torquetube

The new crank bolts have the same uniform gray plating as many other fasteners on the C6, but nothing extra on the threads, and the bolt can be threaded freely into the crank by hand. There is a dried orange paste applied under the bolt flange, however.

rich5962

I'm not sure why they had to do alignment. Maybe just to check it. As long as they didn't loosen the tie rod ends to the rack link everything would go back to original toe-in. Procedure does not state to do it also.

....just curious. Dealer replaced the HB on my 07 a few weeks ago and they did not align it.

Rich

rich5962

Hmmmm, above TSB says:
"Remove the old bolt and measure the hub to crankshaft distance.
Coat the three to five threads of the new bolt with thread locker (LOCKTITE™ 272) P/N 12345493 before installation."

When I spoke to my service adviser and the trans tech that did the rear torque tube bearing on my car this week, they told me they don't use the paper service manuals. They have all of the repair procedures online direct from GM. I got a demo. They said that all online procedures have the latest info from the service experts, as the paper manuals may have outdated procedures.

Could be the reason some procedures say to use it, and some not to.
I'm unsure what the online HB procedure says about the Locktite.

Rich

king off the hill

im glad they did it was way off boy is it great now when i boot it goes strait as a arrow and rides greatonly 16035mi 2005

torquetube

I agree that the paper manuals contain obvious errors and ambiguities. But for what it's worth, the original crank bolt on my '06 coupe, manufactured a year after that TSB was released, showed no evidence of threadlocker having been applied at the factory.

Gering

My car had the wobbles so I replaced it with one from ATI. I also keep a spare belt in the car for long trips. I have talked to a few people with this problem and it seems to be common. IMO I think at the very least it is worth the piece of mind to change it. Good luck.

younger_longer

My 2005 got the chirping noise at 36k and then I noticed the crank shaft pulley wobble. Went to a bad dealership close to my house (Weber Chevrolet Creve Coeur) charged me $127 to look at it and they said it needed to be replaced at a cost of $1200, I asked questions about the GM goodwill program covering defective harmonic balancers, Morty rolled his eyes and gave me the GM 1-800 go *%#@ ur self number. I even asked to talk to the technician who worked on my car and Morty replied, "you talk to me". I felt like I was being treated like a blonde with a minivan. Kept researching on the forum and asking people w/ vettes where they get service. If you live in St. Louis take your vette to ELCO Chevrolet!!!! Best customer service experience I have ever had at a dealership. There corvette specialist, Bill (yes they have a guy who just works on the vettes) introduced himself to me when I dropped it off and we discussed the issue with the crank shaft pulley wobble which he was familiar with. He said he will do his job and see if the guys behind the desk can help you out with the cost of the repair. I got a call from Bill an hour later, he said, "We can get you fixed up for $200 and the part is in stock." OMG Vette was ready for pick up 5 hours later. ELCO has a customer for life.
Finding a good dealership is key to solving out of warranty defective problems.

bj33813

just went thru the same procedure (05 a4 24k miles), but no deals from the dealer
cost was $967

If in doubt, look at the pulley from the side while motor is idling. If you see any wobble at all, change it out.

BigMay60

I have removed and installed mine in my garage 2 times during various upgrades. Both times, I have applied red lock-tite upon reinstall.

The only think that makes this job so tough is the fact the sterring rack has to be removed. If you are not mechanically inclined, I would not try this yourselt.

rich5962

Curious......How did you keep the engine from turning while torquing the bolt? When mine was done, they had to remove the right catalytic converter and the starter.......to install the special tool to hold the ring gear in place to stop rotation. This procedure is called out in my 07 Corvette shop manual.

Yes the steering rack needs to come out, which means the steering column shaft needs to be removed as well, along with some other items to gain access to the rack, and tie rod ends to steering arms etc. Yes this is a very big job. I recall the tech that did mine said the book estimatess something like 6-8 hours.

How long did yours take?

Rich

FrenchC6Corvette

Hi from French, I encountered the wobble damper problem at 60000miles, at first I had belt squeaks and tought belts had to be change.But in fact the damper move forward of crankshaft due to loose damper bolt and because of that ,the accessory belt pulley start to turn anormally making both belts noise on the edge of pulley.It is a misconception problem, I think the torque bolt was not torque enough at factory and no threads lock were used.
I did the job my elf and I t is not easy, you'll have to lower frame and raise engine to allow enough place to put out the damper.

Andy 53

Watch that bolt closely...it will very likely back out again.

Andy

FrenchC6Corvette

Let me know why ?

Andy 53

From what I have read...there was some sort of problem with that bolt staying in place. The redesigned bolt was engineered to stay in place better. The old bolt, if re-used, is very likely to back out again.

Andy

rich5962

Andy is correct......he read it in the TSB and procedure to replace the harmonic balancer, which is posted in a earlier post in this thread. Here is a excerpt from it. The OLD bolt is used only to seat the new balancer. A NEW bolt MUST be used and properly installed per the procedure. I do not mean to frighten you, but felt you may have possibly missed some important information.

Rich

===
From the TSB:

Remove the crankshaft balancer bolt (139). Do not discard the crankshaft balancer bolt. The balancer bolt will be used during the balancer installation procedure.
my edit here: Note this does not mean to use it permanently.
.
.
.
.
Verify that the bolt does not bottom out in the crank post.
Install the new washer onto the crankshaft and push into place by hand.
Install the new balancer paying attention to line up the scribe mark.
Use the J 41665 in order to install the balancer.
.
.
.
Remove the balancer installation tool.
Notice: Failure to apply proper torque to the old balancer bolt may result in the balancer not being fully seated. This could lead to failure of this joint in the future.
Install the old balancer bolt and tighten.
Tighten the old balancer bolt to 330N•m(240 ft. lb).
Important: The nose of the crankshaft should be recessed 2.4-4.48 mm (0.094-0.176 in) into the balancer bore.
.
.
.
Remove the old bolt and measure the hub to crankshaft distance.

Coat the three to five threads of the new bolt with thread locker (LOCKTITE™ 272) P/N 12345493 before installation.
Notice: Be sure to follow the torque procedure for installing the new crankshaft bolt. Use of impact tools, or not using torque and angle method will result in joint failure.

Install and tighten the new crankshaft bolt.
• Tighten the crankshaft balancer bolt a first pass.

Tighten the crankshaft balancer bolt a first pass to 50N•m (37 lb ft).

Put a paint stripe on the bolt running from the 12 o'clock to the 6 o'clock position in order to verify the correct torque requested in the next step.

• Important: When tightening for the second pass, a minimum torque of 320 N•m (236 lb ft) should be observed. If this torque is not achieved, the bolt should be replaced.

Tighten the crankshaft balancer bolt a second pass.

Tighten the crankshaft balancer bolt a second pass to 140 degrees using the J 45059.

Important: Recheck the position of the previously painted stripe to assure 140 degree rotation. Achieving the correct torque angle is critical to the success of this repair. Over-torquing or under-torquing the joint will result in an unsatisfactory repair.

====

FrenchC6Corvette

Hi, I used new crankshaft bolt part #12557840, I coated it with medium loctite tread lock and also changed oil seal (part #12585673), the damper is a stock Gm part #12598831 and is a new part number wich replace the factory damper #12583837.Hope this one last forever !!!
I must also tell I have to change the water pump wich start leaking a few time after because I think the way of belt turning on it changed with the new damper ( the stock damper moved 5mm forward before I replace it so the belt also moved forward on the water pump pulley and the water seal did'nt liked it), so at the same time I put new main belt 6PK2025 and new A/C belt 4PK1040, new idler puller and new belt tensioner for main and A/C.

Sean99SS

I have an 05 with the last 6 digits of the VIN Number being 02286 which would fall under this TSB correct? I have owned the car for the last 3 years since 58,000 miles and have not had any problems. A couple of days ago I heard a bad chirping and it got worse where it was embarassing even rolling at idle through a parking lot. I knew something must be wrong and took it to Firestone because I know the people there. They tell me its the harmonic balancer and the AC belt has even been thrown off and another belt shredded. The car is out of any kind of warranty but this problem definitely sounds like it should have been a recall. Do you guys think I should try and fight this with a Chevrolet dealership and have it fixed for free? I bought the car at a Chevrolet dealership used saying it was certified.

Hoonose

Absolutely! GM admitted to this manufacturing/engineering problem with '05's up to VIN 11039. I had mine done prophylactically with my extended warranty 2 years ago. I think it was an $800 deal.

JayplaySS2

It's very easy to do-

I would install and UD Pulley (25%) with an ARP bolt and get some extra power out of it-

king off the hill

hi sean i caught mine in time with a chirp.in your case there could be a lot of damage.i had ex.waranty.and even then i had a hard time.good luck from 1100 5000 it could cost.