hello all, its the second time i tried to change the air filter on my rapide, i must remove the undertray, i was told it was possible to do it without removing the undertray but i could not, i got myself 4 tools to unscrew the air filter screw and i could not make it the second time. my floor is made of stone and i am using jacks and cant lift the car too much, max 33 cm. hard to remove the under tray. before i do it again, i am asking those who did the air filter change on a rapide, not a db9, db9 in some case seems much more simple and faster to remove these 7 screws, on the rapide i spent 20 mn to remove 4 screws fighting with 2 or 3 tools it s a real bummer.
anybody has already done it with a rapide and can show me the tools he used and if yes or not he had to remove the undertray, a flexible screw driver an articulated screw driver and a wrench who stops working good with such angle making it more dificult again, the front bumper disturbing you for the left screws and the plate disturbing you for the right screws....and the wrench not doing his job when you turn it, or the screw too tied yet to unscrew by hand and no room for tools, and i easily spend 20 mn for 3 screws there...
even with a lift i feel it will be the same damn bummer.

 

You do not need to remove the under tray to replace the air filter on a Rapide.
Just remove the wheel liner and then you can access the air box from the bottom.
Remove the 6 screws that hold the cover, pull the cover down, and that will give you access to the filter element.

 

hi, i talked to you long time ago, well for me it has been a nightmare, i can't do it like this. and its 7 screws i believe.
i wanted to warn you about this too and Botbol who owns a rapide here too. in case you didnt knew, mine has one of this hole plugged too from debris.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=70&t=2115637


on the right side of the filter ( the side facing the engine) there is 3 screws, the one in the middle ( I cant even see it, i can only feel with my fingers there is a cavitie starting and i guess its where the 7th screw is for that one i can take the tray off, in case its 7 screws like db9,.)

one time I could quit 6 screws but i could not open the cover so i believe there is 7th unless i am wrong. its second time i tried without removing the undertray, 3 or 4 screw hard to remove the ratchet not ratcheting back etc.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=70&t=2115308&i=40

i am unsure if yours is like mine, i have been trying super hard to do it in vain. i had ordered and tried like 6 different tools flexible etc....

or if there is only 6 screws then after i did removed them all, i may not have been able to remove the cover cause it was stuck there ? i do not know now?

if i look the diagram at scuderia, it shows 5 screws only and when you buy they provide 9? so nothing to help me there...

i did an oil change and could remove the oil filter inside a ziplock bag i was proud of myself. but here now i am really struggling, so i want to know if there is 6 or 7 screws and or if its good to really pull out that cover after 6 screws removed? or if there is a 7th one, i talked to a french guy at aston passion he did too, without removing the undertray so i am pissed off. but he talked about 7 screws too i believe. some cars may have 6 some may have 7?

when i was trying to pull the cover out after unscrewing 6 screws, the cover was geting out but was stuck with resistance that was coming straight from where i feel the cavities and possible 7th screw? you see what i am saying?

look i just got this image now showing 7 screws, the middle on the right side is the one i can't removed. i can't access it, with 5 dif tools i tried., that's why i want remove the undertray.
do you remember how you did? do you have two tubes underneath them blocking access? did you enter the screw driver from the bottom or from the top of the plate on right side or did you guide the top of screw driver from the top part inside the tray? not sure you understand? i tried to enter an articulated screw driver there but i could not even find the screw head....not even a single time....what i did wrong? how did you did it? which tool? which movment you did with both hands?

i put tape around the articulation of the screw driver to maintain the top better, it did'nt helped me. i tried with a flexible screw driver i could not, i tried with some drill flexible extension 2 different ones and i could not. I tried with a ratchet wrench with extension and same.

 

I was just able to do this on my DB9 without removing the undertray. It's pretty tight, but you can reach it with a tiny 1/4 hex-bit ratchet, a 4" extension, and a torx bit. The airbox screws are 7-8mm but they also have a torx socket molded into the head. Use whichever one you have on hand to reach it.

 

with respect i do not think its the exact same set up on the rapide than the db9, i really don't think i can get this screw with this as i have exact same one, two of them and extension too, i doubt everything now and even those with a rapide having the same as mine due to the diffculty i have i doubt they are the same really. i should have shoot a video twice i did'nt. anyway thanks my ratchets maybe slightly different i will compare them.

 

You'll have to pull on the bumper to access the last screw:

 

I had mine replaced about 6 months ago with BMC's I found a deal on. Mechanic changed them and he says it's just the wheel liner. Under tray not necessary.

 

this side is pasenger side, i am trying on driver side so the right side screws are on the opposite side of bumper.



i dont think so, i had to pull on the bumper for the left side screws, for the right side screw its the plate that disturb me to access, i do not think pulling the bumper for these will help, not sure you understand which one i am having trouble with, my air filter box is very inclined, like 30% inclined, not flat at all. how is yours? and i have two half inches hose blocking access from underneath? if i had asked the dealership maybe they threw me away cause my car was such a pain to service...
in my case i am trying the driver side one on a lhd car, here on this image below is the side i have trouble but not on pasenger side but driver side unit. but its not even the 2 hose blocking access its the angle the screw driver must take to reach the screw head that is hard, i tried twice maybe a total of 3 hours underneath without success.
seeing the dificulty if it still the same and no solution, i will remove the undertray but since i can lift the car more than 33 cm due to my floor i won ttry to remove the under tray more than that and i am thinking not screwing back these 7th screw, is it bad for the airbox to have 6 instead of 7 screws? there is a bypass one did on his db9 by drilling two holes in the undertray but the rapide wont allow this as its different. that is why i wander really if some car have them much harder to reach than others.
here it is, rapide will allow only 2 cm deep inisde engine sside than 4 cm so not sure it will really help, there is a structure on the rapide that block this access at 4 cm on the images...

https://en.aston-martin-club.com/forum-topic/db9-air-filters-173

 

if there was an independant here i will do the same but there is nobody. how much was the coil service appart from astonbits bummer?

 

GA-db9,

look at this drawing, the second drawing i tried to picture your ratchet i wont be able to go on the right side much and then on the left side as first drawing, not sure the air box in the db9 is as inclined

as mine and as deep, the plate on the right impeach any movments, only an articulated screw driver maybe able but i could not.

i need to go up on the right side 4 cm and then turn on the left side at 90 degree angle.

again,.

 

Send a picture, it will make more sense to us.
Seems like something is off on your air box.
The air box is not inclined on the Rapide.

 

i will wait 10 days to receive the new jacks, the car is on his wheels now but nothing is off on my car its juts like this.
not even sure i will try in 10 days if i don't find any more help, cause i can't lift it enough to remove the undertray, i may wait 1 year to go to Bordeaux to have it done.
i have tried too many times already. i m done. my air filter has 8000 kms but 4 years. car has 40kmiles.

an image will show you nothing thats why I drew it, an image will show you the 2 hoses blocking access and no view there. you may not even have these 2 hoses on yours too?
i can describe it cause i threw my hand inside to try to understand how it is, that s why i didn t shoot any video too.
its maybe something they ve done when the car was on the nurburgring, and these airbox oriented differently (at least where is this screw as the bottom of the box is flat) )require the whole undertray off to be removed. i will try later to see if i can get the tray off. when i threw my whole hands inside i reach the starting point of the cavities i am maybe 6 cm away from the screw head, almost with my whole hand entering it its long....so its like 5 cm on the right and 12 cm on the left to reach the head screw or more.

maybe instead of trying to enter the tool from underneath i rather try to unscrew this screw from the top of undertray instead? i didnt tried that maybe it will work, not sure i have access from the top will try later i don't remember well how it is . but trying to unscrew that one like the 6 others from the bottom may not work for sure as i tried hours.


i order the ratchet db9 GA showed me but i doubt i can do it with these, maybe if i can try from the top of tray instead not sure if there is access i don't remember well how it is now. my air box maybe lightly decalled more inside the undertray than others making it dificult for this last middle screw, i can access the first screw and last screw of this right side but not the middle one. i ordered two pair of 6 tonnes jack instead of 3 tons jacks, so my jack now can hold 12 tonnes while they could hold 6t before, they are just 2,6 mm thick with 6 tonnes and i wander why they dont make massive strong jack so people can feel super secure instead of going from 2 mm to 2,6 mm, why not doing 5 mm thick and this will be it.

 

The micro ratchet will allow you to reach around the side of the airbox on the engine side above the undertray and still have room to work the screw out. The airbox graphic above for the Rapide looks identical to the DB9 aside from the different bumper configuration.

 

so you think i must try to unscrew this screw from above the undertray instead of from the bottom? i understood well? or you re saying i must try on the side from the bottom i doubt but i will try, my guess is to try to catch that screw entering my arm inside on top of the undertray and trying to locate the screw from there? but maybe there is no access and i am wrong and if from the bottom side i can't get it with your ratchet then my only option is to remove the undertray.
as i was convinced that all screws are being removed from underneath the box and plate, later on i thaught about this yes.
i ordered same ratchet as you showed me plus another same one with a light angle at the top.
i am worry its so dificult to unscrew i will never be able to screw it back this way if its from underneath, if there is a way from the top of the tray without removing it i will try, this might be easier. manual says its not needed to remove filter and cover before but in his video you can see its really needed

maybe the dealer has constantly took the whole box off each time and thats why its not well placed now? as 1936aston video shows when he needed to do so he did removed the airfilter and cover first so i am confused and prefer not to touch it .

its what i am getting ready to do, instead of removing the undertray i try removing the whole air box. and like said the person who guided me in France i also clean the maf sensor, by the way while i am there. i was told i don't need to remove the air filter or the cover on the rapide to do so it was easy to take the pipe out, a guy with comon sense will find out these 7 screws are good to weaken the hell of you if you attempt to do this from the bottom, you rather take the whole box out and do the job normally not like a penguin


can i use these on a rapide too?

 

You can certainly remove the whole airbox. There are four rubber isolators. One way up front, one close to the wheel on the frame and the two facing you that you can see with the fender liner removed. You'll have to rotate the MAF tube a couple degrees after unscrewing screw at the bottom Be very careful with the plastic tab on the MAF tube. Is is extremely easy to break off if the tube isn't fully seated when you install the screw. The MAF tube is easier to rotate if you loose the snap clamp at the top and from the throttle body. This is easiest to do with a Clic-R hose clamp plier.