I Fly Low

Started my '06 C6 today, had a belt squeak, noticed it while I was driving. Sounded like air whistling over the roof or something, but it was RPM dependent. I pulled over and looked at the harmonic balancer. It was wobbling about 1/8", and looked like all the videos on youtube.

Questions- can I drive to the mechanic (40 miles) or is there a chance that this will cause further damage?

Is there an aftermarket HB that is commonly used, and approximate price?

Is this a repair that can be done by an indie mechanic, or should I go to a dealer? I have a lift and am moderately experianced, but I think this is beyond my comfort level.

I have heard about $1000 in labor. Is this accurate, or should I expect more?

Thanks

Must_Have_Z

You should be able to drive it the 40 miles. Baby it and pull over and shut it down if you hear anything more serious than a squeak...

Common aftermarket replacements are Innovators West and ATI if you want to spend the big bucks. Powerbond as well, is a cheaper option.

I'm actually having mine replaced as well. I have a leak right around the front seal, so I'm going to have my balancer replaced at the same time as the leak gets fixed. My mechanic told me the labor is 6 hours. So $1000 would be high, unless it's a dealer, which is then probably accurate. But a good mechanic should be able to do it in 6 or less hours. Even at $90 an hour, that's only about $540, almost half what you mentioned.

I'm going with the Innovators West for my LS7. I did some website work for my mechanic's company, so he's trading my work for the balancer.

I Fly Low

Thanks for the info. Of course, my mind went straight to worst case, but your info sounded more reasonable. I'll look at the companies you recommended.

windyC6

Heck....i've been driving mine with an 1/8 inch wobble now for about 7 years. Not many miles a year, but still don't plan on getting it replaced till it's worse. Or the HB comes through the hood !!....LOL.

SUP54

Is there usually a mileage range (ex. 50 - 100,000) that the harmonic balancer tends to fail? I recently (Nov. 2017) purchased a 2007 Corvette with 24,000 miles. No problems on the HB at this time.


SUP54

windyC6

Nope...not at all. Been stories around here of them having no issues at 150-K.....and stories of them being bad when they came out of Bowling Green......

RoadkingC6

As said above there are a lot of aftermarket balancers to go with, you don't need the ATI unless you have plans on racing, aftermarket balancers will range from $150.00 to about $400.00 i would go to Summit racing and see what they have i see people here using a Powerbond balancer a lot with no complaints and i wouldn't go to a dealer they will most likely be restricted to using a GM balancer which are known to be problematic and you could find yourself replacing that one as well in the future. you are probably looking at between 9-$1200.00 Also you will need to replace the timing cover seal and a new bolt. I'm sure driving another 40 miles is no problem. However if your visually seeing that balancer not spinning true and hearing the chirping that comes with a bad balancer i would replace it, unlike some i don't want to see that balancer coming through my hood and doing other damage, and i don't want to be stranded on the side of the road either if i can avoid it, others may have their own views but thats JMO. I replaced mine with an ATI last year and i don't miss the annoying chirp that came from a bad balancer, I also get some degree of satisfaction with my vehicles running in top condition, I went with ATI because they offered up some blemished units and the price was pretty good. Good Luck

I Fly Low

I noticed the wobble when I bought the car used, but it never had the belt squeal and the wobble is noticeably worse. I would love to let it go, but I don't think I could enjoy the car if I were always wondering when it would break.

I am a little gun-shy, since my last car was a Porsche with a known bearing issue that lead to a grenaded engine.

I Fly Low

I've looked at the ATI, and that's what I will probably go with. Thanks for the timing seal advice. I would not have thought about that.

the kid C6

I had mine replaced with ATI. My mechanic budgeted 7.5 hours, which was fine with me.

From what I've read on this forum, the OEM parts tend to fail again, so aftermarket is better.

Vet Interested

PM sent to OP

Tally Ho

If you DIY the biggest PITA is the steering rack removal. My car is supercharged so I did it myself so I could make sure the crank was pinned and that it would be done right. We have had two club members that had the dealer install and parts and labour was around $1700. One member received a defective balancer that the tech did not catch. The repair lasted 1 day before the wobble was back. Repaired the second time at no charge.

Turbo6TA

Powerbond P/N: PB1117SS

$222.97 Shipped

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...model/corvette

Need a new Crankshaft Seal and Crank Bolt too

1rusty1

I just had mine replaced. I went with an SFI rated summit HB. I didn't want the cheapest model but also didn't want to spend more than needed. The reviews were good and spent under 200.00 on the part. I changed the seal, belts and bolt (ARP) since we were in there.

If I ever decide to add a SC, I'm covered.

AORoads

There are shops that, over the last 13 years have done quite a few HBs. In which case, their labor charges are pretty low since they now know all the tricks to cut down on time. I've seen sub-$500, but you should expect to pay more.

There is no real time or mileage why some fail early and some w. 100K miles + haven't failed. That said, the ATI, Innovations and Powerbond all get good ratings.

You do have at least one indie shop that probably knows its stuff for the HB, Excelsior in Escondido. I've heard good things about them. Farther out in Murietta is Cunningham Motorsports, also w. a good reputation. Corvette Shop and Top Flight are in-town.

windyC6

I know how that goes. I feel the same way about the damn A-6 cable issue !!!.....

Not So Fast

Did that with new belts also for a total bill of about $900, parts and labor.
Very pleased with the results, and happy that I don't have to lose sleep over it, just do it and get it over with
NSF
PS I forgot that I had to have Summit REPLACE 3 DEFECTIVE units, they finally gave up and admitted they didn't have anymore in any of their warehouses, seems a pallet of them were dropped off a forklift, no ****, so inspect yours if it comes from them. Its been over 6 months so I'm sure they worked it out. RockAuto supplied me but they were about $20 more

farmington

great time to do a cam swap because a huge portion of the labor for a cam swap is to pull the balancer and front cover

Katie22

I recently had Bob Steele Chevy replace the ballancer. IT was 1000 dollars plus tax.

I really really wanted to do it myself but I just didnt have the lift to lift the engine and lower the cradle to make room for the ballancer. I really didnt want to pull the steering rack out either.

I Fly Low

Thanks for all the input! I found a mechanic (Rose Auto) based on a member's recommendation. Talked to him today, and sounded very familiar with the issue, said he had done 4 in the last year.

I will go with the ATI, and hope for the best.