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Hey folks, major issues, just got my C6 back from shop having new balancer installed, A/C went out, power steering went out, charging system warning light came on and overheated immediately, pulled over thought belt had came off, but when I inspected it all the belts looked good, were tight, after sitting 30 minutes started it up and belts looked like we’re turning normal no unusual noise, but started overheating and A/C was hot and no power steering, looks to me as if pulley is turning really slow, so I’m thinking balancer is slipping on crank, so quickly cut it off, called shop but was already closed, gonna have AAA tow it back to them in AM, noticed steering wheel in off center when driving it home, and fins on power steering cooler pipes were bent up pretty bad!! Kind of feeling not to good about quality of work, was recommended this shop by forum member!! Now I’m kind of sick on my stomach!! I hope crank is not screwed up, made no noise and no leaks of any kind, guess crank should of been pinned and possibly a ARP bolt, balancer was a NAPA, thought that was ok, but not sure about bolt!!! GGRRRR!
Sorry to hear this. I would definitely take it back to the shop, something went wrong. Do yourself a favor and look at the belt tensioner that is located on the passenger side of motor. There are indicators on the top, see photo, this will tell you if the belt is too loose, you want the center indicator to be as in the photo or close to it. This is only one thing you can check among others. Just hope the shop can help you out here. The a/c is a separate belt, sometimes those belts will slip and not squeak. As for the off center steering wheel, the shop did something wrong with that. They should of noticed this and advised you to get an alignment. Also check that you got the same diameter balancer.
Good luck
I had the shop get the parts, he told me he recommended NAPA as they had a good warranty and quality parts, de did not mention the bolt, I wonder if he used the old bolt, if so I’m thinking that may be the answer, like I mentioned in the write up it was pretty plain the HB was turning very slowly, but the hb was in line with the other belts and was not wonbling at all, and no unusual noise at all, motor was very quiet as always.
There is nothing special about the ARP bolt other than it can be reused and is (only slightly) easier to install than GM since it doesn't require a torque to yield install procedure. A NEW replacement GM bolt is just fine, as long as it was installed correctly.
Did the shop list the parts on your invoice? Might provide some info on what was, or was not, installed.
I looked up C6 HB on NAPAonline.com. Their NAPA Solutions balancers are made by Dorman. Yikes!!!
Hopefully I haven't done more research on your car in the last 7 minutes than you did before comitting to this major repair.
Only parts on invoice are balancer and seal, I should have did more research than I did evidently, damn, now what the hell am I gonna do? This guy has owned corvettes and works on corvettes, what a mess I’m in now, I don’t know whether to trust them to repair what they messed up, I asked him up front did he have the special tools required and he said he did.
Their parts, their labor, they’re on the hook. What’s interesting is that there isn’t a bolt on the invoice. If it was the original OEM bolt, they shouldn’t have reused it, as you noted. The steering wheel is probably off center because they would have had to unfasten the rack and who knows what else they undid. And I can tell you from personal experience that if they didn’t torque the rack back down correctly, it can shift and put the wheel off center. That and the bent cooling fins would suggest that the shop isn’t to be trusted to do quality work on Corvettes. Hopefully, if the HB has spun on the crank, the snout isn’t galled too badly. I guess you’re down to 2 choices: trust the shop to put it right or try to get your money back and get the car to another shop that knows what they’re doing.
Their parts, their labor, they’re on the hook. What’s interesting is that there isn’t a bolt on the invoice. If it was the original OEM bolt, they shouldn’t have reused it, as you noted. The steering wheel is probably off center because they would have had to unfasten the rack and who knows what else they undid. And I can tell you from personal experience that if they didn’t torque the rack back down correctly, it can shift and put the wheel off center. That and the bent cooling fins would suggest that the shop isn’t to be trusted to do quality work on Corvettes. Hopefully, if the HB has spun on the crank, the snout isn’t galled too badly. I guess you’re down to 2 choices: trust the shop to put it right or try to get your money back and get the car to another shop that knows what they’re doing.
Looking into this job, there's a tool you can use to lock the steering so it doesn't become un-indexed.
The shop must have driven the car after finishing the job. During the test drive, they would have found that the steering wheel is screwed. Knowing that, they just ignored it rather than fixing it. Bad news.
Just another note, did you say your corvette is a auto or manual? If it’s a auto, they would of removed the starter so they can use a tool to stop the fly wheel and crank from spinning while removing and replacing the crank bolt. If they didn’t and used the old bolt which has been stretched out , I bet the HB is spinning on the crank because they didn’t torque it down to the spec, not wanting to risk breaking the bolt off. 🤷♂️
Stories like this is what scares me to death about people working on my cars, although I can technically do the job not having a lift makes a lot of jobs such that you need a mechanic. Hope you get it resolved.
We’ll I inspected the HB today and I could turn the bolt with my fingers and there was a stream of oil leaking from it, owner called me to discuss situation and was pretty nice able it it, he decided it was probably the Napa hb was of poor quality and was a poor fit on the crank, said he would fix it free of charge and was gonna get a better and move expensive hb, and I would not have to pay. That made me feel better but I won’t be really good until it is fixed and I’m not afraid to run it up somewhat. He is going to call me when he gets the part and a new bolt, do you all think I should tell him I want lock tight on the bolt and if so what type should I get? That’s all I got for now, thanks for all of your suggestions, I really appreciate your input, my wife is not real happy with my corvette ownership experience as of now!!!, will update as soon as something happens!! Buy the way it’s a 6 spd, Z51 conv. With 34000 and I’ve been afraid to run it up over 4000 rpm, lady who had it 15 years said it had not been over about 80 mph, so been taking it easy until I saw how it was going to react to some 6000 rpm, this was supposed to be preventive maintenance and ease my mind!!!!
We’ll I inspected the HB today and I could turn the bolt with my fingers and there was a stream of oil leaking from it, owner called me to discuss situation and was pretty nice able it it, he decided it was probably the Napa hb was of poor quality and was a poor fit on the crank, said he would fix it free of charge and was gonna get a better and move expensive hb, and I would not have to pay. That made me feel better but I won’t be really good until it is fixed and I’m not afraid to run it up somewhat. He is going to call me when he gets the part and a new bolt, do you all think I should tell him I want lock tight on the bolt and if so what type should I get? That’s all I got for now, thanks for all of your suggestions, I really appreciate your input, my wife is not real happy with my corvette ownership experience as of now!!!, will update as soon as something happens!!
Tell him you want it pinned. If he doesnt know what that is google it. No locktite needed if it's a quality bolt and properly torqued but if it makes you feel better I guess you could use blue.
Ok I’ll talk about pinning tomorrow and I’ll buy the kit so that I know it will be done correctly, I’d like to do it myself but no lift to get it up where I’d feel comfortable doing it.
Well, we have are answer now to your problem. Just one thing though, if you want it pinned, go ahead it’s your car. Pinning really isn’t necessary if the HB fits right and the bolt is torque down properly. Pinning is for the higher hp vettes, who race the car, drift etc. it’s your vette, do what you feel is right for you. Remember happy wife, happy life!
Suggestion: Plenty of discussion about all of this on the forum. I would look it up and print out stuff for the mechanic to "learn" from.
Balancer: Use a good one, most prefer a race balancer.....ATI, Power Bond, Summit. PB also makes a good OE style balancer closer in design to the NAPA one you got.
Bolt: ARP or GM. It IS recommended to use Loctite on GM bolt......but best if car can sit overnight after install. Loctite works better after 24 hr cure.
Ask to inspect crank snout before they cover it back up.
Pinning is usually not required but I would be inclined to ask for it as the crank may be a little dinged up, affecting a 100% proper HB fit. Rack needs to still be off to get a drill in there.
Really bad issue with harmonic balancer replace
