Head gaskets on a 330

Ferrari 330

The power of the internet and the reason I do these blog posts became apparent on this particular project.

Similar to almost all of the other Ferrari shops in the country, we were having a hard time getting the head gaskets to seal on the V-12 engines. The gaskets that come in the gasket kits are ELRING brand that are very fancy looking and fit nicely but are too hard and do not compress and seal like they should. I am sure they work well on a BMW with a cast iron block and head bolts that torque to probably 100 lb/ft, but on a Ferrari engine you only go to 65 lb/ft and are working with a very flexible cast aluminum block.

The leaks we had experienced was not water getting into the combustion chamber but it allowed water to leak between the block and head and often times leaked water into the oil. Considering that replacing the head gaskets on one of these engines is a $4-5000 job, we had to come up with a solution which we now have.

2 years ago a man called me to talk about head gasket leaks on his 330, I explained that we had the same problems and that he should get the car to me to be repaired. The car was tied up at another shop and I didn’t hear from him again. Fast forward to February 2010, the mystery man rings me again and asks me to help him sell the car! He told me that the shop fixed the leaking gaskets again and the car is sorted and ready to go.

I had 3-4 immediate buyers for the car but upon close inspection I found that the gaskets were still leaking! We could have been the shop to repair the gsakets, get them right, and get on with it, but it turned out fine when I sold the car to a local man who asked that we overhaul the engine and set things right.

The car was described as having an overhauled engine and in need of nothing, but we found that wasn’t the case. With the wrist pin bushings wiped out, the pistons worn and overall sloppiness in workmanship from the multiple attempts at remedying the head gasket leaks, we were disappointed in the prior repair, but will set things straight. These photos show the water mixed with oil inside the cam covers.

330 head gasket leak V-12 Ferrari

V-12 Ferrari head gasket and overhaul