[LouGaudio]

BUONGIORNO,
I'M GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH THE NEW 308 AND HAVE HAD IT OUT FOR SOME NICE 100 MPH+ DRIVING ON SOME LONG SWEEPERS THIS LAST SUNDAY (BOY DOES THIS CAR HANDLE !!!) UPON RETURNING FROM MY DRIVE AND LETTING THE CAR SIT IN THE GARAGE, I NOTICED A 2" OIL SPOT UNDER THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MOTOR. WIPED IT UP AND INVESTIGATED- NOTHING. AFTER ANOTHER DRIVE WITHOUT THE G-FORCE TURNS AND MAYBE A LITTLE LOWER RPM, I GET NO EVIDENCE OF LEAK. I'TS ACTUALLY HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE TO A LESSOR DEGREE AFTER A NOT AS HARD BUT STILL SPIRITED DRIVE.

COULD THIS BE OIL SURGE/SLOSH FROM G-FORCE? I'VE READ SOME POSTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE RE: DRY SUMPING 308s (not that I'm looking to do that). FYI I'VE CHECKED OIL LEVEL HOT ( thats OK ) AND I'VE KEPT THE RPM UNDER 7,000, OIL PRESSURE SEEMS FINE, BUT I HAVEN'T LOOKED DURING A HARD & FAST TURN (watching the road ).

THANX IN ADVANCE FOR ANY INPUT.

CIA,
LUIGI 8)

 

[Pete04222]

Hi Lou,
I'm thinking a couple of things here. One would be that the car had been sitting a while before you bought it and the seals had dryed out and shrunk a bit. Your high RPM driving boosts the oil pressure enough to force oil past a seal. If that is all it is then I wouldn't worry about it at all, as you drive the car the seals will swell back up and seal properly. It happened on my car when I got it. The dealer disclosed that the cam seals would leave a spot on the garage floor about the size of a half-dollar every week and gave me a set of new seals. After about 2 weeks of driving it, the leak stopped all by itself.

The second would be an actual leak. Check around the oil filter, sending units, oil cooler, oil cooler hoses (and the banjo fittings where they connect to the engine), etc.

The third possibility could be an issue with the crankcase vapor separator. I've attached a picture showing where this component is. All the crankcase "blow-by" gases (which contain an oil mist) are collected in a pipe that goes between the 2 valve covers. From here they go to the separator where the oil is drawn out of the gases. The gases go from the seperator to the air cleaner where they are re-combusted and the oil drains back to the sump through a hose on the bottom of the unit. It is possible that the seperator has a rust hole or crack and at high rpms there are a lot more blow-by gases, hence more oil, and it is leaking there. Or the oil is leaking out a hole in the hose going back to the sump. You can check the bottom of the separator with one of those small telescoping mirrors, but to properly check the hose you'll probably need to jack the car up and crawl underneath.

 

[Pete04222]

BTW Lou,
There is a little key about 7/16 of an inch away from your left pinkie called "Caps Lock". Go ahead and give that key a little tap for us. In the "etiquette" of the internet, writing in all caps is considered yelling.

 

[LouGaudio]

jeeze, o.k. , sorry about the caps lock

To all,
Sorry about the screeeeeming caps lock thing. I use all caps on my spreadsheets and contracts in my business for readability. I guess it just carries over. PLUS !!! I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT MY FERRARI !!! But I'll quit screaming.
Pete ,
Thanks for the clues on the seals (car has not been driven much in the last few years) and I'll check out the blow-by oil seperator angle ( nice photo)

Your excited, yet admonished fellow Ferraristi,
Luigi

ciao

 

[Pete04222]

Re: jeeze, o.k. , sorry about the caps lock

To all,
Sorry about the screeeeeming caps lock thing. I use all caps on my spreadsheets and contracts in my business for readability. I guess it just carries over. PLUS !!! I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT MY FERRARI !!! But I'll quit screaming.

Now that's the proper use of Caps Lock!
Hope it's just the seals and your oil problem takes care of itself.

 

[Andrew]

Re: jeeze, o.k. , sorry about the caps lock

To all,
Sorry about the screeeeeming caps lock thing. I use all caps on my spreadsheets and contracts in my business for readability. I guess it just carries over. PLUS !!! I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT MY FERRARI !!! But I'll quit screaming.
Pete ,
Thanks for the clues on the seals (car has not been driven much in the last few years) and I'll check out the blow-by oil seperator angle ( nice photo)

Your excited, yet admonished fellow Ferraristi,
Luigi

ciao

Luigi,

Happy to have you screaming in exitement! FERRARIS DO THAT TO YOU DON'T THEY?!

Welcome to Ferrari Forum. Good luck on getting the car up to speed and the seals fixed. If the car sat for a long time this will happen as the seals dry up.