V8 Vantage Clutch Replacement!
Discussion
CRA1G said:
Aston customer service came back to me today! Guess what, the clutch is not covered under warranty!
They inform me 10,000 miles is quite acceptable for clutch replacement..!! ...
Acceptable for them maybe.They inform me 10,000 miles is quite acceptable for clutch replacement..!! ...
It will seriously blot their copybook with me if I get told the same thing.
My 355 clutches lasted in excess of 20k miles (would have gone a lot more had I not changed them with plenty of meat on whilst having other servicing work done).
The car is simply not powerful enough nor well enough endowed with torque to justify such a pitiful life on its clutch.
Cant imagine how a new v8 vantage manual will get through a clutch in 10k miles -- thats madness. Either a design fault or bad clutch technique, I'm afraid.
My 89 xpack v8 vantage had nearly 50k miles on the clutch when we replaced it -- and the machining marks were still visible on the pressure plate. No sign of wear at all, and thats after 50k miles of hard road use, track days and central london driving (Replaced due to squeaky bearing and cos the engine was out of the car so access was easy)
My 89 xpack v8 vantage had nearly 50k miles on the clutch when we replaced it -- and the machining marks were still visible on the pressure plate. No sign of wear at all, and thats after 50k miles of hard road use, track days and central london driving (Replaced due to squeaky bearing and cos the engine was out of the car so access was easy)
Murph7355 said:
CRA1G said:
£2250.00 inc VAT! I do'nt know how much the service is yet? The clutch spoke
to Aston's customer service Dept and they say the will come back with a answer on monday The main dealer are at least on my side,so fingers crossed!
Ouch.to Aston's customer service Dept and they say the will come back with a answer on monday The main dealer are at least on my side,so fingers crossed!
Probably best I keep quiet to the Ferrari boys about service costs then! Clutch on the 355 was under 800 quid so the savings on 10k services are soon going to be eroded.
Will see how long mine lasts, but I've never been convinced the smells I get from it, or some of the graunching/grumbling from low speed take off are right.
Hmm, reading this thread and another about a car which has had the linkage fix I have to say I'm not encouraged. My V8 is just about to go in for its first annual service and as part of that the dealer is doing "the fix" - which is apparently offered if you make the point that you have an issue, but not necessarily otherwise. What I experience, basically when cold, is that for the first couple of miles I just cannot get 2nd gear; it's almost like the teeth in the syncromesh are going head to head. Then sometimes I can't get it even back into first again.
What does help sometimes is allowing the revs to settle back and/or letting the gear lever resettle back to the neutral position before executing the change - so basically a slow 1st to 2nd shift.
Furthermore, occasionally I hear a higher pitched metallic ping when coming out of 2nd, like the box didn't want to let go at first and then did. Must say I hate to think what this is doing internally.
Once I've done 3-4 miles we're all ready to go and it's smooth, although still then get a little grind now and again when shifting into 2nd, particularly on the way up.
So is the fix going to do sort this out ? Have I got what you've all had ? They mentioned an oil replacement, which figures as to all intents it just feels like it needs to be better lubricated, but I'm also hearing linkages. Is the latter some reconfiguation of the selector to improve the teeth to miss each other on the way into gear ?
What does help sometimes is allowing the revs to settle back and/or letting the gear lever resettle back to the neutral position before executing the change - so basically a slow 1st to 2nd shift.
Furthermore, occasionally I hear a higher pitched metallic ping when coming out of 2nd, like the box didn't want to let go at first and then did. Must say I hate to think what this is doing internally.
Once I've done 3-4 miles we're all ready to go and it's smooth, although still then get a little grind now and again when shifting into 2nd, particularly on the way up.
So is the fix going to do sort this out ? Have I got what you've all had ? They mentioned an oil replacement, which figures as to all intents it just feels like it needs to be better lubricated, but I'm also hearing linkages. Is the latter some reconfiguation of the selector to improve the teeth to miss each other on the way into gear ?
GR1FF1F said:
Hmm, reading this thread and another about a car which has had the linkage fix I have to say I'm not encouraged. My V8 is just about to go in for its first annual service and as part of that the dealer is doing "the fix" - which is apparently offered if you make the point that you have an issue, but not necessarily otherwise. What I experience, basically when cold, is that for the first couple of miles I just cannot get 2nd gear; it's almost like the teeth in the syncromesh are going head to head. Then sometimes I can't get it even back into first again.
What does help sometimes is allowing the revs to settle back and/or letting the gear lever resettle back to the neutral position before executing the change - so basically a slow 1st to 2nd shift.
Furthermore, occasionally I hear a higher pitched metallic ping when coming out of 2nd, like the box didn't want to let go at first and then did. Must say I hate to think what this is doing internally.
Once I've done 3-4 miles we're all ready to go and it's smooth, although still then get a little grind now and again when shifting into 2nd, particularly on the way up.
So is the fix going to do sort this out ? Have I got what you've all had ? They mentioned an oil replacement, which figures as to all intents it just feels like it needs to be better lubricated, but I'm also hearing linkages. Is the latter some reconfiguation of the selector to improve the teeth to miss each other on the way into gear ?
Yes mine was the same! and mine is now on the second service? It is interesting the experiences on this post! V8's are still quite new and not many up to 20'000 miles,I Stil beg the question why at 17,000 miles my car needs it's 3rd Clutch..?? Let's hope mine is a one off.! ,and this is not going to be a long forum.! As I still think there is more to this?What does help sometimes is allowing the revs to settle back and/or letting the gear lever resettle back to the neutral position before executing the change - so basically a slow 1st to 2nd shift.
Furthermore, occasionally I hear a higher pitched metallic ping when coming out of 2nd, like the box didn't want to let go at first and then did. Must say I hate to think what this is doing internally.
Once I've done 3-4 miles we're all ready to go and it's smooth, although still then get a little grind now and again when shifting into 2nd, particularly on the way up.
So is the fix going to do sort this out ? Have I got what you've all had ? They mentioned an oil replacement, which figures as to all intents it just feels like it needs to be better lubricated, but I'm also hearing linkages. Is the latter some reconfiguation of the selector to improve the teeth to miss each other on the way into gear ?
Edited by CRA1G on Thursday 21st February 08:19
t the bed. What are you doing over here. SECURITY! GR1FF1F said:
<some stuff>
If it's repeatable, I'd take it into the dealer. Even leave it there overnight and go back to demonstrate the next day.The box is the same make as Ferrari fit, so a slightly recalcitrant box when cold is to be expected to some extent. Does double-declutching allow proper selection even when cold?
Mine's got a nice shift, but then I had a manual 355 prior to this which I also thought was lovely and never had the issues others had. Perhaps there's something with technique that helps?? I don't rush the shift to 2nd typically, and being heavy footed I tend to press the clutch pedal properly down. I also tend to have a good few revs on most o the time...not saying this is definitely any clue, but who knows.
Or perhaps I've just been lucky and had 2 decent Graziano boxes.
Edited to add that the revised linkage and oil change are definitely worth doing on pre-07s from everything I've read. I believe the 07 cars onwards have it as standard. While they're doing it though, explain the problems you've had.
Edited by Murph7355 on Tuesday 19th February 22:19
Thanks for the input Murph. Will try the double declutch tonight. This morning was another joy, pulled away and couldn't etricate from first - had to wait until I'd almost stopped moving before I could shift into 2nd. Trouble is I'm trying to be sympathetic to it because I don't want to cause any damage, and so am consciously avoiding forcing it at all.
All this said, once it's warm it's actually quite a smooth box, although not as easy to operate as the one on my Sagaris (who would have thought I'd ever say that !) Seriously the TVR is a slick change right from the off and you can do all shifts with minimal hand pressure, yet it feels postive - little resistance as you go through the gate, but no doubt that you're properly engaged.
Anyway, the Vanatge is going in for service in about a week, and they'll have it for a week, so I'll make sure I get them to experience it on a cold morning to get the diagnosis right.
All this said, once it's warm it's actually quite a smooth box, although not as easy to operate as the one on my Sagaris (who would have thought I'd ever say that !) Seriously the TVR is a slick change right from the off and you can do all shifts with minimal hand pressure, yet it feels postive - little resistance as you go through the gate, but no doubt that you're properly engaged.
Anyway, the Vanatge is going in for service in about a week, and they'll have it for a week, so I'll make sure I get them to experience it on a cold morning to get the diagnosis right.
Spoke to my service manager (Harwoods Chichester) (as my car is in havin second service) and my clutch is fine. Also he said that the only clutches they have done are ones on P1 Cars with very high and hard usage. This is quite a big dealer and services many cars, so apart from a few clutch issues it does not seems to be a major issue with most cars.
Griffif, your problem with the gear shift sounds unusually bad, I'd go so far as to call warranty replacement on the gearbox personally. My Vantage is an 06 and I've had the 'linkage' and oil fix done, which makes quite an improvement, but my problem was never even nearly that bad. I never had any trouble engaging the gears or getting them out again, there was just an unusual amount of resistant when cold and required you to finesse the synchros a bit.
It's not actually the linkage by the way, it's the lever on the gearbox which the linkage attaches to and pushes/pulls. The lever is simply made slightly longer so that there is more effective leverage for the gear-lever in the cockpit, making the movement feel easier. I got to have a good look when my car was up on the lift and saw the part before it was put in, it's literally just a flat strip of metal a couple of inches long.
It's not actually the linkage by the way, it's the lever on the gearbox which the linkage attaches to and pushes/pulls. The lever is simply made slightly longer so that there is more effective leverage for the gear-lever in the cockpit, making the movement feel easier. I got to have a good look when my car was up on the lift and saw the part before it was put in, it's literally just a flat strip of metal a couple of inches long.
Interesting Jus, thanks for that. I'll definitely have it thoroughly checked. I guess at the end of the day one man's 'unusual amount of resistance' is another man's 'goddammit, I can't get the thing into gear', and as I say I've been trying to be gentle with it to avoid causing any damage. I know you bokke rugby players are big strong chaps, so perhaps I just need a bigger fist.
Cheers
Cheers
My '06 Vantage is in for it's second year service now having done 10,500 miles. Got a call from the dealer yesterday saying the mechanic took it for a test drive and recommended a new clutch (and possibly a new flywheel) be fitted. Luckily, they said this is all covered under warranty, so no expense to me for replacement. I should hope so too - supercar or not, I'd expect a clutch to be lasting much longer than 10k.
My guess is there's some manufacturing fault going on here as usually a 'wear and tear' item like a clutch plate is not covered under warranty (as my brake pads weren't - only a paltry £997 incl. VAT for the parts and 3hrs labour to replace...)?
My guess is there's some manufacturing fault going on here as usually a 'wear and tear' item like a clutch plate is not covered under warranty (as my brake pads weren't - only a paltry £997 incl. VAT for the parts and 3hrs labour to replace...)?
mattrobinson said:
(as my brake pads weren't - only a paltry £997 incl. VAT for the parts and 3hrs labour to replace...)?
My dealer quoted me £195 for rear and £205 for the front pads, plus VAT....is yours doing disks too...or is he taking the p1ss??? 3 hours for pads....now that is really taking the p1ss...!mattrobinson said:
My '06 Vantage is in for it's second year service now having done 10,500 miles. Got a call from the dealer yesterday saying the mechanic took it for a test drive and recommended a new clutch (and possibly a new flywheel) be fitted. Luckily, they said this is all covered under warranty, so no expense to me for replacement. I should hope so too - supercar or not, I'd expect a clutch to be lasting much longer than 10k.
My guess is there's some manufacturing fault going on here as usually a 'wear and tear' item like a clutch plate is not covered under warranty (as my brake pads weren't - only a paltry £997 incl. VAT for the parts and 3hrs labour to replace...)?
I have had several conversations with Aston customer services inc top man Andy Hopkins who is adamantMy guess is there's some manufacturing fault going on here as usually a 'wear and tear' item like a clutch plate is not covered under warranty (as my brake pads weren't - only a paltry £997 incl. VAT for the parts and 3hrs labour to replace...)?
they will NOT replace my clutch under warranty? which has done 10k this time and 7k the first time?
I aggree something is not right? but were at stale mate at the moment and i have told the dealer to just get it fit! I still think Aston should at least make a conribution may be a Letter next..!!
Edited by CRA1G on Thursday 21st February 08:21
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