I own a 2014 Vantage V8 with Sportshift transmission and want to replace the clutch. The only thing stopping me is, that I don’t own an AMDS and am concerned
about the clutch bleeding procedure.
A while ago I read on this forum that you can bleed the Sportshift clutch without an AMDS
by “Cycle from Neutral to 1st gear with the paddles...”.
Can somebody give me a bit more detailed instructions how that is done (engine running or ignition on only? Start position N or 1st? Cycle through once or repeatedly...)?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

FWIW I had brake flush AND ASM clutch flush done for $200 at my Aston Dealer.

 

Have you actually done this yourself? Take any pictures or video? Like many here, I'd really like to perform this, but am too concerned about immobilizing the car to try. I'm in Columbus, OH and the nearest dealer is in Cleveland!

 

You need to have the dealer clear the clutch memory when replacing with a new clutch, so why not have a dealer clear it and bleed after the install.

 

Hi Kanga and all, thanks a lot for your quick response. The bleeding procedure sounds pretty straight forward.
The reason I'm performing the clutch change myself is that I a; enjoy working on my vehicles and motorcycles and b; just received an
estimate from the Aston Martin Dealer for a clutch change for $8k (!).
I would mind paying the mentioned $200 for the bleeding, but the dealership is not exactly next door, and i have the car taken apart already for
the clutch exchange and might as well do it at the same time.

Thnaks again everybody!r

 

Understood, after your finished I would still have a dealer erase the current worn clutch memory from the ASM module. Any clutch replacement, ASM valve/solenoid kit or transmission R/R needs this done.

 

i paid $3600 for my OEM clutch, parts and labor... it's about 10 hours of labor as I recall... my dealer was willing to install velocity clutch kit also...

maybe do your c install, get car flat bedded to dealer and drive it back home...

good luck

 

Whether the dealer will replace with a "non standard" clutch seems to be up to them. My local dealer will not replace my single plate clutch with a "non-standard, 3rd party" AP clutch, but they will replace it with the "approved" AMR V12 two-plate clutch.

I haven't asked, but my guess is that they'll be about $6k for the job total, though it wouldn't surprise me if they quoted $8k considering their other prices and markup...

 

i got quoted 4k to have my new velocity AP clutch installed at my local indy Makes me want to install it myself too

 

I changed my clutch earlier this year. I got enough air out of the system to drive the car to the shop and have a proper bleed using the AMDS, update the TCM with the latest firmware and reset the wear index. I documented the process as best I could here: https://www.colortvset.com/aston-martin-vantage/aston-martin-clutch-upgrade/

 

Thank you for sharing! Beyond Awesome!!

 

Good share, lots of time and effort on your end. Now you're enjoying the rewards of DIY.

 

Hi ASMVantage, thanks for your excellent description, very much appreciated.
I first thought about upgrading to the velocity dual clutch, but since this would require machining of the torque tube
I decided to install the standard single clutch instead.
Perhaps you could help me again with two questions.
1; My car has 27k mls on it. The clutch currently works fine, only noticed once a light slipping when exiting (forward) the steep exit from
my garage. Do you believe that it's (always) necessary to exchange the flywheel? I haven't seen it yet, but if it's in good condition
could I just keep it?
2; Why is it necessary to have the clutch wear index reset? Doesn't the system "learn" the condition every time you cold start and run
through the "blinking N"?

Thanks again for you help.

 

Hi morasa,

1; Only my opinion, but I’d want to perform a few tests to see if you need a clutch. Maybe the TCM got confused the time the it slipped and it’s really just fine. I’d always change the flywheel with the clutch disc but more importantly, get the dual disc clutch package-the improvement is fantastic.

2; The wear index will be used by the TCM at some point to protect what’s left of the clutch and start behaving funny when near the end of life. You really should get it reset. This is different than the learn procedure.

Good Luck!

 

Bleeding it is one thing, but there are two other procedures you need to complete. One is to reset the clutch statistics (this can be done by AMDS or some aftermarket tools) and to erase and re-learn the misfire correction factors. AMDS is the only tool that can erase these on the later MY cars like yours.