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.

 

I think I may have discovered a clue to my problem. The reason I never noticed the tick when I first bought the car was that I would always drive with the transmission in "D". I was just getting used to the car and hadnt used paddle shifters before. And naturally, the engine shifts at 1500 RPM and its very boring. Normally, I use paddle shifters and shift somewhere around 3000-4000 RPM. So just the other day it was 90 degrees outside and I decided to drive around in "D". All over the place and on the highway. Almost imperceptible ticking. Engine nice and hot. When I went back to the paddle shifters, the ticking began again in just a few minutes. Also noticed that the ticking gets louder when the RPM's are higher. This is sounding more and more like an exhaust leak to me. I seem to get a noticably louder tick from the exhaust vs valve cover when using a stethoscope. Tick seems louder under the car than over it too. Anyone have any thoughts or further tests? Its almost like the exhaust manifold is heating up and creating a small gap somewhere.

 

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.

 

 

Status is still pretty much the same. It's been 100+ weather out here for the last couple of weeks, so the ticking starts up within an hour of driving. When it starts ticking, I just drive it home so I won't be embarrassed by the noise. 80 degree and below weather I can drive for quite a while with little to no ticking. The increase in outside temps most definitely has an affect on it, which is mind boggling to me.

 

I recently purchased a 2005 DB9 and i'm having what seems to be the same issue. My ticking is not as loud though. How many miles have you put on the car since you discovered the ticking?

Has anyone else found a resolution to this other than the engine rebuild?

 

Not sure about an engine rebuild. Ticking has to be in the valve train. There in no way that Aston is not aware of this and what the solution is.

 

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​​​​​​I put on another 1000-3000 miles on it since the ticking started.

 

They most definitely know about it. And I bet it would be a pretty expensive fix on their behalf if they put out a recall on it. But it's not causing physical harm to anybody so they just sweep this under the rug. Smh.

 

I've included a video where the sound can be heard. Mine also only ticks when it reaches and stays at operating temperature for a bit. I remember MaverickV12 saying that he changed his thermostat to the Vanquish one which results in the engine running cooler. Has anyone else tried this? I'm wondering if a cooler running engine will help since it seems the tick only occurs when the car is hot. Mine is a 2005 and has the updated dipstick but i'm not sure when that update occurred and if it was ever run low on oil. Unfortunately, it didn't tick during test drive and I neglected to have a PPI done. This will be a weekend car and I'm wondering how long I should/can keep on driving it before having it stripped. It seems that folks with the tick have lived with it for years.

 

 

I'm assuming a flushed/new radiator and new thermostat didn't help? Maverick had mentioned that he replaced his thermostat with the one from the Vanquish, which appears to be the same part number as the one used in the 2013+ DB9. This supposedly opens 10 degrees celsius cooler. Is this the one you ordered? It seems that I may have to, at some point, break down and have the engine rebuilt if it is the bottom end issue. I'm just thinking that since the tick doesn't start until the engine becomes heat soaked, that perhaps it running cooler would stop the tick.