Faulty exhaust valve on 2008 V8 Vantage

[Astonmannow]

Hello all, looking for some advice on this please. One of the exhaust valves is stuck in the open position on the car, which was pointed out on the last service. I believe AM main dealers can replace the whole unit which is costly, but I have read that some specialists can do a repair of sorts to fix this problem at a more reasonable price. Has anyone had this done on their car and if so, what was the experience? My car is in South Wales, so looking for someone to do this not too far away. A guide as to the cost, as I am preparing a Preventative Maintenance budget for my car. Many thanks in advance for any comments/advice.

[LTP]

Astonmannow said:

Hello all, looking for some advice on this please. One of the exhaust valves is stuck in the open position on the car, which was pointed out on the last service. I believe AM main dealers can replace the whole unit which is costly, but I have read that some specialists can do a repair of sorts to fix this problem at a more reasonable price. Has anyone had this done on their car and if so, what was the experience? My car is in South Wales, so looking for someone to do this not too far away. A guide as to the cost, as I am preparing a Preventative Maintenance budget for my car. Many thanks in advance for any comments/advice.

Both of the valves on my '15 V8V have failed - the actuator arms have come adrift so I'm going to need a repair too. The closest I am aware of to you that I'd trust would be DAE (David Appleby Engineering) who are near Bristol. They list a valve replacement on their website for a few hundred pounds (I think) which is way cheaper than the £3k+ that my MD quoted me for a back box

edited to add
Cost for 1 valve is £660, another £380 for two.
https://www.davidapplebyengineering.com/Shop/Produ...

If the valve is just stuck then it might be possible to free it with some wiggling and penetrating fluid, but they are prone to sticking, especially if the exhaust pump fuse is out.

Edited by LTP on Monday 24th November 20:32

[Buzzi77]

I understand that they want to go unnoticed
However, my fused 4.3 removed at low rpm engine is not very noisy .

Can I ask you where and how does your Aston make too much noise under 300 rpm?
Noise is part of the Aston V8 Martin, don't you think?

[Astonmannow]

Many thanks for the quick replies and suggested alternative approach to fixing the valves, as opposed to a replacement unit. I am not concerned about the additional noise, which is only a bit louder on start up from cold. I am more interested in keeping the car functioning correctly and budgeting for such costs. It is great to get insight from other people who are way more knowledgeable than I am and this helps me targeting where I need to consider spending my money.

[bogie]

One valve stuck on my 2012 Vantage Roadster, I didn't mind the extra noise and it was still stuck when I traded it in in 2024, I preferred the extra noise

The parts are not expensive, you can find valves for £65 ish on ebay, its just the labour involved in remove/cut/weld/refit the back box.

You may find a local exhaust garage that will do the job for a few hundred pounds of labour, or just save the cash for when something else needs fixing....

[EVR]

This also happened to me back then, this is my thread:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

And as said, the valves are now sold by DAE, I bought mine from Scorpion Exhausts at the time.

[LTP]

bogie said:

You may find a local exhaust garage that will do the job for a few hundred pounds of labour, or just save the cash for when something else needs fixing....

I'm pretty sure that getting the back box off requires removing the rear bumper, and that's not something I'd trust to a local exhaust garage to do on an Aston. Obviously your call

[EVR]

LTP said:

I'm pretty sure that getting the back box off requires removing the rear bumper, and that's not something I'd trust to a local exhaust garage to do on an Aston. Obviously your call

In my case, that was not needed. I have pictures of the job back then, check the above linked thread.

[Nigel_O]

The valves on mine were stuck open when I bought the car. I had them freed off by a local mechanic - lots of penetrating oil and some wiggling of the actuators. They stayed free for a couple of years and then one stuck open again this summer. I freed it myself this time - it’s not hard.

[Astonmannow]

Thanks for the info. When the weather warms up a bit, I will check this “no cost” option first.