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I did the clutch change on Thursday afternoon and finished on Friday Afternoon.
Al the parts worked well end it was a lot of work but actually very simple..
The gearbox came out easy and I do not have a gearbox jack, so I came up with this Idea.
The Cargo strap hold it in place while stripping of the Sideshafts and the cables, wires.
The sub Frame is a nice place to attach the straps.<br/>
Once the box was free I tied another strap to the frame and box. I could then drop the gearbox on to a table with only guy balancing it.
I was a pity that the torque tube could not get past the manifolds. All the work to remove the manifold, but it was the only way.
The old clutch was not on the rivets yet it was finished. I think the linings get old and brittle. It also looks like the linings only gripped on the inside of the flywheel and pressure plate.50% only worked.
I also replaced the bearings on the propshaft while it was out.
I also used 2 straps to lift the gearbox back in place.
All done and the test drive. The clutch was very soft on the paddle. Can not believe it is the same car. I also found the 1st and 2nd gear was not as smooth as with the old clutch. As I drove the car more on Sunday I think the Flywheel and pressure plate got polished and the changes became smoother.
The engine revs came down slower, that took getting used to. The revving up was quicker. The clutch grip is insane. Wheel spin on pull away and on conering if you get carried away. The best upgrade for any manual Aston.
If you have any questions regarding this work please ask. I enjoyed it so much.
Great work, I thought that a special tool was needed to compress the clutch and also alignment tool? Did you have to take both exhaust manifolds out? Like all owner mine will require changing at some point and I want to make sure I can do the job myself, thanks
Great work, I thought that a special tool was needed to compress the clutch and also alignment tool? Did you have to take both exhaust manifolds out? Like all owner mine will require changing at some point and I want to make sure I can do the job myself, thanks
I believe the special tool that compresses the the pressure plate is only needed with the dual disc clutch packs normally found on the v12 models
You do not need any special tools.
I used the propshaft to align the clutch with the pilot bearing.
I did pull it out from the Torque tube before the tube was removed.You do not need to compress anything. The pressure plate diaphragm do go down a little as you tighten the bolts on to the flywheel. That happen to all pressure plates.
You only need to remove the Left side manifold. The torque tube will not clear the manifolds. A little right twist of the torque tube and it drops free.
This clutch is the double clutch from the V12. This is also a original Aston clutch. The Flywheel is not Aston made. But it is made from Chrome Moly steel, and not the usual cast iron.
The box had the shipping address on from Aston in the UK. All bolts was 12.9 graded.
To remove the pilot bearing from the crankshaft I measured the propshaft that fits in to the pilot bearing.(19.00mm) So I made a bolt , rod , shaft of 18.90mm.
Then you fill up the cavity with plenty grease behind the bearing. Knock the bolt in with a hammer and the grease will push the old bearing out!!
Last edited by Aston40; May 16, 2017 at 03:23 AM.
Reason: need to add stuff
The exhaust ports. And a clean Engine My wife says it is OCD! I need to read up on that OCD stuff.
Long Cable Tie through the Torque tube. I did this incase I need to lift the frond end of the propshaft. By pulling on both ends of the cable tie it will lift the propshaft. Before it gets to the clutch plates.
The lightweight flywheel and twin-disc clutch is a huge improvement over the stock V8 setup.
I just want to throw this out there - From everything I have read and been told, it is not possible to properly torque the bolts that hold a multi-plate clutch unit to the flywheel without compressing the clutch pack. Tightening the bolts against the pressure of the plate stack can result in the bolts stretching or breaking or the clutch pack warping since the frame is aluminum. I'd rather be safe than sorry, since the clutch setup in question here costs as much as a good used car.
I have the Velocity AP twin-disc clutch and flywheel setup in my car and you can use a standard clutch compression tool that costs like $150 on ebay if you get the proper size bots to thread into the clutch housing. I made my own tool for $0 out of a scrap plate of steel, a small section of pipe, and some bolts.
The lightweight flywheel and twin-disc clutch is a huge improvement over the stock V8 setup.
I just want to throw this out there - From everything I have read and been told, it is not possible to properly torque the bolts that hold a multi-plate clutch unit to the flywheel without compressing the clutch pack. Tightening the bolts against the pressure of the plate stack can result in the bolts stretching or breaking or the clutch pack warping since the frame is aluminum. I'd rather be safe than sorry, since the clutch setup in question here costs as much as a good used car.
I have the Velocity AP twin-disc clutch and flywheel setup in my car and you can use a standard clutch compression tool that costs like $150 on ebay if you get the proper size bots to thread into the clutch housing. I made my own tool for $0 out of a scrap plate of steel, a small section of pipe, and some bolts.
I don't think the issue are the bolts stretching or breaking. That said I believe there is a valid concern that the twin clutch pack ( thicker than the single clutch assembly) can warp under uneven compression. This is where the clutch compression tool comes in. I also think that if one were to tighten the twin clutch in small incremental steps, a satisfactory install can be accomplished without the clutch compression tool.
Thanks for the information and photos. I just ordered a kit yesterday and will be performing my own install in 4-5 weeks or so.
Jeff, do you have any photos of the tool you made for compressing the V12 clutch? I thought about the commercially available tool and some bolts to interface to the clutch housing. I would rather make something though.
