More engine dissembly pictures

 Here are some more photos of the engine coming apart

Engine diassembled

The engine has been disassembled and the crankshaft and heads are at the machine shop.

Here's what David has discovered so far:

-Both the main and rod bearing crankshaft journals look very nice. Presuming that the crank shaft passes a Magnaflux inspection, we’ll be in good shape using “standard-sized” bearings.

-Rod bearings were in very poor condition

-Main bearings look good and exhibit normal wear patterns. However, there is some evidence that dirt/debris went through the oiling system..

-Timing chest bearings; 1-4 bank, OK. 5-8 bank, very loose and noisy

-Liners; With all of the pistons out, the wear becomes much more obvious. Some of the rings have light corrosion visible. The bores should .001-.015” taper with considerably more (about 2x) ovality. The liners will be removed for inspection, as the iron is susceptible to corrosion/pitting etc. Some is to be expected and will be cleaned up as needed. Presuming they are still serviceable, we’ll bore to the first over-size.

A visit to the shop

 It just so happens that I was traveling for work and I had a layover on the East Coast so I decided to take a side trip to go visit the shop. I flew in to Logan International, rented a car and drove up to see David in New Hampshire. Even though he has some helpers, Ferrari of Bedford is basically a one man show. David runs the shop out of his house and multi-car garage. It's clean facility and a nice change from the massive service center at the dealership. I'm sure it gets pretty busy around there with customer cars but I think he manages pretty well with what's there.

Engine disassembly has started. One head is off and other is stuck (as many 308 heads are) but David assures me that he can get it off without too much drama. He's pretty sure that the engine has never been apart before, which is a good thing. Who knows what kind of work may have been done by previous mechanics. Apparently, David has seen some hack jobs inside other engines.

We spent a few hours talking about next steps. He's going to tear down the entire engine and transaxle, then determine what needs to be replaced and reconditioned. This is where the variability comes in -- he won't know for sure what's wrong with the transaxle until it's disassembled. We spent so much time talking that I lost track of time and almost missed my flight home! I did not factor traffic and time to return the rental car. Luckily I was one of the last people through the door.

Dignostic results

The main thing I wanted fixed was the transmission. Since the engine had to come out anyway, it was a good time to do a full evaluation to determine its condition. The results were not good.

 Here are the numbers from the cylinders:

Cylinder	Dry	Wet	% change	Leak %	Source 1	Source 2
1	136	160	17.65	19	Rings	Intake
2	130	155	19.23	21	Rings
3	130	140	7.69	17	Rings
4	130	141	8.46	19	Rings
5	100	135	35	20	Rings	Exhaust
6	95	125	31.58	20	Rings
7	95	120	26.32	21	Exhaust	Rings
8	100	122	22	20	Rings

The compression numbers are definitely low and the large jump in wet compression says that the rings are shot. Leakdown of 20% is horrible too. 

My head is starting to spin. The initial estimate was a big number and needing to rebuild the bottom end will shoot that number through the roof.

Engine out!

The engine is out! I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it's been leaking from every gasket and seal. It's a greasy, dirty mess.

 

Some alarming discoveries

 Every now and again, someone tells you something that is so unbelievable that all you can do is scrunch up your face and say WTF? I head earlier shared with David the compression and leakdown numbers that came from the dealer. The first thing he wanted to do was to confirm those numbers to get a good handle on the engine condition.

Here's his response after some initial investigation:

"Although the compression/leak numbers are odd, one of my immediate findings is that 3 of the 8 spark plug ends are not connected to the plugs!"

After digging further:

"Plugs are out.

1-4 rich-fouled
5-fouled
6-lean
7-No spark plug installed!
8-lean

I thought it was odd that I could not feel the #7 spark plug with my plug socket. However, no plug was confirmed with my inspection camera…"

 

WTF??? Since the 308 was at the dealership, it has really only been driven home, to and from E@RT once, then to the pick-up point and from the drop-off to the shop. The last people to touch the engine was the dealership. Can someone there have really been so incompetent as to FORGET TO PUT A SPARK PLUG BACK IN??? As you can see from the inspection camera photo, there's a lot of residue around the plug hole and it's clear that plug has been missing for while.

I'll find out more as compression and leakdown tests are done.

Change of scenery for my 308

 My 308 is now on the East Coast! The hauler arrived today and had to drop off at a local Walmart parking lot because the 87' truck could not get through the windy roads. On the short drive from the drop-off point back to his shop, David was able to do a quick evaluation:

"We’ve got our work cut out for us ahead. I suspect that she’s running maybe on 5 cylinders and has a significant vacuum leak somewhere, based on the way she smells...

I’ll get the diagnostics done this week and report back when I now more.

The transaxle is well, as you described."

Ok, good -- so it's not just that I don't know how to shift this Italian transmission. There actually IS something wrong.