So what have you done with your Aston today? (Vol. 2)

[Manners79]

Collected from MOT and service. Needed 2 new downstream lambda sensors and a brake light switch. I’d done a couple temp fixes on the latter but the brake lights were doing the staying on thing more and more so it had to be sorted. Found a supplier of the part for £12.50. Aston quoted ten times that (same part, same part number). Did my legal ‘straight home after MOT’ journey and taxed it first thing! A month later than usual but I was away a lot in April. Now to put some miles on it to get value for money out of those lambda sensors!







ETA: ooops advert for the garage that did the service was accidental but FWIW I’d recommend them. A good alternative for this sort of routine stuff to my usual specialist who currently has long wait times.

Edited by Manners79 on Sunday 1st May 08:43

[Nigel_O]

BGB autosport said:

Like this bracket on the rapide, this is all that stops your kids from being crushed under the weight of the door should it fail..... Oh and if it does fail it with cause significant damage to the sill/skirt/door

Edited by BGB autosport on Sunday 1st May 07:32

Good grief! That looks like something from a 20 year old sea-going dinghy.

Given AM’s obvious design / material specification skills with many other parts, what possessed them to save a fiver by using cheap mild steel over stainless or aluminium?

[bullet7]

Nigel_O said:

bullet7 said:

I definitely didn't take the bumper off to get the grilles out on my 2007 V8V, is yours a later model?

Same as yours - 2007

From what I can see, there are several bolts that are hidden by the bumper - facing backwards, not downwards, so not possible to get out

I was trying to recall when I did this job. It must have been when I replaced the nearside rear parking sensor and for that I only needed to loosen the bumper to reach it. Otherwise, the bumper has never been off the car in my ownership. Good luck though, it's a worthwhile job.

[Composer62]

Composer62 said:

M1AGM said:

Composer62 said:

M1AGM said:

Removed, dried out, sealed and refitted the driver’s side rear light cluster.

If it doesn’t work and the moisture returns next winter I’ll stump up for new, thought it worth a try for the summer months.

I thought I'd have a go at that but I'm not sure where to start to be honest.

On my 4.7 roadster I guess I'd need to remove the boot lining first ? I can't see any obvious bolts.

I had a head scratch moment too. On the redpants video there are three caps with bolts clearly visible inside the boot. On my 14 DB9 there was just a liner with no bolts or caps showing. After a bit of experimentation I found that you can easily pull some of the boot seal off (it goes back on fine), then peel off the liner where the seal was (it’s glued but doesnt take much force to get it off). That then exposed the 3 bolts/nuts for the light unit, which from then was easy to remove.

Thanks I'll check that out and report back

Curses, foiled by the power outlet\battery disconnect in the roadsters boot. Couldn't get to the third bolt. I was doing quite well until then.

[Zuman]

Installed a rear anti-roll bar on my '06 DB9 Volante. An easy one-hour job, and less than $325 total for a used bar from eBay, new droplinks and fasteners from Scuderia, and new polyurethane bushes from PowerFlex.
Huge improvement in keeping the car flat while cornering!

[Import]

Prepped and polished…then a run with my new friends..the old English car club ..Thompson region..

[Longy00000]

Having enjoyed a day with Palmersport at Bedford Autodrome and almost 600 miles later it was time for a good old wash n polish. [url]

|https://thumbsnap.com/nQMuXY46[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/1F6Z8gLF[/url][url]

Edited by Longy00000 on Monday 2nd May 15:15

[BGB autosport]

Nigel_O said:

Good grief! That looks like something from a 20 year old sea-going dinghy.

Given AM’s obvious design / material specification skills with many other parts, what possessed them to save a fiver by using cheap mild steel over stainless or aluminium?

The layer of paint on the back had become structurally integral.... It was all that was holding it together.

Appalling really when you consider the price of the car when new. The replacements were only 7 quid from scuderia! I did both and would advise any Rapide owner to check their rear doors.

[robt350c]

BGB autosport said:

The layer of paint on the back had become structurally integral.... It was all that was holding it together.

Appalling really when you consider the price of the car when new. The replacements were only 7 quid from scuderia! I did both and would advise any Rapide owner to check their rear doors.

Thanks for the advance warning of this, do you have to remove anything to check?

[Phuketpaul]

Took the Volante in for 4 wheel geometry the other week after upgrading the chassis (http://db9s.com/chassis/) and fitting a rear anti roll bar, but they couldn't adjust it at all as the rear eccentric bolts were seized to the nuts, they applied a little force and the first bolt snapped.

So all new nuts and eccentric bolts at the rear (and the other bolts too), fortunately none of them were seized to the bushes so they came out easily.

Then the front bolts, all seized and the castor bushes were seized to the bushes so had to be cut out, so all new polybushes on the lower front wishbones, not an easy job, though I might break my press getting them out!

So all new eccentric bolts and nuts and new poly bushes at the front

[BGB autosport]

robt350c said:

Thanks for the advance warning of this, do you have to remove anything to check?

Nope, just open the rear door and it's bolted to the underside, the gas strut is attached. I noticed it after spotting flakes of rust on the sill!

[Emily's dad]

I’ve just dropped mine off at Vantage Engineering for its service.

Not used them before, but so many good reviews and less than an hour from home.
Did have to wait two months for a slot, they are that busy.

Much Aston loveliness with cars from all eras in the workshop and car park.

[LPH]

Fitted some front stone guards.

If anyone buys a set from Aston Martin Bits please ignore the instruction to drill 2 10mm holes in each arch liner for the fixings (on earlier cars) as it's wrong......you need to drill a 8mm hole.

10mm is far too big for the fixings suppled

[LTP]

LPH said:

Fitted some front stone guards.

I was idly contemplating these to try to reduce the splash up the side of my V8V. Any chance of a picture from further away to see how much they blend in, Leigh?

[TR-Spider]

Did a track day - my track toy was unavailable, so had to take the Vantage.
Conditions were "interesting", wet and 5-10°C, so perfect for summer tires...
Lots of slipping and sliding - good fun though.

[LPH]

LTP said:

I was idly contemplating these to try to reduce the splash up the side of my V8V. Any chance of a picture from further away to see how much they blend in, Leigh?

No probs. Will get a pic for you tomorrow.

[LPH]

LTP said:

I was idly contemplating these to try to reduce the splash up the side of my V8V. Any chance of a picture from further away to see how much they blend in, Leigh?

Here you go (not great weather this morning!)

[morty1961]

LPH said:

Here you go (not great weather this morning!)

Hmmm wonder if these will fit on my 2009 V12V sideskirts?

[LTP]

LPH said:

LTP said:

I was idly contemplating these to try to reduce the splash up the side of my V8V. Any chance of a picture from further away to see how much they blend in, Leigh?

Here you go (not great weather this morning!)

Many thanks Leigh - they blend in a lot better than your original close-ups indicated. And as my car is Onyx Black they would probably be even less noticeable.

Worthy of serious consideration....

[BiggaJ]

Emily's dad said:

I’ve just dropped mine off at Vantage Engineering for its service.

Not used them before, but so many good reviews and less than an hour from home.
Did have to wait two months for a slot, they are that busy.

Much Aston loveliness with cars from all eras in the workshop and car park.

What's your verdict on VE Dave?