A V8V clutch for 400 USD?

[Greathey]

I know this guy fixes cars on the cheap but 400 bucks for a clutch?
I also tried to figure out what oil filter he purchased for 1 dollar that actually fits a V8V but couldn't.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMP5twe-GO4

[Jon39]

Had to stop the video after only 20 seconds.
If the presenter wants to run down Aston Martin in public, I am not interested in anything he says.

A fitted new clutch for only $400? That must be with free fitting.
What does the fitter and his family live on, breadcrumbs?

[Greathey]

He does the labour himself but still a new clutch for 400 is something. I did buy a kit from AM Nottingham 2 years ago for over 2800 gbp.

[Jon39]

Greathey said:

He does the labour himself but still a new clutch for 400 is something. I did buy a kit from AM Nottingham 2 years ago for over 2800 gbp.

Over £2,800, just for parts !!!!!!

A twin plate with parts, labour and VAT is about £3,500.
I don't know the fitting time, but labour cost must presumably be a major portion, because of the torque tube/rear transaxle arrangement.

[onny]

Greathey said:

He does the labour himself but still a new clutch for 400 is something. I did buy a kit from AM Nottingham 2 years ago for over 2800 gbp.

He didn't get a new clutch. He used the old clutch plate and had it re-lined which is a much cheaper option as long as the clutch itself is still ok.

[BiggaJ]

This guy has been spoken about before on here. He does all his own work and the clutch was relined, basically taking the old clutch out and adding new friction material to it.

The oil filter was bought on line and he did another video to show the difference between the one he bought and several others costing between $20-50 and there was no difference.

I'm not saying I would put a $1 or £1 oil filter on my Vantage but there you go.

I did speak to Vantage Engineering about the clutch re-lining and they knew of people that would do it however, they didn't recommend it because a lot of the cost in replacing the clutch is in the labour. if the re- lining isn't done well it will give issues and thereby further labour to sort it out. But if you are going to do all the labour yourself then it might be worth a punt.

[Jon39]

To own an Aston Martin and then to be proud of having the cheapest possible maintenance, will never achieve the complete enjoyment of ownership. What next after having a clutch plate relined? Second hand brake pads; retreaded tyres; paint damage repaired using a brush; plastic vinyl to repair Bridge of Weir leather damage; use the cheapest petrol. The mind boggles.

He may never experience the delight of a twin plate clutch, lighter flywheel, P4S tyres, and a power and sound enhancement.

Oh well, each to their own choice.

[embdenb]

BiggaJ said:

This guy has been spoken about before on here. He does all his own work and the clutch was relined, basically taking the old clutch out and adding new friction material to it.

The oil filter was bought on line and he did another video to show the difference between the one he bought and several others costing between $20-50 and there was no difference.

I'm not saying I would put a $1 or £1 oil filter on my Vantage but there you go.

I did speak to Vantage Engineering about the clutch re-lining and they knew of people that would do it however, they didn't recommend it because a lot of the cost in replacing the clutch is in the labour. if the re- lining isn't done well it will give issues and thereby further labour to sort it out. But if you are going to do all the labour yourself then it might be worth a punt.

Anyone who goes through the labor of removing a defective clutch from an Aston Martin, and re-lines the defective clutch, IMHO, is an idiot.
So, a you-tuber does a video that shows there is no difference between his $1 filter and filters costing $20-$50?
And we believe him? Utter nonsense. There is a YouTube channel called Project Farm (I believe) that did an oil filter comparison on all the major brands. Unlike this guy, his comparison compared not only construction, but relief valve designs/operations and microscopic comparison of the filter material along with the amount of material in each filter. His conclusion?
There are significant differences in oil filters, with Fram filters amount the ones he recommended.

[BiggaJ]

embdenb said:

Anyone who goes through the labor of removing a defective clutch from an Aston Martin, and re-lines the defective clutch, IMHO, is an idiot.
So, a you-tuber does a video that shows there is no difference between his $1 filter and filters costing $20-$50?
And we believe him? Utter nonsense. There is a YouTube channel called Project Farm (I believe) that did an oil filter comparison on all the major brands. Unlike, his comparison compared not only construction, but relief valve designs/operations and microscopic comparison of the filter material along with the amount of material in each filter. His conclusion?
There are significant differences in oil filters, with Fram filters amount the ones he recommended.

Wow, dont shoot the messenger sunshine, I haven't stated I agree with his findings, I merely commented on what the guy had done. Have you viewed the video's mentioned?

I'm also aware of Project Farm ... the guy with the incredibly annoying voice but he appears to run some good tests.

[john ryan]

Nothing wrong with re-lining a clutch driven plate provided all the components are good, the correct spec lining is available, and the flywheel and clutch cover are serviceable. Actually he installed a replacement paddle type driven plate, but there was no mention of whether it matched the characteristics of the original, which I very much doubt - but I expect it would work fine as a torque transmitter. Plainly the labour costs would lead a sensible owner to go the OE route, even if not going for a twin plate. Personally I find the release load of the single plate clutch OK, and mine shows no signs of distress at 45K miles.

[hueyhoolihan]

anyone that has had manual friction plate wear out, and does their own work knows that they can be relined. similar to buying a re-tread tire. for the most part, people haven't been doing it for three or four decades, due to reliability problems.

but this guy doesn't care. if you've ever watched his videos you'll understand. to be fair he readily admits he's throwing these cars together. IMO, essentially because he can create "click-bait" titles that pull in viewers.

♫ "to each his own" ♫ is what i say.

[embdenb]

BiggaJ said:

Wow, dont shoot the messenger sunshine, I haven't stated I agree with his findings, I merely commented on what the guy had done. Have you viewed the video's mentioned?

I'm also aware of Project Farm ... the guy with the incredibly annoying voice but he appears to run some good tests.

Was I a bit harsh? Sorry about that, I just hate these YouTube so called mechanics who will do anything for their “clicks”

[BiggaJ]

embdenb said:

BiggaJ said:

Wow, dont shoot the messenger sunshine, I haven't stated I agree with his findings, I merely commented on what the guy had done. Have you viewed the video's mentioned?

I'm also aware of Project Farm ... the guy with the incredibly annoying voice but he appears to run some good tests.

Was I a bit harsh? Sorry about that, I just hate these YouTube so called mechanics who will do anything for their “clicks”

No worries ... I can see your point.

[cadman]

there are a few you-tubers that have owned and worked on V8 vantages. i follow them for entertainment value
as well as some invaluable information. after watching the complete video playlist of samcrac changing the clutch, i take it as a how to remove and replace,it is now a job i would do myself when time comes.not a hard job really
just time.

[LTP]

cadman said:

there are a few you-tubers that have owned and worked on V8 vantages. i follow them for entertainment value
as well as some invaluable information. after watching the complete video playlist of samcrac changing the clutch, i take it as a how to remove and replace,it is now a job i would do myself when time comes.not a hard job really
just time.

Well I admire your courage and you're braver than I am, especially if you were thinking of doing it on axle stands like he did. But, having sat through the video and watched how he and his assistant had to juggle things like the transmission out, I did wonder "How the bloody hell are you going to get that back in when it came out like that?". Needless to say the video did not answer the questions - "abracadabra" and it was all back together.

There's another couple of videos worth looking at. One where he tries to fix an oil leak from the rear crank seal of his Ferrari's engine by adding some sort of miracle gunk to the engine oil (in a Ferrari engine!) that's meant to do something like make the seals swell. This because he doesn't want to take the transmission out as he's got 50% wear left on his clutch, despite being told by experts it's the thing to do. Needless to say, it didn't work. Six months and virtually no miles later he's having to take the gearbox out because the clutch failed, possibly because of oil contamination, or because it had been ragged to death by a previous owner, or both.

Then there's the supercharged Range Rover he bought cheap where the engine wasn't running because the valve-train had got out of time and pistons had hit the valves. I wrote a long narration of the subsequent litany of woes but decided against it - watch the videos yourself if you're interested. But "Spoiler Alert", despite having sunk $000's, he had to dispose of a supercharged Range Rover where it looked like the valve timing was still out and the pistons were still hitting the valves.

Not a YouTuber to take serious advice from, IMHO

[Jon39]

LTP said:

Not a YouTuber to take serious advice from, IMHO

I was the first to reply on this topic.
In line with your comment above, I can sometimes make a correct judgement about people, very quickly.