How often to change 328's timing belts?

Change them. NOW. You are playing with fire. Three years is the standard belt change timetable, five years at the most. Ten years...downright stupid, no offense intended.

 

What Scott said!

 

You are new here. This is a BIG topic.

Every 3 years. Plain and simple.

 

Yep, every three years...or every five...or...

 

There are many views on timing belts, here is my recommnedation based on all the threads and perspectives I have reviewed, and discussions with two knowledgeable Ferrari mechanics.

Inspect the timing belts (and retension the the water pump, alternator and a/c belts) every 2 or 3 years, and more importantly inspect carefully the various tensioner and idler bearings. You are also looking for signs of water pump weeping and cam seal leaks while "in and around there", and any fluid leaks that might affect the timing belts longevity. Change the timing and other belts after 5 or 6 years, regardless of mileage.

You can go 10 years or more on belts based per Gates and other manufacturers materials and design intentions. Its missing other things that can cause belt failure that becomes the problem, rather then failure of the belts from normal wear and tear per se.

The 328/Mondial Ferrari engines/exhaust throw off alot of heat in the engine bay, especially the catalytic converter cars, and the high revving engines are more stressful on parts by design. Add in all the bearings, which seem somewhat undersized probably for design/packaging reasons, and you simply need to pay more attention than would be the case with a normal car.

 

I know of at least one guy who owns(ed) a 308 and drives it regularly who has not had a belt change since 1987. He is convinced that the mileage determines how long the belt lasts. The fact is that its the wear and weather and such. If one breaks - yikes...thats just not cool at all.

He offered me his car before I got mine. I asked about that and when he told me about that service interval I instantly passed.


PDG

 

Most of the time it is a tensioner bearing going bad that starts the ball rolling downhill.

 

Give him some slacks, I say 3 and a half years

 

I stick to the 3 belt/bearing year rule, but here is another thing I have been meaning to mention. In addition, to regularly popping the engine cover, You should be getting under your car and doing a thorough examination of EVERYTHING at least once a year. These cars are getting older and you can't just rely on Ferrari's maintenance intervals published in the 80's that did not contemplate service intervals for 20+ year old cars. I drive my car about 3K a year and try to get under her every few months. In my case, I am perhaps more acutely aware than most because my car was a bonafide garage queen when I got her, and I anticipated she wasn't going to take too kindly to suddenly becoming a driver. Happily, I have caught more than a few things before they turned into major disasters.

It really pays to be extra vigilant. Belts and bearings are just one part of the maintenance equation.


Preventative maintenance is always cheaper than a catastrophic failure IMHO.

 

What he said.

Take care of your car.

 

I believe the belts on my car we 17 years and 6000 miles old. I took delivery and parked it in the garage for a belt change.

3-5 years max. Now that I can change my own belts I have no problem doing it every 3. Better safe than sorry and for so few dollars it's gives you peace of mind.

Bde religious aboput maintenance on these cars and learn to do some yourself.

 

I don't figure a belt is going to wear sufficiently to be noticeable in 3 years with the sort of mileage I put on my 328 any more than the tires are going wear out in that same period/mileage. It's more an age issue, I think, in the practical sense nowadays since these cars are not normally driven very much. When the Ferrari guidelines were originally published, it was based on "normal" car mileage per year which was usually considered to be around 10k miles.

My PERSONAL choice is to change the belts when I change the tires which is based on wear OR age (5 years), whichever occurs first.

 

What about on my Mondial t? The handbook says change the cam belt every TWO years.
On this car the engine has to come out to do the cam belt. Do I really have to do it every two years? The car gets regular use in the Summer, but in the winter might go for weeks without use.
I don't expect to leave it 10 years! But can I leave it 5 years, or is 3 years the limit on the Mondial t?

The car will always get the annual oil service/inspection once a year.

 

Nugget- Everyone has an opinion. Here is what Ferrari says and it agrees with the early advice you were given. The 575M and 612 have five year recommended intervals, but they did an entire new belt and tensioner bracket to stretch it out that long.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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I think changing belts every 3 years on a 328 is crazy if it had a full 30k with new tensioners, take care of the car drive it and every five years. I'm surprised that so many people that are forum regulars and 328 owners or past owners are saying every 3 years - if you get new tensioners and a full 30k service IMO the car is good for 5 years no problem.


AK

 

AK- Just another opinion. Following factory recommendations is usually a good idea, since it is backed by statistical data. Yours is backed by....?

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Timing belts.....

Jeez - not again.

 

Miguel- Why not? We spend most of our time answering questions that have been asked multiple times before.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

IN the US, technical bulletins apply to vehicles in production at the time of the bulletin. I ASSUME it's the same everywhere but I don't know. With that in mind, if a US company had issued an "all V8's" TB in 2002, it would apply to v8 engines produced at the time of the bulletin or within the warranty period involved. It would not apply to engines produce 13+ years earlier.

OTOH, one could make the assumption that if it's necessary for a "current" engine, it must be necessary for an earlier engine. That can't hurt from a safety point of view but it may not logically apply based on the layout/design of the engine and stress on the belt of the specific valve train load. In other words, is the valve train load on the belt for a 2002 v8 Ferrari higher per sq inch (or however it's measured) than it was for a 198x Ferrari and that was the reason that they issued the bulletin?

To my knowledge, Ferrari never issued anything retroactively to 3x8 owners, revising the information in the owners manual re belt changes. I have also never heard of any problems with 3x8 belt wear that actually supports anything different than the original factory requirements and I wonder if that 2002 bulletin has taken on a role in the 3x8 world that was neither intended nor necessary.

 

Because I am addicted to the forum and I can't help but reading every post....and this one has been covered ad nauseum...

but good point....it's just me (and maybe a few more....)

I'll resist the urge to read this thread...it will probably do me good.

Cheers

 

It's a discrepancy between the published interval in the Original Owners Manual, and a Factory Technical Bulletin that changed it the THREE years, on every V8 Ferrari ever made.....

We really should make that particular Tech Bulletin a "sticky" thread in this Section!! LOL!

I have mine on the back of the driver's sun visor....

 

My source states "Rubber degrades with higher temperatures, and with contact with motor oil. Thus the life expectancy of a timing belt is lowered in hot or leaky engines."

Sound familiar?

 

Incidentally, someone asked Gates officially how long their belts should last and their official response was "Follow the manufacturer's recommendation."

Mike- Ferrari tech bulletins do not work that way, hence the quote " all V8...regardless of model year". The V12 belt bulletin in late 2004 covered the 456s and 550, all out of production.

Taz
Terry Phillips