Balancer question.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 119
Likes: 48
From: Hartford Wisconsin
Balancer question.
Just now starting to see a wobble with the balancer. It is not separating at all, but the wobble is there. I will be replacing in the next couple of weeks, however how much risk in driving it? I have at least 1 trip that need to make, about 30 miles each way. Any advice is appreciated!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 119
Likes: 48
From: Hartford Wisconsin
No. I freely admit that's beyond what I want to tackle. I have a local shop that I trust doing it for me. They did work in the past on my C3 & C5. I bought the Summit balancer and an ARP bolt. Picked up a new seal as well just in case. Price wise was labor was all over the map. Got quotes from $1500 on down. Without parts.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 547
Likes: 153
IMO don't do any unnecessary driving, but i think you are safe from any catastrophic meltdown. 99% of the time you get a belt chirp and worst case you lose everything running off that belt.
I say not to do any uness driving the reason i replaced mine with slight wobble and no chirp ive heard long term the wobble is hard on your crank bearings. I am at 27k miles, i probably could get another 30 out of it before its an issue but i plan to keep this car forever so any excess wear or damage on my bearings.... i wanted to nip it asap. Did it last weekend and it was a job. If i had a redo I would pay 1k for it no problem.
Have them replace your steering line while in there (70$) they are incredibly common to have a slow leak in the crimp. Also replace and order your AC belt ahead of time. my orileys needed to special order and would have taken 10 days.
I say not to do any uness driving the reason i replaced mine with slight wobble and no chirp ive heard long term the wobble is hard on your crank bearings. I am at 27k miles, i probably could get another 30 out of it before its an issue but i plan to keep this car forever so any excess wear or damage on my bearings.... i wanted to nip it asap. Did it last weekend and it was a job. If i had a redo I would pay 1k for it no problem.
Have them replace your steering line while in there (70$) they are incredibly common to have a slow leak in the crimp. Also replace and order your AC belt ahead of time. my orileys needed to special order and would have taken 10 days.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 10,908
Likes: 2,700
From: Phila Suburbs 2023 C8 & 2013 650ix
If the belt isn't chirping, it's safe to drive. The idea that a slightly wobbling balancer will affect crank bearings in any way is bogus. Many stock balancers have a slight wobble and never need replacement.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 115
Likes: 40
I had mine replaced last year since I noticed a slight wobble after 700 miles into a 900 mile trip to FL. No chirps or squeals, but I was concerned since I had 70k miles on the car. In all likelihood, I was probably okay, but why take the risk?
Drove it carefully the next few hundred miles to.my destination and searched frantically for a repair shop to do the swap. This was during Christmas week. Thankfullly, a local tuner shop was able to fix it in a few days. Much less stressful on the 900 mile return ... until I saw a CE light pop up about 200 miles from home. Lol. Just a minor issue due to a throttle pedal sensor that was easily fixed by replacing the gas pedal assembly when I got home.
Get it done as time and budget allows and save yourself some anxiety.
Drove it carefully the next few hundred miles to.my destination and searched frantically for a repair shop to do the swap. This was during Christmas week. Thankfullly, a local tuner shop was able to fix it in a few days. Much less stressful on the 900 mile return ... until I saw a CE light pop up about 200 miles from home. Lol. Just a minor issue due to a throttle pedal sensor that was easily fixed by replacing the gas pedal assembly when I got home.
Get it done as time and budget allows and save yourself some anxiety.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 119
Likes: 48
From: Hartford Wisconsin
Thx for all advice. When I bought the car last year, no wobble but I paint marked it to keep an eye on it. No movement there at all. Still lines up. But a definite wobble...course I could be losing my mind. Either way, it will be done and it's 1 thing off the list that I had planned for.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,781
Likes: 1,686
From: Summerville SC
It's not the list of PLANNED things that are the fun part of this. It's the UNPLANNED stuff that make life interesting and bump the planned things off the list. I just went down the air conditioning rabbit hole that started as topping off the freon...Enjoy your car. 
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 119
Likes: 48
From: Hartford Wisconsin
True...I wasn't planning on a new head unit either...but once you start personalizing these cars, you can go a little overboard. Getting that installed next weekend. Hence the need to drive it at least once before the balancer swap.
