Idler pulley bolt snapped
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
Idler pulley bolt snapped
So I start the car up and it kind of idles up higher than normal. Then the DIC says service charging system. I notice no power steering either. Funny so I shut off the car figuring the belt has been thrown or broken. Pop the hood look around, yup the belt is loose, oh but what is that shiny thing in the bottom of the engine bay
? It looks just like the idler pulley and when I pick it up that is exactly what it is. The bolt is broken right off just about one thread sticking out of the block. I wonder what the dealer will have to say. The funny part is where the bolt snapped off it is about a third new fresh looking metal, the other two thirds look like the have been exposed for a while, I wonder if it was cracked and just finally broke the rest of the way? Damn glad I don't have to get the what is left of the bolt out of the block
! Anyone else have this bolt fail?
? It looks just like the idler pulley and when I pick it up that is exactly what it is. The bolt is broken right off just about one thread sticking out of the block. I wonder what the dealer will have to say. The funny part is where the bolt snapped off it is about a third new fresh looking metal, the other two thirds look like the have been exposed for a while, I wonder if it was cracked and just finally broke the rest of the way? Damn glad I don't have to get the what is left of the bolt out of the block ! Anyone else have this bolt fail?
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 11,344
Likes: 965
From: Carlsbad Ca
That used to happen all the time with my BB 427. I used harder (Grade 8) bolts only to have them snap cleanly @ the block. I now use gr. 5 swiss cheese bolts and they have enough elasticity to survive. Never heard of it on an LS2 though.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
All better now! Chevy roadside service came by this morning. I drove her right up on the flatbed and away she went. I paid an extra 50 bucks to the driver to take the car to Paradise chevy in Ventura rather than let the incompetent service department at Graham Chevy in Santa Barbara touch the car. It took them a couple of hours to get it into the shop remove the remainder of the bolt and put on a new idler pulley and belt. Unfortunately I can't pick it up until the morning. I am curious as to how they got the bolt out as there was barely a thread sticking out of the block.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,647
Likes: 1
From: Objects in your mirror are losing , Long Island, NY
St. Jude Donor '08
All better now! Chevy roadside service came by this morning. I drove her right up on the flatbed and away she went. I paid an extra 50 bucks to the driver to take the car to Paradise chevy in Ventura rather than let the incompetent service department at Graham Chevy in Santa Barbara touch the car. It took them a couple of hours to get it into the shop remove the remainder of the bolt and put on a new idler pulley and belt. Unfortunately I can't pick it up until the morning. I am curious as to how they got the bolt out as there was barely a thread sticking out of the block.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 3
From: Goleta California
No the idler pulley sits below the alternator and is about three inches in diameter. The bolt that holds it to the block looks like a hardened 10 mm bolt at least 1 inche long (that is about the length of the piece that broke off!). As far as I know there are no tsb's for this one.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,709
Likes: 1
From: Pacific Northwest
St. Jude Donor '06
They probably used an 'Easyout.' It's been a long while since I did 'serious' mechanic work but I'm sure you still need to drill it.
Last edited by C-INRED; Feb 27, 2007 at 01:03 AM.
