2006 V8 Vantage - Can the clutch be improved with a 4.7 ?

[chedzec]

Hi,I have a 2006 V8 Vantage with 30K on the clock and still on the original clutch. In my view its a superb car all round, utterly brilliant in fact! However, if there is one complaint that I have its the heavy single plate clutch and I am now intending to change that out myself this winter.
It occurs to me that the fitting of the later 4.7 clutch, which is known to be lighter on the foot could be an option? Can anyone assist me with guidance on if I buy the clutch plate, cover, flywheel and slave cylinder for a 2009 4.7, can they be fitted as direct replacements for the original 2006 clutch?
I also recognise that the Bamford Rose clutch is very well regarded as an alternative, however, as I do not usually drive the car at or near its limits, the lightened flywheel and the sintered clutch plate will bring no upsides in the case of my particular everyday driving, beyond longevity. Also not sure if they will supply for self fit.
Any guidance much appreciated.

[DAMIT]

I would post this question on the Bamford Rose sticky thread. You are more likely to get a answer from a tec who has changed a few.

Or Call David Appleby (Generation AMR) 01295 768654 He has changed a few!

[Bravo73]

chedzec said:

Also not sure if they will supply for self fit.

BR won't supply their own clutches to fit. (Warranty issues at stake). However, you can still source a comparable twin plate clutch from elsewhere (ie Appleby Engineering).

Out of interest, are you aware of the amount of work that it required to change the clutch?

[MaverickV12]

I have asked this type of question (not about V8 clutches) to Aston Franchise dealers – mostly parts departments, and I have found that their stock answer is, “it cannot be done”, “don’t do it”, …….. but if people just took answers on face value, then progress would never be made.

I don’t have the manuals for the V8, but if you do, I would have thought you’re your first port of call would be to compare what they look like first , if they look similar, at least you can continue with your research, because if they are different dimensions, you can look no further.

If they look similar, if it were me and I was doing the job myself, which I would , then I’d order the new (Later) clutch, take out the old one and just compare them both…..

I’m a firm believer of, “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s a duck”, …….. as such, if they look the same, and they fit the same, maybe they will work the same……

[Neil1300R]

chedzec said:

Hi,I have a 2006 V8 Vantage with 30K on the clock and still on the original clutch. In my view its a superb car all round, utterly brilliant in fact! However, if there is one complaint that I have its the heavy single plate clutch and I am now intending to change that out myself this winter.
It occurs to me that the fitting of the later 4.7 clutch, which is known to be lighter on the foot could be an option? Can anyone assist me with guidance on if I buy the clutch plate, cover, flywheel and slave cylinder for a 2009 4.7, can they be fitted as direct replacements for the original 2006 clutch?
I also recognise that the Bamford Rose clutch is very well regarded as an alternative, however, as I do not usually drive the car at or near its limits, the lightened flywheel and the sintered clutch plate will bring no upsides in the case of my particular everyday driving, beyond longevity. Also not sure if they will supply for self fit.
Any guidance much appreciated.

Didn't know the 4.7 clutch was that much lighter. As has been said give Bamford Rose a ring, they have more than one clutch available. The downside is they are more expensive than the AM one - but lighter in action, lighter flywheel, so rev quicker.

Oh and see you are new forum member pictures! Its the rules - we all promise to say nice things about the car.

[Pentoman]

Does anyone know off the top of their head what the clutch alone from the dealer parts dept costs? And is there an OEM alternative available?

[Bravo73]

Pentoman said:

Does anyone know off the top of their head what the clutch alone from the dealer parts dept costs? And is there an OEM alternative available?

Eurocarparts list the clutch kit as £1201.99. This is the same OEM part as supplied by AM and manufactured by AP Racing.


Edited to add: however, there are normally plenty of discount codes to get 25-30% off that price.

[montecristo]

As an aside, I hadn't realised how heavy the AM 4.3 clutch is until I drove a different car (a Mini) last week, the first other car I've driven since the AM. Wow, what a difference. I thought I'd broken the Mini clutch, it's so light, and changing gears is so easy.

[chedzec]

DAMIT said:

I would post this question on the Bamford Rose sticky thread. You are more likely to get a answer from a tec who has changed a few.

Or Call David Appleby (Generation AMR) 01295 768654 He has changed a few!

DAMIT, Many Thanks I have looked at the Appleby website and its got some great things of real interest.

[chedzec]

Bravo73 said:

chedzec said:

Also not sure if they will supply for self fit.

BR won't supply their own clutches to fit. (Warranty issues at stake). However, you can still source a comparable twin plate clutch from elsewhere (ie Appleby Engineering).

Out of interest, are you aware of the amount of work that it required to change the clutch?

Yep, I may be punching above my weight with a clutch change out and I am, perhaps in my blissful ignorance, looking forward to it. It fits in with a bit of a winter refurb, with the sills and rear bumper being removed for stone chip repair, rear hub change and later drive belt pulley wheel fitted. I have a well fitted garage and the car will be a full metre clear of the ground, I am still expecting this to take me 2 full days (double the trade time) as I will indeed be treading carefully.

[chedzec]

MaverickV12 said:

I have asked this type of question (not about V8 clutches) to Aston Franchise dealers – mostly parts departments, and I have found that their stock answer is, “it cannot be done”, “don’t do it”, …….. but if people just took answers on face value, then progress would never be made.

I don’t have the manuals for the V8, but if you do, I would have thought you’re your first port of call would be to compare what they look like first , if they look similar, at least you can continue with your research, because if they are different dimensions, you can look no further.

If they look similar, if it were me and I was doing the job myself, which I would , then I’d order the new (Later) clutch, take out the old one and just compare them both…..

I’m a firm believer of, “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s a duck”, …….. as such, if they look the same, and they fit the same, maybe they will work the same……

Thanks MaverickV12, I admire and share your ethos and will certainly ask the guys in HWM parts dept to show me both parts. If they look interchangeable, I would be prepared to give it a go and hopefully advise others that it can (or cant) be done.

[chedzec]

Neil1300R said:

chedzec said:

Hi,I have a 2006 V8 Vantage with 30K on the clock and still on the original clutch. In my view its a superb car all round, utterly brilliant in fact! However, if there is one complaint that I have its the heavy single plate clutch and I am now intending to change that out myself this winter.
It occurs to me that the fitting of the later 4.7 clutch, which is known to be lighter on the foot could be an option? Can anyone assist me with guidance on if I buy the clutch plate, cover, flywheel and slave cylinder for a 2009 4.7, can they be fitted as direct replacements for the original 2006 clutch?
I also recognise that the Bamford Rose clutch is very well regarded as an alternative, however, as I do not usually drive the car at or near its limits, the lightened flywheel and the sintered clutch plate will bring no upsides in the case of my particular everyday driving, beyond longevity. Also not sure if they will supply for self fit.
Any guidance much appreciated.

Didn't know the 4.7 clutch was that much lighter. As has been said give Bamford Rose a ring, they have more than one clutch available. The downside is they are more expensive than the AM one - but lighter in action, lighter flywheel, so rev quicker.

Oh and see you are new forum member pictures! Its the rules - we all promise to say nice things about the car.

Thanks Neil, the 4.7 is indeed lighter than the single plate 4.3, though that could also be the slave cylinder effect, as that too is different on the 4.7. Its also said that the 4.3 clutch gets heavier with wear and mine has 31K plus on it. Thanks for the tip on photos, they will be there for the weekend - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/2.gif

[Bravo73]

chedzec said:

Yep, I may be punching above my weight with a clutch change out and I am, perhaps in my blissful ignorance, looking forward to it. It fits in with a bit of a winter refurb, with the sills and rear bumper being removed for stone chip repair, rear hub change and later drive belt pulley wheel fitted. I have a well fitted garage and the car will be a full metre clear of the ground, I am still expecting this to take me 2 full days (double the trade time) as I will indeed be treading carefully.

Try and get hold of a copy of the V8V maintenance manual because it outlined all of the various procedures that are required.

Changing the clutch itself is relatively straight forward. However, to get to it, you have to remove the torque tube. And to get to that, you need to drop the whole transaxle. If you know what you're doing, it's about 10 hours work.

I've got a mate with a lift and we debated trying to do the work (after having a look underneath). In the end, I/we decided that it was an awful lot of work so I decided to take the chance that my current clutch would last me through my 2000 mile European extravaganza last summer. Thankfully, it did.

I think that you will really struggle without access to a lift or a pit. Good luck with it though.

[chedzec]

Bravo73 said:

chedzec said:

Yep, I may be punching above my weight with a clutch change out and I am, perhaps in my blissful ignorance, looking forward to it. It fits in with a bit of a winter refurb, with the sills and rear bumper being removed for stone chip repair, rear hub change and later drive belt pulley wheel fitted. I have a well fitted garage and the car will be a full metre clear of the ground, I am still expecting this to take me 2 full days (double the trade time) as I will indeed be treading carefully.

Try and get hold of a copy of the V8V maintenance manual because it outlined all of the various procedures that are required.

Changing the clutch itself is relatively straight forward. However, to get to it, you have to remove the torque tube. And to get to that, you need to drop the whole transaxle. If you know what you're doing, it's about 10 hours work.

I've got a mate with a lift and we debated trying to do the work (after having a look underneath). In the end, I/we decided that it was an awful lot of work so I decided to take the chance that my current clutch would last me through my 2000 mile European extravaganza last summer. Thankfully, it did.

I think that you will really struggle without access to a lift or a pit. Good luck with it though.

I recognise that its a bit of a task, I have got the A.M Workshop Manual and that helps. I am approaching it from the point of view that I really have nothing to loose, the car is off the road from Xmas to the end of January anyway for a bit of a refurb. If I did get to a point that I could not continue with the clutch change due to technical challenges, then I could re-assemble at that point and drive it to a specialist after I complete the other tasks. I will certainly give it my very best shot and hopefully enjoy the challenge. Though, I should clearly keep my fingers crossed too.......

[MaverickV12]

Chedzec, if you are even considering doing this work, then you are clearly capable of carrying it out. At the end of the day its just a load of nuts and bolts, and you need a few jacks to lift it, most people are just fearful of the fear of doing it.

When we changed the pressure plate in my DB9.......



.......which is (I think) the same job you’re just about to do, we only loosened the gear box and the torque tube, and did not take it out. I have some photos of all of this, but the resolution is too high to post on Piston Heads, but if you PM me I’ll send you the photos I have.

Having pulled enough space between the Torque Tube and the engine we put the new pressure plate in. You do need to support the gear box, but not take it out. But that was in the DB9, I am only guessing the V8 is similar …..

[Tony V12V]

MaverickV12 said:

Chedzec, if you are even considering doing this work, then you are clearly capable of carrying it out. At the end of the day its just a load of nuts and bolts, and you need a few jacks to lift it, most people are just fearful of the fear of doing it.

When we changed the pressure plate in my DB9.......



.......which is (I think) the same job you’re just about to do, we only loosened the gear box and the torque tube, and did not take it out. I have some photos of all of this, but the resolution is too high to post on Piston Heads, but if you PM me I’ll send you the photos I have.

Having pulled enough space between the Torque Tube and the engine we put the new pressure plate in. You do need to support the gear box, but not take it out. But that was in the DB9, I am only guessing the V8 is similar …..

That's a centre plate not a pressure plate
What on earth did you do to it to look that fked

[MaverickV12]

The new one looks brilliant and its a slightly different design with three steel plates and not one, so I guess Aston changed their design..... If I could work out how to lower the resolution of the photos, I'd post them....

[MaverickV12]

I cropped the photos, so they are not as informative as can be.....

[Neil1300R]

MaverickV12 said:

I cropped the photos, so they are not as informative as can be.....

You keep telling us you are doing all the work yourself, and learning as you go - for which you should be applauded.

But, there are lots of cars being worked on in the background. So, which garage is actually re-building your engine for you?

[chedzec]

Thanks Maverick, The pics are encouraging for me, I recognise that the V8 will be different, though supporting and manoeuvring of the gearbox to facilitate the torque tube removal will be very similar. Its clear your hydraulic ramps would be an real asset in this too.