My dealer (Motorcars of GA) quoted me around $1100 for a 1 or 3 yr service and about $1700 for the 2/4 yr service. They do run specials every once in a while and the primary tech there (Jason) is great. Currently they have 15% off of any annual service for anyone that is in the ATL area.

Gear oil - I read through the gear oil thread and seems like you can use a cheaper alternative, but there are some downsides, as you state telum. I feel like Irish is always reasonable in offering cost effective ways to keep our cars running (DIY tips, suggestions, knowledge, etc) and he wasn't exactly promoting the use of anything other than the Aston recommendation.

So.. jumping back to this, does anyone have any insight on if the gear oil a true wear item that only needs to be replaced at 40K miles (as the Aston service link above implies) or is it something that really needs to be done on a time interval regardless of miles?

 

Other than saving to the tune of 800-900 every 4 years, what is the downside of not changing it?

Its rare that people will put 10k miles a year, and I think 4 years is reasonable to refresh the fluids.

But no, I have not read anywhere that the oil has a shelf live (does not mean its not true)

 

$800 to change the gear oil??

BOT270 Gear oil at $70/qt x 6 qts (rnd from 5.5 req) = $420, plus tax = ~$450 for gear oil
$800 service cost - $450 fluid cost = $350 labor/misc cost

Any 75W90 gear oil at $75/case + $350 labor/misc cost = $425 total service cost.

You can cut the service cost almost in half by using normal gear oil. Like I said, the downside is the 1-2 shift when cold. But these cars originally shipped with Shell Transaxle Oil 75w90 (direct copy-paste from the WSM).

Not advocating one oil over another, nor an indie over dealership. Just putting that out there in case the maintenance cost is too much of a concern.

 

Quite a while back Irish07 stated that in North America the dealers use Castrol SynGear 75W90 along with Kendall Diff Additive.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...xle-oil-2.html

Is this still the case?

 

Used to be 75w90 but they changed to a new formulation to improve shifting when the gearbox is cold. If I remember correctly, it basically amounts to a 70w90 (but I could be wrong on that). The formulation might be custom, which means the cost is extremely high due to low-volume.

I've been running 75w90 in my '07 V8V the entire time I've had it. Using Castrol Syntrax or something like that. Original owner had Royal Purple 75w90 in it.

If you're looking to stick with OEM, you've got options. OEM supply for fluids are based on a combination of engineering requirements (ie, viscosity), cost (all things being equal, the oil company with the sweeter deal will get the contract), and availability (if an oil isn't available in two different markets, and two different markets use different oils for that reason, there are technically two OEM oils - seems like a conflict/discrepancy, but it's just a matter of what's available that meets the engineering and pricing requirements).

 

Time, not miles!
My Vantage is an '09, I just replaced the gearbox oil at 12k miles. It looked horrible, I doubt the previous owner changed it, due to the low mileage on the car. I work for a dealership in Las Vegas, and the local Aston dealer gives me dealer pricing on parts, so the oil worked out to about $46/liter. I went to my friend's shop, asked if I could use the lift, we did the swap in about 45 minutes, and I gave him $40 for using the lift.

Damn thing still hates going into 2nd when cold, maybe I'll take it in and see if they'll warranty it.

 

Check to see if it has the updated shifter linkage if you haven't already

 

Sportshift, doh!

 

Do you do the clutch learn each time to start up the car?

 

Yessir, start it up, wait for the click under the car.

 

Regardless of where you have the car serviced (If not at the Aston dealer), I would strongly advise you to buy the genuine Aston oil filter and hand it to the mechanic.
I know that some Jaguar filters and some aftermarket filters will fit-but its not worth the saving!
Every time I have a visitor from England and they ask "What can I bring"-I answer Aston oil filter thanks. I probably have more in stock than my local dealership!!!

 

I've heard of people swapping on non-OEM filters, and it's frankly terrifying. Just because it fits, it doesn't mean it's compatible. The primary difference is the internal bypass valve pressure rating. It's very high in the OEM filters. I looked into having custom ones made and there was a massive upfront investment required. The oil filters are one thing I'd definitely keep OEM.

 

I don't recommend the updated shifter linkage. Not worth the additional 700 or so dollars. I had service bulletin 0237 done and while it fine in the summer, if it gets below 40 it still won't go into 2 gear until it warms up. My advice, forget the shift linkage. Buy the bot 270 oil from the dealer and change it yourself or have an independent change it

 

Sorry I meant Service Bulletin 0236

 

Amsoil makes a 75W-90 manual transaxle GL4 oil (don't use GL5 oil because it causes increased synchro ring wear) for about $12 per quart. Get Castrol TWS 10W-60 engine oil from a BMW dealer at a fraction of what AM dealers sell it for.