Hi all, new poster here.
I have a 2004 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante with the 5.9 V12 motor. Currently on 42,000 miles, it developed an annoying 'ticking' noise when hot and at idle/low rpm at around 32,000 miles. Over time a number of these cars have developed similar symptoms, but no-one solution has been found. I have had all my hydraulic valve adjusters/rockers replaced recently, and whilst this has lessened the volume of the 'ticking' it has not eradicated it. Now it may be that my motor has a more deep rooted problem (bearings, sleeve wear?) that would necessitate a full rebuild - but I won't have the funds for that kind of work for some time. There is also a very strong suspicion within the AM owners community that there is a weakness in the early V12s oil system, that leads to low oil pressure when the motors have a few years in them. The car is in the UAE, where ambient temps range from near 50C in summer to 15C in winter and it is often dusty; I always warm the car up before setting off, and only drive it sparingly; when I do it is for occasional short, steady trips and sometimes longer, faster ones. Although I sometimes rev it through the gears up to to 5500rpm (redline at @6500) I do not 'thrash' the car. AM recommend Mobil 1 0W40 for the oil, but AM dealerships with experience of these cars are increasingly recommending 5W50 or 10W60 oils; I now have the latter in my car. The reason for my post is that I have been reading several articles advocating the use of thinner oils to increase flow rather than thicker ones to increase pressure. One of the believed causes of this 'ticking' noise at low rpm when hot, is that the hydraulic valve adjusters are not working correctly in this situation due to 'low oil pressure'. Does that make sense, and would a thicker oil to increase pressure be the way to alleviate that issue? Alternatively, and what sounds more valid to me, should I use a thinner oil to improve oil flow around the motor and to the valves especially? Mobil themselves now recommend 5W50 Peak Life for this motor, and that is what the UK dealers are using; but does the environment here in the UAE mean I should go thinner?
If thinner, then options could be 0W30, 5W30, back to 0W40 (although noise started when I was using that), 10W40 and so on. There is also Valvoline's Engine Armmour that could be considered....
All comments would be welcome; cheers, Ray.
I have a 2004 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante with the 5.9 V12 motor. Currently on 42,000 miles, it developed an annoying 'ticking' noise when hot and at idle/low rpm at around 32,000 miles. Over time a number of these cars have developed similar symptoms, but no-one solution has been found. I have had all my hydraulic valve adjusters/rockers replaced recently, and whilst this has lessened the volume of the 'ticking' it has not eradicated it. Now it may be that my motor has a more deep rooted problem (bearings, sleeve wear?) that would necessitate a full rebuild - but I won't have the funds for that kind of work for some time. There is also a very strong suspicion within the AM owners community that there is a weakness in the early V12s oil system, that leads to low oil pressure when the motors have a few years in them. The car is in the UAE, where ambient temps range from near 50C in summer to 15C in winter and it is often dusty; I always warm the car up before setting off, and only drive it sparingly; when I do it is for occasional short, steady trips and sometimes longer, faster ones. Although I sometimes rev it through the gears up to to 5500rpm (redline at @6500) I do not 'thrash' the car. AM recommend Mobil 1 0W40 for the oil, but AM dealerships with experience of these cars are increasingly recommending 5W50 or 10W60 oils; I now have the latter in my car. The reason for my post is that I have been reading several articles advocating the use of thinner oils to increase flow rather than thicker ones to increase pressure. One of the believed causes of this 'ticking' noise at low rpm when hot, is that the hydraulic valve adjusters are not working correctly in this situation due to 'low oil pressure'. Does that make sense, and would a thicker oil to increase pressure be the way to alleviate that issue? Alternatively, and what sounds more valid to me, should I use a thinner oil to improve oil flow around the motor and to the valves especially? Mobil themselves now recommend 5W50 Peak Life for this motor, and that is what the UK dealers are using; but does the environment here in the UAE mean I should go thinner?
If thinner, then options could be 0W30, 5W30, back to 0W40 (although noise started when I was using that), 10W40 and so on. There is also Valvoline's Engine Armmour that could be considered....
All comments would be welcome; cheers, Ray.
