Hey everyone,

I'm looking into buying a 99 C5 tomorrow with 47k original miles. The owner sent me the attached videos and i'm concerned with the sound, and that its coming from a bad harmonic balancer. Do you think its that, or maybe the belt? I've attached the video he sent me with a light on the balancer too. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm just worried that I will be paying a hefty bill right after purchasing the car.

Thank you!

 

I don't hear or see anything unusual. It's not wobbling and it's in line with the other pulleys. The harmonic balancer is thing is over blown. It's a part that will go bad in time. IMHO that time has not come.

Good looking car. Nice wheels.

 

well if thats all my got lucky we didnt have that noise. I know its not but that sound is very similar ti a vacuum leak just saying

R u kidding u should be ashamed of ur self saying thats normal just listen to the second one. WOW.

 

Do you think it could be coming from the intake? A vacuum leak? The oil pressure sensor was replaced by a shop on 12/26. The carfax shows they replaced intake manifold gaskets that day too.

 

There is definitely something amiss with a pully or the belt. Not sure what johnson-rod wasn't hearing.

You can spray some water from a Windex bottle on the ribbed side of the belt to see if the squeak subsides. This will indicate you have a belt alignment issue or a pully issue. Look closely to see if any of them wobble. Better yet remove the belt from the pullys (takes 1 minute to pop the belt on a C5). Then turn each pully by hand to isolate the squeaky bearing.

It may not be the balancer squeaking and likely It isn't. It could be the tensioner pully which has happened to me. As well as the alternator pully which has also happened to me. Or it could be the AC pully or Water Pump.

The engine bay of that car looks like it's been in a dust storm. Which is a questionable sellers strategy to not clean it up before taking and sending videos. Odds are good that car didn't get much TLC from the current owner. So buyer beware for other reasons.

None the less it should be easy to determine which pully is causing the squeak.

 

Post Script....squeak seems to be amplified when the camera is closest to the alternator. So based on just video evidence my first suspect is the alternator pully.

 

You should have an acquaintance who knows Corvettes review this car on-site and in-person with you and not take the word of an online forum.
Go to the local nearby Corvette group (online or in person) and ask for someone located close to the car to look it over with you.
If you have a reliable mechanic that you use for your other cars they should be able to give you a more meaningful review. It's just a good looking Chevy not a rocket ship.

You asked if the harmonic balancer was bad and it doesn't look like it from here. I know what a bad one looks like because I replaced mine. They don't make noise unless they are hitting something and this isn't. Chirps and squeals can come from many places.
Vacuum leaks are notoriously difficult to trace even in person. You need vacuum line schematics, gauges, sprays, plugs and you need to know how to use them on an engine you can put your hands on.
This is a 24 year old sports car. There are going to be some bills. If you want a warranty you need to buy from a dealer. Might be worth it for the peace of mind.

 

Or bearing(s). It could also be the PO spilled antifreeze on the belts. Once that's happened
.........I never realized how much this affects the belts. I had a very minor squeal/squeak in my belts/pulleys. Nothing major, and usually only when the A/C was on. I changed a T-stat a year ago, and didn't drain enough coolant out of the radiator. So the belts got deluged. My wife isn't a mechanic, and generally only comments on my cars appearance. But when I fired the car up after this happened, it sounded like every cricket within a 50 mile radius moved in under the hood. She asked WHAT IS THAT????!!! I can't overexaggerate it!! It was embarrassing to even drive it out of the garage!! I tried belt dressing, soap and water, anything I could, even brake cleaner!! NOTHING helped. Except new belts. The bearings in the tensioners were fine, alternator spun nice and quiet. Cleaned the pulleys as best I could. Then put new belts on it. Problem solved, and it's still quiet.......

 

Unless you can have the car examined by a qualified Corvette mechanic familiar with C5 issues, my suggestion, move on.

 

Grinder, talk about silly bad luck! Lol! Brake cleaner?!
I would NEVER knowingly go a minute of driving with a squeak or squeel coming from under my hood. The sound alone makes my skin crawl.

OP- As I mentioned above a little water sprayed on the treads can help confirm if it's the belt. If it still squeaks after applying water...then popping the belt takes a 15mm socket, breaker bar and approximately 15 seconds on a C5. Then you can hand spin and wiggle the pullys to confirm or eliminate them from your investigation. It's a no brainer to start there in my opinion. That's where 99% of DIY'rs would start if it were their own cars. Then move on to confirm if it's a vacuum leak or worse.

A "Corvette specialist" to look a C5 over is overkill and rarely needed. These cars are as basic as it gets when it comes to inspecting them and swapping parts. If you are ill equiped to do so yourself ANY competent mechanic or competent shade tree DIY'r can do this for a C5. Also knowing how to use the on dash Driver Information Center (DIC) is a good procedure to learn when shopping C5's. The DIC reads current and historical codes. Steps can be easily Googled or found here on the forum.

If one isn't capable of doing the most basic things on their own with a C5 I would question their decision on buying and owning a 20+ year old car. Then I'd advise one to purchase something a lot more current and potentially more pocketbook friendly if they can't DIY the basics. Naturally some of our older enthusiasts may have jumped the shark when it comes to DIY. Which in that case they have little choice but to outsource.

Lack of cleanliness under the hood of this particular car is what has me questioning what else has been neglected? But maybe it's just a dirty carport car, with a bad pully and the price is really good...it COULD be a great purchase at sub 50k miles on the odometer. With a little TLC, proper maintenance and cleaning it COULD be a good driver. You, the selling price, the overall state of the car, your budget and some luck will determine that.

Even if it sounds, drives and looks good it could also be a total **** show you regret from day one. Which could happen with almost any used car purchase.

Good luck with the buying journey and ALWAYS do/have a hand on inspection before you purchase.

 

My parents live on a gravel road. Keeping that dust off the car would be a full time job.
Worth inspecting things under the car too, if it frequents dusty roads often the sway bar bushings are something I'd look at.

 

That sounds like crickets getting gang raped under the hood. Certainly nothing to ignore.
My 99 has 76,000 miles and does not sound like that.

If that were my car making that noise, I would start by pulling the belt and spinning the idler pulley and tensioner pulley by hand and see how they feel. Smooth? Gravelly? May not hear or feel it, but I am suspicious of the idler pulley.

If I were shopping for a C5, I would most absolutely certainly NOT purchase one making that noise because it could be many things.

Suggestion, make a conditional offer if he has a professional diagnose and repair the problem. Get it in writing, so the seller knows he has a sale if he invests the money into the repair.

Otherwise, sail on….

 

I get it. But if you were selling your car and sending videos & pics to potential buyers I'm thinking you'd likely take 25 minutes to blow some compressed air, wipe it down and spray it with your shine treatment of choice?

A little "curb appeal" goes a long way. If the effort isnt there when "advertising" odds are good it's also neglected mechanically.

 

Does it have a oil catch can?

 

I had 2 99s. Looked at and worked on dozens... Nothing to see here... A stock balancer is a wear item and will go bad, its day job to fix yourself. I dont see this on wobbling. Could be dirt on the belt. idler pully... I found that neat and clean engines doesn't relate to well running and good condition inside.
Good luck

 

. U have to change that belt and check for any wobbles or wear on pulleys that the only ur going to track down sqeak. Had a sqeak keep changing gates because the quitly **** on many belts gates was the good one out there but didnt work for me. Will when i checked pulleys i didnt know that the tensioner was not suppose have side grooves. I though that was normal beacuse alote of pulleyes have grooves, but this is not one of them changed, all good.