I bought an 07 C6 base in November with 60k miles on it. Got it from the same dealer the previous owner purchased from who had the car serviced/maintained there. She supposedly traded for a 2014.

Love the car and have put about 1500 miles on it with no real issues. Found the oil drain plug was rounded when I changed the oil (prior changes done by dealer…hmmm). Had the passenger side visor replaced as well.

Last week I noticed a slight squeak near the alternator at startup that went away after driving a few miles. Its more pronounced as of yesterday so I inspected the belts and noticed the dreaded wobble in the Harmonic Balancer similar to this video


Gatorback belts are on the way as a start. I've come to terms that I may have to have the balancer replaced but I don’t want to take it to the dealer. Their service center gives me a bad vibe.

The belts may stop the squeal but I’m sure is just prolonging the inevitable.

This is my first vette and am looking for suggestions on a good tuner in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to diagnose/fix this.

DIY is an option, I’m pretty handy so may get a Helm’s tech man take my time and do it myself. But want to talk to an expert first.

Thanks in advance.

 

I just did this very thing on a friend's car over the weekend. It takes less than 5 hours if you have all the right tools and if you want to PM or email me I can walk you through the process.

Christopher
syclone98 AT Hotmail com

 

Here is a great deal on some blemished Super Dampers straight from ATI. I bought one the other day thanks to "turboffr"s post and it looked just as good as any ATI damper I have bought before, just a few nicks in the finish.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATI-Super-Damper-LS1-LS2-LS3-LS6-Corvette-G8-04-07-CTS-V-Blem-917246-/201033459751?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ACorvette&hash=item2ece872827&vxp=mtr

 

Yep, had my eye on that. Just ordered it as well as this bolt http://www.ebay.com/itm/331128424366 and the Helms set.

Gonna do this myself.

 

Can't go wrong with both those products from ATI and ARP. Great reputation. Good luck with the install and come back with a write-up.

 

i have this issue now too. it was chirping here and there when it was under warranty last year but i didnt know what was causing it and the dealer claimed they didnt either. but now its pretty loud and constant but my warranty has ended. i wonder how must labor is? im tempted to do it myself.

 

The Gatorback belt came in yesterday and was immediately installed. No more chirping but the balancer is still doing the wobble. The belt change was simple. Replacing the balancer is more involved. Here are a couple of videos for you to get an idea of what to expect.

Removal:

Install:

Good luck!

 

^^^^ thank you!

 

This is actually a more common issue than you would think. Sad indeed. Pinning the crank can also be a good idea at the same time, just in case you decide to do later power upgrades. We do have the ATI dampers as well(although not at that stellar price) as well as the powerbond in stock size and underdrive applications.

The pinning kit from ATI is a nice add on as well and is well worth the extra money and time spent to do it right.

 

what's involved in pinning a balancer? can it be done in one's garage with basic tools or what?
thanks

 

Nearly all the tools needed for the actual pinning proceedure are included. All you need is a good drill. Yesit can be done in a garage at home.

 

60K seems to be the magic number. Mine failed at 63K. Putting a new tight belt on will probably increase the rate of failure – I recommend you do not put your new belt on until you do the HB replacement. I was able to tackle the job myself. The hardest part was removing the power steering lines and moving the rack out of the way enough to get to the pulley. Everything else was fairly simple. Some of the components that need to be removed are difficult to get to so you may be running back and forth to Harbor Freight a couple of times for the right wrench. Speaking of tools you will need several special tools which are not too expensive. PM me for the list of those. They are essential to do the job correctly. I used a Powerbond HB which is widely available and has excellent reviews. You will also need a new GM pulley bolt since you cannot re-use the old one. It is critical to follow the manual precisely. By the way the manual says you need to align the front end after replacement - I did not. I marked position of the tie rod ends well and returned them exactly. Alignment was checked and was dead on. The stock pulley is a horrible design but what blows me away is I can’t believe how GM cheaped out by not putting a keyway on the crank snout. The press fit does make removal and installation of the pulley much more dramatic.

 

thanks for sharing.
is the list of parts a long one or what? reason i ask is by providing this info via pm it minimizes the number of people that will receive this valuable info.
thanks

 

You will really only need a harmonic balancer removal tool and possibly a balancer install tool.
Here is the puller we usually recommend.

We do sell a very nice install tool also. Here it is. That one is made to install all balancers save for the LS7 and LS9 and LS3 Grand Sport dry sump pulleys due to their different crank snouts. We have an LS7 version as well.

Like was alluded to earlier, make 100% sure you do not move your steering wheel at all after the shaft is removed from the rack. You can cause the clock spring to send the wrong signal to the rest of the car and you will have all sorts of other issues.

 

speaking of having the right tools if you have an automatic you will have to lock the flywheel to remove the pulley bolt. There are some extra steps involved with that. M6 with the rear wheels on the ground held just fine for me. Good Luck!!

 

Here's the steps I sent to the OP last week:

• disconnect the battery
• remove your hood (not required but makes it easier to hook up the engine hoist)
• loosen the front wheels
• remove the air intake
• put the front of the car up on jackstands
• remove the front wheels
• remove the starter and install a flywheel locking tool (not required but makes it a LOT easier to hold the motor in place while removing and reinstalling the crank bolt)
• on either side of the car jack up the bottom of the lower control arm as high as it'll go before the car starts to lift off the jackstand
• remove the two lower shock bolts (13mm)
• remove the 4 bolts connecting the upper control arm to the frame (15mm) making sure you don't lose the shims
• repeat the last 3 steps on the other side
• connect an engine hoist to at least two places on the motor (I usually pull out the top bolt of the alternator bracket and the front most exhaust bolt on the passenger side)
• carefully raise up the engine just enough so that the whole car starts to come up (this is to keep the motor suspended when you drop the cradle)
• remove the 2 motor mount bolts holding them to the cradle
• position a transmission jack squarely under the cradle and raise it up just until it starts to lift up
• remove the 11mm bolt holding the steering column to the power steering pump (the easiest way is to come at it from up top with a long extension)
• slide the column back away from the pump
• remove the four 21mm cradle bolts
• SLOWLY lower the transmission jack and the cradle should come with it (sometimes you have to wiggle it loose but anything more than a moderate amount of effort usually means you forgot to disconnect something)

At this point you've got access to the balancer and the regular removal and installation steps apply.

Good luck with it.

 

If you remove the steering rack as is the norm you wont have to worry about the hood or motor mounts or removing the entire cradle.. I would rather take the rack out than bother realigning the hood perfect. What you stated seems to be entire overkill. And if you have a manual trans just put it in 4th and set e brake. That works faster than removing the starter and buying the $80+ kent moore tool. There are many other ways to take the crank pulley off.

 

I've done it both ways and definitely prefer this method since having to deal with the power steering rack and not spilling fluid everywhere is a major PITA.

Regarding the hood, as I stated it is an optional step because if you can support the engine from the side there's no need to remove it. If you do remove it, all you have to do is mark the original position of the bolts on the bracket with a Sharpie and it takes less than 5 minutes to get it reinstalled and aligned properly.

As for not needing the flywheel tool with a manual transmission, that's not as straightforward as you might think. The car I just did had a manual transmission and even with the car in 4th gear, emergency brake on AND having somebody step on the brakes I still couldn't loosen the bolt.

 

Where did you get the Gatorback belt at??..Thanks

 

Amazon: Goodyear 4060798 Gatorback Poly-V Belt