How bad is my wobble.2
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,311
Likes: 386
From: Toronto Ontario
Mine has more or less the same wobble.
I would bet you could drive it another 5 years without any problems, but I cant do that because I need peace of mind.
Does anyone know which aftermarket balancer to get and where to get it at a good price?
$400 for this little piece and a bolt seems Ludacris, especially by American car part standards.
I would bet you could drive it another 5 years without any problems, but I cant do that because I need peace of mind.
Does anyone know which aftermarket balancer to get and where to get it at a good price?
$400 for this little piece and a bolt seems Ludacris, especially by American car part standards.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 832
Likes: 14
From: Lake Charles Louisiana
Mine has more or less the same wobble.
I would bet you could drive it another 5 years without any problems, but I cant do that because I need peace of mind.
Does anyone know which aftermarket balancer to get and where to get it at a good price?
$400 for this little piece and a bolt seems Ludacris, especially by American car part standards.
I would bet you could drive it another 5 years without any problems, but I cant do that because I need peace of mind.
Does anyone know which aftermarket balancer to get and where to get it at a good price?
$400 for this little piece and a bolt seems Ludacris, especially by American car part standards.
I thought the same thing. Saw a slight wobble. About a week later the belt squeal. Checked it again. Slightly more wobble. About a week later worse belt squeal. Opened the hood. Balancer had walked forward about 1/4".
Some will last years. Some will leave you on the road. If it eats the snout, had it happen on a Pontiac, crank has to come out in the least. Choice is yours.
ATI balancer and ARP bolt. You'll be around $500 lighter in the pants but you'll be done with it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,311
Likes: 386
From: Toronto Ontario
I thought the same thing. Saw a slight wobble. About a week later the belt squeal. Checked it again. Slightly more wobble. About a week later worse belt squeal. Opened the hood. Balancer had walked forward about 1/4".
Some will last years. Some will leave you on the road. If it eats the snout, had it happen on a Pontiac, crank has to come out in the least. Choice is yours.
ATI balancer and ARP bolt. You'll be around $500 lighter in the pants but you'll be done with it.
Some will last years. Some will leave you on the road. If it eats the snout, had it happen on a Pontiac, crank has to come out in the least. Choice is yours.
ATI balancer and ARP bolt. You'll be around $500 lighter in the pants but you'll be done with it.
I always had a squeak on cold start ups, but now its getting worse.
For peace of mind Il have to get it taken care of.
And thanks
(edit) wow that's not cheap man, I just checked out the ATI balancer.
It looks high quality but I drive very conservatively, im not sure I need such a high performance one.
Im finding replacements on ebay for like $35 - $75 , looks like I have some research to do .
Ill report back soon
Last edited by 1Willy1; Aug 14, 2015 at 09:43 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 832
Likes: 14
From: Lake Charles Louisiana
Stock replacement can be had cheap. But...do some reading on the threads here. Some stock replacements have lasted a week. Yes, a week. With the ATI unit you are definitely getting your money's worth.
Racer
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 257
Likes: 8
From: Shady Shores Texas
How bad is my wobble.2
Mine is worse than yours and I just ran 600 miles at some points doing 3200 rpm for a good distance. Your choice, I took the risk call me stupid but it was a last minute trip.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,404
Likes: 1,595
From: Western NY
Yes, the ATI balancer isn't cheap. I know that first hand. But think about what you've posted....a first class balancer is $450, and an E-bay balancer is $35-75. What's that telling you??
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 6,644
Likes: 481
From: OK
I will most likely go with the Powerbond damper and the ARP bolt...
you CAN NOT use the old BOLT that holds the damper in place!
If your going to DIY... go to the TECH section and do some research on the process and tools needed for the job....
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
you CAN NOT use the old BOLT that holds the damper in place!
If your going to DIY... go to the TECH section and do some research on the process and tools needed for the job....
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
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Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,938
Likes: 498
From: Fords, NJ
Found this on a another forum (my comments in red):
"Hi there, First, the prevelance of this condition is there.
Second, there is NO SPECIFICATION for runout on the c5 or c6 harmonic balancer. (This tells me that some wobble may be present. If zero wobble was required then there would HAVE to be some sort of spec, I would think)
Third, rubber isolated harmonic balancers are known to rotate at times in some applications.
The AC belt is usually the first one to make noise as it has the weakest tensioner.
Excessive runout in the balancer magnifies the noise when cold.
I have also installed BRAND NEW balancers that have had wobble. (From tolerances in the manufacturing process maybe?)
The key, is accurate tension of the belts and alignment with the other pulleys.
My rule of thumb is 1/32 inch runout maximum. (Granted, this is just this person's opinion, but again - there is no absolute SPEC.)
Allthebest, c4c5 GM World Class Certified Technician"
Obviously I'm not an expert, nor am I qualified to give a good factual answer on this. This post, though, seems to collaborate with what I am saying. Bottom line is if it concerns you, replace it. I pray that the wobble I see in mine isn't indicative of an upcoming problem. If it is...then hopefully I'll get the tell-tale belt chirp to let me know things are about to go bad.
"Hi there, First, the prevelance of this condition is there.
Second, there is NO SPECIFICATION for runout on the c5 or c6 harmonic balancer. (This tells me that some wobble may be present. If zero wobble was required then there would HAVE to be some sort of spec, I would think)
Third, rubber isolated harmonic balancers are known to rotate at times in some applications.
The AC belt is usually the first one to make noise as it has the weakest tensioner.
Excessive runout in the balancer magnifies the noise when cold.
I have also installed BRAND NEW balancers that have had wobble. (From tolerances in the manufacturing process maybe?)
The key, is accurate tension of the belts and alignment with the other pulleys.
My rule of thumb is 1/32 inch runout maximum. (Granted, this is just this person's opinion, but again - there is no absolute SPEC.)
Allthebest, c4c5 GM World Class Certified Technician"
Obviously I'm not an expert, nor am I qualified to give a good factual answer on this. This post, though, seems to collaborate with what I am saying. Bottom line is if it concerns you, replace it. I pray that the wobble I see in mine isn't indicative of an upcoming problem. If it is...then hopefully I'll get the tell-tale belt chirp to let me know things are about to go bad.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,938
Likes: 498
From: Fords, NJ
I will most likely go with the Powerbond damper and the ARP bolt...
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
I will most likely go with the Powerbond damper and the ARP bolt...
you CAN NOT use the old BOLT that holds the damper in place!
If your going to DIY... go to the TECH section and do some research on the process and tools needed for the job....
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
you CAN NOT use the old BOLT that holds the damper in place!
If your going to DIY... go to the TECH section and do some research on the process and tools needed for the job....
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ey-or-oem.html
My original failed at 30k miles. I could see a wobble and the belt was chirping. After replacement there was zero wobble and no belt noises even with the same belt.
Even if you are going the inexpensive route, the stock replacement Powerbond is only about $100. I used one of them and it worked fine and still going.
If you go to a dealer it will be expensive as mentioned earlier. I did mine in my garage. It is not a real easy fix, but nothing really tough. It just took some time especially the puzzle of maneuvering the steering rack to get it aside or out.
Good luck.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 12,413
Likes: 502
From: Rio Rancho NM
I have a powerbond and cost was under 100. You can do the job yourself for less then 150 and only takes a few hours. All tools can be rented from autozone. I did mine and thought it was easy.
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 11,792
Likes: 255
From: Ossining New York
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Perfectly fine....
I am going on a 600 mile trip in my 2002 C5, do I need to worry about this harmonic balancer?
Bad wobble - YouTube
Bad wobble - YouTube
Some get MUCH worse...
Chuck CoW
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 3,311
Likes: 386
From: Toronto Ontario
Mine took a dump pretty much right after I noticed it wobbling, like within a week.
If you notice belt squeak , inspect balancer, if its wobbling replace it.
Ive taken the car off the road and ordered:
-powerbond balancer
-arp bolt
-continental elite belts
If you notice belt squeak , inspect balancer, if its wobbling replace it.
Ive taken the car off the road and ordered:
-powerbond balancer
-arp bolt
-continental elite belts
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 945
Likes: 226
How bad is my wobble.2
Originally Posted by 1Willy1
Mine took a dump pretty much right after I noticed it wobbling, like within a week.
If you notice belt squeak , inspect balancer, if its wobbling replace it.
Ive taken the car off the road and ordered:
-powerbond balancer
-arp bolt
-continental elite belts
If you notice belt squeak , inspect balancer, if its wobbling replace it.
Ive taken the car off the road and ordered:
-powerbond balancer
-arp bolt
-continental elite belts