Hi fellas, just got a 2012 v8 vantage S Sportshift last week and there’s a sound that’s bothering me, hoping to get your help diagnosing the source (video posted at the end).

It’s like something is vibrating, same sound you would get from your computer speakers when your old cell phone was right about to get a phone call.

Happens when I’m in gear and at low speeds, although might happen at higher speeds but it would be drowned by the exhaust sound. In the video i’ve marked a red dot when it happens. Also happens when i change gears.

Previous owner added VAP power and exhaust packs.

Anything to worry about? Garage I did the PPI at said it was normal but i’m having doubts.

Thanks

 

bump ^

 

Flywheel chatter?

 

Could be, previous owner installed a new clutch about 5k km ago. Is that something normal for these cars or cause for concern?

 

If it was lightened, they tend to be noisier. How's the car shifting? Maybe you can find another V8V Sportshift owner local to give it a drive?

 

If you feel vibration from the rear, consider transmission mount and inquire if fluid was changed.

 

So I messaged VAP with the video I posted above for some guidance. Chris answered saying: "That’s not the common “chatter” we hear, the rattle I hear in the videos sounds like a heat shield touching the body over the catalysts."

Does that sound like a better diagnosis than flywheel chatter? The car has VAP X pipes installed so might've been a mistake by the shop that installed it before I bought the car.

Anyone here ever had this issue on theirs? How much work would be needed to fix this?

 

If it's a heat shield, get the car on a lift and inspect. Should be able to bend enough to not vibrate.

 

Quick update on this issue: Took the car to the dealer here in Toronto (Gran Touring - avoid if possible). They got the car up, quickly inspected and said the heat shield was damaged and the sportshift pump was vibrating. Didn't fix it but charged me over an hour for the diag at an exorbitant rate (I had a few other issues with them this visit, I left very unhappy).

So I took the car to an indie shop (Clarkson Fine Cars in Oakville, which I do highly recommend if you're in the area looking for an Aston tech, they know Vantages and are honest). The tech says the SS pump is well secured in place and can't find an issue with the heat shield. He fastened an exhaust clamp that was a bit loose but couldn't find the source of the vibrating sound inside the cabin. We spent time troubleshooting but couldn't find anything that made it any better or worse.

The vibration feels like it comes from under the center console. Today I also realized it could be reproduced even with the engine off but the ignition on when cycling through reverse, neutral and 1st gear. The next step will be to remove the exhaust pipes to get better access to the area under there eventually. I can live with it for now but it gets very annoying.

Let me know if you guys have any idea what it might be. Feels like I will be chasing this one for a while.

 

For some closure on this issue in case anyone looks for a solution in the future. It was a pump line in the transaxle area that was vibrating against the heatshield and reverberating into the center console. It just needed to be bent out of the way, no more annoyance now.

 

Unexpected turn of events for anyone following this story: I got stranded in traffic in the middle of a busy street last weekend with the dash showing FAULT NO GEAR CHANGE POSSIBLE. Car went into neutral and wouldn't go in drive or reverse so I had it towed to my mechanic. I had nightmares of having to replace the clutch or the entire ASM pump system.

Turns out the steel pressure pipe that was causing the vibration had developed a tiny hole in it where the hose at fault was rubbing it and that hole was somehow blocked by the way it was positioned. When they moved it out of the way last time to fix the buzz, it started leaking and squirting out fluid at every gear change(check out the video, looks like a fuel injector hah). They ordered and installed a new pipe ($375 CAD + labor) and all is well now. Just happy the pressure loss didn't happen to me on a busy highway. Surprised I was able to drive ~400km from the moment they bent the pipe out of place until this happened.

 

similar from another post. zoom in and you see same thing as your video

 

Thanks for posting. Is this an ASM 1 or ASM 2 problem? I recently had my 2 hydraulic rubber hoses replaced on my ASM 1.