Hi all,

I remember a while back there was a discussion about oil starvation and dry sump vs wet sump systems.

I recently came across this related video discussing oil starvation, and the effects thereof, on a DB9 with only 9,000 miles or so. The repair shop claims bad engine design and use of cheap Ford parts as the culprits.

Anyhow, they take the engine apart and reveal the devastating effects...

 

There was a thread about this on PistonHeads a while back. You might do a search there as I believe Mike of BR weighed in with his own assessment.

 

+1
As soon as I saw the title I knew that video was linked
The consensus on PH is the guy knows very little about engines the the smell of BS is strong

I've never heard of another Aston V12 VH based car going that way.

 

I searched PistonHeads, but couldn't find the thread. Has anyone found the thread and can list it here? (1) Looks like the guy ran low on Oil rather than a bad design (2) I hope Aston didn't use standard Ford Pistons in our engines.

 

Here's the PH link: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1121467&d=11754.54749&nmt=

 

Well, that doesn't mean there haven't been several. Why do you think Aston switched to a shorter dipstick on the early DB9s? Because several V12s died due to oil starvation due to low oil level. Shortening the dipstick resulted in a raised average oil level thereby 'curing' the problem.

 

And Speaking of "Dipsticks", my Boxster had an Oil level gauge on the instrument panel, so when you turned the key on it showed how much oil was in the engine. You could easily see when Oil was a little low (even less than 1 QT low). The joke was the only reason they still put a dipstick in the car was for the Americans who only trusted the dipstick and not the electronic measure and monitoring.

 

Most owners never check there oil levels(not stating its a case of anyone on here..just a fact in my area). Keep in mind most of these cars are driven for a whole year before serviced..

To consume 1L over 2,000mls is normal operation on a V12 cylinder engines for Aston..

Being a large number of clients ignored to check the oil levels, Aston did shorten the dipstick to take 1L extra..it was a service action to replace any found that were short and I believe a notice was sent out to all original owners on file (this was few years ago)..

So the engine runs on 6L and has 6L in reserve for total of 12L..so if 1L per 2,000mls is normal to consume, if you have never checked your oil level and go 12,000mls, you would be running on a thin line to oil starvastion..

Also on new cars, sometimes 2L per 2,000mls is normal to Aston for there V12 engines till the first year service..engines are broken in at the build but this is the break-in period..some may not agree but these are the specs in Aston training manuals

 

Good to know Irish, helpful as always.

I've been checking my DB9 oil level faithfully, always dead cold in the morning. It really hasn't dropped at all in 4,000 miles (6,500km) of nearly daily use. I drive pretty sympathetically, but I do use the power (lots, and often) once it's well warmed up.

My old 4.0 XK8 would have gone through a litre of oil by now, and I'm wondering if my DB9's low oil consumption is anything to be concerned about.

BTW -- I do have the updated dipstick.

Your thoughts?

 

I got my V8 w ~19k kms on it, oil was at 'full' end of the range, by ~22k (roughly 2k miles) it was down half way in the range and 1 L took it back to full. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

 

I try to check my oil level on my DB9 periodically, at least once a month, and check it cold when the car has been sitting in the garage for a few days or longer so the oil has time to settle nicely and drain back for an accurate level read.

 

I started a thread earlier this year on the topic, perhaps that is the one to which the OP is referencing.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...oblem-not.html

 

Not to be pedantic, but you've got it *** backwards there chief. They made the dipstick shorter, not longer.

 

OOPS! ..My bad, corrected it