2006 4.3 V8 Clutch Gone
Discussion
So, annoyingly just as i put mine up for sale - a trip to Goodwood at the weekend seems to have killed my clutch. It felt fine, wasn't slipping at all, then sudden 2-stage movement and horrible feel - now been told likely to be down to a spring in the clutch breaking as happens on these, annoyingly.
So - it's currently booked in to my local AM who serviced it last week for a new clutch - who i hasten to add has been very competitive on price (sorry Bamford).
Now pondering whether to upgrade clutch/flywheel. Any thoughts guys? Would you consider buying a car with an upgraded clutch/flywheel (and would you pay more for the upgrade as a prospective buyer) or should i just stick to standard and sell it like that? Or get it done and run it for another few months whilst the summer's here...
Sometimes i hate cars.
So - it's currently booked in to my local AM who serviced it last week for a new clutch - who i hasten to add has been very competitive on price (sorry Bamford).
Now pondering whether to upgrade clutch/flywheel. Any thoughts guys? Would you consider buying a car with an upgraded clutch/flywheel (and would you pay more for the upgrade as a prospective buyer) or should i just stick to standard and sell it like that? Or get it done and run it for another few months whilst the summer's here...
Sometimes i hate cars.
My thought FWIW would be that if you are immediatly selling the car replace the clutch with OEM and new owner then knows he has 'full clutch life expectancy'. Uprating will provide him with better kit but you are unlikely to acheive a higher price to reflect the extra cost - why would a new buyer want to pay more when he knows he can barter you down to price on comparable vehicles. If you are keeping the car then upgrade is worth considering - you get the benefit and then a new onwner in due course might be more interested in your car because he knowns the risk of a failed clutch is much reduced.
Ice27 said:
Yup, I agree with the above answers.
If your selling it, put the cheaper standard clutching.
If you were keeping it. I'd put the upgraded clutch and flywheel in.
Out if interest, what are the approximate costs of these two options, for comparison.
Standard clutch, slave cyl, flywheel etc approx £3k vs upgrade at approx £4.5k if i recall.If your selling it, put the cheaper standard clutching.
If you were keeping it. I'd put the upgraded clutch and flywheel in.
Out if interest, what are the approximate costs of these two options, for comparison.
crashley said:
Standard clutch, slave cyl, flywheel etc approx £3k vs upgrade at approx £4.5k if i recall.
No point in fitting an upgraded clutch if you are selling as a) you won't get the benefit of enjoying it and b) you won't get any more for the car over having fitted a standard clutch.Out of interest, how many miles did you get out of the old clutch?
v8woollie said:
No point in fitting an upgraded clutch if you are selling as a) you won't get the benefit of enjoying it and b) you won't get any more for the car over having fitted a standard clutch.
Out of interest, how many miles did you get out of the old clutch?
34.5k miles.... 1st clutch i've ever gone through, on any car. Having now checked, likely be down to regular reversing up a hill. Almost schoolboy error from what i read now!Out of interest, how many miles did you get out of the old clutch?
crashley said:
34.5k miles.... 1st clutch i've ever gone through, on any car. Having now checked, likely be down to regular reversing up a hill. Almost schoolboy error from what i read now!
Sounds like a long-life for an Aston clutch 
Reversing up hills shouldn't be an issue for a modern day clutch assembly, but in the Aston it is normally accompanied by a burning smell (which I believe is similar to the smell of burning £50 notes!). Not sure if Aston clutches are just not as good as others or if it should be an expected part of Aston ownership.
I suspect not ds2000 said:
Long geared reverse apparently. I have heard near on 70mph 
I've heard this too, though would assume that means people slipping the clutch to compensate?A design flaw that must surely have been spotted during development. Unless they didn't have access to a revised ratio (how much would that have cost in the overall scheme?) or changed something else (diff ratio?) at the last minute.
OP - did you have to have the car recovered?
Murph7355 said:
I've heard this too, though would assume that means people slipping the clutch to compensate?
A design flaw that must surely have been spotted during development. Unless they didn't have access to a revised ratio (how much would that have cost in the overall scheme?) or changed something else (diff ratio?) at the last minute.
OP - did you have to have the car recovered?
Nope, managed to get it back from Goodwood to Essex without problem (didn't suffer any traffic woes), just had to be careful with it for Dartford tolls etc.A design flaw that must surely have been spotted during development. Unless they didn't have access to a revised ratio (how much would that have cost in the overall scheme?) or changed something else (diff ratio?) at the last minute.
OP - did you have to have the car recovered?
Murph7355 said:
ds2000 said:
Long geared reverse apparently. I have heard near on 70mph
I've heard this too, though would assume that means people slipping the clutch to compensate?A design flaw that must surely have been spotted during development. Unless they didn't have access to a revised ratio (how much would that have cost in the overall scheme?) or changed something else (diff ratio?) at the last minute.
OP - did you have to have the car recovered?
ASM2 gets round the limitation and reverse is more like first
crashley said:
So - it's currently booked in to my local AM who serviced it last week for a new clutch - who i hasten to add has been very competitive on price (sorry Bamford).
The price of clutch change, due to the annoying regularity the thing expires at is a much debated topic on this forum. It would helpful to the forum readership if price to replace was a well known fact - the FAQ could also be correctly updated.Here is RRP price of parts required;
Clutch pressure plate and friction plate £956.00
Clutch slave cylinder £176.00
Flywheel £320.00
Catalyst gaskets £18.00
L/H exhaust manifold gasket £19.99
Consumables (flywheel bolts, sprays) £10.00
Total = £1499.99 excluding VAT
The additional price from this value to supply would obviously be to fit.
The book time to complete is about 10 hours (although in reality the task takes 7/8), so it will be quite easy to calculate from what is stated here how much any outfit is charging to fit the clutch.
Can you be equally as helpful and copy a breakdown of the invoice YOU ACTUALLY PAY TO DRIVE AWAY here??
BamfordMike said:
The price of clutch change, due to the annoying regularity the thing expires at is a much debated topic on this forum. It would helpful to the forum readership if price to replace was a well known fact - the FAQ could also be correctly updated.
Here is RRP price of parts required;
Clutch pressure plate and friction plate £956.00
Clutch slave cylinder £176.00
Flywheel £320.00
Catalyst gaskets £18.00
L/H exhaust manifold gasket £19.99
Consumables (flywheel bolts, sprays) £10.00
Total = £1499.99 excluding VAT
The additional price from this value to supply would obviously be to fit.
The book time to complete is about 10 hours (although in reality the task takes 7/8), so it will be quite easy to calculate from what is stated here how much any outfit is charging to fit the clutch.
Can you be equally as helpful and copy a breakdown of the invoice YOU ACTUALLY PAY TO DRIVE AWAY here??
No problem at all.Here is RRP price of parts required;
Clutch pressure plate and friction plate £956.00
Clutch slave cylinder £176.00
Flywheel £320.00
Catalyst gaskets £18.00
L/H exhaust manifold gasket £19.99
Consumables (flywheel bolts, sprays) £10.00
Total = £1499.99 excluding VAT
The additional price from this value to supply would obviously be to fit.
The book time to complete is about 10 hours (although in reality the task takes 7/8), so it will be quite easy to calculate from what is stated here how much any outfit is charging to fit the clutch.
Can you be equally as helpful and copy a breakdown of the invoice YOU ACTUALLY PAY TO DRIVE AWAY here??
It was nothing against you guys, it was just that the cost of parts, labour, the fuel to get there (and risk of it possibly needing recovery), hire car for 3 days and/or hotels and finding a free long weekend etc etc... As I'm down in Essex, it was just easier to pop it down the road- albeit the bill will be c£3k all in, I say hopefully
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff