 mile trip)and 50 miles from home, the car suddenly died. No real warning, about 15 seconds of a light "tink tink tink", and the engine just stopped. I returned the car to the shop yesterday. The mechanic took the cover off of the top of the passengers side driven gear and noticed that the "lip" of the gear (side closest to the firewall) was missing. There was a small, 3" ribbon of metal inside the cover. Needless to say, the timing belt skipped and I have X number of bent valves. I won't know for sure until the engine is pulled and broken open. If this has happened to someone else, please let me know what the root cause was. Right now the suggestion is just "bad luck". It is frustrating to have performed the belt service only to have this crater immediately after.

 

My post may have been a little confusing, but I did replace both the cover bearing, and the crankcase bearing for the other end of the pulley drive shaft a few months ago when my engine was apart. Not sure where you bought the new bearing, but if you feel there's any play in the bearing itself, I'd sure recommend talking with your supplier about the bearing. Ricambi America who is the major sponsor of Ferrarichat will always work with you to make sure you have correct new parts, and work with you to replace anything that is defective.

PS - When I installed the new cover bearing (cover off of engine), I used a heavy washer that fit on the outer lip of the new bearing to press the new one in with my small hydraulic press. If you are using another method, such as using a hammer to drive it in, it would probably be possible to damage the bearing. If you provide more info on how you're doing things, it may help everyone help you out.

PS PS - For 348 technical questions, you will probably find even more help by posting your questions in the 348/355 Forum here. Lots of great owners more than willing to help!

 

He is referring to bearing #11 in this diagram:

http://www.ricambiamerica.com/parts_catalogs.php?V=diag&I=205