348 gear box noise

Mine blew up with the exact same situation in September. The g'box was, for the most part, destroyed. Don't know where you are located... if you are on the east coast, I STRONGLY encourage you to contact "Competizione & Sports Cars" in Gaithersburg, MD (301-977-9484)

Mine started with the whining in 4/5 also. 1990 348ts. Rather than rebuild mine, I actually purchased a brand new, in the wooden shipping crate, "sealed in 1994" new transmission. It was, to the best of my knowledge, the last known complete never-touched, 'at the factory' tranny left on earth. I paid a lot.... but I can easily say, fixing a broken one with trained technicians and real parts would have cost more.

Whatever you do, STOP DRIVING. It only gets worse and more expensive.

 

My gearbox is fine knock on wood, but how much does it cost to rebuild a 348 gearbox? are we talking 4 or 5 digits in the price? Got to start saving if its 5 just in case

 

Any suckers, errrrr I mean, anyone wanna take bets it's that damn oil pump bearing again?

 

At a bare minimum you are looking at the mid 4 figure price range, and that is if you are doing the work yourself. Mine blew up and I rebuilt it with the help of my buddies fatbillybob and Plugzit. If it happens again I'm putting in a 6 speed from a 355. The thing that cause these stupid thing to grenade is the ring nut coming loose, on the gear box oil pump side, of the main shaft. Then the bearing starts moving around, and then the bearing cage goes kablamo.

 

What's cheaper?

Rebuilding a 348 gearbox or selling an existing one and installing a 355 gearbox?

 

I'm wondering if doing a "major" on the gearbox to check this out might not be a bad idea as preventative maintenance. This issue seems to be popping up more frequently as our cars age.

 

Yeah you could, but you'll have to disconnect the gear box from the back of the engine to get to the side cover.

 

I think I've seen a thread here with pics of 348 transaxle spline failures, but not sure if that's a result of the ring nut loosening. One of my previous neighbors has owned his 348 for over 17yrs (I guess since new), and his transaxle failed twice. However, his has upgrades for track, and he previously tracked it a lot, I understand. The second time, he upgraded his transaxle with 355 parts/spline parts, and he says that solved the problem.

I guess I'd like to confirm what 355 parts that 348 owners have used when overhauling their transaxles.

 

The problem is ring nut coming loose, on the gear box oil pump side, of the main shaft. Then the bearing starts moving around, and then the bearing cage goes kablamo.


I hear this is a problem. Can you get to the oil pump Nut without taking the gearbox a part?
If you can, can the Nut be tacked welded to keep it in place?

Just asking

 

Ahem.....HOGWASH! The 348 gearbox is basically bullitproof. I proved it. I race it on full slicks and run it harder than any of you. The deal with 348 gearboxes is assembly. If assembled right they do not come apart. I hate to say it but I do not think Daniel's "new" box is any better than any other exisiting box if Ferrari built it the same way as all the others = sloppy! I think I can actually say I have rebuilt more of these boxes than anyone including most pros. There are some pros on this list who have way more experience on 348 boxes like the very respected Dave Helms and there are several quotes on Fchat of his belief that the 348 box is pretty tough too. So sure there are issues with a minority of 348 boxes but it is not the box it is the assembly. In my own case Ferrari did not "stake" a lockring can you believe that? Too much wine at lunch! Ferrari is responsible for the problems these cars have. Once sorted by non-ferrari doctrine these cars can turn into daily drivers.

 

So since I plan to soon do a major on my new (to me) 348TS, can you provide specific advice/steps on what to check and verify/tighten, etc. and how to go about it, while the engine is out? Or post links that apply? Thanks.

Rick

 

I think a good box will not come appart or need paranoid servicing. I would drive my car often and really get to know the car. If you hear or feel and unusual gearbox noises stop driving it and inspect it carefully. Damage comes when the warning signs of noise and grinding are ignored because the box will still shift. A good box will stay good for a very long time. I am so skeptical of Ferrari's ability to pay attention to detail that given the choice between Daniel's new box and my old rebuilt box with a trackrecord of staying together...I take my box over his new but unknown box. Only time will tell if his new box stays together. Ferrari is awesome at what they do. Often however they fail to do it consistently well. We see this with gearboxes, 355headers, 456 head rests, sticky interior parts etc,....

 

I think that the consensus is not a part deficiency that needs an update (like being replaced with a 355 part), but that the ring nut just needs to be properly staked during assembly or re-assembly.

That being said, the gearbox failures *seem* to be hitting the earlier 348's instead of the 93's, 94's, and 1995's...though perhaps I just haven't seen enough data to know otherwise. It's by no means certain that the later model 348's are safe.

 

Keep in mind that the 355 tranny isn't plug-n-play into the 348. The 355 has the alternator on the opposite side of the car to allow for clearance...and the 355 uses rods instead of cables for the shifts...so some additional changes must be made to accomodate.

Very doable, but you'll have to get dirty to pull off a quality 6 speed upgrade.

 

Yeah....Andy never did show us pictures of his homemade linkage. Inquiring minds would like to see....

 

My 1994 GTC had a gearbox failure, so it's not just the early cars. The guys who fixed it reckoned that it wasn't set up properly from the factory, and that this seems to be the case with almost every 348 gearbox issue they've seen.
CG

 

A dealership just had my gear box off the first of 07, said I would have problems in the future. Best we can tell, no locktite on the ringnut, and not pinged properly. They said they tightened the ring nut. However, that appears to be what caused the failure as the ringmut came loose. My friend said you could take it off with no assistance as it was very loose. He rebuilt it saving me thousands, and thanks to lots of folks on this board like FatBillieBob, it is back together. Super tightened, super pinged, and my straight exhaust features a beautiful black paint job.

Oh yeah, the parts where stupidly priced, like 480 for a bearing that was about 180 before Ferrari UK got exclusive listing from the factory, and I have been told there will be another price increase. No gears had to be replaced, only spacers, bearings, etc.

 

My 94 Spider has around 111,000 km on it now, the gearbox is fine but as its out with engine for a cam belt change and flywheel regrease I will be having the ringnut checked for tightness. Knowing my luck it would come loose after it was put back in the car, much better and cheaper to do it now!!

I was talking to a 355 Challenge owner on Saturday, his car is in for a cambelt change right now and the tech found a loose nut in his gearbox and he was told it was not the the normal one that comes loose, so it seems that 355`s have a similar problem??

Regards,
Phil.

 

Hi All,

I currently have the gearbox off the car and although I haven't had any issues with the gearbox, if it's possible, I would like to at least see if the ring nut is loose. Can someone point out this ring nut in a diagram and let me know if it's accessible without opening the gearbox itself.

Thanks
JQP

 

Do you want a stooge rebuild? If you supply beer and pizza I bet I can get the guys to help. Or where do you live ? If it is Hawaii you can fly us all out and we'll rebuild it in your garage.

 

You cant possibly be serious!?!
Would you and ''the guys'' do my major for pizza, beer and a trip to Vegas??