Harmonic Balancer
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 251
Likes: 9
From: Franklin KY
Harmonic Balancer
My belt has the dreaded squeak that I was checking out and noticed my balancer wobbling. Is this a problem and what do I do about it? About to replace the belt with a Gator. Car is a '99 with 110,000 pedal to the floor miles on it.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
You should really replace ASAP. Not only does it have the potential to cause of a lot of damage if it lets goe such as the steering rack, but if it is wobbling it is also not effectively damping the crankshaft harmonics, which is its primary function.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 885
Likes: 0
From: The Woodlands Texas
The steering rack assembly can take the pounding if the balancer separates but the radiator and several auxillary items would be pulverized.
A new balancer is a PITA to replace but I would ground the car until the replacement is done. There is not an orientatioin requirement for the new balancer. Just pull off the old one and push on the new one and install a new retainer bolt. You will need to drop the steering rack and that is a bit of a job. LS1.com forum has a very good step by step with photos on how to do this.
I recently did all of this when I installed my MTI stage II heads / cam and replaced a lot of other items at the same time.
This is an easy repair but will take you most of a day to perform.
Good luck.
A new balancer is a PITA to replace but I would ground the car until the replacement is done. There is not an orientatioin requirement for the new balancer. Just pull off the old one and push on the new one and install a new retainer bolt. You will need to drop the steering rack and that is a bit of a job. LS1.com forum has a very good step by step with photos on how to do this.
I recently did all of this when I installed my MTI stage II heads / cam and replaced a lot of other items at the same time.
This is an easy repair but will take you most of a day to perform.
Good luck.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,121
Likes: 3
From: Shreveport/Bossier Louisiana
St. Jude Donor '08
Mine started to wobble 3,000 miles after a cam install and it shredded the belt. i forgot to put lock tight on it....yeah i know 
I work at a garage so we have more than your average household tools so i didnt pull the steering rack back out. Needless to say it has been fine for many more miles. Sorry to hear that....and yes use gatorback belts, they are the quietest i have heard.
Chris
I work at a garage so we have more than your average household tools so i didnt pull the steering rack back out. Needless to say it has been fine for many more miles. Sorry to hear that....and yes use gatorback belts, they are the quietest i have heard.Chris
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
From: SJ CA
I had recently replaced my wobbling balancer. It caused my serp belt to split and tear off about 1/4 inch of the belts edge. Yeah it is a PITA to replace but my warranty took care of it. No busted knuckles. 
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 124
Likes: 0
From: Chesapeake VA
I recently replaced my harmonic balancer. Took about a day. There are pretty good instructions with pics at website magnacharger.com, use applicable steps. Challenging steps are working the steering rack out and getting the crankshaft bolt loose. If you have access to a good impact gun, it will make job easier. Good luck.
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Drifting
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,539
Likes: 3
From: South al
yes anytime your balancer is wobbling it cant be good & since it ought to come off fairly easy .When u go put it back on i would buy a new balancer bolt & put red thread lock on it .Go to 37 ftlbs 1st pass with the old bolt ,take the old bolt out & put the new one in it & go up to 240 ftlbs of trq, i broke an extention on the one i did .Dont think u will break the bolt ,there design to be used 1 time @ that tq spec & then thrown away.Also check the crank & make sure u didnt screw the threads up in the crankshaft .Thats a major issue . I hope that info will help u out .Happy new year
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,539
Likes: 3
From: South al
well arp has there moly lube & i think they have there own loctite & they give a tq spec for the arp bolt.I know on the heads if u use arp head bolts or studs & there moly lube they will give u a trq spec on the bolt with the moly lube & without molylube .I used the Gm high tensile strength bolt for the balancer from the Dealer
Former Vendor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,749
Likes: 4
From: Valencia Ca
yes anytime your balancer is wobbling it cant be good & since it ought to come off fairly easy .When u go put it back on i would buy a new balancer bolt & put red thread lock on it .Go to 37 ftlbs 1st pass with the old bolt ,take the old bolt out & put the new one in it & go up to 240 ftlbs of trq, i broke an extention on the one i did .Dont think u will break the bolt ,there design to be used 1 time @ that tq spec & then thrown away.Also check the crank & make sure u didnt screw the threads up in the crankshaft .Thats a major issue . I hope that info will help u out .Happy new year
...however, if you have the time and ambition, I recommend using the ATI pinning kit and either broach your GM harmonic or buy an aftermarket with a broached keyway. This way, the huge torque required for a non-keyed application is a moot point and subsequent replacement/removals are a snap.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,627
Likes: 143
From: Goodyear Az
Here's a head-on view of the harmonic balancer and crank, with the crank bolt removed:
Here's what the A&A crank pinning device looks like, bolt for jig, disk for drilling 1/4" hole, and pin that will go into the hole:
You bolt the disk to the crank using their supplied bolt so that it's snug, and then drill a hole deep enough to contain the 1/4" diameter hardened steel pin, using the disk as a guide. The drill will take out a 1/2 moon from the crank and a 1/2 moon from the balancer. The pin, after its inserted, will positively locate the balancer.
You then remove the jig and insert the pin. This keeps the harmonic balancer from spinning on the crank, even if the crank bolt isn't quite tight enough. It's typically only used on supercharger applications, but like I said before, doing this whole job will take most of a day, and pinning the crank will only add 10 minutes to the entire job.
Here's what the A&A crank pinning device looks like, bolt for jig, disk for drilling 1/4" hole, and pin that will go into the hole:
You bolt the disk to the crank using their supplied bolt so that it's snug, and then drill a hole deep enough to contain the 1/4" diameter hardened steel pin, using the disk as a guide. The drill will take out a 1/2 moon from the crank and a 1/2 moon from the balancer. The pin, after its inserted, will positively locate the balancer.
You then remove the jig and insert the pin. This keeps the harmonic balancer from spinning on the crank, even if the crank bolt isn't quite tight enough. It's typically only used on supercharger applications, but like I said before, doing this whole job will take most of a day, and pinning the crank will only add 10 minutes to the entire job.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 251
Likes: 9
From: Franklin KY
Thanks for all the info. Still looking for the help on ls1.com. Can't find the search tool! Sounds like the parts I need for this are: Pinning kit, balancer, and belt. Does the pinning kit come with the new bolt?
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,627
Likes: 143
From: Goodyear Az
The crank pinning kit that came with my supercharger install kit came with what was shown in the picture... fixture, long bolt (NOT a crank bolt, just one to fit the fixture) and a 1/4" hardened steel pin.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
...however, if you have the time and ambition, I recommend using the ATI pinning kit and either broach your GM harmonic or buy an aftermarket with a broached keyway. This way, the huge torque required for a non-keyed application is a moot point and subsequent replacement/removals are a snap.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: Spring, TX
Not LS1.com
Its LS1howto.com. Look at the write up for a heads and cam swap on a C5.
Look on LS1Tech.com there is a guy there that sells an install tool that works much better than using the old bolt.
The information above is incorrect. You mount the new balancer and torque it down to 240ftlbs. Then install the new GM bolt. Torque it to 37ftlbs and then mark the bolt at 12 o'clock. Then torque the bolt 140 degrees or almost to 5 o'clock.
If you are not the most mechanicaly inclinded and don't have someone to help I would highly recommend that you have a shop do this for you.
Its LS1howto.com. Look at the write up for a heads and cam swap on a C5.
Look on LS1Tech.com there is a guy there that sells an install tool that works much better than using the old bolt.
The information above is incorrect. You mount the new balancer and torque it down to 240ftlbs. Then install the new GM bolt. Torque it to 37ftlbs and then mark the bolt at 12 o'clock. Then torque the bolt 140 degrees or almost to 5 o'clock.
If you are not the most mechanicaly inclinded and don't have someone to help I would highly recommend that you have a shop do this for you.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 251
Likes: 9
From: Franklin KY
Got the Steering Rack out. Can't get the bolt loose......yet! Did find a redneck (I'm from Alabama) way of holding the balancer from spinning on an auto. I put a 1 X 1 block of wood about 1 foot long where the steering rack was. Then shoved a screw driver in one of the balancer holes around the outside. Rotate untile the screwdiver is up against the block of wood and go to pullin'! My problem is the loctite. Got some liquid wrench on it right now. My impact had no effect on that sucker, nor did pulling with a breaker bar. Any suggestions?