Manifold Assembly Exhaust (LH/RH) DBS 2010

[Scottsanders]

Hi,

Hoping I can get some advice before I make a decision on some works suggested by Aston Martin during the last service. I have had an 'Emissions System Service' warning light on for some time, but when I took it in to get it checked about 10-months ago, AM told me it was a leak in vacuum harness, and therefore wasn't urgent, as may just mean that it fails the emissions checks.

Fast forward to the service, and although no new warning lights have come on, they are now saying that the CATs need to be replaced, as the honeycomb is disintegrating, and this could damage the engine - they showed me a video that they'd taken and there were particles bouncing around in the CATs by the looks of it.

They are suggesting that I replace the LH and RH Manifold Assembly Exhaust at a whopping 4900 GBP each, and whilst I'll of course get the work done if it's necessary, it wouldn't be the first time that AM have suggested replacing something that doesn't need to be replaced in its entirety, so wanted to check:

a) do you need to replace the entire exhaust when replacing the CATs; and
b) would anyone suggest an alternative to AM doing this work? i.e. can this type of work generally be done quite safely by a specialist garage who won't have the AM price tag?

Any advice gratefully received!

Regards,

Scott

[Scottsanders]

Hi Caslad - thanks for the advice! I'd heard about the decat option, but I'm not based in the UK, so I'd need to find an alternative to Bamford Rose in Dubai who could do this type of work. Same with the Quicksilver manifolds - I'd need to ship them here, so not sure how economical it would end up being. I'll look into it though.

[Scottsanders]

Hi LTP - thanks for the advice too! The reason given by AM is misfires caused by a faulty engine fuse box, so I'll have that fixed first to ensure that the misfiring is also resolved. I might change the coil packs and plugs too.

[Scottsanders]

Gents, tell me if you think I’m being paranoid here, but I asked for the video that they had taken that demonstrates the honeycomb debris, as it wouldn’t be the first time that AM in Dubai have suggested work that doesn’t need to be done, (very different to the UK!) and the videos look suspicious, mainly because the debris is

a) obviously near the exhaust outlet passed the secondary Cats, and nowhere near the engine, and;
b) seems to be moving towards the outlet very quickly, so unless there is about half a kilo of debris passing through the exhaust on a daily basis, this might be BS!

I can't find a way to share the videos on here, but I think I’m going to ask them to show me the issue in real-time through an automotive endoscope!

[Scottsanders]

That was something else that wasn't clear, as they decided to film it without sound :/ They may just have been banging the exhaust from underneath, as on further inspection, it doesn't seem to be a rhythmic movement of the debris

I'll try to upload them, and send a link

[Scottsanders]

No, they haven’t shown me any direct evidence of the cat issue!

[Scottsanders]

No, they haven’t shown me any direct evidence of the cat issue!

[Scottsanders]

UPDATE: So AM have viewed the honeycomb through the O2 sensor holes, and whilst they can't see any evidence of any damage *at this point* they think that the primary CAT's are beginning to fail, and this is why there is powder evident near the end of the exhaust.

So in short, they are saying that they could fail at any time, so in order to avoid any engine damage, I should replace them now.

Does anyone have any idea how much you can buy the OEM manifold exhausts for in the UK? It may be cheaper for me to buy them and ship them here.

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[Scottsanders]

I've asked them to open up the O2 sensors again, and provide videos of all 4 primary cats, so I'll see what they come back with.

The fact that they are now saying that they didn't see any damage when they opened them up before, tells me that maybe this is a case of them planting evidence in the end of the exhaust, in the hope that I'll get scared and approve the job!

The service industry in the UAE is *very* different to other parts of the world, as there are a lot of people that just pay up for whatever the garage is suggesting, without really demanding evidence of the issue!

Let's see - I'll post some images from the videos when they send them through

TIA

Scott

[Scottsanders]

Thanks for the advice, Felonious - I'll give BR a call and see what they have.

[Scottsanders]

Caslad & LTP - I completely agree it sounds odd! I called and spoke to the technician who sent the videos, and he admitted that the debris which was visible in the videos was near the end of the exhaust, and when I asked him if he had viewed the primary CATs with a borescope, he hesitated, and then said yes they had done this, but hadn't seen any evidence of damage!

I have asked him to open up the o2 sensors again, and provide videos of all four primary CATs so I should be able to share what they find soon. I definitely think they are trying to scare me into replacing the exhaust manifolds, as they charge around 5000 GBP per exhaust out here, so will be a nice increase in revenue for the annual service!

Let's see though.

Thanks,

Scott

[Scottsanders]

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[Scottsanders]

Gents, the images above have been taken using the borescope. A few of the images look like there is some unevenness in the surface, although it may be multiple images of the same spot on the honeycomb, as they all look very similar.

Anyway, what do you think?

Thanks in advance!

Scott