Michael_D

I recall two separate, but similar ATI / LS7 damper failures over the past few months. They were buried in other threads.

If I recall, in both cases the damper was supposedly sent back to ATI for analysis to determine cause of failure.

I'd like to know what happened, and if ATI or any of the shops who routinely install this damper might have the whole story?

lt1z

I have had two ATI LS7 balancers fail over the years. They were both caught early enough to avoid damage luckily and were replaced by ATI

FNBADAZ06

AzDave47 had a failure on his recently, but I don't know if CPR was ever able to determine the cause.

Whis9

Just had mine fail, caught it early enough.
Have not had any time to dig into it yet
Just sitting in garage
be curious what others had found

FNBADAZ06

Ugh...and I just put one on in my build too. Hopefully these where not a sign of a bigger issue.

atljar

Subscribed. Would be interested to see what went wrong or the symptoms.

Mine has been on few a few years now without issue.... but I dont mind keeping an eye on it.

Michael_D

If this were a pickup, or some other vehicle that one could easily get to the damb thing to swap it out in an hour or two, it would be a lot less concerning. No way in hell would I accept the risk with it possibly failing on this engine, this car. Pretty disappointing, seeing how ATI has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

ttx350z

Mine failed a year ago.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...red-bolts.html

Unreal

I wonder what the rebuild schedule is? My iw came apart but they do offer rebuild service and recommend a service interval to replace all the internal components. I believe it is around $100 to rebuild it to like new shape.

Whis9

Just got off the phone with them, they recommend every 2 years for a road course/autox car. $75

Apocolipse

Fluidampr? *stirs the pot*

AzDave47

ATI report on my failure should be posted in the next couple of days. I will then try to pull as much info from the threads together as possible to make a complete thread on the subject.

Michael_D

Can those of you who have had failures note what version of damper it was? Someone shot me a PM (who will remain anonymous), informing me that there has been a design change within the last couple of years. You can tell by looking at the outer ridge. The older version did not have a 'lip', the new version does.

By the number of reported failures just in this very small sample of users, I'm guessing a design issue was the problem. Hopefully, ATI has that sorted out.

RX-Ben

Does anyone have a pic of the revised version?

C5 Hardtop

Its surprising to me to hear the part isn't something that you can bolt on and leave for the remaining life of the engine. That goes to show I don't know enough about dampers .

The two year quote seems kinda vague. Two years driving how often? An hour or milage estimate would make more sense.

Michael_D

AzDave47 noted that this ATI damper was sent back to ATI for analysis and found improper heat treatment to be the culprit.

I have quoted the relevant part of his failure narrative for reference below.

Damper failure can cause very serious engine damage. I've seen crankshafts broke in half before. If you have an AIT damper on your engine now, I'd keep an eye on it.

User Omega

I know for sure they have had heat treat issues in a few cases. This was not wide spread from the way I remember it.

spy2520

What part is failing? Mine is still in the box waiting to go on.

Michael_D

But with what component? The response provided by CPR is so vague it doesn't help.

At this point in time, I cannot recommend that anyone use ATI on this engine. I'd rather stay OEM.

AzDave47

The cracking was on the hub part of the damper.