360 (G)rumblings

Barry · 11-14-2010, 09:35 AM

Went out for a short spin in the 360 today. At very low speed just before coming to a halt on a slight incline (in first gear) the engine cut out briefly and then came back to life but with a very worrying rumbling noise.

As I was within a mile of home I limped home without pulling over. Engine sounded decidly "rough" all the way and even though I have no idea what an engine not firing on all cylinders sounds like, this is what I imagine it would sound like. Power was completely lacking, the engine was (g)rumbling instead of its usual scream, and power was completely gone - foot to the floor in first gear at 10-15 mph provided as much acceleration as my diesel 4X4.

The good news: After leaving it parked up in the drive for a few hours (whilst I watched SV win the F1 world title), it started up fine, engine sounded as normal, still a bit afraid to drive it, but it reversed into the garage without problem and all appeared well.

Final note: I don't remember seeing any warning lights illuminate on the dash; maybe this is a good sign?

So - anyone out there care to hazard a guess as to what made my baby feel unwell today???

Thanks in advance to all

Boxer · 11-14-2010, 11:54 AM

New one to me but it does sound like one bank cut out.

Debris in the fuel line?

Killer58 · 11-14-2010, 02:52 PM

I had the exact same symptoms shortly after purchasing mine. It happend exactly like you describe. The only additional factor was I was very low on gas, but not flame-out low - about 1/8 of a tank.

Filled up with gas and within a mile or so she was back to normal. It has never happened again, but I have never gotten that low on gas again either.

Josh speculated there was a small amount of water in the gas. Other than that, who knows?

Barry · 11-15-2010, 03:44 AM

Very interesting K58. I was also low on petrol Probably down to less than a quarter of tank.

Could it be that low petrol, coupled with an, a very slow speed on an incline meant no fuel was being supplied momentarily to the engine, resulting in the engine cutting out and only 1 bank of cylinders firing back up?

Killer58 · 11-15-2010, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry

Very interesting K58. I was also low on petrol Probably down to less than a quarter of tank.

Could it be that low petrol, coupled with an, a very slow speed on an incline meant no fuel was being supplied momentarily to the engine, resulting in the engine cutting out and only 1 bank of cylinders firing back up?

I'm no expert on the fuel system, but that doesn't sound likely. I would think you'd have to be quite low (near flame-out) for that to happen.

Josh mentioned the 360 having "sensitive" and complex sensors. My experience supports that. He also suggested getting some water "getter" and putting it in the tank. However, as I said, it cleared up after a fill-up and has never reoccured.

Mike Law · 11-15-2010, 09:05 AM

I had a similar problem as what you've described. The sound of my 360 spider was suddenly more raw instead of the high pitch sound, it even seemed the car was vibrating. And there was definitely a power loss. So I called my Ferrari mechanic and he said it sounded like the car was running on 7 cylinders.
Turned out it was a bad sparkplug in cylinder 5.

So maybe it's something simple to fix

11-14-2010, 09:35 AM	#1
Barry Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Europe Ferrari Life Posts: 3,256	360 (G)rumblings Went out for a short spin in the 360 today. At very low speed just before coming to a halt on a slight incline (in first gear) the engine cut out briefly and then came back to life but with a very worrying rumbling noise. As I was within a mile of home I limped home without pulling over. Engine sounded decidly "rough" all the way and even though I have no idea what an engine not firing on all cylinders sounds like, this is what I imagine it would sound like. Power was completely lacking, the engine was (g)rumbling instead of its usual scream, and power was completely gone - foot to the floor in first gear at 10-15 mph provided as much acceleration as my diesel 4X4. The good news: After leaving it parked up in the drive for a few hours (whilst I watched SV win the F1 world title), it started up fine, engine sounded as normal, still a bit afraid to drive it, but it reversed into the garage without problem and all appeared well. Final note: I don't remember seeing any warning lights illuminate on the dash; maybe this is a good sign? So - anyone out there care to hazard a guess as to what made my baby feel unwell today??? Thanks in advance to all Barry Ferrari's: 360 Modena F1, 308 GT4 Other Italians: Ducati 916, Ducati 848 DD's: RR Sport, BMW 645ci, BMW 1200GS Adv.

11-14-2010, 11:54 AM	#2
Boxer Owner Elite Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: UK Ferrari Life Posts: 12,792	New one to me but it does sound like one bank cut out. Debris in the fuel line? Boxer Current: F40, F50, 612, 430 Scuderia Past: 360 Modena, 360 Challenge, 550, 575, 365BB, 512BB, 456 GT, F355 GTS, 365 GTB/4 Daytona, 308 GTB

11-15-2010, 03:44 AM	#4
Barry Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Europe Ferrari Life Posts: 3,256	Very interesting K58. I was also low on petrol Probably down to less than a quarter of tank. Could it be that low petrol, coupled with an, a very slow speed on an incline meant no fuel was being supplied momentarily to the engine, resulting in the engine cutting out and only 1 bank of cylinders firing back up? Barry Ferrari's: 360 Modena F1, 308 GT4 Other Italians: Ducati 916, Ducati 848 DD's: RR Sport, BMW 645ci, BMW 1200GS Adv.

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11-14-2010, 02:52 PM	#3
Killer58 Owner Elite Member Join Date: May 2010 Ferrari Life Posts: 1,419 Name: David	I had the exact same symptoms shortly after purchasing mine. It happend exactly like you describe. The only additional factor was I was very low on gas, but not flame-out low - about 1/8 of a tank. Filled up with gas and within a mile or so she was back to normal. It has never happened again, but I have never gotten that low on gas again either. Josh speculated there was a small amount of water in the gas. Other than that, who knows?

11-15-2010, 09:05 AM	#6
Mike Law Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Netherlands Ferrari Life Posts: 76	I had a similar problem as what you've described. The sound of my 360 spider was suddenly more raw instead of the high pitch sound, it even seemed the car was vibrating. And there was definitely a power loss. So I called my Ferrari mechanic and he said it sounded like the car was running on 7 cylinders. Turned out it was a bad sparkplug in cylinder 5. So maybe it's something simple to fix