So about a month ago my car started chirping/squeaking at startup after it got a little wet. At first I just figured it was moist which could potentially cause a squeal, but after doing a little research I became more concerned.

I've read countless threads on the crankshaft pulley/harmonic balancer and based on personal observation of my car it sounds like that is where the noise is coming from. Looking at the actual balancer it BARELY wobbles if at all. I have another vette in the house which runs great and its balancer wobbles a lot more. HOWEVER, the bolt in the center of mine appears to be a lot more wobbly than my comparison vehicle. I read that the 2 problems with these pulleys is that either the rubber outer ring and metal separate, or the bolt begins to walk out and cause problems.

Also, I poured some water on the main serpentine belt just to see what would happen, and it completely stopped the squeal for about 30 seconds, until it came back louder than before. My question is this. Can I just replace the bolt? Or is it necessary to replace the entire unit? Like I said, the actual balancer wobbles, but BARELY. I've looked at a few vettes and seen a few vids online of "healthy" vehicles and theirs seem to wobble more.

I'm going to go try and make a video of it now but its a little dark, ill upload it as soon as I can.

Thanks a ton in advance

 

The separation is the most common with a factory balancer. The bolt walking out is almost always because someone did not follow the service manual procedure with regards to a new bolt, torque specs, or both.

How do you know it's not the belt?

 

Mike

IF,,,,,,,,,your bolt is actually loose, your damper is or has been spinning on the snout. A new bolt may stop the spinning but, the old OEM damper is so problematic that it makes sense just to change it out with something a LOT more dependable. If it continues to spin on the snout, it will damage the crank snout.

Hell, to replace the bolt, your already 89.3% on the way to replace the damper. Find an aftermarket damper that suites your needs and install it. You will not be sorry. I installed an ARP damper bolt for a bullet proof install and used the Power Bond 25% underdrive pulley.





Make sure that you install a new timing chain cover damper seal.

Good luck on your decission.


BC

 

I definitely don't know it isn't the belt. The only reason I assumed the crankshaft pulley is because I noticed that the bolt is more wobbly than the other vette's I've seen, plus it being a somewhat common problem on a car my age/miles (2000, 92k miles)

 

Heres why I had to change out my damper on my 02 ZO6 with 48K on the clock:



It developed a bad oil leak due to seal failure. The damper outer ring and the bolt were fine and there wasnt any wobble.

BC

 

Thanks for all your info. Is there any way to check if the bolt is REALLY coming out or not? And what kind of timing chain cover damper do I need and where do I get it? If I decide to swap this all out, and correct me if I'm wrong, I'll need

Harmonic Balancer (preferably underdrive)
Bolt (preferably ARP)
Belts (do I need to buy both or just the serpentine?!)
Timing chain cover damper

Are there different specs to all these that I need to get to be compatible with each other? Apologies for my lack of knowledge on these parts, this is my first "real" car, and Im having a good time learning as much as I can about it.

 

You need stock timing chain cover "SEAL" It presses into the cover. Heres a pic of a cover with the damper removed. The seal is presed in the cover. You can see it around the out side of the cover where the damper goes in:



BC

 

You can make a tool to check the damper bolt for tightness. It consist of a socket welded to a piece of flat bar bent to clear the rack and fit into the damper.

Remember,,,the OEM bolt is a "TORQUE TO YIELD" one time use bolt. It gets angle torqued in place. If it loosens up or has to be removed, a new one goes in. The ARP Bolt is TORQUED into place and is reusable. Its torqued to 40 ft/lbs. I borrowed the 0-250 ft/lb torque wench from AutoZone.

BC

 

Would I be alright bringing it in to a standard mechanic in my area? Or is this something that someone who has particular experience with vette's should take care of? As much as I would like to be good working on cars I am not, unfortunately.

 

Im VERY sure that someone in this post will be able to point you to a cool C5/C6 shop in your area. Its best to stick with the c5/C6 tuner/repair shops.From memory (never expierenced CA shops) look in the VENDOR section and look for a shop near you.

BC

 

Bill,

Believe the ARP torque value is higher then that, I was given 190 lb-ft by ARP although I understand that value has been changed.

 

Thanks for the back up. Its suppose to be 240 FT/LBS. My "2" didnt work for some reason.

BC

 

First thing you want to do, is make sure the bolt is really loose, thus the problem. You can access this bolt w/o removing the steering rack, but you have to have a specific tool. Either the homemade socket welded to a 16" or so steel bar, like Bill said, or a large offset head wrench, in either 24mm or 15/16". I got one at Sears in 15/16" that I can turn over

the motor with. If the bolt isn't loose, it's either the balancer going bad, which happens, or the belt tensioner doing the same. Get a 15mm socket to take the tension off the belt.

 

I have 24mm wrench in the garage, so just stick it down there and try and turn it basically? If it's in there tight, im good?

The thing im confused about is that it sounds like the noise is coming from the balancer area, but when I poured water over my belt the noise stopped. If the outside of the balancer is not wobbling much but the bolt is loose, could it still cause a belt squeal that could be quieted by lubrication?

 

Didn't some one suggest to start out by changing the belt/belts??, belt tentioner adjuster?

 

Yes, if the bolt is loose, the pulley is probably slipping on the crankshaft snout. Lubrication can affect the squeel if there's anything wrong with any of the pulleys in the serpentine system.

 

on the other hand, mine squeals a little when damp - but a squirt of silocone spray complety silences it for weeks. Likely need a new belt I suppose. Only squeaks at low rpm (idle). A shop has checked the balancer and it is ok (56k miles on a 97 model)

 

When looking at your balancer, does it appear to wobble at all?

 

Also, you think I can still drive my car? I mean, IF it is the balancer, how BAD would it have to be before it isn't driveable? I know one shouldnt drive at all if its messed up, but like I said it isnt too bad right now.. I wont be able to bring it in until next week.

 

The Tensioner assembly is also a leading cause of Squeek.
they are easy to replace and only about $70 or so.
IF your belts are are over 5 years old or have over 50K on them, then
replace them.
The old standby of "looks" such as cracking etc, dont apply to serpentine
belts made in the last 2-3 years. they actually "wear down" between the
grooves making the groove spacing wider. They are engineered to do this.
There is a special tool for measuring it but it's not cheap. Just replace
the belts & tensioner. It's good money spent on a car with your mileage/age.
Then look to see if the balancer has "wobble".
You could have more than 1 issue here.
The wobble will be obvious. My wobble did not cause any
belt noises at all. I just used a new oem gm balancer. I know it isn't
the best quality piece available, but at $120 if it lasts 99K miles as the
original did, then I'll be happy.