I bought my '02 Z06 a month ago and put about 200 miles on it before I started hearing the serpentine drive system squeaking. After trying to narrow it down and searching the forum for common problems I went at it.

With the system squeaking I manually pulled on the auto tensioner and the squeak was gone so I replaced the stock tensioner with the Katech manual tensioner. After doing so, the squeak remained. After listening more closely I could hear the squeak coming from the center of the engine so I removed the Dayco belt and idler pulley. The ilder pulley bearings were pretty rough so I gathered that was probably the issue and replaced it along with a Gatorback belt. After doing this the squeak was gone.

I drove the car around 30 miles today and after getting home I decided to wash it and take some pictures. I popped the hood to take a few engine pics only to find that the crank pulley had walked all the way out to the powersteering rack. Somehow the Gatorback belt did not shear off and the AC belt simply slipped off without snapping. The crank pulley bolt is completely loose as I can move it with my fingers.

After some mild leverage I was unable to fully seat the pulley back onto the crank, let alone torque it.

The guy I bought the car from had a Comp Cam installed last year and only put a couple hundred miles on the car after that so total mileage since the install is less than 500. From what I can see the bolt looks original so the shop probably didn't replace it (torque-to-yield) and re-torqued the factory bolt, thus my problem.

The engine started and ran fine before I noticed the problem. Is there anything I should be worried about from this relative to the crank key or the pulley itself, assuming they both appear okay after disassembly?

I'll be contacting the shop tomorrow, hopefully they'll stand behind this and fix it. Assuming I end up doing the work, is there any way to torque the bolt without removing the powersteering rack?

 

Don't drive the car until you get it replaced, and pinned. The rack needs to get moved to do this.

 

Of course I won't drive it. Are there pinning kits available?

I was planning on buying an ARP crank bolt to avoid pinning, but some extra protection couldn't hurt. I certainly don't want to deal with this again.

 

One of the problems with the LS1 is there is no key on the crank where the damper/pulley sits. It is a press fit only with the bolt providing some clamp load holding it. You really should check the fit between the pulley bore and the crank snout to see if you have the correct amount of press fit. There are also companies which sale kits to pin the crank and pulley.

 

A&A Corvette sales pinning kits, the kit I used I got from ATI.

 

I found that it's a torque-to-yield, as I mentioned. Knowing that the crank doesn't have a key makes me worry a lot more about potential damage now.

The car has just under 30,000 miles. I'm not looking to underdrive the system. What aftermarket pullies are you referring to?

 

There is no need to install a pin unless you are running a supercharger. The majority of the problems with the pulley come from incorrect installation and/or not using a new crank pulley bolt.

 

Very true, But since your at that tear down level it is a cheap peice of insurance.

 

I wonder if a balancer keyed to the crank can be honed out to a looser fit. Would make it a lot easier to get on and off

JD White: did the balancer actually hit ur rack?

 

That would defeat the purpose entirely......

 

I used the ATI 10% underdrive and the ATI pin kit. The kit is set up to use with the timing cover in place and is of very high quality. The ATI damper can be rebuilt so while expensive it is a one time cost. The hub is keyed to match a keyed crank or their pin kit. The rack will need to come out to do this.

Well, if its any comfort, a lot of guys struggle getting the stock bolt loose, at least that part is done for you.

 

Yes it did. The pulley even started to shave into the rack a bit. There is a bit of brown liquid consistent with the oil or powersteering fluid that dripped apparently only in spots where the engine was running.

I can't imagine the front main seal would have been affected by this so it's either AC compressor oil or PS fluid leaking from the spot where the pulley shaved into it.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, this gets me going in the right direction.

 

If it backed out then the front seal likely lost contact area. It can go through the power steering rack, this was an issue with the C6 when it first came out. I would also plan on changing the front seal to ensure it was not damaged. Last thing you want is a leak after all that work for the sake of saving around $10.

 

http://www.aacorvette.com/performanc...products_id=67

 

From what I can see it doesn't look like the pulley went through the rack...there would likely be a lot more liquid as well.

Can the front seal be pry'd out and a new one installed without removing additional components? Oil pump in the way?

I've worked on DOHC engines for years, I'm a complete newb to 2-valvers.

I spoke to the shop today that did the work and I as imagined, they don't care about it since I wasn't the car's owner at the time. I tried to play the reputation card, offered to let them keep the car all winter to work on it at their leisure, and said I would pay for all parts. I thought at the least they would accept doing the labor for such an obvious error on their part, but in the end they offered to let me pay to fix it!

I have always been an advocate of doing your own work if you have the knowledge and ability. I don't trust shops and this just fuels that fire even more

 

yes you can replace the seal without pulling the cover. Here is a picture of a Powerbond pulley:





The sealing area on my old OEM damper went bad. Leaked oil everywhere!



Ive found out that if you heat the damper HUB with a paint stripper heat gun or a torch to about 150-200 degrees, it comes off and presses back on a whole lot easier!

I made my own damper install tool out of an old damper bolt:



The strap wrench works excellent to keep the crank from turning when you remove and toque in the bolt.



I used an ARP damper bolt and it was well worth the extra cash.

BC

 

I went thru this issue last year when I installed my cam.

I was very careful when installing the pulley, however my problem was not the installation fault.

By chance do you have an under-drive pulley?

 

If I had it to do over I would buy the ARP pulley bolt. That torque to yield bolt is a bitch to get turn all the way.

 

No underdrive. The car is stock aside from a short throw, cam, and exhaust.

I will definitely go the pinning and ARP bolt route.

I jiggled the crank/damper bolt free today but don't have enough room to get it past the steering rack. I can't tell whether it has sheared or just come loose.

 

I've got the PS rack out and the bolt did not break, just backed out. Looks like the shop used some type of anti-seize-ish lubricant on the last few threads of the bolt instead of threadlocker.

The rack is ok...what I thought was metal shearing was actually accumulated rubber from the balancer.

I've spent an hour browsing for reasons to buy one pulley/balancer over another and whether or not the ATI pinning solution is any better than A&As.

It appears that A&A's kit drills the circular contact surface between the balancer and crank then pins it similar to a key, correct? I assume the ARP bolt/washer will still work with this...?

Is there enough space with the subframe installed to drill the crank for ATI's pinning kit?

As for a pulley/balancer, I'd like to keep the stock diameter or a slight underdrive. Those of you with underdrives, do you have any issues with cooling or electrical load?

Bang for buck I like the Powerbond. What justifies the cost of the ATI balancers?

Again, thanks for the info everyone.