The stock ones are prone to failure. And higher quality balancers (and underdrives) will be more reliable and gain you power without needing a tune even. \
The stock balancer (an all LS balancers) are held onto the crank with a very tight taper called an interference fit. Pinning the crank is a good way to make sure it stays in line, but if your balancer has walked off any or wobbles, then it is a good indication it is worn.
The biggest reason for the high charge is the removal of the rack and pinion can be a hassle. That is about it. Everything else is straight forward pretty much.
PS you DONT have to remove the engine at all to make this work. Some people drop the cradle, but you run into so many issues there just taking the rack out is the easier way.

 

The dealership that is doing it is called Bennett Chevrolet They are Offering me a12 month 12,000k warranty on the balancer They don't offer any other ones And if I bring my own do will not Warranty... How long do you think this balancer Will last??????????

 

Well if they are replacing it with a new balancer then that is all you can do. The warranty on ANY gm part is more than 12k miles though. GM upped the ante on them a while back, but if they are going to do it for no charge then let them have at it.

 

if they will agree to install the aftermarket balancer sans warranty I would go for it. you can bet that gm replacement balancer will go bad down the road and you will have to pay out of pocket.

 

Does anyone know how long does the stock balancer last Will I get a few months....?. Why does it go bad...??

 

Not all balancers go bad ... There are C6 Corvettes with 100,000 miles on them and never had a balancer problem.

 

it may last 35 miles,4,000 miles or the life of the car.GM pays $7.00 for them. Care to take your chances on one again.they go bad because the elastomer rubber between the inner and outer hub delaminate's.buy the best out there such as an ATI for $425. or a inexpensive Powerbond for approximately $180.

 

Like mentioned above, ATI has an Ebay store where they sell blemish balancers for less than half of retail.

 

Do what every other C6 owners has done when their stock balancer went boo boo ... get a POWERBOND and be done with it. That's what they call us for. If you are asking here again and worried about the stock replacement going boo boo too, then you should get a POWERBOND or you'll constantly be worried about the new OEM replacement you are getting and you'll never be comfortable when driving.

http://www.coloradospeed.com/powerbo...g8-p-4546.html

OR

http://www.coloradospeed.com/powerbo...g8-p-5776.html

AND

http://www.coloradospeed.com/arp-har...s3-p-4850.html

DONE

and forget the ATI blemish. Do you go to ROSS to buy blemished clothing where one shirt sleeve is longer than the other? The ATI's are being sold at that price for a reason. The balancer is going to get dirty being exposed anyways so I do not understand why they are selling "blemished" when it shouldn't matter.

 

Stock balancers are fine. Sh*t happens. I've heard of more aftermarket balancers/under drive pulleys taking a dump than stock ones. And most of the stock balancer failures are due to reusing the non-reusable bolt and causing problems.

I've got a stock balancer on the shelf if you want it. It's even set up for a pinned crank, if you so desire. I got a new one with a fresh engine a couple months ago. A new bolt and you're good to go.

Put the car's nose in the air...remove wheels...unbolt upper control arms keeping shims in place...place a jack under the cradle and loosen the 4 21mm cradle bolts...don't remove, just loosen them down til only a thread or two is showing....gently drop the cradle the 2-3 inches and let it rest on the bolts...unbolt/move steering rack (can be done without disconnecting any fluid lines since you're just moving it out of the way and not removing it completely. Do not turn the steering wheel with the rack disconnected. Won't hurt anything, but may make realignment a pain.)...remove balancer bolt and balancer. Replace in opposite order. A good mechanic should be able to do it in an hour or two....an average guy, an afternoon.

The only reason the rack even needs to be moved is because the balancer bolt just barely hits it when it's about a half inch from being free when removing it. Dropping the cradle just slightly gives the bolt just enough room to clear and come free.
Can be done with simple hand tools....only specialty tool you need is a balancer puller/pusher that you can borrow from most major parts stores for free with a deposit.

Hell....snag this balancer, and I'll send you the tool. They're that cheap. :P

 

 

^ what he said. Ive seen and read on here alone and on vettes in person more failed stock balancers than any aftermarket balancer.

Alot of the failures seem to be on nearly stock vettes or ones with the balancers untouched.

 

Says the vendor with sales to lose.

If I paid full price for a product that didn't look perfect but "worked just fine", I would be furious. ATI knows they have an image of quality to uphold.

So how do you minimize financial losses from these types of blemished parts and still maintain that image of quality and perfection? Sell them for a discount.

 

ok baller in the corvette.

 

How about when ati wont sell to their distributors for near this cheap? How do you minimize that financial loss? We would price the ati as inexpensive as the powerbond if we could....IF WE COULD. You should ask about the situation before coming off like you did.
The fact that ati is doing this and has been made aware of it and is clearly screwing their distribitors directly but do not care is shady and underhanded, yet youd rather complain at a vendor who pays to keep this forum going? Nice job.

 

what's the proper model # for the ATI to fit my 06?

Thanks,

 

http://www.coloradospeed.com/ati-performance-serpentine-super-damper-steel-shell-w-steel-hub-753-od-975-pounds-oem-w-ac-pulley-19972013-corvette-ls1-ls6-ls2-ls3-20082009-g8-p-7177.html

 

Is the factory replacement now upgraded from the one that fails? I'm doing only basic driving with stick motor, and no racing. Hate to spend that extra cost if it's not needed.

Thanks

 

coSPEED: Is this pair a straight swap to my stock 2006 LS2? I'm not planning to pin or anything... just looking for a straight replacement part for my failed balancer that's wobbling (no chirp yet).

thanks,
Chris

 

Direct swap and stock sized yes!