Just 5,800 miles on it and apparently the clutch is toast. I had shifting issues with it about 9 days ago, took it to AM of Washington and at first glance thought it was the slave cylinder for the transaxle, but now have ruled that out as well as all the 'simple' things. They told me they noticed clutch material 'residue' by the bellhousing that was wasn't normal as well. So they said they needed to pull everything apart and wanted authorization to do so - and I told them to go ahead. I've owned the car since October and got it with 4,700 on the clock, so I have no idea how the adept the first owner was at driving it. There is no warranty on the car.

So, the question becomes - go with OEM parts and let them replace with similar or look for a stronger clutch such as RSC Racing's unit:

http://www.rsctuning.com/product_inf...roducts_id/897

I do know how to expertly drive a manual transmission car (in case you are wondering) so I have no concerns about my driving tearing up a new clutch, moreso trying to determine if the OEM Aston Clutch has a weak area in the parts and if so, what are they?

TIA in advance.....

 

Absolutely replace it with the RSC bits, and go with the lightweight flywheel while you're at it! It's similar money, better (lighter, stronger), and there's no reason not to, really. I bought my car with 9000 miles on the clock, and at the PPI the service manager at the dealer told me he thought the clutch was at 50% life, purely based on feel. Who knows how accurate that feel comment is, but he does see a lot of these. I about freaked out; 50% clutch at 9000 miles? I have 125,000 miles on my original 2000 BMW M Coupe clutch, and that's with 30+ track days and it doesn't feel like it's letting loose any time soon. Everyone says the clutches on the Vantage are a known weak spot. The RSC part addresses some of that, and should last longer. The lightweight flywheel is a bonus, if you go that route (watch the youtube clips... it definitely revs freer). Once I dug into it I'm almost waiting for the clutch to go now so that I can get my "upgraded" clutch for similar money than a stock clutch. Knock on wood... I don't really need that expense right now, though. :-) But it'll be a no brainier for me when it does go...

David

 

Hi Duane,

Sorry to hear about the premature failure of your clutch. They can last a good amount of time on these cars - I have heard of a number of cars at 50,000+ miles and still on the original clutch. Having said that it does seem that poor treatment has a particularly deleterious effect on the Vantage clutch. Not much you can do about that, a previous owner will have done all the damage. You pays your money and you takes your chances I guess!!!

Shoot me an email - Stuart@RSCTuning.com or call me on 786-325-7529 and I would be glad to discuss the options with you. Call me any time.

 

Also, since the car isn't under warranty I'd take it to a high end auto repair place and have them replace the clutch - you'll likely save a ton on install. For mine, sport shift, I paid $2,970 for labor & $1,940 for the clutch itself.

 

Duane wow a new clutch with less than 6K miles, that's crazy! For any car, heck Ferrari and lambo have better replacement histories than that. Maybe the previous owner did not drive it well (either didn't know how to shift properly or beat on or maybe did not drive it regularly enough w proper shifting). Regardless of the case, you may like to go w some stronger parts, the DB clutches seem to last a LOT better than the Vantage which many have said the clutch is the weak point in the driveline for the v8v. The DB cars use a dual disc clutch while I think Vantage uses a single one. Man sorry you have to do this only after a few months of ownership, that's some bad farkeling luck!

 

Get the RSC clutch disc, they engagement point is so much sharper, and it solves most of the notchy shifting issues. The lightweight flywheel is not mandatory, you can keep your current stock disc. I actually like the stock heavy heavier flywheels because it's easier to do smooth starts from a stop than the lightweight flywheel which bogs alot more.

Definitely get the clutch disc tho, it's a must.

 

I'm sorry but that is totally incorrect. Our clutch & flywheel package must be replaced as a unit, the RSC Clutch is not compatible with the OEM flywheel.

 

Thanks for the advice, guys. I went over to Aston Martin of Washington DC today on my K1600 (it was 70 degrees out!) to go see what was going on. My Vantage was up on the lift, gutted. It's fairly intensive to do a clutch tear down, the driver's side exhaust manifold has to come off and that doesn't look like much fun at all.

The Clutch was burned up. $ 5K job. They already had the new flywheel in the car and the clutch disc and pressure plate are due in tomorrow, which kind of made the RSC setup a moot point. Tim, the Tech, says he sees this all the time from people that don't know how to drive a manual transmission.

I bought the car from this dealership just 90 days ago and put on about 1,000 miles during that time and though it was sold with no warranty, Pieter, the General Manager, knows that I don't have difficulty with a manual transmission. He said "This is not good that you should have to stand this expense and I know who owned this before you and suspect that individual was responsible for the abuse on the clutch, we will help you out with the cost of all this". We didn't discuss in exact terms who would pay for what, but I was relieved and grateful that Pieter offered this up as it would have left a bitter taste for me otherwise.

It should be ready to go with an all-new clutch later on this week. You know, I REALLY like this dealership - its an extremely friendly place full of genuinely nice folks that love cars, and they've stepped up to the plate on this. Kudos to Aston Martin of Washington DC for being a class act. I'll detail the final work and costs when i pick it back up again.

Oh, and they are taking (5) Astons to the Washington DC Auto Show including a 2013 Vanquish. Good to see them with a presence, even though its terribly expensive to rent a space for it.

 

That is nice. What a relief.

 

Very good to see the dealership going to bat for you and absorbing this cost. (or some of it at least)

Would make me loyal to them.

 

Was the problem just a totally worn clutch plate and nothing else? The reason I ask is that when my V8V clutch failed, two of the 5 long pins holding it together had failed and the clutch plate assembly was coming apart.

 

I think you should name the dealership as a positive PR plug for them going above and beyond for such great service. They deserve the good press with customer service like that!

 

That's incredible that a dealer would step up like that. Really really impressed.

 

It was burned up, you could see the scorch marks on the flywheel. When they get hot like that, everything either glazes over or the throwout bearings and the spring 'fingers' no longer function as they should. You can see the black burn marks on the flywheel face.



My car was originally purchased new at Aston Martin of Washington so they knew the owner and he traded in on a 2012 Sportshift model. It was amusing to hear them say "Oh yah, that was owned by **** *******, you know, that short attorney from ****** and he was not the best driver". That told me all I needed to know about a burned-up clutch!

They apologized to me and said they should have checked the clutch before selling it to me, knowing the prior owner - but you know, it drove just fine when I bought it 90 days ago so I'm not going to take them to task on that. Plus I did drive it 1,000 miles so who's to say I didn't have a bad de-clutch somewhere along the line? They have to be thinking that, too. I think a 50/50 split on the cost is reasonable for the repair and would be very pleased with that. We'll see how it comes out in a few days.

Two other photos as well, some of the parts taken off to install, and the Vantage with the new flywheel already in it. Note that the driver's side exhaust manifold has to come off to access the clutch.

 

Car is Ready. Total bill : $ 5,186.24
Discounted : (- $ 786.24)
Final Charge: $ 4,400.00

I was hoping they would kick in a little more, but it is what it is.