Rolling along slow in or out of the garage I could hear a quite ‘Rattle – Rattle – Rattle’ in my DB9. Not like a loose nut and bolt, but a quieter shuffling rattle. While I was washing the car one day I finally found the source – the Wheel Center Cap on one rim was loose, and could flop around making the noise.
The center caps are a beautiful painted piece with the Aston Martin wings on them, but they are still just made out of plastic. They just press/snap fit into the center hole of each wheel. 13 years in the California sun and heat takes its toll, and the fingers on the back of the caps weren’t springy any more. Each time the tires have to be changed they need to be removed, so that’s at least two or three times. Worse yet, I eventually discovered the one in question had been damaged, and a quick fix with some epoxy employed to hold the cracked tabs in place. DPO (damn previous owner).
Changing them is a pretty simple task, and here’s how to do it. Continue reading “How to Replace the Wheel Center Caps in an Aston Martin DB9”
There are lots of reasons you might Torque the Wheel Nuts on your DB9, but its anytime you’ve had a wheel removed or perhaps you are getting ready for a track day and should double check they are properly torqued. I can tell you there is absolutely a wrong way to do it – just using an impact wrench and hammering them on until the gun stops turning. Read on to learn the right way. 
Aston 1936 