So you're pretty much saying that the other cases of this happening to these Astons can be chocked up to some type of owner abuse? Hard to believe as some have stated that "newer" Astons don't have this problem at all.

 

I noticed you didn't answer my question about if you bought the car at Thrift Auto? Does that mean you did?

Yes, there are a few cases like yours but your acting like all DB9's will eventually be affected. I have several friends who also own a 05 and 06 DB9 that have had no issues what so ever with their cars outside regular maintenance. Did we just get lucky? Doubt it! One of my friends who daily drives his 05' DB9 will be pushing close to 80k miles this coming June. What makes his car any different than yours when it was new? What about the 100k mile DB9 that was on eBay not to long ago? Did he get lucky as well? I know it sucks to be the unlucky one with a bad DB9 engine but spreading propaganda that all DB9's will suffer the same fate is just not accurate.

Unless you bought your car brand new there is no absolute way of knowing if your car was treated right. However, you can take proper precautions to limit your risk in getting a bad car -- service records, reputation of dealer/owner, condition, PPI, etc. When I was searching for a DB9 3 years ago several Aston mechanics told me to make sure these cars never run low on oil and to always change the oil at the recommended interval. I have always lived by these recommendations and the car has treated me very well.

 

Sorry if my tone came off defensive. I was just making an observation that only these "older" DB9's have been reported with this issue, but none of the "newer" DB9's. It just seems like, however remote these cases have been, the early ones were infected. Also, no I didn't get it from Thrifty Auto. I'm not sure if I could ever buy ANY car from a company named that (not knocking anybody that does).

At the end of the day, I'm just trying to find some type of resolution for this.

 

The reason I asked about Thrift Auto was because they are known for selling beat up cars.

As some other posters have pointed out the only resolution is going to require a full tear down of the engine to see what's going on in there. I know you keep bumping this thread to the top hoping for a simple solution but you're being overly optimistic. Good luck with your car and I hope you get it fixed right!

Dan

 

Actually I'm not bumping this thread on purpose. Merely giving updates or replying to others. At this point, I'm in agreement with you as far as the ultimate resolution. And thanks for the well wishes.

 

Hello my colonial friends,

I'm in England and I have a DB9, mine had the, "tick", I tried everything, pretty much the entire thread on this subject is me and what I did, Including Bamford Roses, "denial", bit, that is true as well.

After living with the tick for about 12/18 months or so, I am an expert on the V12 tick.

Why do certain people get it an others don't? Variable reason I guess, but a biggie for mine was, overheating. Don't all rush to your typewriters to tell me your dial is fine, mine was too. My radiator was blocked up, so instead of a nice cooling radiator, I had a nice warm blanket. Engine got hotter and hotter and every single thing that Bamford Rose said.... happened. I even have photos of the problem.

I was experiencing oil pull, oval cyds, ticking. Everything.

Eventually the only way to overcome the problem was to have the engine stripped down and renew all the bearings, rings etc etc etc etc ..... wicked engine now.

If you look at the small end bearing, the old 450bhp engines are just a ring. In the new replacement Bearings, there is a grove in them. This stops oil starvation to the small end bearings. I have a photo of this as well.

My eyes are tired and i'm off to Noddy Land, but please re-read what Bamford Rose has said, everything he said is spot on..... including the denial bit :-(

Clear out your radiators, or replace them, in England they are about £350.00, I replaced mine (I have photos of that to) I also changed my Thermostat with a Vanquish (new shape) one that opens at 10C lower than the standard DB9.

My tick is gone and the engine runs as sweet as a nut. I will forever be careful to ensure that the engine runs as cool as can be. .... please PM me with any questions.

You will need to PM me as I only just joined this forum and I won't be able to check it regularly.

PS, I used to use a forum in England, but the sarcasm was so bad I came off it.

 

Listened to your video and mine was exactly the same ..... I have videos too of that sound .....



The small end bearing on the left is an old one and the new type on the right, you can see the grove for the oil cut into it .....

 

Nice to hear from you again Maverick -- it's been a long time. I think you'll find a warmer reception here than you received on PH

Glad to know you got your car running again, though I shudder to think what you've spent to do it.

 

Welcome to the forum! Definitely appreciate the input, and look forward to seeing you on here!

The condition of the 4.3L in my V8V is always a lingering concern in the back of my head. Not that I don't take care of it, but I do drive it really hard. Seems like a tear-down and rebuild can solve a lot of potentials on the V8 as well as the V12.

 

Welcome the the forums and thank you very much for chiming in on my post. I will be PM'ing you soon.........

 

Golden1, I am curious as to who you have brought the DB9 to in the Sacramento area. Walnut Creek just opened a new dealership but there are a few independents around (Stewarts, possibly Salerno's).

 

I tried 3 different independents, including Stewarts. All of there course of action involved oil change and adding thicker oil or some type of oil additive. Stewarts was the last place I told it. They told me that if the additive doesn't work, which it didn't, they would consider doing a breakdown but didn't think it was worth the trouble because it's "just a noise". I'm wonder how much a breakdown would cost including the actual fix (small end bearings)?

Never heard of Salerno's. Was thinking maybe Diamond Autosport also.

 

Salerno's is a Ferrari and Porsche specialist in Rocklin. Super nice folks, but do not work on Aston. They referred me to Stewart's for a PPI and have had an exceptional relationship with Matt.

 

UPDATE

So I started thinking about MaverickV12's statement about the car overheating. The last few months I have been driving the car from time to time. I normally wouldn't drive it in weather that is cold enough for me to not drop the top but I've driven it anyways. And I've noticed that when the weather is less than 65 degrees F, that the car never ticks or takes a really long time (maybe hours) before it starts ticking. Weather above 65 degrees F, the tick comes faster (90+ F, tick will start within 15-20 mins).

So I took MaverickV12s advice and looked into the possible overheating. I ordered a new thermostat and I just removed the radiator. Took the radiator to a radiator shop nearby and they did a quick pressure test..........30% clogged.

So I'm not sure how bad 30% clogged equates to or even if the outside temp truly affects engine temp. But it's a start to some troubleshooting.

I will keep y'all posted.......

And a special thanks to MaverickV12 for chiming in on this.

 

Thanks for that info. And you're right about the paddle shifting, it will most definitely make the ticking happen faster. I noticed that when I first started hearing it, so I completed stopped using the paddles (though, you're right about it being boring plus the paddles at the higher rpm range REALLY makes these cars sound super aggressive).

But I'm not convinced that it's an exhaust leak. I've been experimenting with a few things. One thing that "helps" is the addition of an oil cooler with a fan attached. I remember MaverickV12's statement about the car possibly overheating. So I tried to get the coolant down a bit but it still did the same thing. But if the engine get up to temp so fast, why does it still take quite a while before the ticking starts? A little research and it appears the oil temps take a longer time to get to it's "peak" than it does for coolant temps. That's what made me concentrate on getting the oil temps down. So at first I added the oil cooler but it really didn't make any difference. So then I attached a fan to it and it has made a pretty good difference.

So now the ticking happens under these circumstances:

1. If outside temps are VERY hot (I live in Sacramento CA). Around 90+ tends to eventually set it off.

2. If I drive around for awhile, turn the car off (gas station, etc), then turn it back on within minutes of turning it off. So I'm guessing that since the fan isn't running, the oil temps have surpassed the "ticking" temp. But after I drive for a few minutes, the tick tends to go away (fan back on).

3. Paddle shifting. Looks like the higher substantiated rpm's drive the oil temps up really high.


When I bought the fan, I actually bought 2. I didn't attach both because the 2 were just a tad to long for the oil cooler that I purchased. Some i'm just running 1, which covers around 60-65% of the cooler. I'm going to go ahead and add the second fan somehow, and see what 90-95% fan covered will do for the issue.

I hope this helps and please keep me posted on anymore findings.