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My first post. I have a new (to me) 2006 Vert. 28,500 miles, 6-speed. Noticed a belt squeak today going for a short ride. Mostly squeaks at anything above idle. Is this common for C-6's or just an adjustment? This car sat in a controlled environment since the end of January until I drove it home from the dealer, about 80 miles, a couple nights ago (it didn't squeak until today). Thanks for any insight anyone can provide.
How badly is the harmonic balancer wobbling? I think most describe it as a chirp noise rather than a squeak, but it's fairly common. Other than that I have no idea and there's no belt adjusting, all tensioners.
Sorry to say, but a belt squeak is often a symptom of the crank balancer pulley going bad. With the engine running, use a light to check whether the pulley is wobbling. Unfortunately this is a common problem, especially with earlier C6's. Do a search for "crank pulley wobble" & you'll find a bunch more info.
Do you have any warranty like 6 months from the dealer?
welcome and good luck. My Harmonic Balancer under warranty was replaced at 18,000 miles . As others mentioned have it checked by someone familiar with vetted .
If it's not your harmonic balancer, and truly is a belt squeak, a cheap old trick that I've used for many many years on my cars with squeaky belts, is to carefully (and I emphasize carefully) while the car is running, take a wax candle and allow it to rub on the underside of the belt (the ribbed part of the belt that rides on the pulley's) to coat the belt with a small amount of wax, this'll stop the belt squeak. Again, you need to be careful to avoid injury when doing this, by not getting the candle, or yourself caught up in the belt and pulley's. Also, don't let the wife catch you taking her candles to use for this purpose, this could also result in unexpected injuries.
How badly is the harmonic balancer wobbling? I think most describe it as a chirp noise rather than a squeak, but it's fairly common. Other than that I have no idea and there's no belt adjusting, all tensioners.
That is my experience also. It is definitely a chirp, almost sounds like you have crickets in your motor.
Thanks to all that replied. Yeah, it does sound a bit more like chirping than squeaking. Fortunately here in NY all dealers are required to give 3 month (or maybe 4) warranties, so I’ll have to give them a call. This is exactly why I wasn’t too keen on buying private. The dealer I bought it from knows these cars well, so I’m confident he’ll repair it right.
Ive had my ‘84 for 33 years with very few big issues. I’ve had the C6 for 3 days lol. It didn’t make a peep the whole 80 miles home from the dealer. Thanks again.
Last edited by corvettejoe2006; 04-20-2019 at 08:14 PM.
If it is the harmonic balancer, would it hurt anything to drive it any distance until it’s fixed?
get it fixed ASAP in my opinion. It will only get worse and will probably throw a belt. Like stated earlier there are several threads on harmonic balancers. I just replaced mine last week at 34000 . Don’t use a GM balancer, get something like Power Bond and a ARP bolt and don’t forget to replace the seal. Your lucky to have a warranty, Chevy says it’s a 7 hour job.
Thanks for your video. I can't figure out how to upload mine.....but mine looks and sounds similar to yours but I don't think mine is wobbling quite as much as yours....yet.
get it fixed ASAP in my opinion. It will only get worse and will probably throw a belt. Like stated earlier there are several threads on harmonic balancers. I just replaced mine last week at 34000 . Don’t use a GM balancer, get something like Power Bond and a ARP bolt and don’t forget to replace the seal. Your lucky to have a warranty, Chevy says it’s a 7 hour job.
FWIW....The balancer on my 06 has been wobbling since I bought it back in 2010. How bad it wobbles is of course subjective. I would describe it as wobbling more than it should, but not that bad. It doesn't chirp or squeak and hasn't thrown a belt. That doesn't mean that i'm suggesting to anyone that they shouldn't or don't have to replace their wobbling unit, I just ain't gonna worry about changing mine till it gets worse....if it ever does......or it goes through the hood !!!!!.......
“Goes through the hood” is my biggest concern (other than the embarrassment of being stranded roadside as people drive by seeing the pristine convertible with the hood up). Mine didn’t chirp a bit during the test drive or on the 80 mile ride home....and started the next time we took the car out, the next day.
Wobble is one thing, but when the pulley lets loose from the hub and shifts forward or back, that's when the real problems start. Where will you be when it happens? Saturday at midnight in the middle of nowhere? Maybe replace it before it becomes a problem? And, NOT with another GM part!!!
Bringing my car in tomorrow for a diagnostic. Of course, I went out for a little ride tonight and it went from fairly chirpy to barely noticeable. Has anyone had their “chirping” come and go or is a “bad harmonic damper” pretty consistent in making the belt chirp?
Bringing my car in tomorrow for a diagnostic. Of course, I went out for a little ride tonight and it went from fairly chirpy to barely noticeable. Has anyone had their “chirping” come and go or is a “bad harmonic damper” pretty consistent in making the belt chirp?
It's really hard to give a accurate reply without video. But since your bringing it in tomorrow anyway I guess we will know for sure what your problem is. Don't forget to let us know what they find out.
Update....Chevy dealer says it’s my harmonic balancer and it’s pretty bad. Now I need to hope the out of town dealer where I bought my car is willing to cover it. They paid for the diagnostic and, like me, are now learning how common this is on these cars. Dealer says $1200....worse than that “the parts would have to be ordered because they’re not local” and they’re not sure how long they’ll take. Why is it I found an ACDelco original replacement one on Amazon for 2006 Corvettes, that can be on my porch in 48 hrs? This sucks, I’ve had the car 5 days and no idea how long I won’t have it now (or how much it’ll cost until I hear back tomorrow). Saving grace is, our weather looks pretty crappy for the next week. Maybe I can sell my C4 while the C6 is gone.
04-20-2019, 03:44 PM
Belt noise
