2003 Harmonic Balancer keeps slipping forward.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 152
Likes: 40
From: Queens NY
always sorry to hear of other's service problems, but also glad to know your selected garage doesn't work on aircraft.
interpreting a torque spec as really meaning to just try your best is not my idea of value for the money paid, nor would I want a continuing relationship with a person who thinks following the design maintenance requirements is often just a matter of opinion. the machine is fully fly by wire, and was engineered down to a hair, with many cutting edge, at the time, innovations which were later in time more common and better perfected. which isn't exactly a recipe for ease of repair, plus the car was only designed for ease of assembly, not repair. The expected customer for these cars is someone who will buy new when service takes too much invested time. GM has no tears for guys with old cars.
As long as I am throttle down on gripes, what the heck happened to the hole they stuck the "strong rod" into to try and Mickey Mouse the repair procedure.
I don't know about your area, but in my very densely populated area, a suburb of los angeles, I had to use some care to find a shop who was effective in working on this specialized car. I had a string of small fettering jobs needed on the used car, and didn't get much better results than you report from your garage with my own simple tasks. I finally found a dedicated corvette garage as my simplest solution, although I had to travel cross town . If I was running a German import, I would have had a a selection of multiple good garages to select from, seemingly on almost every corner.
I also found out why so many local people were using the dealer for service on old cars, spending the money was easier than hassling up a reliable non factory service provider. I stopped and asked every corvette owner I could find in my area where they went for service to gain that insight, which thrifty lad that I am , blew my mind, since I only buy obscure parts from a dealer, never labor. I had a clutch job I needed done, and am glad I didn't drop that kind of money on a "good enough" shop.
I had some real clowns messing with the car before I found a professional garage, with professional results. When I settled up my clutch repair bill , looked around in the managers/service writers office, and saw all the pictures of the guys horses , it was plain to see this guy needed his money, and good enough doesn't pay well, at least not enough to have blue ribbon horses as a hobby.
It was a production type of shop, not a performance oriented shop, the lady who tipped me to the shop said it was the cheapest place for her oil change, a job I do myself, yet her answer had great value. J and d corvette , in case one is curious, not a perfect artisanal shop as I would have preferred, but my wallet is happy. They mostly do old stuff, selling old parts and fiberglass body panels they make.
interpreting a torque spec as really meaning to just try your best is not my idea of value for the money paid, nor would I want a continuing relationship with a person who thinks following the design maintenance requirements is often just a matter of opinion. the machine is fully fly by wire, and was engineered down to a hair, with many cutting edge, at the time, innovations which were later in time more common and better perfected. which isn't exactly a recipe for ease of repair, plus the car was only designed for ease of assembly, not repair. The expected customer for these cars is someone who will buy new when service takes too much invested time. GM has no tears for guys with old cars.
As long as I am throttle down on gripes, what the heck happened to the hole they stuck the "strong rod" into to try and Mickey Mouse the repair procedure.
I don't know about your area, but in my very densely populated area, a suburb of los angeles, I had to use some care to find a shop who was effective in working on this specialized car. I had a string of small fettering jobs needed on the used car, and didn't get much better results than you report from your garage with my own simple tasks. I finally found a dedicated corvette garage as my simplest solution, although I had to travel cross town . If I was running a German import, I would have had a a selection of multiple good garages to select from, seemingly on almost every corner.
I also found out why so many local people were using the dealer for service on old cars, spending the money was easier than hassling up a reliable non factory service provider. I stopped and asked every corvette owner I could find in my area where they went for service to gain that insight, which thrifty lad that I am , blew my mind, since I only buy obscure parts from a dealer, never labor. I had a clutch job I needed done, and am glad I didn't drop that kind of money on a "good enough" shop.
I had some real clowns messing with the car before I found a professional garage, with professional results. When I settled up my clutch repair bill , looked around in the managers/service writers office, and saw all the pictures of the guys horses , it was plain to see this guy needed his money, and good enough doesn't pay well, at least not enough to have blue ribbon horses as a hobby.
It was a production type of shop, not a performance oriented shop, the lady who tipped me to the shop said it was the cheapest place for her oil change, a job I do myself, yet her answer had great value. J and d corvette , in case one is curious, not a perfect artisanal shop as I would have preferred, but my wallet is happy. They mostly do old stuff, selling old parts and fiberglass body panels they make.
Here in NYC much like any other big city there's many snakes running a shop who manage to get away with deliberate sabotage, original part theft, and other mishaps. I only expect this to increase with the pandemic. I trust the shop I use for regular maintenance (that requires a lift) and along with proximity to my home this is the reason I choose to be a returning customer.
Although it would've likely cost me $600 more I do have specialty shops to choose from and in hindsight I would've probably gone to one to get it right the first time so that I don't have to deal with a long back-and-forth.
When time comes for a clutch job I will bite the bullet and use a Vette shop for sure, the same as when my differential needed replacement.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,704
Likes: 239
From: Redondo Beach CA
Thank you for taking the time to respond and share your story. I enjoyed reading about your experience.
Here in NYC much like any other big city there's many snakes running a shop who manage to get away with deliberate sabotage, original part theft, and other mishaps. I only expect this to increase with the pandemic. I trust the shop I use for regular maintenance (that requires a lift) and along with proximity to my home this is the reason I choose to be a returning customer.
Although it would've likely cost me $600 more I do have specialty shops to choose from and in hindsight I would've probably gone to one to get it right the first time so that I don't have to deal with a long back-and-forth.
When time comes for a clutch job I will bite the bullet and use a Vette shop for sure, the same as when my differential needed replacement.
Here in NYC much like any other big city there's many snakes running a shop who manage to get away with deliberate sabotage, original part theft, and other mishaps. I only expect this to increase with the pandemic. I trust the shop I use for regular maintenance (that requires a lift) and along with proximity to my home this is the reason I choose to be a returning customer.
Although it would've likely cost me $600 more I do have specialty shops to choose from and in hindsight I would've probably gone to one to get it right the first time so that I don't have to deal with a long back-and-forth.
When time comes for a clutch job I will bite the bullet and use a Vette shop for sure, the same as when my differential needed replacement.
I will go back and eliminate a lot of the junk that really didn't contribute much, as I only wanted to throw a joke around, primarily.
always in friendship, good luck with the car.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
I had some completely crappy work done at a GM dealership. Some shoddy work at an independent shop too. At least in the second case I paid far less to get the crappy work. My point is, you need to find a shop that does good work and takes pride in customer satisfaction. There isn't a single thing special about these cars that a good shop couldn't handle.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 63
Likes: 6
I shouldn't, but I can't help stoking some flames here. I used performance sfi rated balncer and locked the flywheel by pulling starter, but'll take a new TTY oem bolt over arp. When yielding the bolt i used a torque wrench to see how many degrees 250lbs would get me. It clicked at like 70 degrees out of the 140 to yeild. Now it was time to call up the body builder friend and hit it with a cheater bar to get that sucker to 140 degrees. I think you can get more clamping force when you yeild it right. There I said it.
Last edited by Travis Armstrong; Mar 11, 2021 at 11:38 PM.
.
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,042
Likes: 1,156
From: Oregon
St. Jude Donor '14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23
I shouldn't, but I can't help stoking some flames here. I used performance sfi rated balncer and locked the flywheel by pulling starter, but'll take a new TTY oem bolt over arp. When yielding the bolt i used a torque wrench to see how many degrees 250lbs would get me. It clicked at like 70 degrees out of the 140 to yeild. Now it was time to call up the body builder friend and hit it with a cheater bar to get that sucker to 140 degrees. I think you can get more clamping force when you yeild it right. There I said it.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 63
Likes: 6
Because the bolt isnt simply stretching. You stop turning when you reach the yield zone. The clamping force is increasing as it stretches until it reaches that yield point. Just my opinion, I'm not an engineer.
You have to use lubricant on the arp bolt to make sure you get the right clamping force out of the 250 torque.
You have to use lubricant on the arp bolt to make sure you get the right clamping force out of the 250 torque.
.
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,042
Likes: 1,156
From: Oregon
St. Jude Donor '14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23
Because the bolt isnt simply stretching. You stop turning when you reach the yield zone. The clamping force is increasing as it stretches until it reaches that yield point. Just my opinion, I'm not an engineer.
You have to use lubricant on the arp bolt to make sure you get the right clamping force out of the 250 torque.
You have to use lubricant on the arp bolt to make sure you get the right clamping force out of the 250 torque.
Last edited by Smoken1; Mar 12, 2021 at 01:16 AM.
