Vantage engine whine when cold

[Pentoman]

I've a 2006 Vantage that has been perfectly reliable the past 1.5 years. Great car.

However, it has always had a very distinctive whine when cold. The whine varies with engine speed, and is not affected by clutch, gears or anything in the drivetrain. It's very noticeable but not particularly loud - it sounds just like a supercharger whine.

Before I get it looked at, is there any common known cause for this? I'm blindly guessing at belts or pumps. Are some of these parts Jaguar parts? Before I get stiffed for an "Aston Martin" alternator or similar..!

I hope that the expertise here can give me some idea.

[Jibberingloon]

Sounds like the pulley or belt on the front of the engine for the crank / water pump etc.

Common issue, they upgraded the pulleys on later models.

Simple fix and cheap

[roughrider]

Cold auxiliary drive belt, and cold power steering fluid. Also cold thick engine oil whistling through engine oil feed galleries/apertures.

[montecristo]

Mine does that too. It's generally a bit creaky and cranky for the first 15 minutes from start. But then so am I, so I make allowances.

[baldyash]

I think you will find its the oil pump.I believe its been mentioned b4 somewhere.Mine is the same & it goes quite quickly when warm

[Cockernee]

I was told that the Oil pump was the culprit and when it warmed up it quietens down. Never caused me an issue as the passenger makes more noise screaming

[V8Andrew]

Mine can make a similar noise but it goes away. My gear changes especially 1-2 are hard work when the car is cold, eases after 5 minutes.

[steveatesh]

baldyash said:

I think you will find its the oil pump.I believe its been mentioned b4 somewhere.Mine is the same & it goes quite quickly when warm

This. Mine was listened to by a visiting AM engineer early in my ownership. He confirmed it's the oil pump, sometimes it will whine and sometimes it won't, and that it's normal.

Relax and save your Aston neurosis for something else. There will be plenty to pick from !

[Wh1teKnight]

Agreed, i have the same for the first few mins on a cold drive. Soon goes away assumed it was normal functioning of a pump of some sort ... the above seems to back up my assumption

[JS1500]

Cockernee said:

I was told that the Oil pump was the culprit and when it warmed up it quietens down. Never caused me an issue as the passenger makes more noise screaming

Can you still refer to them as a 'passenger' if they're tied up in the boot?

[yourtheguy]

Hi all, as said the oil pump does make a whining noise when cold, mine did it when I first had it but now that it has been mentioned I haven't noticed it for a while.
V8Andrew, try changing the gearbox oil to the new grade of Castrol BOT*** can't remember the numbers, but it's only available from Aston anyway, it takes 5 litres and is £20+VAT a litre.
I changed mine last year and did notice a difference when cold.

[Pentoman]

Thanks all for the replies, and glad to hear others are having the same experience.

It's easy to be paranoid with these cars. A bespoke british car? Surely it will go wrong all the time! And yet somehow... no.