2009 Aston Martin Vantage V8 engine rebuild

I would like to document an engine rebuild I did last summer on a 2009 Aston Martin Vantage V8 4.7. Engine was seized due to oil starvation and spun main bearings. Even with all bolts loose on the main bearing girdle and me hanging on a 3 foot breaker bar off the crank pulley it would not turn.

I called Lake Forest Sports Cars in Lake Forest, IL for parts. Right away I was told they can sell me everything needed except engine bearings. Those were not available at all. I could have went next door to Imperial Jaguar but I had a better idea in mind. I contacted ACL bearing company to discuss custom bearing options. In the end of the day I was able to source main and rod bearing in tri-metal contruction from the ACL Race Series.

Original fasteners in the engine were torque to yield design. This means fasteners have to be replaced every time then are tightened and loosened. Official Jaguar and Aston Marin literature suggest main and head studs can only be tightened 2 times before requiring replacement. I contacted ARP for custom fasteners. Head stud option from ARP was possible at a cost of almost $1000 for a set. It did not seem bad for custom made studs but the lead time of almost 10 weeks was a definite turn-off. I talked to ARP about main stud as well and they were of great help. They were able to provide main studs at a very reasonable price and short lead time.

I contacted CP/Carillo for forged piston and connecting rod option. Cylinder bores were worn and AM does not offer an oversize piston option from the dealer. I sent a sample piston, pin, clips, and ring pack to CP for measurements. Three weeks later I had a set of forged piston in 0.5mm oversize. Carillo made a set of connecting rods as well. They are H-beam design and actually lighter weight than the stock powder metal units. Carillo rods were made in custom small end size, crankshaft rod journal was machined in custom size, so that an off-the-shelf ACL Race Series rod bearing could be used.

There was a lot of machining involved in repair of this engine. Oil starvation cause then engine to seize, crankshaft damage, camshaft damage, and cylinder head journal damage.

Block machining:
1. cylinders bored/plateau honed
2. crankshaft main journals align honed

Crankshaft:
1. rod journals spray welded
2. rod journals reground to custom size
3. main journals reground 0.010″ under also for custom size bearings
4. custom wood-ruff key machined from 4140 chrome molybdenum steel used for retaining oil pump gear

Cylinder heads:
1. camshaft journals polished(luckily did not require grinding)
2. cylinder head journals align hone to size(way too much oil clearance)
3. cylinder head machined for exit of align hone mandrel in Bridgeport mill
4. cylinder head plugs machine in a CNC to be used after head is align honed

So far the engine has 2,000 miles and runs flawlessly. The car had to go back to the dealer only to have the transmission recalibrated. Flywheel was lightly resurfaced and the clutch engagement point had to be calibrated by a tech.

Pictures say a 1000 words so I will proceed.

Engine disassembled for inspection to find the following carnage: