Squeak from engine bay help.
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Joined: Nov 2014
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From: Tucson Az
Squeak from engine bay help.
I have had a squeak from engine bay for about 2 weeks now. After the first week, I replaced idler pulley, tensioner and belt and went away for about a day and came back. I did not replace the a/c tensioner, belt or pulley but will be doing it. I did see my harmonic balancer and see it wobbles quite a bit. Does anyone know if that could be it? How hard is it to replace a harmonic balancer on a 99 Vette? The squeak makes me not even want to drive the car at time. Thank you for any replies.
Le Mans Master
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From: Wisconsin
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2014
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From: Utah
Try getting Gatorback belts for it. I repacked the bearings on my tensioners and put the Gatorback belts on and it fixed my squeak.
I still have the harmonic balancer wobble but it doesnt squeak. I just finshed gathering all the parts Ill need to fix it.
I still have the harmonic balancer wobble but it doesnt squeak. I just finshed gathering all the parts Ill need to fix it.
Le Mans Master
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From: Wisconsin
Did you put the right kind of grease in the pulleys?
Team Owner
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
I have had a squeak from engine bay for about 2 weeks now. After the first week, I replaced idler pulley, tensioner and belt and went away for about a day and came back. I did not replace the a/c tensioner, belt or pulley but will be doing it. I did see my harmonic balancer and see it wobbles quite a bit. Does anyone know if that could be it? How hard is it to replace a harmonic balancer on a 99 Vette? The squeak makes me not even want to drive the car at time. Thank you for any replies.
Labor to replace the balancer is fairly extensive having to remove the steering rack... its a 300 to 400 dollar labor charge. also its a good idea to, have the crank seal changed at the same time..
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Grease in the pulleys ? the bearings are pre greased and sealed ... You don't put grease in the pulleys!
I see you are not addressing the OP... but another poster.... and your question is very valid... most member who PM me about re-greasing their bearings and having problems is because they use bearing grease designed for axles that rotate at very low rpm... where as pulley bearings are spinning at 5000 + rpm. And require very special High speed, High heat grease. very few people do this and availability is not convenient because most people buy factory sealed bearings that are not serviceable... try to re-grease a tensioner bearing or idler and pick out the seal to pack the bearing and under high speed and heat any grease in the bearing will bleed out the old seal.. and no one sells new bearing seals... that's why factory bearings are the only way to go. FYI early on, GM had problems with C5 idler and tensioner bearings, because of poor quality bearing seals....
I see you are not addressing the OP... but another poster.... and your question is very valid... most member who PM me about re-greasing their bearings and having problems is because they use bearing grease designed for axles that rotate at very low rpm... where as pulley bearings are spinning at 5000 + rpm. And require very special High speed, High heat grease. very few people do this and availability is not convenient because most people buy factory sealed bearings that are not serviceable... try to re-grease a tensioner bearing or idler and pick out the seal to pack the bearing and under high speed and heat any grease in the bearing will bleed out the old seal.. and no one sells new bearing seals... that's why factory bearings are the only way to go. FYI early on, GM had problems with C5 idler and tensioner bearings, because of poor quality bearing seals....
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Jan 22, 2015 at 03:24 PM.
Instructor
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From: Utah
I used Redline CV-2 grease. You can re-grease them if youre careful, or just get new ones. Theres a Froggy video on youtube that shows how. It may be cheap yes but its been fine for 400 miles.
Last edited by BitchinV; Jan 22, 2015 at 03:27 PM.
Le Mans Master
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From: Wisconsin
I repacked the bearings on my tensioners
Last edited by JR-01; Jan 22, 2015 at 04:43 PM.
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Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 21,325
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
I used Redline CV-2 grease. You can re-grease them if youre careful, or just get new ones. Theres a Froggy video on youtube that shows how. It may be cheap yes but its been fine for 400 miles.
Corvette serpentine belt pully squeak lubricate instead of replace by froggy - YouTube
Corvette serpentine belt pully squeak lubricate instead of replace by froggy - YouTube
CV joints see 500 to 800 rpm....
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Jan 22, 2015 at 04:23 PM.
Team Owner
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
the cost effective way is to buy new pulleys. Some will say just buy the bearings,, but that is not the correct way to fix this problem.,. tensioners for example have a tendency to bend at the axis making the pulley go off alignment with other components. the idlers can be bought cheaply.. under 20 dollars each... with metal rollers instead of factory plastic.
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St. Jude Donor '16-'17,'22,'24
Ernesto, yes, the wobbling harmonic balancer can and does cause squeaking. Mine is going in Monday for a replacement. The amount of wobble actually changed on mine, but the squeaking under heavy acceleration is what convinced me it has to be replaced. If your harmonic balancer is wobbling, it must be replaced and soon, regardless of whether it's causing the squeaking or not. But I'll bet it is the cause of your problem.
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Joined: Nov 2014
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From: Tucson Az
Ernesto, yes, the wobbling harmonic balancer can and does cause squeaking. Mine is going in Monday for a replacement. The amount of wobble actually changed on mine, but the squeaking under heavy acceleration is what convinced me it has to be replaced. If your harmonic balancer is wobbling, it must be replaced and soon, regardless of whether it's causing the squeaking or not. But I'll bet it is the cause of your problem.
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Joined: Nov 2014
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From: Tucson Az
Just a quick update, I replaced the other pulleys, tensionersand belt. Still squeaking. Looks like It is harmonic balancer. Getting it in tomorrow hopefully. I'll be replacing it Thursday, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks guys ☺️