My new 99 has the typical squeeking at low rpms. I'm looking into a replacement damper and I see most people are using the SLP unit. I'm looking at the Fluidamper since the outer housing can't separate like the stock or other aftermarket units.

I'm wondering if other here are using the Fluidamper (yes, I searched first but didn't see much) and what your results have been. I'd rather spend a little extra for something this important even if the less expensive SLP piece is "fine" - I just feel better about having the nicer piece if there aren't any known issues with them.

Thanks in advance for the input!

 

ATI is probably one of the better ones, but nothing wrong with the fluiddamper either. Pin the crank for extra insurance that everything stays put after the install.

 

The belt squeeking can also be caused by a worn out serpentine belt and or a loose belt tensioner. I recommend you check those two items and look for other indications on the balancer and the other accessory drive pulleys before you replace the harmonic balancer.

 

FYI - The possibility of the balancer "seperating" is not the main concern. I have never seen a LS1 balancer seperate. The main issue is that the balancer can slip on the crank snout, causing damage to the crank itself. Whatever balancer you choose, it would be a good idea to pin it.

 

ATI and Fluidamp are both good one's. I have used there products for many years on high horsepower racing engines. I have no personal experience with either of them with regards to corvette stuff but my guess would be that they are every bit as good and every bit the quality that the all out racing stuff is

 

OK, since I've never had to "pin" a damper before - does anyone have pics of what they are doing for this? Are you drilling through the side of the snout and into the crank? If so, what are you using for a pin?

I don't see anything immediately obvious as far as wobbling, etc., but all of the posts related to this are along the lines of "this WILL happen to you so fix it first before it does a lot of damage". That's why I'm looking at a pre-emptive strike.

 

ATI has a keyway milling into the hub of the damper so that the damper can be pinned. Not sure pinning is an absolute necessity but ATI also makes a pin kit that provides the jigs, drill, reamer and pins necessary to do the job. In the first photo you can see the hole where the pin will be installed.



Here is the ATI harmonic damper. Note in the photo I am removing but you get the idea. ATI unit if fully rebuildable by ATI.

 

Call chris @ ecs. www.eastcoastsupercharging.com ,ya u are drilling on the edge of the snout between the balancer & the crank snout so after its drilled u put the pin in it & put the bolt on to 240ftlbs & ur done,btw get another oem bolt,its a 1 time stretch & u have. To throw it away & get another one,unless u use the arp crank bolt

 

I disagree. The most common issue IS the balancer separating, which causes it to wobble. The factory balancer does not have an issue slipping, until perforance upgrades have been done, or the balancer was removed, and reinstalled, not following the correct procedures.

 

Don't take everything you read here as gospel. The rubber pulley ring going bad and causing a wobble isn't really going to "cause a lot of damage", slipping on the crank will. I've been wrenching a long time and NEVER seen an OEM balancer on an unmodified car fail. If you are doing some work that necessitates a balancer removal, by all means replace it with a new one.

That being said - a pinned under driven pulley is a nice mod.

 

What? Are you talking LS C/5 motors here?

 

Mine just seperated in two pieces and did considerable damage to the timing chain cover AND the front of the oil pan. Oil pan is upwards of $600 new and cover is about $160. You do not want this issue. Pinning is a great idea as well. I am replacing the OEM with an aftermarket upgrade but have not decided on exactly the one I want. GM parts are poorly designed and poorly manufactured.

 

I suppopse you have some facts to share with us to support this statement.

 

ATI period

 

Yes I do. I spent 11 years manufacturing engine vibration dampers for the OEM truck and tractor business. I have also been involved with the design and formulation of the rubber compounds that are used in these units and have spent many years at different manufacturers of the elastomers. If you would like I can get as technical about the process as you would like but my statement here is based on my recent experience with my 1998 C5. Perhaps my generalization about GM was a bit broad. However, in simple terms, the bond that holds the elastomer to the inner and outer metal pieces is critical as it requires super cleaning of the metal surfaces, application of bonding material, heating of the components in an oven, and pressing the parts together. All of these steps in the process require control or you get an adhesion bond failure. GM did not engineer this particular component to fail "safe" as it destroyed the timing chain cover and oil pan on my engine when it came apart. Thus, the poor engineering comment. The unit that failed in my car after 17,000 miles was not bonded correctly in my opinion. A properly bonded elastomer should last the life of the car and many of the units we manufactured were used in heavy duty truck applications and did not fail after several hundred thousand miles! Thus my comment about poorly manufactured. Time and heat are the enemy of rubber compounds and some allowance for the hardening of the rubber over twelve years and the resulting transfer rather than dampening of the vibration to the metal components contributed to the failure of the unit. In my humble opinion a component on a high dollar sports car should be engineered to perform on that application. It is my further belief that this component was engineered for a broad range of applications not just the LS1 drive train, but I do not have the facts on that.
I am irritated and disappointed that this failure resulted in a costly repair for me as my expectation from GM and from Corvette was much higher.

 

Paul, I hear ya. Some Corvette components/assemblies are less robust than their application requires. A fail-safe would have been cheap insurance. Since my piece wobbles a bit at idle I am curious. Was there any indication the thing was letting go. Were there any warning signs. I'm currently replacing crappy plastic window regulators on both sides after only 50k and am miffed about it myself.

Also, I assume your ex-Volvo? I'm ex-Paccar myself.

 

I am ex-Schwitzer ( now Borg Warner ).
But to answer your other questions, I did hear a clanging sound a month or so ago and it lasted just a minute and I could not determine where it was coming from. The oil leak, which was substantial, was my first indication something was really wrong. I looked at the pulley on the HB and found that the serp belt was half off the grooves! I put it back and it instantly derailed itself. I only have some Rhino ramps and could not get under the car the way I wanted to. I thought the noise was something wrapped around the drive shaft. I never heard anything else after that. Of course with the top down and the Borlas barking it is hard to hear anything anyway!!

 

is the balancer actually wobbling or are just hearing a squeek? its most like just a tensioner, pull them off and regrease them, thats the cheaper route to go first.

 

And to your other question! Your warning sign IS the wobbling. I would replace it soon.

 

check to make sure the balancer bolt is still in